The brand new wave of mullet mountain bikes coming to the forefront of the trade is tough to disregard – its now not a fleeting development or advertising and marketing gimmick, with manufacturers like Specialised, Santa Cruz and Transition committing to face alone mullet fashions of their 2022 lineups. The mullet buzzwords are “enterprise within the entrance, social gathering within the again”, and that’s exactly what the all-new Specialised Standing is about. A quick rolling 29 inch wheel within the entrance, and a handy guide a rough, low inertia 27.5 inch wheel within the rear makes for a very particular feeling bike.
Enterprise within the entrance
Within the 2021 season Specialised had some wonderful success with their mullet Demo downhill bike, taking Loic Bruni to the highest of the UCI World Cup General title. For the 2022 Standing, Specialised took their wealth of data on combined wheel sizes and translated it right into a feisty package deal that excels in varied environments. Take it to your native hill and also you’ll discover it would make you re-learn how briskly you possibly can hit turns. Take it to the bike park and also you’ll be popping and leaping off each little lip within the path. Wanna go for an XC effort however nonetheless maintain the downhills thrilling? Throw on the clipless pedals, get some energy down and also you’ll eat up the miles with a giant grin in your face on the best way again down.
Occasion within the again
Lets discuss that 27.5 inch rear wheel. What’s the benefit to having a smaller rear wheel? When the 29 inch wheel measurement was launched the change in experience high quality and diminished roll over resistance was instantly obvious. 29 inch wheels have positively modified the mountain bike trade and led to some dramatic enhancements in bike dealing with and predictability, nevertheless there are nonetheless a die onerous bunch of riders that benefit from the quick, snappy and light-weight dealing with of a 27.5 inch wheel. The diminished centripetal drive of a rolling 650b wheel means that you can lean the bike over extra simply in comparison with a 29 inch wheel, bringing the rear of the bike round quicker in turns. The distinction is most noticeable when a sudden change of path is required, particularly as soon as the wheels have left the bottom, making whips, tweaks and tables somewhat simpler. Its one of the best of each worlds!
Bullet proof spec
The 2022 Standing 140 and 160 come spec’d with a bullet proof set of parts, with the cash being spent on the gear that issues. This implies highly effective 4 piston DH brakes from Sram, within the type of the Code R with 200mm rotors entrance and rear, Specialised’s personal 2.3″ Butcher Grid Path tyres of their stickiest T9 compound, and burly suspension from Fox with their model new Float X rear shock and 36 Rythm forks.
Trip Impressions
We headed out to our native hill on the brand new Standing with check rider Will from our bike store. Will has ridden every little thing from E Bikes to Hardtails, encompassing all the brand new traits within the trade, so he has a good suggestion of what it takes to make a strong mountain bike in 2022. The very first thing Will seen is the brief rear finish, made doable by the smaller rear wheel and brief chainstays. “It makes it very easy to choose the entrance find yourself and place it the place you need. My total impression of the bike, having ridden every little thing from berms to jumps, tech and steeps, is that it has some severe functionality. Its bang to your buck is implausible – you received’t get way more to your cash from different manufacturers with this type of geometry and spec. Its positively a motorbike to keep watch over in 2022.”
With two journey choices obtainable – 140mm and 160mm, the 2022 Standing caters to all appetites. If you happen to’re extra into dashing out after work for an hour then the 140 is for you. If you happen to’d want the peace of thoughts of getting a bit of additional squish, and also you wish to go huge then the 160 is your bike.
We’ve acquired a measurement S4 Standing 160 able to demo at our bike store – give them a name to rearrange a demo experience!
