Whyte T129s anybody got one,what's it like

Been thinking of getting either a specialized camber comp or a whyte t129s.i can demo a camber but not the whyte just wondering what people think of the whyte.

There’s a whole thread devoted to them here. Look nice I must say.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/whyte-t129-s

If it helps Rutland cycling were putting one on there demo fleet.

It is very, very nice indeed. I have uprated the wheels on mine to something a wee bit wider and sturdier but that is the only thing that I really wanted to do – and to be honest that was purely as I am a big lad and ride on fairly rocky trails in the Lakes so wanted something a little better suited.

Really comfy bike to ride, plenty of length to the top tube so it doesn’t feel so cramped as some bikes. Climbs superbly, descends even better – I haven’t really felt under-sprung compared to my old Yeti 575. It is a much stiffer frame than that too.

They really are good!

^ tyre and wheel logo fail ^

Si69jc thanks for pic.got a demo booked for march on t129s

Its just a shame Si69jc doesn’t ride it to it’s full potential 😀

Got mine this week and it is awesome, ive been dithering since before christmas and tested much dearer bikes but took a blind punt on this and im well chuffed

Had mine for a month or so now, got an amazing 15% discount from wheelbase. I moved from a stumpjumper FSR 26 and the apart from looking down at a huge wheel it did not feel very different in the ride. It’s perfect for me, I’m 6’2″ and went for the large. The frame size is perfect, good length in the top tube and feels flickable on the trail. The short chainstay must make the difference. I can see why it get’s the ratings.

I’m 6’2″ and went for the large.

This is the thing … at 6′ I’m maybe in-between sizes. I have a medium coming to test so will see what that’s like. I’ve never had a bike with the reach of the large Whyte in nearly 20 years of riding mountain bikes. I know a 24″ ETT is perfect for me and my riding which equates to Large in Turner and SC. but more often medium in many of the other brands I’ve owned.

Got to try a medium and a large today. Medium was to small to use the Reverb with. Jumped on the large and it felt too stretched and low at the front. Like it was set up like an old xc bike rather than a modern trail bike.

A quick word with the guy in the shop and the reversed long stem (80mm is big these days :wink:) got replaced by a 50mm with a slight rise and the bike was transformed. Strange these small margins … it was like a tipping point.

Bottom line is I’m having the large and they’re gonna try to source a 50mm stem from Whyte so I can keep the tarty faceplate. Wider bar would be good too. The guy was dead helpful and the bike feels great. If you are in the north and looking for one, then Alpine Bikes in Inverness has a medium. Hands off my large tho.

Swayndo according to the Whyte website, the stems come in 60, 70, or 80.

http://www.whytebikes.com/2013/section.php?xSec=10&xPage=1

Also according to the website, a medium comes with an 80mm stem but my medium came with a 70mm.

I’d like to try a 60mm but they’re a bit stiff at 50 quid!

Thanks for that. 60mm would be okay. If the shop can swing me a swap that’ll be cool otherwise I’ll just use the 50mm X4 and 760 Warhead I have on my Fireline. I can then judge properly if it works before I splash the cash.

What’s the rear wheel clearance like on these ????
…I’ve heard limited tyre choice because of it

@singlecrack – close. The stock rear tyre is a Maxxis Ikon 2.2 it has OK clearance but you wouldn’t call it generous. Driveside chainstay is the issue.

A 2.25 Schwalbe may just fit, I have a Rocket Ron to try but haven’t had a chance, but I really doubt a 2.35 Hans Dampf would go in. (Personally a 2.25 would do, I want to keep it fast and nippy. It would be a 120mm monster truck with a Dampf on).

I guess this is the price that’s paid for the short chainstays.

@swayndo my understanding is it’s better not too go too short on slack bikes because the steering gets floppy, that could be nonsense tho

The 70mm (with 740mm bars I fitted) is a tad of a stretch for me but I’m going to ride it a bit before changing it. I’ll maybe try the stock bars again too. All new bikes fell odd for a while, I find, it takes a while.

Other way around in my book. Slack needs short to sharpen the steering up. Especially with a wide bar. Quite used to a slack head angle and it works for me.

Fair dos. I’ll try it.

what’s iit like? I found it:

* a bit wandery on technical climbs
* it chews up fiireroad climbs, especially if you lockout the boing
* it comes alive on twisty singletrack, it’s fun, fast, smooth and forgiving. I didn’t do any steeps but it would be fine.

It handled today’s conditions (which were horrendous: snow and ice that binds together leaf mulch and muuck) adequately. It’s absolutely not a fair test!

Its homeground is Coed Y Brenin – fireroad climbs, fast singletrack descents, countoury or steeper. Its a great second bike for someone living in an XC area who wants a bike for weekends in Wales, holidays etc. or put another way, it’s a bike for weekend trail centre warriors who don’t want to drop 5 grand on a Tallboy. I don’t mean that disparagingly, that’s most of us. I’ll use it for the odd dry weather guilty plesure blast at home too.

It’s not an XC bike, it’s not a quiver killer. It’s not meant to be, I like that it’s not trying to be all things to all men. It’s bloody good as a winch ride up whooooo down trail bike. (Winch is unfair, it’s not a boat).

It encourages good style – to get the best you need to be on it, looking well ahead, riding positively and riding like you mean it.

The fit was good for me, the stock 70mm stem is fine, the setup was 20mm of spacers on 10mm rise Renthal Fatbar Lite (740mm), I’m goign to drop that by 10mm and see how it goes. I’m 172cm, 77kg in my birthday suit. I used all the travel and it felt smooth, good considering these are new shocks/fork, not broken in, and conditions were appalling, The FM was frozen solid and the Rm was down to 4 gears – not the fault of the bike!

Anyone else?

a bit wandery on technical climbs

I want to be fair: conditions were dire today, there was no traction so I was on the back wheel a lot to get traction.

schwalbe racing ralph 2.25’s fit just fine 🙂

Sounds good for me. I’m in Highland so probably suits me well because of the terrain on my doorstep. Torridon, Tollie Path, Gorms, Golspie all within an hour from the house.

My bread and butter runs from the garage are fairly steep uppy-downy woodsy stuff and a 450m climb up Cnoc Fyrish, so my Fireline will still be top for that … for most anything else thro the warmer months (!) it sounds like the Whyte suits perfectly.

See that … I’ve almost convinced myself now 😉

Crackin weather up here over the weekend BTW … very cold but that made the mud on the trails freeze.

Thx jonny, I hope to try a Ron this week. Do you use your Ralphs a lot?

I rode Mattjg’s yesterday and was impressed. Didn’t notice any “29er negatives”, very, very smooth but not bobby or wallowy, nicely manoeuvrable and the front lifts very easily when you want it to. It felt a bit hefty uphill but then it was encased in several inches of ice.

It felt a bit hefty uphill but then it was encased in several inches of ice.

Quote of the year!

And with 15% off at Edinburgh Bicycle Coop this weekend, it just makes it even more tempting!

You’re doing well to get a discount, they’re sold out in medium elsewhere.

EBC have stock and have 15% off everything this weekend including any bikes that are special orders and not in their stock!

oooh

http://www.bikeradar.com/videos/whyte-t129s-trail-bike-of-the-year-2013-winner-938hX9Pt2jjgI

(video not working because it’s ‘private’)

Shop confirmed today I’m getting a switch to a 60mm stem. Should be all sorted by then end of the week. Just need to get a wider bar than the “skinny” 710mm one provided 😉

Why is that vid private?

cool

I dropped the bars 2x5mm spacers, bike feels faster (around the garden!). Will find out tonight.

I guess the vid’s not for publication yet. I found the page via Google my hunch is they didn’t mean to announce it until the next edition of the mag.

Always used them on my hardtail, unfortunately not had chance to give the t129 a run on them yet as this east wind is a killer on my usual route especially in the dark 🙁 but the 3 compound one is very good for a light tubeless tyre only 650 grams on 29er

How are people getting on with the wheels? I’m tempted to stick my Hope Hoops with Flows on from the word go. These ones sound a bit light and narrow … especially for a HD on the front maybe?

Fine for me so far, but I am at the opposite end of the UK to you so a different usecase. (No rocks here).

I can say my HT has Crests on it and I ran HDs fine on those. I took them off as I decided they weren’t worth the weight penalty.

I’d say go ride the stock wheels and Ardent for a while, then decide if you really need a 2.35 tyre. 120mm of 29er double boing can cover a lot of sins!

Cheers mattjg … I’m off to Morocco in 3 weeks so I’m not wanting to take any risks with rubber … I’ll be taking the stock ones off it whatever I do with wheels. I could probably get away with my current pairing of Specialized 2.3 Ground Control and Purgatory tho … they’re tough.

Need a bigger bar too … I wonder if a RF Atlas green one would match 🙂

Tricky, no match is better than a poor match IMO.

The Renthals are a good match for the fork stanchions! Pic in your gmail shortly.

Can’t help thinking I’d like a bit wider than their 740mm tho.

Cheers, that looks quite good.

I’ve got both adapters sourced so will likely go with the Hope Hoops from day 1 and look to sell the stock wheels, unless I can convert them to 20mm front and 135mm rear. Message already into Whyte about that.

The stock hubs are Formula, I was told, and the rims are ‘nearly Crests’. The rear is noticeably quiet compared to a Hope, it takes some getting used to.

I was just about to praise the quiet clutch RM too then I looked and it seems I’ve had the clutch turned off so far. So I’ll try that tonight.

It’s a nice quiet bike, I like that.

Bottle cage and bottle are a tight fit!

I didn’t think there was an on/off switch on the rear mech’. Am I missing something ?