Whytes quite progressive with their geometry.
Just check out the geometry chart and compare it to your Giant Stance for the given size, the Whyte is longer, slacker lower:
T130 geo(at the bottom)
Giant Stance (select Geo tab)

Any LBS Whyte stockist can get you a demo bike to try (some even have a demo in stock).

Worth talking to Mboy from this forum, he runs an LBS up in Droitwhich called The Missing Link. He’s great to deal with and has given me a great offer on my last two Whytes.

Another thumbs up for the Whyte T130 if you can strech to it.
I really like mine and half my riding club have them too.
Well deserved praise from riders and reviews.

watching with interest. I was looking for a carbon frame actually , if you could find that for me …!

Canfield Bros EPO

Only just spotted this thread. Really interesting!
I’m in a position where I want to start my own business full time.
Nice to read through this thread. Look forward to updates!

Best of luck.

Sorry, rubbish photo

I started with the Whyte 529 full build and sold off everything. Only left with the frame, headset and stem. Worked out as £250.

My full build sits at 27lbs as pictures (minus full water bottle).
Spec: Hope XC Hoops, Pike, Wide bars, 1×11 Xt/X01, X1 cranks.
The only thing missing is the dropper which would add about 200g over the standard post.

Love the bike. Very stable and comfortable. It’s not the stiffest frame and I’ve ridden steel frames that are far stiffer. It’s pretty fun to throw around, but it’s more difficult to manual than the geo suggests, probably down to the long reach. Back end kicks out nicely and predictably when coaxed. What really surprised me is how good it is at XC riding. It was an impulse purchase for a fun all round HT to compliment my T130. Couldn’t be happier, but it feels more like an all rounder compared to my Zealous Division mk2 and Stooge, which really where playthings/big BMXs and didn’t cover ground as well.

😯 I’ve stood under that crane a couple times.
I’ve cycled past there for years in some pretty horrific weather and wind, wonder why it’s given up the ghost now when the weather is relatively tame.

Local woods a few minutes away (West Berkshire, nr. Ridgeway). Unbelievable amount of Bluebells for miles. It’s sat fairly remotely in a field with no vehicle access so I never see a soul. Nice and peaceful up there.

I really like it. Different to almost everything else I’ve watched and I enjoy the slow burn of the show.
I also really like Saul. Something about him. I can’t place it.

I can’t see STW sharing this (10x) on Facebook 😛

Zip ties attached to screwed in eye hooks?

I like this idea as a client.
it sounds like an LBS Ebay. If the UI/UX is good, I could see me using this.

If the package is already available and only requires minor spec changes, then it could be made cheap to the LBS too. You would need to make it very attractive to get large volumes to adopt it though. No client is going to visit a site that looks like a Planet-x warranty clear out.

I had similar..
I asked if they knew when Sram Eagle 1×12 was due to be available.
I got lots of smug looks and a response of “1×12 doesn’t exist, 1×11 has only just come out!”. I explained that it’s coming and they were adamant
that it wasn’t..
How can people working in an industry be so clueless?

I gave a cheap Australian frame builder a punt a few years ago with a steel FS. Never again. Great communication up to a point and then radio silence for 2 months.

Frame eventually tuns up, nice raw finish and neat welds, but it weighed about 11lbs and after taking it out for a few rides it just felt wrong.

I got the measuring tape out and measured out the geometry. It was way off!
– 15” ST instead of 17.5”
– TT around 21” instead of 23.5”
– HT angle 71′ instead of 68.5′
and it continued.

Fair to say it got stripped and sold. Despite the initial cheap cost, no one was interested in it as no one had ever heard of them, so sold for a substantial loss.

This could of course be the opposite to how the Marino guys work, but just making you aware.

I think Mud Dock[/url] and Soho Bikes[/url]are rather good at blending a bike shop with Joe public cafe.

Mud Dock separates them and they are probably run as separate establishments, but it works seamlessly. Soho bike is more half bike shop, half coffee shop. Given the space, Soho has done really well.

I think they succeed because:
– Nice cycling staff
– Lovely kit on display
– Quality food and drink
– MTBS & Road Bikes
– Involvement/support of local community/cycling scene

But they both lack:
– Secure bike racks with locks
– Dedicated tools for customers to use (take a deposit, etc.)
– Outdoor seating
– Mud friendly (doesn’t really apply to those two as their in cities).
– Have some big screens playing cycling related things- DH/XC streaming, TdF, films (Soho does do some deputes films).

Possible nice to haves:
– Discount/free drinks or food for customers of the cycling shop
– Discount for club riders
– Local ride map wall, or possibly a tablet/computer that you can download GXP files from onto the Garmin.
– Demo/rental of bikes/gear (inc. ShockWIz, Garmin, GoPro)

My LBS (Banjo Cycles & Chapeau Coffee and Cake) [/url] does a nice blend, but it’s squarely aimed at cyclist and don’t think Joe public would ever wonder in for the cake. They do some nice coffee and cake, but no hearty meals, and the bike shop is great with lovely staff.

I guess it’s a difficult blend, but maybe a hybrid between all of the above 😆 .

Shame. I was hoping they’d eventually crash and burn with their endless support of new standards. Wonder if their lawyers sued the design team.

Threaded BB in my 4 week old Bronson is creaking, though I just realised last night, the dustbowl that is our local trails atm is making everyones bike creak like a champion!.

😆 so British! You moan if its too wet, and moan if its too dry.

I think I’d go Grey rimtape with a segment of orange in there too- maybe over the valve area.

I’d also get matching fork decals in grey and orange, plus a black saddle with orange highlights. Possibly some orange stem spacers and orange lock on collar grips too.

Orbea Occam TR M30 29er Boost 2017 at £3200 looks good. Similar platform to the T129. The spec isn’t as good as some of the others, but it does have the carbon frame. Wonder if he’d feel the flex in 32mm stantions too.
I guess 2×11 might be useful too given his age and potential for large amount of climbing. He might just take the gondola to the top.

Edit- Cheers Chakaping. Will have a read. Worried the Jeffsy might be too much travel at 140mm.

My dads firmly a bimbler, but I’d prefer him to have a touch more travel for the mountains, so a trail bike seems to fit the bill.

FlareMax- looks good, but as he’s climbing I’m wondering what the weight penalty is.

I’m hoping for a bike around 28 lbs ideally.

Trek Fuel Ex- interesting! Will need to check that out.

Patriotpro- I agree, but thought i’d keep them on for now.

Lovely looking bike and build!
I’ve always fancied one of these with a bigger set of tyres.
Can you feel any frame flex whilst riding?

(I use tinypic to host)

What cassette is it? How much use? Some XTR M9000 users have experience creaking/cracking noises on their cassettes HERE

My dads neighbor in Zurich has one of these for his second floor flat! It sticks out a bit more than this and finished in alu. The cat happily wonders up and down a few times a day, year round.

What are peoples thoughts on eating game? Not reared, but rather shot on farmland or natural habitat for ‘conservation’ or ‘pest’ control.

Mainly looking at those that don’t eat normally sourced meat due to the ethics of battery farming, environmental reasons and the antibiotics discussion.

Part of me says- don’t waste food, it’s low carbon and about as natural as you can get.

Other part says- I’m still not comfortable with eating something that’s been killed and I’m not comfortable killing/prepping it myself.

At this stage, I won’t eat it myself.

Looks steel, it’ll be fine.
Crack on!

(Looks painful though. Must have been going some or did you get hooked up on something?)

Been away all day at a meeting (funnily enough the clients provided lunch with some pretty epic veg options, I didn’t tell them and brought my own. Pleasantly surprised). Nice to come back to a good discussion. I’m still forming my own opinion on the ethics, but for me Shackleton nails it.

I’ll check out the recipes and links above, thanks again all!

To keep the ball rolling, in an ideal world i’d be vegan but I’m actually able to source plenty of eggs from friends with happy free range chickens in their gardens. Similarly I can also source cheese and milk from a trusted source. I can actually go see them and see the process, though I still struggle with the ethics of it..

Interesting discussion and also some great advice, cheers all!
Must explore with more spices. Veggie curry sounds nice.

Tend to ignore meat substitutes. I do like humus and falafels though and other Moroccon style food.

Cheers for the advice guys.
I’m finding it easier than I thought. Big thing that I realize is how much processed food I used to eat when out and about.

I love cooking, so vegetarian dishes add a new dimension to it. Plus lots of home made soup.

I think it’s just the protein aspect I’m still working on. Rather easy to get fat and carbs in your diet. I’ve noticed my muscle recovery is suffering a bit.

Struggling with cutting it out full stop because I cook all the time with my better half and she loves meat.

IvanMTB- Ethical and environmental reasons for me.

You’ll be fine on the blue trails. Very flowy and well armored (man maid). I’d avoid the Reds and Blacks though, just to prevent rim denting/tyre ripping.

You’d probably have more fun on a FS though..

Don’t go making any changes til your fitter then, as you’ll only be disappointed that spending money doesn’t work.

I try to give a new bike a good while before changing any components, unless they’re obviously cheap shite.

I’d agree with that. You’ve got a great spec bike now (inc. tyres).
I’d focus on getting the miles in and adjusting contact points, tyre pressure and fork settings. You’ll start understanding how 5mm here or 5 psi there will make a big difference.

Glad you made it to Swinley. Good loop for a shakedown. What did you end up riding? Blue-Red?

Interesting that you like the 140mm forks.
Mines 120mm and the front just feels too high. I’ve only got a 5mm spacer below the stem and limited on how to drop it more. Possibly riser stem flipped and some flat bars.

1×11- what front chainring size are you running? Looks like a 34t?
On my 29er I run 32t and find it spot on for the local riding here.

Tyres; Butcher front and slaughter rear is quite a meaty setup. Is your main aim to have some beefier carcass to prevent squirming at low pressures?

I had a ’15 in Medium and I’m 173cm (5’8”-ish).
It was a long bike and the standover was pretty big too. My dropper was at the lowest point in the frame. It fitted like a glove for me though and did a few thousands miles very comfortably on all sorts of rides; BPW, XC races & Scott Marathons.

All I can suggest is a test ride somehow..

Reminds me of the Pike impulse purchase the other day. Saw the thread and did a bit of thinking with no real conclusion. On my phone in bed and just thought F-it. Purchased the Pikes in less than a minute. All my details were saved. Surreal how quick it was. Paypal gave me the credit option on checkout too.

Bit like the gambling thread, it’s the ease of access to make the purchase, but also get the funds. Scary. Imagine if that was a £10k Santa Cruz 😯

Swinleys ideal for you I’d say. Flowing trials with little elevation and a few nice descents. It won’t set your world on fire compared to welsh trails centres or your Scottish riding, but for a weekend ride it’s spot on.

Well armored so it’s rideable all year round. Well marked and you can split the red and the blue, so not a full on commitment if you’re not feeling it (though the best bits are on the red).

Offer still there if you want to ride it sometime.

Touch paint! Nice ‘touch’ by Kona. Not even the boutique manufacturers provide that.

I imagine the hooks might be spare because they used zip ties instead?

Yeah, tubeless valves- though you might need tubless tape..

Plastic tube is a mystery.. got a picture?

I lived just outside Frankfurt for 10 years. I loved it personally. Provided your social and are prepared to intergrate with the locals it’s lovely. Fantastic food, great beer gardens and some pretty cool spots outdoors, and despite what people say, Germans are well up for a laugh. Plus the roads are fantastic.

As with every city/country, there’s placed to avoid, but I’ll assume you wont end up in social housing in a high rise.

North, North West & West of Frankfurt are lovely and you can get pretty rural very quickly, if you don’t mind commuting.

Riding wise- there’s lots and lots about, but not much signposted, so worth joining local riding groups.

Durability and capability over weight.
That said, there is a limit to weight. I think you’re right with the 30lbs max weight.

I was chatting to a chap at the winter XC series (Dash in the Park) who rides an S-works Epic. He was saying that its hideously unreliable. He has to meticulously maintain it and find things cease/wear if not maintained after every ride. Sounds horrendous!

Bit harsh to assume she was trying to copy Danny..
I’ve been in plenty of places that ‘they shouldn’t really be’, but wouldn’t say it’s because I want to be like Danny. I enjoy a challenge, maybe she did too.

The time will come when our only local bike shops are halfords! And we will all miss the independent lbs with trained qualified staff.

I don’t want to trust my pride and joy to some 16 year old Saturday kid that has learned what to do from some 17 year old kid that’s been there slightly longer

Not going to happen. There will always be good bike mechanics around, be that bricks and mortar or mobile(man with a van). There’s demand for it- just look at your last sentence.

Gambling to me sits at the same level as alcohol. It’s ok in moderation, but needs to be controlled and users need to understand risks associated with its consumption.

I still find it insane that alcohol and gambling are allowed to be advertised on TV. They don’t give anything to the end user beyond some sort of satisfactions, yet can have a huge impact on society if misused. Tobacco’s been pretty much stamped out of the media, and hopefully all the other junk will follow suit.

I don’t always carry something. I do wonder how important it is. I’ve not got any allergies, so they can do what they need to.

I do like the look of those stickers though, cheap enough to get a couple.