I currently have the option of getting one of these two as a used bike, both similar specs but the orange is about £500 more. Is it worth the extra money over the whyte? I spent the whole of last summer on the road bike and desperate to get out on the trails this year. For info both bikes are medium but i have a relatively short torso for my height (5'10).
Also if anyone has any other recommendations of 120mm travel bikes with a max used budget of £1500 please shout up.
Tricky. I'm an orange fan, but also a fan of bigger wheels. I think it would depend on the age as rear tyre clearance on the older T129s was a bit tight for my liking. The feel of the bikes is quite different though. You get more feedback from the trail on the Orange, but whether that is a plus or a minus is very much a personal thing.
Thanks for the feedback. Current bike is a 150mm cannondale jekyll 26" so either will give a lot of feedback compared to that. I'm guessing i cant go wrong with either option, just trying to work out if the orange is worth the extra cash. Both bikes I'm looking at are 2016 models
As above really, your choice should really come down to the size of wheel you want and as above I’m an Orange fan but prefer bigger wheels.
Is it worth £500 more? It will probably hold on to the same value or more if you decide to sell in the future so I’d say so. If you are getting a 4 RS ingood nick for £1500 then that’s a good deal imo.
I've not ridden the Orange but i had a 2017 Whyte T129S (not RS) and it was a great bike especially for long days out in the Brecon Beacons etc. it was just a bit tall for me. It may have been the sizing (5'8 on a Medium, but i have quite short legs) but it felt like a bit of a straight-line missile, great on chattery trails/smaller roots and rocks down straight or open descents but a bit unwieldy on twistier stuff.
I don't know if it's of interest but i still have the frame and shock w/headset if you have parts laying around and wanted a cheap frameset to build up and try it out. I swapped the rest onto a Nukeproof Scout 290 Hardtail instead and bought a different 650b full-sus.