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Considering a new race frame for next season, and have been looking at the Whippets. Any got any longer term experience with them? Any issues with the build quality or the carbon itself?
I worked in the world of carbon fibre long enough to know that it's a perfectly good material for bikes, but build quality and layup can vary too.
Guess the final question would be - how does it ride?
Cheers
Rich
I won't pretend to be an expert on carbon race frames, but I have had a Whippet for the last year and these are the points I reckon are worth mentioning.
Construction quality wise I have had no problems with the frame, it gets ridden regularly over challenging terrain and stands up to the test.
The handling felt twitchy until I became confident with it then I learnt to appreciate how responsive it is.
The power transfer from the pedals onto the ground is bloody brilliant, I didn't realise how much power I was losing through the BB and stays in previous frames.
In a nutshell I've been pretty impressed with it, Its not the most comfortable of rides....but then it's not meant to be. Hope that helps!
The frames look fine but i can't get my head around how cheap they are when all the big brands are three and four times the price you get to thinking how good are they realy, and from what i can find on the website only a two year warranty.
But as said great price and they look good you pays your money and takes your choice.
I bought a gloss black whippet frame a couple of months ago. I am very happy with it at the price I paid, if I get home & find it has been stolen I will replace it with another 🙂
It is a 'value' frame and to my uneducated eye the finish is not as good as a more expensive branded product. I would describe it as looking more like a very good university project compared to the scott frames I was also looking at. Strength is impossible for me to judge but I don't have any reason to doubt it's durability and certainly don't give it a thought whilst riding (my riding is very XC on the South Downs, nothing remotely extreme)
Apart from finish the lower price also means the strength of the frame may come from using a little more material rather than research and development. It is the only carbon frame I have owned so it is the only one I have actually weighed and my medium weighs 1370g plus approx 100g for the dropouts & bolts (can't remember the exact figure) so approx 1470g for frame with dropouts fitted. Light but not super light.
I chose a medium based on the quoted dimensions rather than On-one's advice, worth giving the size some thought based on your preferences. Make sure you are aware of the restrictions on chainset & front mech plus it's BB92 so less bottom bracket choice available.
The ride I love. It feels light and fast, just what I wanted. It's hard to give an opinion on the handling as it suits me but I have been riding since the early 90s and have mostly used bikes with what today are considered steep angles. I don't find the Whippet twitchy at all but someone coming from a modern slack angled barge of a bike may have a quite different opinion. I'm using a short, high rise stem and the flat bars that came in the bundle with the frame.
As with any bike you really need a test ride to know whether it suits you. This is the first time I have bought a frame/bike without trying first. I just trusted the dimensions quoted (I've never checked they were accurate)and hoped for the best. Luckily I am very happy and as stated at the beginning of all this blurb I would buy another 🙂