I know I know another what bike thread! Apologies.

Time has come to start looking for a new steed.

I’m torn at the moment, between two slightly different bikes.

Whyte 146 works rrp £4.5kish can pick them up for around £3.3k

and

Orange Alpine. £3kish build (don’t want to go Five as I want 26″)

Even though they are aimed at slightly different users I think they are very similar bikes (if you squint!)

I tend to ride mostly trail/single track/this new Enduro type of riding.

Bike will be used on some DH stuff, but only stuff you’d take in as part of a ride, any uplifts etc would be done on the “big” bike.

My main concern is the alpine will be too much like a “big” bike and I may as well get rid of the big bike. But would it take uplift abuse and a DH race series incorporating some BDS? probably not.

Where as with the whyte, it would be black and whyte as to which bike to race/uplift on.

Whyte seem to have sorted the issues with their initial frame design of some of the earlier 2012 models and I can’t find anything online re: problems with the new frames.

I’ll welcome any advice/mocking.

Cheers

Your thinking seems pretty sensible… I’d say, testride the Whyte if you can, it’s a brilliant bike but to me felt… frontendy? Bit odd. Nothing troublesome, just that it might divide opinion a bit.

They are pretty different in use tbh, the whyte’s a big sharp sword, the alpine’s a big blunt axe 😆 But yeah, can both do the same job in teh middle.

I use my alpine as an everyday bike. It’s built with strong but light parts at 29lb,ride xc and trails and it also does the smaller, less rough tracks on the dh circuit. The only things that change are tyres and bars

Thanks for the replies guys, anyone else?

At 29lb the Alpine might edge it a bit now, thought they’d build up 30lb plus.

But 26lb for the whyte hhmmmm, any 146 owners?

Old new stock Five? If they’re avalible or get 2nd hand and get it painted by Orange, will be like and ride like new and you’ll get one well kitted out for £2k!

I use my alpine as an everyday bike. It’s built with strong but light parts at 29lb,

At 29lb the Alpine might edge it a bit now, thought they’d build up 30lb plus.

I’d be interested in the cost/spec of a 29lb alpine, Orange seem very reluctant to publish weights, I think I saw that the Alpine was 3.2kg/7lb frame which means you need to take a good run to get it under 30lb….

My thoughts on do it all bikes from XC to DH is generally compromise, it’s too heavy/lumpy for one and too light/flimsy for the other. I did similar with Hecklers and ended up swapping wheels, 2x cranks to 1x, and sometimes forks and still ending up with a trail bike on a DH track.

Yeah I’m of a similar thinking about how much cost/spec would be on a 29lb Alpine. For the money on the Whyte the spec is amazing, I think for the money you might only be looking at SLX groupset maybe for the Orange?!

Not had an Alpine but got my old 5 down to about 28.5 lb without much effort. How much heavier then a 5 is the Alpine?

2014 alpine frame is only 80g heavier than the five

my Five weighs at least 34lb, but then I haven’t even tried to build it up light and has a CCDB coil

I spent over 4k getting my alpine under 30lb bought a frame set so I could build to my own spec. Really happy with how the alpine rides and they climb a lot better than you are led to believe 😀

They are fairly easy to build up light. Mine goes down to 27lb in lightweight form.

I’ve got a 2011 146S…very happy with it.

This ‘new’ Enduro thing you mention – it’s just proper riding of your bike – is it not? Encompassing the ups/across/alongs and the downs…why is it new other than some Marketing team have decided to make a big thing of what most bikers do already?

I used to own an Orange P7 – utterly excellent bike, but the full sus I just don’t rate…not ridden one properly but I think it is because they are so common (and dare I say overpriced)…the Whyte I got on a very good deal and I’ve been very happy with it, so it is likely to sound like a very biased opinion – I had a Mount Vision before and found the extra 20+mm travel has made a bit of a difference, I wasn’t expecting it to but it has, no doubt the geometry was different as well…but I really like it.

A biking mate has just picked up a 2013 146s for not a lot over a grand and he thinks it’s amazing. Everyone else has noticed how much faster he is on it too.

full sus I just don’t rate…not ridden one properly

Don’t worry Dick, you’re just like many on here. 🙄

Like how people rate the orange without riding them 😕
All I would like to say is the alpine is a very capable bike going up or down its very easy to connect with lively and to me it feels like it has a soul, some bikes just feel so dead to ride.
been in the lucky position to ride quite a few high end 160 am bikes dripping with top end kit over the years from carbon to ali.
when we swap bikes out on the trail I can guarantee the my alpine is the first people want to ride on a new section of trail 🙂

Can’t comment on the Orange, but have to say that I love my 146. Feels a bit ‘chopperish’ at first, but you soon get used to the slack front end. It’s at its best when you point it downhill, but it’s still pretty good at going up as well. Most reviewers have commented in it being ‘flexible’ but I don’t know what they’re talking about – they might be commenting on something that’s beyond the ‘average’ rider or they might just be copying each other – who knows(/cares)..? Some frame cracks have been reported, but mine has been OK. Stick a grippy front tyre on it – I use Schwalbe Hans Dampf Trailstar – and away you go. Great bike!