Hi all…..

Went to look at the whyte T-130 S today after months of deciding on a new bike and was really impressed with it. But for an extra £450 I can get the RS model …. In your opinion it it worth it ?

whyte T-130 S yari

whyte T-130 RS

The S model is more than enough for me and I would be more than happy with it (not found any reviews on the Yari fork yet) but I don’t want to get 6 months down the line and wished I’d got pike forks , XT brakes and better wheels etc for an extra bit of money each month.

Many thanks

Stu.

Personally I’d go for the RS for the extra £450.
– Drivetrain: I preffer the feel of the XT over GX. Better shifting and cheaper to replace. More bling crankset.
– Wheelset: the Roams are very nice with great pickup and light. Feel stiffer to me than i23
– Forks: Pikes are lighter and proven
– Brakes: XT have a nicer leaver feel and easier to feather

The whole build will also be a bit lighter and it’s all a little bit nicer.

The Yari uses pretty proven tech for Rock Shox and £450 is a big chunk of cash. I’d get the cheaper one and see which bits you’d like to replace a few months down the line.

you could get some really nice wheels and brakes for £450.

Only issue with the Roams is the XD driver I’ve not really maintained mine (ROAM 40s) as I’m used to Hope hubs and the external bearing actually fell apart! It seemed really smooth for about 9 months and then over the course of 4 rides (2 weeks) it just died. Was a bugger to get a replacement for as well. I really like the wheels though and would have another set but look after the XD driver better and keep a spare. The Pike’s are a no-brainer they just palin work well, i’m sure the newer Foxes are as good/ maybe better but for you average good trail rider the Pikes are spot on, IMHO HTH

I’d pay the extra for the RS

Better fork
Better brakes
Better drive train

After seeing the RS I am sorely tempted to trade in my T-130 S, I mean look at it, bloody beautiful in those colours…

Even better in the flesh

Spend the extra dosh on the RS if you can afford it rather than regret at a later date. At least you know it`s all good proven kit and you get peace of mind as well.

Mmmm, £1.23 a day extra for a year………………. go for it and have one less pint a month.

Simple.

Got a mate who has the carbon works one on order at 4.5k but spec wise is top notch, it was a toss up between this and a 5010 but it would have cost him at least 6k to get same spec

Thanks for all the input guys much appreciated , some good points to think about on both bikes. I haven’t purchased a new bike for a long long time and they have moved on so much so just don’t want to regret not spending the extra if its worth it.

PrinceJohn ~ totally agree … The pictures on the net don’t do either of them justice.

Thanks again.

Shimano 11sp cassettes around half the cost of Sram.

The difference will pay for itself in around 7 drivetrain replacements 😆

I’ve just ordered the T130s with the yari fork, really couldn’t make my mind up but ended up sticking with the “s” based on the colour and I’ll put the money towards a set of Mavics when they get “boosted”.
I think Whyte have missed a trick, surely the RS finished in the enduro team colours would be a big seller.

Pikes vs. Yaris – suprisingly hard to tell them apart. The weight difference balances against the stiffness I think so thats not really a factor either.
XT Vs GX – Pros a cons to both. Personally I would have GX, but I understand why some would go XT too.

For me its about the brakes and wheels. I would probably get the S and upgrade the wheels, and then the brakes with the money I get back from selling the wheels.

What is not a good idea is to buy then upgrade, your paying for the same thing twice. I’d go the extra for the RS

What is not a good idea is to buy then upgrade

That all depends on whether the upgrade has the thing you want. Even worse to pay more for a a more expensive product you also don’t want.

I have an S, its bloody brilliant and i’ll upgrade bits as it wears out 😉

I preferred the in your face orange colour, and my early 2016 bike came with Revelations not the Yari. The only think i miss most is the RS comes with two proper tyres not a Beeline so i had to budget to replace the rear tyre and also the S comes with a 30tooth chainring (RS is 32) so i am going to change that too as 30 is just too small for me.

Otherwise, super pleased with it.

Very good point on the gearing, I’m not sure who need 30. My LBS agreed to swap that out as part of the sale.

What is not a good idea is to buy then upgrade

That all depends on whether the upgrade has the thing you want. Even worse to pay more for a a more expensive product you also don’t want.

agreed, pretty obvious that no point in upgrading if you don’t want it. Was just saying Ive seen posts ‘Ill buy the X version then upgrade couple months later’. That means the item is about twice as expensive. Just false economy. One of the reasons buying a frame and build can be a good idea so you get everything you like even down to grips saddles etc E.g I always go for XT brakes – XTR just seems the same but way more expensive.

Don’t discount the 30 ring – it might seemed under toothed but it gives you a better chain line and if your riding includes serious ups you will welcome it after 50 – 100km.

Try it, wear it out then decide. If you run a 32 and end up wearing out the 42t ring on the cassette then Id suggest moving down to 30. You find the wear is more central on the cassette. I get 4 plus chains on a cassette and ring easy.

I have 32 on my Zesty as I use it mainly on trail centres 30 on Bronson for those climbs ……

benpinnick – any particular reason why you would choose GX over XT ?

Not sure the drivetrain is necessarily better – the XT is heavier, and has a narrower range. And the cheaper one is ORANGE.

But the Pike fork and the XT brakes are very much better. Wheels – I dunno, the WTB rims are decent, where as the SRAM wheels get mixed reviews (and as far as I know, you can’t get replacement rims for them)

I’d be tempted by the cheaper one with a few choice upgrades.

Not sure the drivetrain is necessarily better – the XT is heavier, and has a narrower range.

This. GX has a wider range than XT, weighs less and a better chain-line with those cranks too, so stuff lasts longer. XT is nice, but GX is a more versatile range of gears. I can run either (I have a warehouse full of both) – all my bikes run GX.

But the Pike fork … are very much better

I’d disagree with this though. Having spent some reasonable time on Yaris I must admit I find it difficult to tell them apart in normal riding conditions.

and as far as I know, you can’t get replacement rims for them)

Not so, had a warranty repair on mine recently no issues. Two weeks later had rebuilt wheel. Also with the carbon rims SRAM do a crash replacement scheme. Should you, just riding along and …..

[But the Pike fork … are very much better

I’d disagree with this though. Having spent some reasonable time on Yaris I must admit I find it difficult to tell them apart in normal riding conditions.]

Ben how do you find the Yari fork compared to the X-Fusion sweep that you offer on the aeris ? (Is it possibly a future option maybe ?)The aeris was top of my list along with the whyte T-130 but strugling to get down to hampshire to have a look and can’t seem to find much info on the roughcut sweeps.

The Yari is probably a better fork, but its marginal – your getting different things on the two. The Yari is definitely stiffer, but heavier. The Sweep is very plush off the top like the latest RS offerings, much improved from the older versions, which weren’t bad in their own right, but the new HLR is a league ahead. I like the adjustment range, and the high speed adjust is very robust – offering great tunability. I guess it comes down to what you want from a fork. On the FS, its less important than on a HT – on the hardtails the Sweep HLR is a great fork as you can dial in a load of HS compression that prevents unwieldy front end behaviour, whereas the Yari benefits from the airspring tuning that RS offers – two sides of the same coin.

The Yaris will be an option soon, and around £75 more than a sweep – which I think is a fair price for what you’re getting given all the factors such as warranty support, ease of service etc. as well as the main consideration of whether its a good fork!

I will say the one annoyance of the Yaris is that they run torque cap axle interfaces, making reseating the wheel a bit of a pain. Thats not enough to stop me speccing them though, but torque caps are not very common right now so limited value in current wheel options.

This thread has thrown a spanner in my new bike ideas. I was deliberating between a Giant Reign and an On One Codeine….. but the Whyte T-130S Yari is proving quite tempting.

sofabear – my budget was originally 2k but I was struggling to find anything I liked for that in a bike shop (plenty of options on the net from canyon , rose , vitus & radon) but I’d rather be able to go to the shop and throw a leg over and the back up if theres any problems.

I think the t-130 s yari is worth spending the extra £300 on my original budget though , and the RS still looks great value but that pushes way over the original amount I wanted to spend.

I’ve just been on the bird website and looked at the Aeris (Ive been keeping an eye on these for a while but there a bit of a distance away)

managed to spec the Aeris GX with the yari fork & similar shock , but with better wheels & better brakes for £2310 – so only a tenner in it ! so a trip to Hampshire may be on the cards, plus I keep reading countless reviews of how well the aftercare is etc.