Merry Christmas everyone.
I’m new to this excellent forum and am chasing opinions on the 2 bikes in the title.

I will be upgrading from my old OnOne 45650b to a full susser soon, and these bikes have great spec for my budget. Any owners have a plus and miss point to offer please? I’ve read loads of reviews but not many from actual owners. Cheers.

I have a t130sx, it’s brilliant. That’s my review, in full.

My wife bought me a T130S.
I love her even more now.

Thanks for the replies so far.

Not that I have either bike or ridden the Jeffsy or Alu version of the T130, but on behalf of someone who has a Jeffsy just to complete the thread, who will say the following:

“Its excellent, love mine”

Hope that helps your decision.

Both are great bikes. They’re both also very different.

I’d start with working out what you want from a bike,and if you want a 29er or 27.5. you will be able to get a test ride on a T130 for sure, but not a Jeffsy. Probably worth seeing if you can get a Santa Cruz Hightower demo, or Trek Fuel 29er – just to get a feel for the bigger wheels vs smaller wheels.

I’d also consider whether you’re happy to buy direct from Europe, where if things go wrong though could not have your bike for a good while, with no local bike shop backup (some will lend you a spare shock, fork or something if that’s what’s wrong).

Personally, I’d not have a direct sale bike as my primary bike. I’d like to know if it goes wrong, I’ve got something else to ride.

All that said, I’ve got mates with both bikes. Both are excellent. There’s not really anything bad to say about either. One thing to note, the Whyte is very long.

Whyte T130s great bike one set of bearings so far in 26 months of use in the Lakes mostly stock bike except for changing drivetrain from 2×10 to 1×11 after the chainset was goosed after far to many rock strikes.
Even makes me look good
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Kb2F5U]Untitled[/url] by Richard Munro, on Flickr
Even been bike packing 🙂
[url=https://flic.kr/p/s2bHLG]11196272_10153302540196474_637195159120082901_n[/url] by Richard Munro, on Flickr
But more at home on steep hills
[url=https://flic.kr/p/qht5by]10153692_10152994270731474_6633101099459015474_n[/url] by Richard Munro, on Flickr

Love my T130C RS it’s a stunningly good bike, I just the fitness to do it real justice! The Jeffsy looks good spec wise on paper but it’s pretty short and I wouldn’t trust buying direct personally.

Been looking at both of these but so far the 2017 Anthem is front runner for me..

Again, thanks for the replies. I’m leaning more towards the 130 based on the ease of LBS support. Currently ride 650b and have only trialed the wifes 29er Parkwood around local stuff. Can’t compare HT to full susser though!

I have both a t130 and a parkwood, they’re similar in some ways but of course essentially very different too.
If you want to test one and in the south you can hire at swinley forest.

What is stock like on Whyte? I know they tend to sell out pretty fast, may impact your decision a little.

If you want to test one and in the south you can hire at swinley forest.

Beats me that anyone would spend that amount of money without….

On the -ve I hired one at Swinley … 2 days later my wallet took a beating…equally I hired bikes before I thought I would like and not..

For me it’s the perfect bike for the Swinley reds (my most frequent riding) and all but the to be completed jump park… but that’s me … I’d urge anyone to do a decent test ride for any bike BEFORE lashing out on the cash… as what geometry and size and style suits me won’t suit many…

All that said, I’ve got mates with both bikes. Both are excellent. There’s not really anything bad to say about either. One thing to note, the Whyte is very long.

Fits in the back seat of a BMW 3 series 😀 😛

Compared to my XC bike its back heavy… and prefers landing on both wheels with minimal effort (in other words its very forgiving and I found I don’t need any effort to manual or make sure it lands well) – unlike my Giant XtC that prefers to nose dive unless you fight back (in other words you gotta really control the air time or unless you are sat on the back wheel the front will dive).

As a result on a decent technical trial its way way more fun than my hardtail …

I switched from a Commencal Meta AM 29er to a Whyte T130S in Feb this year.

Haven’t ridden the Meta since buying the Whyte, it’s an exceptional bike IMO, way more fun to ride than the Meta and despite being long it’s easier to get up the hills.

With the benefits on Cyclescheme I normally get a new bike every year but I honestly cannot think of anything I want to ride more than the T130S. Maybe when Whyte bring a leccy bike I might get tempted again.

@weeksy Top advice there, a trip to Swinley is now on the cards. Some great opinions on here,cheers. I’ll keep you updated.

Another thumbs up for the T130 S here. It’s way better than the Pace 405 it replaced and seems far better balanced (the Pace seemed to nose dive).

The reach on the 2017 model is long and I’m 5 ft 11 so went medium, most people go large at this height according to Google but I tried both and felt happier on the medium – definitely try before you buy.

The Bird Aeris bikes are often mentioned at this price point – I’ve got no experience of them but have you considered them at all? You can get a hire bike at the Forest of Dean.

I preffferred the bird to the whyte. Can get a demo from bird hq- close to swinley.

Another thumbs up for the T130 S here. It’s way better than the Pace 405 it replaced and seems far better balanced (the Pace seemed to nose dive).

The reach on the 2017 model is long and I’m 5 ft 11 so went medium, most people go large at this height according to Google but I tried both and felt happier on the medium – definitely try before you buy.

The T-130 does seem to handle itself …. my other bike is a Giant XtC and the T-130 just seems to do everything by itself … whereas the XtC you need to fight it nose-diving on every jump and dropoff.

I’m 5’10 (and a half) but short legs and I was between the Small and Med… with the factory 175mm cranks the Med is a tiny bit high with the seatpost fully in but max height… with 170mm cranks its much much better….so I’m really happy I got the Med as the top length is perfect for me but the legs were too long on 175’s

@weeksy Top advice there, a trip to Swinley is now on the cards. Some great opinions on here,cheers. I’ll keep you updated.

It’s £30 for 3 hours…. IMHO a really good investment…
In my case it cost me 2 days later as the 3 hours was enough for me to thin “MUST HAVE – SELL FIRSTBORN on EBAY”

I’ve got a T130RS and whilst it’s a good bike there are a couple of negative comments.
Had issues with XT brakes, which I’ve now swapped for Guides. I realise that’s not Whytes fault but it is something to look out for.
The main issue though is the low BB and the shock blowing through its travel in compressions. I’m forever striking a pedal and I’ve struggled to get a happy medium between the preload/sag and preventing the travel sinking in a corner for example. I’ve added some compression bands which have helped to a degree.
Also the rear suspension can ‘hang up’ unpredictably on large square edge hits. It’s nearly had me out the front door a few times.
Not ridden a Jeffsy but I do have a Capra, I know there are some horror stories about direct sales but for what it’s worth my experience with YT has been a good one. I’ve heard of very long warranty delays with normal brands though bike shops before so I don’t think it should be that much of a consideration.

I’ve got a 2015 T-130 Works which has be excellent, the only major issue I had was the shock bushing failing at BPW (luckity on the flat run in to the cafe) which ended in a serious shoulder injury. The rest of the bike has been great, it rides incredibly well and copes with XC night rides, BPW, mid-Wales routes, Brecon Beacon routes and it flies around Swinley.

I’ve had to have bot the reverb and the shock replaced under warranty but that was simple with my LBS swapping out the parts to allow me to ride whilst waiting for the parts to be warrantied.

I’d buy another which is the first bike I’ve ever said that about!

Moved up from an old 26″ Stumpjumper to a 27.5 T-130S, what a difference, just seems keep a good rhythm- obviously the dimensions, short stem and dropper are all perfect. Never tried one (further than around a car park) but for the technical single track I do I can’t imagine a 29er would be suited, honestly would come down to that for me.

Sorry for the delay in posting an update here. Thanks for the replies from everyone. I intended to trial the whyte as suggested, on the trail centre at Swinley.

However, I got the chance to demo a stumpy fsr elite 29er and what a difference I felt in the ride from the 27.5 stumpy I’d previously tried out.

I’ll be purchasing the 29er this weekend!! It suited me more, no pedal strikes (poor technique), and gave me confidence over/down everything at cannock. Thanks again for all the thoughts/advice etc..

Glad you found something you’re happy with tooby. For what it’s worth and other prospective T-130 buyers, I got the T-130 C RS and having had it a couple of weeks I’m still loving many aspects of it but I have also noticed a couple of things that aren’t so great. The main one is the geometry. While it definitely puts you in a more aggressive position I find It puts a lot of pressure on my wrists due to the low front end – might try to fix with a riser bar or better grips as Lawman has done (did the grip change help Lawman?). I also find my heels catch on the chainstay but then I imagine you’ll get that with any modern boosted bike. The BB is definitely on the low side and weight may be an issue for some too.

I also find my heels catch on the chainstay

Yup, worn through the paint on mine already.

*

Sadly I’ve only had one short ride on the new grips and no time at all on my new Chromag bars to report back 🙁 The bars are 780mm so a fair bit wider and they also have a fair amount of flex built in, certainly enough to see if you really yank on the bars with the bike stood still so should offer a slight decrease in hand/wrist fatigue when teamed with the ODI grips. Will try and remember to report back after my first ride in weeks tomorrow! In the meantime the below review is worth a read, I reckon they’re gonna great bars!

Review: Chromag’s Cutlass carbon handlebar offers an agreeable bend and a soft ride

Got mine from Jenson USA just after Christmas as they had with 50% off, but CRC should have them by the end of next month.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/chromag-fubars-cutlass-carbon-riser-bar/rp-prod146443