Fit & Geometry
Rossignol offers the Mandate in five sizes, XS through XL, which they say cover riders from 4’1’’ to 6’7’’ (150 to 200 cm). The smallest two sizes get 27.5’’ wheels, while the Medium and up are 29ers. We’ve seen a few other brands taking a similar approach with certain models — perhaps most notably Rocky Mountain — and the idea is to give shorter riders a bike that’s a little easier to muscle around, affords more tire-to-butt clearance, and has a more manageable bar height due to the smaller wheels (and shorter fork needed to clear the front one).
All sizes of the Mandate get a 66° headtube angle and 77.5° effective seat tube angle; reach ranges from 430 mm on the XS to 500 on the XL. The XS and Small frames have 425 mm chainstays, whereas the 29er sizes bump up to 430 mm. Those numbers aren’t wildly aggressive — there are certainly longer, slacker ~140 mm travel bikes out there — but they’re plenty modern (note the longish reach and steep seat tube) and seem like they should make for a fairly nimble, quick-handling bike.