Was surprised when I saw Whyte dropped the T129 from the line up for 2018, looks like a replacement is in the 2019 range and did see some images of a new G170 with a coil shock too. The S120 could be a big hit though, love my T130 but would love to give this a try, even liking the colour!
It is very interesting… I suspected a short travel bike was on the cards – seems to be the trend at the min (Yeti SB100 style!) Looking around (there aren’t much details yet) but I have found that it looks like it will be an August release and will have Fox Step Cast 34’s, Float DPS, GX Eagle…
I’m keen to know:
The ‘S’ suggests it is one of the ‘Switch’ models (like the S-150) so should be able to run 29″ and 27.5+
I also wonder what other spec levels there will be for this?
Keeping an eye out for UK specs/prices/release dates…
Yeah a 130mm fork would be perfect. I hope they’ve gone down a similar geometry line to the S150, steeper seat angle, a tad longer reach, shorter fork offset and 40mm stems on all sizes. The seat angle is a tiny niggle I have with the T130, I wish it was just a tad steeper. 73.5 is fine and with a 34/50 bottom gear with eagle it climbs very well, but 74.5/75ish could be even better. Be interested to see the other models, whether it will be as extensive as the T130 or whether we’ll see one alloy model and two carbon ones as per the G170 and S150.
I quite like the G170 from a looks perspective, way too much bike for me and the riding I do but as an uplift/enduro/park bike it’d be a good choice. I was thinking my T130 would last me for a long time yet, it’s 2 years old in August and to be honest there’s absolutely nothing technically wrong with it… but having ridden a fair few short travel 29ers (Orange Stage 4. Yeti SB4.5 among others) I really want to try the S120 back to back with my T130!
G170 looks like 27.5 still to me, the cassette looks bigger in comparison to the wheel compared to the S120. No details at all on the S120 yet other than what we can deduce from the picture. It’s a 34 SC fork so 120mm for sure and like other Whytes it’ll be 1x only. The spec on this C RS build looks similar to the C RS builds on the 2018 T130/S150/G170 so would guess price would be around £3800 if they stay in line with this years pricing, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it closer to £4K with the exchange rates and year on year price increases. Can not wait to see what spec/colour/price a works version might be!
I think it looks pretty good. The colour scheme is ace, so nice to see something that isn’t completely black or some shade of grey for a change and at least the frame itself looks a little different compared to the norm, no “looks like a session” going on there! That S120 is really growing on me for sure.
The main selling point for Whyte to me is the durability, back up and the fact they ride so damn well. I’ve ridden a host of them, going back 7/8 years to the 146/T120 through to the latest T130 & S150 and not one has ridden like a lemon. They just seem to know how to make a bike ride well, the spec is always pretty sound for the intended use and they are reasonable value, even compared to the direct buy brands.
Ermmmm in the sense that the S120’s geometry was designed this century? Might look like a Salsa but it sure as hell ain’t gonna ride like one (I.E, this one will actually (probably) be pretty good)
Interesting they’re only doing 2 models of the S120, I would have though they’d at least want to go down the route of at least 1 alloy model, just to keep the price in check and from what I’ve seen they sell far more alloy T130’s than carbons, round me alloy T130’s are every where, only seen a handful of carbon ones. I did hear mention of the T130 getting an update for 2019, the current model has been around since 2016 so is due one to keep the geometry/suspension in line with the newer bikes. Excited to see if it’s true!
What is it with these downtube/seat tube junctions? wonky donkey springs to mind. Does it offer any benefit, or just a case of we don’t have to put a front mech in there so the design guys can go crazy?
It keeps the chainstays short and the BB where it should be. Seat Angles are so much steeper these days and to stop them handling like barges short chainstays etc are better. Great looking bike though and would be on my list if I was allowed to have one. Anyone got any ideas on weight?.
Joking aside, the moment I saw it it really piqued my interest. The little riding I’ve done this year has gone back to more XC/trail than the “winch & plummet” (I think is the new term) type of “Enduro” style riding I was doing more of the last couple of years. I had a T-129 a few years ago which was a great bike, hampered only by poor rear tyre clearance and a Fox CTD shock. Tyre clearance on the prototype S-120 I saw was more than adequate shall we say, and the new Fox stuff really is phenomenal stuff, even the Performance level!
I’m XL and compared to my 2018 Enduro (29er, 160mm front & back) this is longer, slacker, and has a shorter back end. With that sort of space I’m surprised the seat tube isn’t steeper. Standover and BB are notably higher.
No stack, reach, front centre or other info was in the brochure / dealer manual thingy.
I’m not an armchair analyst and don’t claim to design bikes for a living but I was surprised at all of this for a short travel.