whtye t129s or canyon nerve al 29

Budget about 2k ish, which would you go for?

Anyone got one of these? Would love to hear what you think of them.

Cheers

Had a Whyte, now sold. Perfect weekend warrior trail centre bike IMO, capable and forgiving. Probably as agile as any FS 29er, there’s a limit to how compact a frame can be that also accommodates a big wheel with space for it to move. I’ll probably buy a 650b with more travel. Can’t comment on the Canyon but can’t fault the Whyte if what it’s made for is what you want to do.

I recently bought the Canyon AL29, love it.

I got the 7.9 spec for around £1600, and then switched the brakes out for XT, swapped the tyres for some 2.4 Ardents, and added pedals, wide bar, lock-on grips and seat to my own preferred taste. Probably came to about 2k in the end.

It sits alongside my full-on built BFe and copes with the rough stuff almost as well, while being waaaaay more comfortable. I usually build my own bikes up, this is the first time i’ve really bought a full bike and i’ve not been disapointed.

I’ve got Canyon AL 7.9 29er and also put on XT brakes. Added s stealth reverb post which makes a big difference.

It’s a very agile bike compared to the whyte T129s.

That looks great, mmm descisions descisions 🙂

I actually bought mine after seeing the pictures of from maico above on a different thread. Was going to get the black frame, but the grey is very cool. Everyone who has tried mine out on the trails has said good stuff about it too.

I’ve ordered a nerve 29er and I’ve got xt brakes to fit do I need any brake adapters or do they bolt straight on.

The current XT brakes fit “post mount” 160mm rotors with no adapter. For anything else you’ll need an adapter.

It looks the front rotor is 180mm (that’s normal for a trail bike) so you’ll need a +20mm adapter for that. See maico’s second pic.

Most likely you won’t need an adapter for the rear but check the bike spec to be sure. It may be an IS mount rather than post mount for instance though that’s rare on new bikes nowadays.

I’d suggest buying Shimano adapter(s) not reusing the ones that come with the bike (which if you sell the brakes you can sell with them). See http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/if-my-worn-xt-brake-pads

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/series/nerve-al-29.html

yeah the rear mount is post.

To fit XT brakes you just need to buy a 180mm front post mount adapter like this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=54881

or the slightly cheaper standard Shimano one.

Nothing is needed at the back.

I’m still running the original Avid discs.

I sold the unused original Avid 3s with mounting bits for £55 on ebay so the cost of changing to XT was bearable.

Thanks lads part ordered can’t wait.

Maico – can you expand on ‘agile’ for me please? And how does the geometry compare with the Whyte?

The T129 has a longer front centre and slacker head angle for greater stability. The Nerve changes direction quicker but not to quick. It feels neutrally balanced. The front end doesn’t suddenly tuck under.

Thanks maico. What about the Tigger factor? I thought the Whyte was quite bouncy, hoppy and playful when I had a go

I thought the back of the Whyte was quite solid feeling.Certainly not bouncy set up as standard.