hoping to demo the T130 in the next few weeks (and also the S150 on the same day to compare the two)

Just on the T130, the differences between the S and the RS seem to be….

Model S

£2750

Fork – Rockshox Revelation

GX Eagle 1×12

SRAM level brakes (which people seem to often upgrade at some point)

rear hub – no name

Shock – RockShox Monarch Debonair

—————–

Model RS

£3150

Fork – Fox Float Performance Elite 34

XT brakes and drivetrain 1×11

shock – Fox Float DPS Performance

rear hub – Hope pro4

Questions going through my mind…is the Fox fork better? Are XT consumables cheaper than Eagle? is the Hope rear hub worth having? Are XT brakes better than level…

My current bike (2012 Camber) has Shimano SLX M660 shifters so I am definitely more used to that style of shifting as opposed to Sram’s shift both ways with your thumb.

I assume the answers are mostly yes given you usually get what you pay for so the question is, assuming my budget will stretch to both both, is it worth spending the extra £400?

I’ve searched the forum but the closest discussion Ive seen is about the 2017 S and RS models.

It may come down to colour in the end…

thanks

This is why I always build my own bikes 🙂 I’d definitely want GX Eagle (for the range) and a Hope hub (just because). I’ve not kept up with Fox’s naming convention, but if the Performance Elite is the factory damper with black stanchions then that’s probably a useful upgrade over the open bath job in the Revs Unless that’s changed too).

it’s this fork ..and the picture shows black stanchions!

Fox Float Performance Elite 34, 27.5″, 130mm Travel with 3-Pos FIT 4 Damper, Tapered Steerer, Black Coating, 110mm x 15mm Boost E-Thru Axle

I think drivetrain wise I’d want to GX eagle over XT. That said I’d guess a replacement XT cassette (horrible looking heavy thing) would be cheaper than eagle.

i think chassis wise the Rev maybe a tiny bit stiffer than the Fox 34 (it’s a Pike 35mm chassis) – but the Fox damping will be better.

Hubs? No idea – the noise of hope freewheels drive me up the wall with how loud they are so personally I wouldn’t count it as an upgrade – although for other people his would be a good thing. In terms of longevity the Hope should be better.

Brakes – the XT are more powerful / more grabby than Levels. On a t-130 I’d want Guides if using Sram brakes. There are some doubts around longevity / reliability with XT though.

For me I’d buy the S and upgrade the brakes straight away (selling the Levels before using them). If you find the fork a bit spiked under repeated hits then for about £200 you can put in a charger damper from the Pike and you’ve basically got a Pike on the front of your bike then. Will still be cheaper than the RS.

For me, I’d say the RS is worth the upgrade.

The 34 is a massive upgrade over the rev as others have mentioned above, as are the xt brakes over the levels.

Drivechain would be a trickier decision, i like my gx eagle when it works but it’s incredibly sensitive to alignment and once knocked it’ll never be perfect again. The mech is also huge so this happens sooner rather than later. I’ve noticed a lot of my scrapes on it come from steep rutty tracks where the mech often catches the sides in the corners. Also had a jockey wheel snap on it, writing the mech off and causing a dnf at a race, although it did get swapped out on warranty.

That said I’ve heard a few mates say bad things about xt11 and mechs and shifters seizing, so neither is perfect. Though shimano bb’s last more than a couple of months.

The rear hub on my s-150, if the same as the one on the s, is okay, although it’s got some weird preload system on the cartridge bearings which i’ve had self tighten, and then self loosen a couple of months later. Bearings also feel a bit rough after 3 months but it’s been an incredibly grim winter. Bearing sizes are also the same as hope hubs which is handy as i had a pair of hope hub bearings lying around so i’ll put them in when the hub is shot.

it’s this fork ..and the picture shows black stanchions!

Fox Float Performance Elite 34, 27.5″, 130mm Travel with 3-Pos FIT 4 Damper, Tapered Steerer, Black Coating, 110mm x 15mm Boost E-Thru Axle

That’s the one (ok, non-boost version, 140 travel and 29er) that came on my Jeffsy.  As I understand, it is a Fox 34 Factory but without the Kashima coating on the stanchions.  I’m quite impressed, I haven’t ridden a fox fork for ages.  I’ve added an MRP Ramp Control thingy to mine, but even without, the fork was a good fork – not the stiffest I’ve ever ridden (but I am a fat knacker), and it’ll be even less of a concern on a 130mm travel.

I have a 2015 … but I think most of the stuff is still more or less the same with regards to what you get extra.

I bought used and a pre-S so this left the factory with a 2x drive chain…

Since Whyte don’t give options on crank arms this was always going to have to go anyway as the supplied 175’s are too long for me in any case.  It’s currently running a 11-42 with a 32T on the front… I’ve not found it to need a bigger cog with a 32T on the front… but this occasionally means spinning out of roads or fire trail…

I don’t think I’d rip a 50T eagle off for the sake of it but I don’t reckon I’d pay the premium over other possible ‘upgrades’.

For reasons of pads and bleed kits I swapped the brakes… I’m used to Shimano feel but I’d have persevered but in my case I didn’t want my kid playing with DOT fluid when helping bleed his brakes and I wanted the same bleed kit and pads as the rest of the bikes.   Had it just been me and one bike then they worked perfectly OK…

The supplied wheels sucked… i23 rims and Whyte hubs… not helped by having semi-slick tyres.  I didn’t give them much chance to be fair having nicer wheels sat around.  Much as the T-130 isn’t exactly light … it doesn’t feel heavy except the wheels…

The revelations got scratched by my kid trying to put the bike in the car … I broke my arm … and by way of a consolation prize for myself (looking forwards to no riding for 6 weeks) I splashed out on some Pikes… I also stuck on a 140mm airshaft… and I am really pleased with that.  Nothing really wrong with the revelations mind… but the Fox 36’s are probably also worth the upgrade alone.

I also swapped out the rear shock for a ML3 tune… my T-130 came with a ML tune and I’m a skinny wretch.

This definitely feels better on small bump sensitivity with 75kg or so.  That said.. I only swapped as it was on eBay nearly new for £100 so not far fro the cost of a full service … (nearly new being 1-2 rides) … when I stripped the aircan it was so clean inside it wasn’t worth cleaning…

The bike gets used for everything… from uplift fuelled DH days to riding Swinley official trails where a XC HT might be faster… but the T-130 is more fun…. it’s a bit like a multi-tool…

Also had a jockey wheel snap on it, writing the mech off

yes I’ve read the threads about problems with the GX Eagle jockey wheels seizing / snapping and this was putting me off a bit.  I ride 1×10 at the moment and can get up most things around here so I was thinking the XT might give me more gears but keep the reliability.

Re fork I’m coming from a 26er Reba RL which hasn’t been serviced  so i think any fork is going to be a massive improvement over what Ive got (and I will get it serviced this time honest).

I’m fine with the noise of the Hope and if it lasts longer than the rear on the Camber, then good.

I think I prefer the colour of the RS to the S, so maybe it does come down to colour.

I may get completely derailed by the S150 which Im hoping to demo the same day so this could all be academic.