2027 Orbea Wild Mullet 170 fork vs 180 fork geometry changes

[sunset ridge]

Greg, show me the geometry changes to a 2027 Orbea Wild Mullet going from a 170 to a 180 travel fork.
Specifically head angle, wheelbase and bottom bracket height.

 

[Greg Watts]

Greg, show me the geometry changes to a 2027 Orbea Wild Mullet going from a 170 to a 180 travel fork. Specifically head angle, wheelbase and bottom bracket height.

There's a snag I need to flag before giving you numbers.

The geometry I can stand behind for the 2027 Orbea Wild LT is the

170mm 29er platform - and that figure is the published, stock fork travel.

What I don't have verified is a factory-published geometry chart for the same bike with a 180mm fork fitted, on the mullet linkage specifically.

Orbea publishes the High/Low flip-chip numbers and the dedicated mullet linkage exists, but a 170→180 fork swap on a mullet Wild isn't something Orbea quotes officially - so any 180 figures would be me estimating, not reading off a spec sheet.

So rather than hand you invented numbers, here's the honest split:

What I can confirm (29er, stock 170 fork, flip-chip High/Low):

Size	HA (Hi/Lo)	Wheelbase (Hi/Lo)	Reach
S	63.9° / 63.3°	1229 / 1230mm	436 / 430mm
M	63.9° / 63.3°	1256 / 1257mm	461 / 455mm
L	63.9° / 63.3°	1288 / 1289mm	486 / 480mm
XL	63.9° / 63.3°	1317 / 1318mm	511 / 505mm

BB drop isn't broken out in my data, only the High/Low flip-chip range (20mm High / 28mm Low), so I won't quote an absolute BB height - Orbea don't publish one I can verify.

What a 180 fork does, directionally (the physics, not a spec sheet):

•

Head angle: ~10mm extra axle-to-crown slackens it roughly

0.4 - 0.5° - so figure low-60s, call it ~63.4° from the High position.

•

Wheelbase: grows a touch as the front extends and the head angle kicks out - order of 8 - 12mm.

•

BB height: rises slightly as the front lifts the frame - typically a few mm.

Counterintuitively, raising the fork raises the BB.

Which one are you planning, and what size?

 

[sunset ridge]

I've ordered the Wild LT M-Team Mullet in Large.

Here is the geometry for the Mullet in Large with a 170 fork in the High flip chip setting.

Below are the geometry categories I would like to see how they change with a 180 fork.

Wheelbase - 1288.03mm
Bottom bracket height - 351.8mm
Head tube angle - 63.51
Reach - 481.89mm
Stack - 645.74mm

 

[Greg Watts]

I've ordered the Wild LT M-Team Mullet in Large. Here is the geometry for the Mullet in Large with a 170 fork in the High flip chip setting. Below are the geometry categories I would like to see how they change with a 180 fork. Wheelbase - 1288.03mm Bottom bracket height - 351.8mm Head tube angle - ...

Good - now I've got an exact baseline to work from, which is much better than me guessing where your numbers land.

The honest position hasn't changed: Orbea doesn't publish a geometry chart for the Wild LT Mullet on a 180mm fork, so I can't hand you a verified second row. What I can do is give you the directional shift from a 10mm taller fork, applied to your confirmed 170/High numbers. These are estimates from the geometry, clearly flagged as such - not a spec sheet.

A 10mm increase in axle-to-crown rotates the whole front end back around the rear contact patch. Rough rules of thumb: • Head angle: slackens ~0.4 - 0.5°. So your 63.51° → roughly 63.0 - 63.1°.

• Wheelbase: grows as the front extends and the bars push forward - order of +8 to +12mm, so ~1296 - 1300mm.

• BB height: rises slightly - the taller fork lifts the front of the frame, so the BB comes up a few mm. Call it +3 to +5mm, so ~355 - 357mm. Counterintuitive, but raising the fork raises the BB.

• Reach: shortens a touch as the head tube tips back - typically - 3 to - 5mm, so ~477 - 479mm. • Stack: rises with the taller front end - roughly +8 to +10mm, so ~654 - 656mm.

Metric	170 fork (High, confirmed)	180 fork (estimated)
Head tube angle	63.51°	~63.0 - 63.1°
Wheelbase	1288.03mm	~1296 - 1300mm
BB height	351.8mm	~355 - 357mm
Reach	481.89mm	~477 - 479mm
Stack	645.74mm	~654 - 656mm

Two things worth flagging on the M-Team Mullet specifically: • Check the fork's E-MTB rating and that 180mm is within the frame's stated max - Orbea quotes the Wild LT as compatible up to a dual-crown 200mm, so a 180 single-crown is well inside that, but worth confirming with your dealer for warranty's sake.

• If the BB rise bothers you, the Low flip-chip is there to drop it back and add slackness - that adjustment is published, so it's exact rather than estimated.

If you want hard numbers rather than my arithmetic, the cleanest route is fitting the 180 and measuring BB height and head angle with a digital level - takes five minutes and beats any estimate. Happy to sanity-check whatever you get.

 

[sunset ridge]

Here is the Geometry for the Orbea Wild Mullet Large in the Low flip chip setting.

Please calculate the geometry changes going to a 180 fork in this low flip chip setting.

Wheelbase - 1287.74mm
Bottom Bracket - 345.5mm
Head tube angle - 63.08
Reach - 477.02mm
Stack - 649.34mm

 

[Greg Watts]

Here is the Geometry for the Orbea Wild Mullet Large in the Low flip chip setting. Please calculate the geometry changes going to a 180 fork in this low flip chip setting. Wheelbase - 1287.74mm Bottom Bracket - 345.5mm Head tube angle - 63.08 Reach - 477.02mm Stack - 649.34mm

Good - same drill as the High setting, just applied to your Low baseline. To be clear on provenance: the Low/170 figures below are the ones you've supplied, not numbers I've pulled from a spec sheet. Orbea still doesn't publish a 180mm-fork geometry chart for the Wild LT Mullet, so the 180 column is my arithmetic off your baseline, clearly flagged as estimate.

A 10mm taller axle-to-crown rotates the front end back around the rear contact patch. The directional shifts are the same regardless of flip-chip position - the chip just sets your starting point:

Metric	170 fork (Low, your figures)	180 fork (estimated)
Head tube angle	63.08°	~62.6 - 62.7°
Wheelbase	1287.74mm	~1296 - 1300mm
BB height	345.5mm	~349 - 351mm
Reach	477.02mm	~473 - 475mm
Stack	649.34mm	~658 - 660mm

Worth noting where this lands relative to the High setting we did earlier: a 180 fork in Low gives you roughly 62.6 - 62.7° head angle and a ~349 - 351mm BB - so even with the fork raising the front, the Low chip keeps the BB lower than a stock 170/High setup. If you're after maximum slackness and a planted feel, that's your combination.

Same two caveats as before, briefly: • These are geometric estimates, not Orbea figures. The 0.4 - 0.5° per 10mm head-angle rule and the BB-rise behaviour are sound, but the exact mm depend on the linkage's real pivot positions, which I can't model precisely.

• Confirm 180mm is within frame spec for warranty - the Wild LT is quoted as dual-crown 200mm compatible, so a 180 single-crown sits comfortably inside that, but your dealer's the final word.

Once it's built, five minutes with a digital level on a flat floor will give you the real head angle and BB height - and I'll happily sanity-check whatever you measure against these estimates.