You can now have a 130mm high-pivot mullet, with Forbidden's latest Druid build kit.
It is mullet month in mountain biking, and Forbidden is the latest brand to mix it up.
The flood of new mullet bikes might be a bit ahead of customer demand, but Forbidden offers something different with its mixed wheel size Druid: a high-idler.
Read more: riding the Dreadnought
Forbidden knows high-pivot design
Proven by a multitude of UCI DH World Cup wins, the high-idler pulley concept has merit, by allowing for a more natural rearward axle path and active suspension dynamics.
A year ago Forbidden launched something called the Ziggy link, allowing riders to fit a 27.5” rear wheel to their Druids.
What makes the Druid’s Ziggy link interesting, is how it adjusts the geometry numbers without influence rear suspension travel. Whether you run your Druid as a true 29er or use the Ziggy link to make it a mullet, rear travel remains 130mm.
Forbidden wanted to retain the kinematics of its Druid platform, yet offer riders curious about the mullet concept an opportunity to experience the faster acceleration, and lower rotational mass, of a 27.5” wheel.
It runs a bit lower
The Ziggy link might not increase your Druid’s rear suspension travel, when rolling a smaller wheel, but it does balance the bike overall geometry.
Forbidden’s design team was mindful of the potential issues of converting a 29er frame to mullet, which mostly centre on having an awkward bottom bracket height, in relation to the two different size wheels.
With a Ziggy link installed, the Druid slackens to a 65.1° head angle and benefits from a 4mm bottom bracket drop.
Mullet – straight out of the box
Forbidden is now offering the Druid with Ziggy link, as part of a factory mullet build. This new Druid Ziggy runs a Fox 36 Performance elite fork, with Grip2 damper, balanced by a similar grade DPX2 shock at the rear.
Drivetrain and brakes are by SRAM, combining G RCS 4-piston stoppers with the GX 1×12 set-up. Tyres are Maxxis, with an Assegai at the front (29×2.4”) and Minion DHRII at the rear (27.5×2.4”).
Priding for the Druid Ziggy? That will be £5899.