First Look: Whyte 2017 Range – Hardtails

Whyte’s new 2017 range is now making its way to bike shops near you. Hannah went along to a local Dealer Day (where your local bike shop goes to view the range and decide what to order in for you to go and buy) to take a peek at what’s new. Here we round up the hardtails for you.

Generally,  the ranges are now more trail focused, with longer and slacker geometry. Most models now come with wider rims and bigger tyres, as well as dropper post compatibility. Whyte’s new BB-X (Bottom Bracket Exit) and DO-X (Drop Out Exit) offer internal cable routing across the ranges. Being a British brand, Whyte promises that these have been designed with UK weather and mud and water ingress in mind. Models also feature the ‘Getta Grip’ and ‘Intergrip’ seat post clamps, which Whyte says help keep water out of the frame.

The dealers seemed to like what they saw – orders were placed on the day – so you can expect to see these bikes appearing in your local bike shop very soon.

Whyte 901

Price: £1,199

First up, Whyte’s best selling bike, the 901, at the bottom of the 900 range. Like much of Whyte’s range, it has been updated to a 1x set up, which has allowed a more symmetrical rear triangle. It’s also now Boost 12×148 at the rear, and the disc caliper has been brought inboard. Whyte reckon all this adds up to better handling. It includes the new ‘BB-X’ Bottom Bracket shell so all the cables to be internally routed – including a dropper post, should you choose to add one. Since it’s all looking so clean and neat, Whyte has gone to the bother of getting special Rockshox forks with black stanchions so that everything is matchy-matchy and tidy. Tidy.

Whyte 805

Price: £999

The 800 range used to be 100mm travel hardtails with XC geometry. That is now gone, and these bikes are now slacker (66.5° head angle), longer (623mm top tube in medium), and built around a 120mm fork. Again there’s the BB-X shell for internal cable routing – including the potential for a dropper post. There’s a 45mm stem and 730mm wide bars to complete the trail ready set up. The 800 range starts at £750 for the 801 model.

Whyte 605

Price: £625

An entry level hardtail given the XC to trail makeover. This has a 100mm travel fork, but with the longer and slacker geometry of a trail bike – that’s a 68.5° head angle and 623.8mm top tube on a medium. Whyte wants this bike to offer trail geometry confidence on an entry level bike. The 600 range starts at £525 for the 603 model.

Whyte – Children’s Range

Whyte has introduced two bikes for children, the 403 shown here, which costs £599, and a higher end 405 at £999. Both are built around 26in wheels, but size wise will fit a child who might otherwise be on 24in wheels. Bigger wheels for better rolling – and ideal for anyone who has 26in bike parts sitting in their garage. The 403 comes with a 11-40 cassette on a 1×8 set up, while the 405 has a 1×11 SRAM GX drive train with 10-42 cassette.

Whyte has opted for a twist shifter for easy operation by little hands.

Suntour XCR 100mm fork on the 403 model, while the 405 comes with a Suntour Epixon.

Whyte 529

Price: £799

There’s a new hardtail 29er range – it boasts 120mm travel forks, and a 66.5° head angle, again targeting the trail market. The 529 here comes with Suntour Raidon forks and a mix of Shimano and Suntour drive train and Tektro brakes, while the 629 at £999 comes with a RockShox Recon Silver RL fork and SRAM groupset.

Whyte 29-C Team

Price: £3,999

This is the all singing all dancing end of the hard tail range. A carbon fibre hardtail with 29in wheels and SRAM Eagle 1 by 12 drive train, Fox Float SC 32 fork, and SRAM Level Ultimate brakes. The only XC specific bike left in the Whyte range, but one with all the bells and whistles you could want if racing hard is your thing.

What about the Women?

Whyte has taken a  different approach to ‘women’s bikes’, in that they’re not doing any. What they are doing however is a ‘compact’ model – sometimes two – within each range, in not obviously gender stereotyped colours. So for the rider who wants a shorter top tube – male or female – there’s the Compact-Fit. A medium 605 has a top tube length of 623.8mm, while a medium compact 604 comes in at 619. Here’s some numbers for comparison:

So there we have it, hardtails for everyone. Still to come, we’ve got a round up of the full suspension offering, and over on grit.cx we’ll be bringing you details of the new gravel specific bikes from Whyte. Watch this space.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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