So, I am seriously considering treating myself to a ti hardtail, and I’ve been lured by the curves of the Whyte 19 Ti…

…but then I thought, can the frame really be at least twice the bike of the On-One Ti 456, as it’s at least twice the price (at circa £1800 vs £800!!)

I guess the same argument could be extended to… is an On-One Ti 456 really worth 1.5x a Chinese import Ti whatever…

Thoughts/comments/opinion welcomed!

Cheers,
Nick

From your last question,

YOU GOTIT!

Will report back later re: whyte 19 ti. 😉

Of course it isn’t, absolutely absurd to suggest it. People will still buy the whyte though in the same way people buy expensive watches.

the on one you would expect to be more expensive over the Chinese import as it comes with the warranty and the CEN testing.

But the whyte you are paying abit more for the name.

Why are Whyte getting neg comments from loddrik and co ffs.

It’s Litespeed who actually make them,

Whyte probably didn’t have a choice in what to ask for them unless they made van nich or shit make ’em.

They simply knew that Litespeed could produce the new design and weld it properly for the masses.

Simples!

After having a Ti frame crack on me in “normal” XC jay circumstances I’ve gone reet off it.

loddrik – Member

Of course it isn’t, absolutely absurd to suggest it. People will still buy the whyte though in the same way people buy expensive watches.

That’s the thing though – in terms of the material costs, no – it’s the same amount of Ti, and it’s worked in similar ways (although tighter welds may mean higher labour costs etc).

Thing is, is a BMW 3 series worth twice as much as a Pug 205 GTi? Materially no; in terms of build quality/ design expertise, perhaps.
But when you’re chucking it down a B road? well then it’s a much closer gap…

I think that when you look closely at a litespeed frame and a van nick frame you can see that there is a hell of a lot more cold working on the litespeed. My ocoee had the most amazing squared chain and seat stays for instance, which takes a lot of time and precision and is therefore expensive. I’m sure the van nick frames ride nicely, but I’m not sure it’s comparing like with like.

Having said all that, I reckon the one-one would be very hard to resist at £600. The componentry you could buy with the difference would build one hell of a bike.

I had two Marin Ti XC frames go in less than 4 years only used for XC racing.Yet my Litespeed lookout mountain is nearly into its 7 year and has been ridden alot harder and longer than ever the Marins were.The problem with paying out alot for a Ti frame and then changing your mind and selling it after a year or two you loose alot of money.

I was quite happy to pay a bit extra for the Whyte to get something a bit less common, I paid a lot less than £1800 though as mine was one of the first batch into the country.

You might struggle getting a Whyte Ti at the mo.

When I looked only 2 of the 2010 frames in stock and 2011 not due until January or so.

Don’t start looking at things sensible terms or we’ll all be ****. Buy the one that gives you a semi.

How do you rate “better”?

Will it make you faster? Will it let you have more fun? Will you feel the difference?

NO

Not really comparing apples imho.

456 quite industrial looking and designed for up to 6″ fork and touch of the gnar.

The Whyte has adjustable dropouts for ss and is designed for 120mm forks in a more xc type stylie (with lovely swoopy seatstays and other boutique detailing).

Depends what you want from a bike and the money available to feed your Passion (and ego).