im this close to putting down a deposit > < 🙂 any user feedback would be appreciated before i do as i was also looking at the 905?

cheers

I would also be interested in this thread, having recently looked at a 905…

Did you ride the 631 ?

only around the shop floor which isnt ideal really, :)cant find many reviews on the 19 steel tho but it looks lovely and ive allways wanted a steel frame but then again the 905 look cool to, decisions, decisions !

I have been looking at the whyte bikes to, like you could not find info on the steel.

I did test ride a 905, only in the shop, a very nice bike…I'm very close to getting one, but I like the feel/ride of a steel bike….but they both seem great bikes….

im kinda glad someone else is feeling my pain… ;)where are you from mounty? i went into cycle surgery in brum they will let me take it out for 30 mins but there is no decent singletrack in birmingham so its no use to me really, both bikes feel really nice. looked at the p7 also but a bit to heavy duty for me i have an orange 5 for that kind of thing

also contemplating both of these bikes, although not ridden either yet. one of my mates just bought a 19 steel and his first impressions are that it is a great bike. adjustable chainstay/geometry is a tidy feature. 905 looks fast as **** though!

I'm from Bewdley, Worcestershire. This shop is the closest to me http://www.worcestercyclecentre.com

I looked at the P7 as someone I ride with has one, but just a tad too heavy for me, nice looking bike though.

I'm also looking at the Genesis range.

not far from me mounty i live in kidderminster but work in brum so cycle surgery was the easiest to get to. peachos im with you on that one it looks very quick indeed

bump

Ok we had one at the Quest Adventures demo day at the start of March. Hummerlicious off of here had an hour on it and has also spent quite a bit of time on the Alu version.

See this article for a bit of feed back and you can contact him through the Sussex-MTB site as he's the guy who runs it. I'm sure he will give you so decent feedback as he's used to doing bike reviews.

Hope that helps you guys. 😉

I recently spent a day guiding for a Whyte/Marin demo on the Quantocks, there was a 19 steel there but I'm afraid no one rode it (I did pick it up to see how heavy it was though), I spent the day riding a (brand new) Whyte 19 Carbon and as I've already got a 19 Ti, the steel doesn't appeal to me.

cheers guys thanks for the link bigsy

We're a Whyte dealer and sold a steel one today. The guy had a go on our Whyte 19 Alu Trail for a day on proper offroad stuff then he had a go near the shop on the 905 (his favourite and our best seller). He then took the steel out and came back saying that it just feels right. Really happy chap and believe me, he has been contemplating the 905, steel and Whyte 19 Alu for weeks. From my knowledge, I think he made the right choice.

Decisions, decisions…..mmmmm…..too much choice ! 😉

I do like the look of that 631…

Jamesy…let me know how you get on and which one you go for… 🙂

will do mounty 🙂

I plan to pick mine up tomorrow…

let me know how I find it messiah , really stuck between the steel and the 905

First ride and it's all positive so far. No idea what a 905 is like although a friend may get one next week. In contrast to my last alloy hardtail this absolutely has the feel of steel which is what I was after… so far I'm smitten with it which is what I would hope to be with any new bike.

First evenings tinkering coming up to apply the copter tape, lower the bars a tad and work out why the BB30 is a little tight.

Note – seatpost is 27.2mm and it does not have the fancy seat quick release… the one on it is a bit poor but I think I have a Salsa which will fit.

The SRAM X5 shifters feel a little "low rent" but I've been an XT man since 93 so they would probably be on the move even if they were great.

Tyres are remarkably grippy. Not great in mud but they seem to keep you going which is fun to spin and bounce the back till they bite – very interesting.

so good so far messiah ?

A bit more than just good so far. Handling wise I think it's brilliant; a real playfulness to it which I am enjoying. It's much lighter than the hardcore hardtal I am used to riding and yet it tempts me into launching all the gaps and taking air whenever I can… but unlike must light weight XC bikes it has the geometry to handle the speed and takes the landings without getting all skittery. So far big plus points for the geometry which feels pap on.

How much of what I am enjoying is down to the angles or the "steel" would be an endless debate… but there a softness and spring to it which is much more like my old Explosif SS than it is my Trek 8900.

I'm off to the SSEC on Friday and it's tempting to rip the gears off this and give it a whirl rather than take my usual SS machine?

The bottom bracket is still a bit tight and the BB30 means I cannot fit any kind of bottom bracket mounted chain device… but I think a bike this light suits 3 rings as I'm spending a lot of time in the big ring… it's super fast on the dry trails thanks to the Maxxis Aspen tyres.

It fits my design breif… steel, adjustable dropouts

oops… It fits my design breif… steel, adjustable dropouts, longer than 100mm forks with bolt through, relaxed head angle and short stem 🙂

I have a steel 19 as Peachos says and i love it. cant quite get the forks set up yet but apart from that cant fault the ride and the feel of the frame…..love it

I can say that my Whyte 19 Steel has had a real baptism of fire over the last week. I was at the SSEC2010 at the weekend and on the social Friday ride my retro explosif rear rim exploded, which would have ruined my weekend had I not also packed my week old Whyte 19 Steel.

I bought the 19 steel because I like steel and the adjustable dropouts gave me options… which I was not expecting to need one week after picking it up.

Anyway… 30 mins on the Friday night saw the gears removed and the chain shortened before I had my first beer. The cables all came off in a one'er and will be easy to re-fit.

For the next two days me and the Whyte bonded spectacularly well. It's no weight weenie race bike but it did the job and allowed me to play on the jumps and enjoy the descents more than I would have on my retro rigid V-brake Explosif 🙄 . I'm tempted to leave the gears off it for a bit longer but where I live is a bit hillier than the FOD so we shall see. My chain snapped on lap two but some kind soul gave me theirs so I could complete three laps before succumbing to the lure of beer.

Geometry and ride feel are lovely. I'm still fiddling with the forks but so far I am very happy with my purchase except for the bottom bracket which feels a little tight and is not loosening off. I'll drop it in at the shop in the next few days and see what they say…

SS Whyte 19, now you're talking, here's mine.

Doesn't Petesgaff on here have a Whyte 19?

I have a 2010 Alu 19 trail which is basically the same as the 905. Ive had it a few weeks now and have to say its the buisness. No regrets on dumping the full suss for it at all.

Messiah – looks nice as a SS!! where did you manage to get the SS drop out from as LBS says they cant get them even though I bought the bike from there??

That pic is not mine – and that is a Ti 19 I wish I had the pennies for that.

My 19 Steel came with the SS dropout in a baggy but I didn't have it with me so I used the normal dropout. I also didn't have full tooling so i left the three rings on 😳

Nice build there supercyril, that looks fast and fun 8)

Mmm mine didnt come with it!!! guess a visit to the shop is in order for some moaning!!

Indeed the Ti one is too many pennies!!

I cancelled my deposit on the 905 think I'm gonna save a little more for the steel. nice 1 messiah for coming back with a review , will be interested how u get on with the bottom bracket too

Spoke to Whyte on the phone and the bottom bracket is a known issue with an early batch of the steel 19's. Should be a quick fix and I have the go ahead to do it myself rather than losing the bike to the shop for a few days (as an ex-shop monkey I know what I am doing… as long as I keep clear of the beer before doing this… but you get the point).

I'll possibly remember to take some pictures as well 🙄

PS – I've spoken to ATB/Whyte a few times about the bike and they have been great.

Never took a test ride before I bought mine and worried I'd made a mistake on the 1st couple of rides.

I'd only ridden 100mm forks before this so felt very bouncy and it took a few rides for me to get the seat post height perfect.

Still get the odd times it feels like the back tyre has a puncture as the wheel seems to skit around so easily through rocky bits.

It just loves going fast on bumpy sections of singletrack and handles better the faster you go.

Going to be taking advantage of the adjustable drop out next winter for SS but so far really pleased with it and impressed how it rides from messing about in the local woods to all day rides.

Puts a grin to my face every ride. Go on, you won’t be disappointed!

Here are a couple of pics in shinny new mode on the ride home from the shop.

I want one !

lavely ratnip , I'm liking it a lot., cheers for info messiah will check this out at lbs when I get mine 🙂

30mins to make it SS for the SSEC2010 after my other bikes wheel died.

Sizing – it's a medium and I am half an inch shy of six foot.

The little things count for a lot – the grips and saddle are fantastic as are the 75mm stem and wide bars… perfect for a play bike like this (IMHO)

One thing I have changed – the steel non carrier type sprockets were cutting into the Hope body after one ride so I switched to an XT which I had around…
I will change the seat quick release – it's too ugly to belong on here… and I will probably change the gears to XT so they match my other bike for easy swappage.

I have the alloy 19. Its the best bike I've ever had. As crazy as it sounds, I've found the alloy one rides just like other ferrous bikes I've owned.

Bottom bracket stiffness problem solved with a little emery cloth and elbow grease. Whyte are aware of it and have fixed all the ones heading out now so I doubt this will effect many other bikes out there.

Another cracking ride with it today after putting the gears back on, which was a piece of piss thanks to the solid cable runs with 'D' clips and lock-on grips.

Today I found that the Reba's bottom out with an unhealthy clunk when slammed from a great height… but that's hardly the bikes fault 🙄

Hi,
Bought a steel a few weeks ago thought I'd add my bit as i know how hard it is to find reviews on this bike!
Ive ridden the 905 (but not the alu 19.) for me it was a toss up between the 905 and the steel 19, as they are about the same price.

In my experience the 905 is quicker to accelerate and lighter too, but shook me to bits on the rough stuff, the steel feels slightly more compliant.
On the steel 19 you also get the option to change geometry which ive now set up same as the 905 by shortening the stays.

Climb like a dream, and i can get back over the saddle for really steep stuff, drop offs are a breeze on both bikes.

I'm 5"10 (178cm) 12 stone 1 lb (77kg), and ride a Medium.
I set the forks to 120 psi top and bottom with couple turns of rebound on so not damped down too much, makes it nice and lively and dosent bottom out (unless you try a low speed 3 foot wall drop in the wrong gear and nearly go over the handlebars…. 😯 )

Its a great bike, I still cant keep up with the stumpys downhill though despite the claims!

ta

Hi,
not ridden one but saw a broken one yesterday – failed near a chainstay weld according to the owner who was carrying it back to his car in the Peak District.
Good luck with the warranty.