Whyte T-140 RS: First Ride Review

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The Whyte T-140 is very much the classic trail bike of the Whyte range. Enough travel to cope with most things but with a focus on responsive handling and efficiency to keep you happy to be in the saddle for as long as you have time for.

  • Brand: Whyte
  • Product: T-140 RS
  • Price: TBC
  • From: Whyte Bikes
  • Review by: Ross Demain for a few hours

This is a first ride review in the very truest sense of the word. Due to school drop-offs, late arrivals, road closures and various other issues, me and Benji not only arrived late, but also missed the Official Presentation on the bikes.

This then left us with just a few hours to not only ride, but also photograph the bikes and all that faff, so this is by no means an in-depth review.

But hey, we thrashed the pants off it for as long as we could. And it turned out to be really fun bike that was very much more than sum of its parts may suggest.

Set Up

Set up for the ride was a pretty quick and faff free affair. The T-140 I rode actually belonged to Whyte’s product manager and had been lent out to another rider before I’d arrived so after a cursory check of sag levels and saddle heights it was good to go. The fork was sitting at around 20% and the rear at my preferred 30%, although once I got into the ride I think it was actually a tad more than 30%.

I’m around 183cm and the test T-140 was a size L. Headline numbers (in the High setting) are a reach of 483mm, 435mm Chainstays, 65.3˚ head angle and 76˚ seat angle, with a BB height of 338.1mm.

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Specification

  • Frame // 6061 Alloy
  • Shock // Fox DPS Performance Elite Evol LV, 210×47.5mm
  • Fork // Fox Float 34 Performance Elite 140mm Grip2
  • Wheels // Race Face AR-30
  • Front Tyre // Maxxis Minion DHF WT 29×2.5in EXO 3CMaxxTerra
  • Rear Tyre // Maxxis Dissector WT 29×2.4in EXO+ 3C MaxxTerra
  • Chainset // SRAM X1 Eagle 32T 170mm
  • Shifter // SRAM GX
  • Rear Mech // SRAM GX-Eagle
  • Cassette // SRAM NX-Eagle 11-50t 12spd
  • Brakes // SRAM Guide G2 R 180/180
  • Stem // Whyte Gravity 35mm
  • Bars // Whyte 6061 Alloy 31.8mm 780mm 30mm rise
  • Grips // Whyte Lock-ON Enduro
  • Seatpost // Whyte DropIt II 170mm
  • BB // SRAM DUB
  • Size Tested // L
  • Sizes Available // M, L, XL
  • Weight // N/A

Geometry of our size L test bike:

  • Head angle // 64.7°/65.3°
  • Effective seat angle // 76°
  • Seat tube length // 445mm
  • Head tube length // 135mm
  • Chainstay // 435mm
  • Wheelbase // 1,249.5mm
  • Effective top tube // 636.6mm
  • BB height // 330/338.1mm
  • Reach // 483mm

Review Info

Brand: Whyte
Product: T-140 RS
From: Whyte Bikes
Price: TBC
Tested: by Ross for A few hours
Author Profile Picture
Ross Demain

Ad Sales Manager

Ross pairs his childlike excitement for bikes with a complete disregard for the wellbeing of his ribs, or his rims. Best known for riding cheeky trails, his time is also spent trail building in his local woods, drinking beer, eating pies and entertaining his two children.

More posts from Ross

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Whyte T-140 RS: First Ride Review
  • lightfighter762
    Free Member

    I got the S AL and it is one of the best lower travel bikes out there IMO. For the money and for most UK stuff it is ideal. Climbs way better than the Hunt/Privateer 141 it replaced. Close to even my old 2020 optic C2 which was a rocket all round.

    leegee
    Full Member

    I’d never considered a Whyte before but the geometry looks spot on. Do they sell frames or just complete builds?

    binman
    Full Member

    I have never seen them sell frame only

    mildred
    Full Member

    To be fair, the geometry isn’t a million miles from my S-150 (currently for sale in mint condition in classifieds 😉); the differences appear to be that the T140 has a slightly longer reach and… not much else.

    Whyte bikes do tend to have solid geometry, relatively conservative but with low BB – maybe it’s my body shape but they always suit me.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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