Without going in to all the back story I am thinking of consolidating my fleet and getting a full bounce bike in the new year. I really like the look and spec of these Whyte bikes. I am wondering if anyone has been able to make a comparison between these two different models. I am about 6′, 100kg, and ride mostly local trails with occasional trail centre visits. I am not that reckless when I ride (I’m self-employed, so if I prang myself I can’t earn, which is a bad thing). Do I need 150mm of travel? Do I want 150mm of travel? Really what I want is something fun that can be chucked about for an hour or two when I can ride during the week BUT will let me go further and a tad bit harder for bigger days out as and when. Will the T130s be enough, or should future-proof myself with the extra travel of the 150s?
I’m open to other suggestions but the £2850 tag on the S150s is realistically as I high as I dare go.
Any insights appreciated.

Where are you based? Can you get a demo at all?

I run a Whyte dealer, the T-130 is definitely the go to bike for so many people. Slightly safer option than the S-150 too. Basically, buy a T-130 and I don’t think you’d ever be unhappy with it.

But if you like going bigger/harder/faster for longer then the S-150 is an absolute weapon!

If you’re anywhere near Droitwich in Worcestershire, fire me a PM, if I can help at all I’d be glad to.

More fun for “trail biking”: the bike with the lower travel.
Say around 130 or 140 mm.

S-150 is an absolute weapon!

If you don’t need this weapon – don’t buy it!

I have a T-130RS and have upped the fork travel to 150mm.

I use it at BPW (reds, blacks) and places like Gawton and Tavi Woods down here in Devon, as well as all day Dartmoor rides.

Still fun on ‘easy’ trail centre blues and reds.

Same thoughts here but I’m erring on the habit.
If you are anywhere near Halifax, cyclegear had the s150s for £2550 and the t130s for £2450 this last weekend.
Black Friday tickets that they hadn’t removed from the bikes!
I was tempted by the s150, in large, until the assistant said it was enduro, which I ain’t.

Where do u ride, I have mates with the carbon T130’s and they love it, ride Pennines and peaks .
So many people think bigger is better, but nless you are going big then they are a ballache to pedal uphill and can make downhills boring ..

I went from a Santa Cruz Nomad with 6″ of travel front and back to a T130RS..cant say that I’ve missed the extra travel …and I ride everything but full on Downhill..where my own lack of skill would let me down ..

When I was buying my bike I decided that it was best to buy a bike that would be suitable for the majority of riding I do, so I went for a short travel bike. If I ever need a bigger bike for the odd occasion, I can always rent one. But to be honest the modern short travel bikes are pretty capable!

S-150

T130 I reckon best for most if not all your riding imo. S150 is overkill.

T-130s here.
Perfect for all day in Wales, The Lakes etc..
It’s more bike than I’ll ever need.

Really what I want is something fun that can be chucked about for an hour or two when I can ride during the week BUT will let me go further and a tad bit harder for bigger days out as and when

I’ve just ordered their 909 hardtail for precisely what you want to do with yours. I’ve a feeling I won’t be disappointed 🙂

I got myself an s-150 crs in November. Unfortunately have only managed a half dozen rides on it so far, so still early days. I agree it is a lot of bike but it feels more taught and sprightly than I was expecting that I was pleasantly surprised. It climbs well, and is of course great on the downs. I am coming from an e120 as my main trail bike, and I think it climbs as well as that, and is obviously better on steep downs. E120 is a bit of an antique, but it is still a good trail bike. I was worried I would feel overbiked all the time, but I don’t really feel that. I had a 2010 Spicy for more gravity focussed riding before, and the s-150 is MUCH better on climbs and XC type trails that that.

So, I’d say don’t write off the s-150. T-130 may be a better bet, but for me at 6’3” I really wanted the 29” wheels and don’t regret the bigger s-150 so far, and I’ll be using it at strathpuffer this year.

Presumably Whyte will bring out a replacement for the T129 at some point? A new M109 would also be nice!!

Seems a shame they don’t do a 130mm 29er, but they reckoned they could do 150mm travel with very little compromise on pedaling IIRC?

You mention big days out, which is a tick in the 29in box, but then if you’re looking at the alu versions of each bikes, that bit of extra weight on the 29er might be a negative.

I’ve ridden neither BTW, but I’d try to demo both if I were in your shoes.

Thanks for all your input peeps. I live about 5 minutes away from FlyUp A417 so I think I’ll do some test rides there. I’m pretty sure that the Leisure Lakes there has demo 130s, not sure about 150s though. It could be that the T130 is plenty enough bike.

Bought the T130rs in Aug.
About 12 rides in – absolutely love it.
Cannock a few times not much of a test bed but few Lakes rides and plenty of local – enough rides to know it feels likes a bigger bike than 130mm would suggest. Went from 140 down to 130 and feels like a more capable bike than the Cannondale Trigger it replaced. No regrets. Plenty of bike.

Got a S150s a few months back. Absolutely love it! Great fun and so capable on the rocky trails round here (Brecon Beacons / Black Mountains), I find it a lot better to pedal than my last bike (Orange 5 26″ wheels) and I’m getting used to throwing it around – it’s a long bike which I think gives it it’s stability at speed.

Demo’d the mid range S-150 at Glentress recently. Great bike, but from your description, I reckon you’d be better trying the T-130.

The S-150 only really woke up on the steeper off-piste stuff, where it felt very nice indeed. Very planted on the roots and rocks and surprisingly agile in the squeaky-tight bits.

On flatter flowy stuff it just kind of irons everything out. There are better bikes for that sort of riding.

Besides, if you do find yourself somewhere hairier than normal, the T-130 has a reputation for punching above its weight.

Doesn’t a 29er generally have the effect of having another 20-30mm of travel?

29ers tend to be shorter travel than an equivalent 27.5 bike, so in effect the s-150 is a 170mm bike Vs the t-130 at 130mm. That and the slacker HA on the s-150 along with the 29er wheels and it’s not surprising it feels a bit dead on tame trails.

A short travel 29er or a 140-150mm max 27.5 with a slightly less slack HA would be better for general trail riding I think.