Hello all im Chris and this is my first post on the forum.
I have been toying with the idea of buying a Whyte 146s as I feel I can't push my hardtail Marin Eldridge any faster on the downhills as im lacking in the suspension travel and it just feels to twitchy all round.
The 2012 Whyte comes in at £3000 from my local bike shop which is is achievable but still quite spicy.
First off does anyone on here own a Whyte 146? and if so whats it like and is it worth the money?
And second does anyone know of anywhere online where the 2012 not the 2011 (I can find the 2011 online for £2400) Whyte 146s is any cheaper as my bike shop will price match.
If like me you dont know of anywhere its any cheaper do bike shops tend to knock any money off bikes of this price considering the amount of money im spending to secure the business? (anything would be better than nothing lol)
Thank you in advance for your time.
There was a post last couple of weeks where someone was asking about the 2011 as his lbs had it at 2k. If it's the 146 s I think they're the same for 2012. I did think about it but 2k was already pushing my budget and couldn't find the 2k 146 so got 2012 T120 as it was sufficiently better than the 2011 to justify the extra, plus got my lbs to include pedals and change of grips in the price. Also as it will be my first fs bike willling to pay for the support of a good lbs rather than pay Evans.
I have a 2011 model & love it. For the slight change in spec for 2012 I would still get the 2011 model for the savings.
I dont plan on changing anything on mine till it breaks
I am tempted by a remote seat post after seeing so many on the recent peaks pootle.
If your local shop are unwilling to knock much off, maybe ask what else they can include?
Ive got the 2011 and its spot on. Theres only minor changes between the specs and its not worth spending all that extra money on the 2012 I dont think.
Grrrrr. I had high hopes for the 2012 T120, now you have me looking at the 2011 146.....
Slack head angle though? Anyone know how they ride....?
I've had my 2012 146s a couple of months now, and if you are in the Market for one, I seriously urge you to get a thorough test ride, as it's a total marmite bike. It's very slack, and feels long as hell on climbs, but s piece of cake to haul uphill, if you can live with the ridiculous low bb which causes a lot of ground contact. Personally, i love mine. It is exactly as described, easy to propel uphill, then is very capable coming back down.
Price wise, you may struggle to get much of a discount off a 2012 model, but I got mine from bill Hargreaves cycles in dews bury, west Yorkshire after finding them online. I managed to get £150 knocked off mine, or they offered the 10% value of the bike to spend on accessories but I wanted hard discount. If I'm correct, atb who supply the bikes to the shops are reluctant to give discount so anything you save will be out of the shops margin.
As somebody above stated, the premium for good support from your lbs is a fair one. Also, if you do like it, it'll be the best part of 3k you ever spent haha.
Good luck.
I struggling to really see how you can justify the 146 over the 120. The 120 just looks like such good value. And is a price that most people would be able to scrape together the funds.
Good point Steve - I test rode a T120 yesterday and I wonder what would make the 2012 146 £1000 better....
Thank you for your replies.
Think im going to have a test ride on the 146 as my lbs states that the cost of the test ride will be deducted from the final price I pay for the bike IF I buy it.
The reason why im opting for the 146 over the T-120 is mainly due to the increased fork stroke and Carbon frame.
I dont know what final weight the T-120 comes in at but surely its got to be heavier than the 146.
I bought one in march this year and had it about 5 months.
In that time the BB failed, the freehub failed, I had the forks back to Mojo as something went inside and the swingarm bushes developed play.
After I had the swing arm bushes replaced, the frame cracked around the swing arm mounting points.
I gave up on it after that and got a refund. It had been with the LBS longer than it had been with me.
I did like the way the bike rode, better going down than up IMO.
What I didnt like was the amount of flex apparent in the rear end under power.
I also didnt like the way the cables rubbed through to the bare carbon rather quickly. (I should have put frame protectors on...)
It's put me off carbon framed MTB's for the moment.
The T120 comes in a 27lbs - just under 1lb heavier. Also bear in mind the super slack angles of the 146.
Also though, the T120 is unusually slack for its intended purpose, which could be abonus if you ride down more than up.
Mr lugz,
It seems you had a bad experience, that worries me 2 months into my ownership. Did you raise the issue of the cables, because the front mech routing is stupid and the cable rubs the underside of the frame, as well as the bare cable rubbing behind the bb. Its ok saying " I should use protectors" but surely the bike should be in full working order and capable of not committing frame suicide without the rider having to take preventative measures. It is something that really winds me up, and I was tempted to let it rub uncontrollably til it's a real problem, then take it to them, what are your thoughts?