More hot new bike news from the Cycle Show and more from the Whyte stand with a first look at the brand spanking new Whyte S150 and Whyte G170 bikes. Both models are 29er bikes, although the G170 will also be offered as a 27.5in bike.
2019 Whyte S120
If you liked the look of the S150 but didn’t fancy 150mm of travel then the S120 is the bike to look at. The S120 is the spiritual successor to the T129, but builds on the developments and ideas first employed with the S150, including a shorter offset fork and improvements to the rear linkage, not to mention the monocoque carbon frame.
Just as we saw with the 2019 T130, the S120 has a beefier rear suspension platform that should ensure a stiffer backend, while bearings throughout the linkage maintain a supple ride. With just 120mm of travel on tap, the suspension curve is said to be quite progressive so if you like a bike that wants to pop off every trail bump, rock and root, this could be the ride for you.
Up front is a 120mm travel fork, a Fox 34 Step Cast fork on this S120-C Works model, with a shorter 44mm offset. The shorter offset is used to increase grip, and maintain fast steering even with a slack 65.6º head angle.
This being the top of the range Works version it gets a 1x only carbon frame and a full Shimano 1×12 XTR drivetrain. We also spotted a BikeYoke Revive dropper post on this flagship bike too, a seat post that we as Singletrack Towers rate quite highly too.
We’re still waiting on the confirmed details of the complete Whyte S120 range but so far we know the carbon bike will be offered in sizes S-XL with this XTR Works model costing a cool £5250.
2019 Whyte G170C Works 29er
The 29er version of the big travel Whyte bike is less of a mystery to us as this is the only 2019 bike that’s currently listed on the Whyte website.
As far as we can tell, only the carbon Works bike will be offered in a 29er version (although this might change) and with it being an all out enduro race machine it comes with a RockShox Super Deluxe coil shock as standard, whereas all other Whyte bikes have an air shock.
This being the G170 you will probably imagine that the bike has 170mm of travel up front just like the 650b version, but according to the official specs, this isn’t the case. Instead, it gets a RockShox Lyrik RC2 29er fork with 160mm of travel.. So, surely this is a G160 29er no?
Once again we see the latest version of Whyte’s rear suspension linkage, full bearings and a 1x only design, and as this bike is already officially listed we know that reach on a large is 469mm which doesn’t seem super long by today’s standards.
If the G170 C Works 29er looks like the bike for you then it will cost you £5250, but double check that there’s a frame size to suit you as only sizes S, M and L will be offered.
Now that you have the details and seen both of these new Whyte 29ers, which one is more likely to find a new home in your garage/shed/living-room/bedroom? Let us know in the comments section below.
