Absolutely worth it. Some will swear by the cheaper army gore-tex stuff but its just not the same. The fit is horrific and they just aren’t suitable the magic bullet so many so they are. Have lived in my 7Mesh Revo shorts for the last 2 winters (and even some “summer” riding) and they are without doubt one of the best purchases I’ve made. Excellent fit, keep water at bay with ease and still look like new and will likely continue to do so if the other 7Mesh kit I’ve had longer is anything to go by!

It’s not so much they’ll be “better” than the Reba’s its the fact it is basically a stretched out Reba on a bike that likes to charge. Having a stiffer, stronger fork like the Yari transforms the bike. Not a deal breaker, but one to bear in mind.

I have a 2017 T130C RS and it has held up brilliantly since I bought it new in mid-2016. It uses the same back-end/bearings as the alloy bikes from 2016/17 and it genuinely hasn’t missed a beat. Granted it’s not much use over the winter for the last 12 months but it’s still on the same frame bearings and they have a lifetime warranty on them anyway, which they seem to cover even if the bike is second-hand. One thing to note on that year of T130S though, I’d be checking if it comes with the older 32mm Revelation fork or a Yari. They switched mid-way through the year and the Yari is a far better fork for the bike. If it comes with the Revelation I’d budget for changing it out along the line.

Whyte’s aren’t light but ride far lighter, especially with a lighter wheelset. I have a 2017 T130C RS and it was a porker when I bought it and even with lighter wheels, tyre, carbon bar and crank it still is only just (and I mean just) under 30lb with pedals. I rode the S150 when it came out and it rides nicely, a bit too much bike for most of the riding I do, but a really nice bike and the extra weight maybe one of the reasons they’re so reliable and solid feeling. Certainly wouldn’t let the weight put you off, if you’re really that bothered, budget for a lighter wheelset in future as it does make a big difference!

Had it on test for a few weeks over the summer. Loved it. Want it back. Can’t afford/justify it. But it is ace.

Built mine up October last year! MK5 Soul in Mercury, been more than just a winter bike though in truth, ridden it far more than my T130 this year, just feels ace. Built up similarly to the T130, 120mm Revelation RC, GX Eagle with carbon Descendant cranks, Chromag bar/stem, Reverb and Hope E4’s, the Pro 4/Arch MK3 wheels get swapped between the two. Running Maxxis Forekasters at the minute but want to swap the front out for the new Dissector when I can get my hands on one!

I’ve always got on well with Aztec brake pads, the Hope ones last well but the organics lack power IMO and the sintereds are a little noisy. I would have liked to have tried Trickstuff’s pads but they’re rather pricey!

Hope and GXP adaptor as above

The 1x sram mechs move horizontally only rather than diagonally, so cannot take up the slack

Another vote for a Soul or BFe, so nice to ride and the geometry is pretty bang on. Got my Soul frame on 0% finance to spread the cost and then got my LBS to do the build on cycle to work, so plenty of ways to make it affordable!

I’m converted for use on the MTB, not tried it on the road all that much. For me the main benefit is being able to stay on top of a harder gear, notice this when climbing mostly, otherwise wouldn’t know the difference. Took all of a minute or so to get used to.  Hard to quantify but I would say climbing traction on loose climbs is better too, probably to do with the smoother delivery of power, but I certainly seem to slip more on a regular ring than I do with an oval. Running 34T oval Sram Eagle rings on both MTBs now so must like them! Would be tempted by a 36T if I still lived in the midlands and not Wales!

Nicest steel bike I’ve ridden would have to be my latest Soul. It is incredibly comfortable yet has enough brawn to be ridden like a loon. It’s far smoother than my old BFe and others I’ve ridden, an old OnOne Inbred I rode was nowhere near as nice and Stanton frames I’ve ridden haven’t been quite there either. Way, way back when I rode an original Evil Sovereign for a day and that was ace, properly nice frame

Given the geometry of the Rocket (i.e. the seat tube angle as that is the “in vogue” thing at the moment) is already inline with the newer bikes, and they did new colours not that long ago, my guess is not. I imagine we’ll see a “new” FlareMax with new colours and a steeper seat angle with the the rest remaining largely unchanged.

Degla blue is pretty fun, often ride it on night rides to mix things up, even done it on the “gravel” bike.

A bit steeper on the seat tube would be good, new BFe is a fair bit steeper than the Soul and the RocketMax was around 75 degrees so here’s hoping they go to around that mark if not a bit steeper. Lopping a bit off the chainstays would be nice too but not hopeful on that front! Go a bit steeper and make it matte & gloss black or that lovely metal on metal colour for the RocketMax and I’d be awfully tempted! I’d even settle for orange!

Always go better shifter than mech. You could fit an XX1 mech to an SX eagle shifter and notice no difference to a full SX eagle setup, but you would sure as hell notice if you swapped the shifter for XX1 instead for example

Aside from being 100g heavier, there’s not much in it, both are decent wheelsets. The weight would sway me to the Hunt’s personally, the DT hubs are decent but pretty basic with low engagement, so again, the Hunt’s win it here for me.

Seems well priced and the geo looks good, it’s not that pretty but be interested to see how it rides. RE: pricing in years gone by, in 2011 my Mojo HD frame was £2100, the standard Mojo was £1900ish from memory, it’s been a long, long time since carbon was priced at that level for the most part

T130 is a great all rounder, actually think the 2017/2018 models ride nicer than the newer ones. 2019 models are longer and slacker, probably a bit faster going down but not as much fun. I’ve had a 2017 T130C RS for over 3 years and it is brilliant. Has done everything from uplift days to multi-day coast to coast rides. It’s been very reliable and is just a lot of fun to ride. They aren’t the lightest, even with lightish wheels/tyres, carbon bar & cranks mine is still 13.5kg with pedals, so similar weight to the Works once you add pedals on. But they are great bikes, I often think about changing it for a lighter 29er but then I ride it again and those thoughts soon disappear!

Wanted a Rocky Mountain Slayer the year my dad bought his Element circa 2005/2006, the Slayer (top tube shock version) was very similar just longer travel, also lusted after a Blur 4X around the same time. Couldn’t afford a Cotic Soul when I built my Kinesis Maxlight, and same again when I replaced the Maxlight with a BFe so glad I know finally have one! I would have an Element if they made them a bit longer and ditched the PF bb!

Ashamedly very! Both MTBs are black or silver with orange accents, even the bars, stems, grips, saddles, wheels, tyres match! Most of my kit is grey, black or orange too…

Just never got on with any of the 11-speed setups I’ve tried or worked on. They just seem really fussy and the shift quality never felt brilliant on any bike I rode with 11-speed fitted. I actually was close to removing the 11-speed XT setup I had and going back to the 10-speed Saint/XT kit I “upgraded” from. Had no issues with GX or X01 Eagle as I said before and it seems to be solid, I always felt 11-speed SRAM just felt cheap and plasticky, never got on with it. Yes it ushered in the death of the front mech for which most of us are forever grateful, but I’m quite happy we’ve gone to 12-speed pretty much across the board for MTBs

Not a fan off 11-speed XT personally, or 11-speed GX for that matter! 11-speed to me seems like they both fell asleep when designing it and then rushed it through. 12-speed from both brands is far better; shifting quality is better, cassettes are wider range and durability seems better too. Sunrace now do 12-speed HG-compatible 12-speed cassettes so I would seriously take a look at going 12-speed, I’ve been GX Eagle for a year and X01 Eagle for over 3 and they’re both been brilliant. New 12-speed SLX and XT feels like a return to form from Shimano as well from a quick play in the workshop too,

Bang on budget, new Cube Litening – https://www.cube.eu/uk/2020/bikes/road/road/litening/cube-litening-c68x-pro-carbonnwhite-2020/

Stunning bike, 7.8kg and deepish 32mm deep wheels

Ride my Soul a lot more than the T130 since I had it, I find with the T130 I appreciate it more after being on the Soul. Very similar but very different bikes at the same time. Soul is immensely fun and fast, but the T130 feels more agile yet more forgiving at the same time. Both are awesome bikes, it’s nice to have the choice!

Looks great, from a known unknown brand and the price is scarcely believable, BUT! (arm chair engineer time) one look at that geometry chart has me concerned it’s going to feel short as. The seat angle is so steep, that even though the P3 size has a 490mm reach, the eff. TT is only just over 600mm, which is comically short for a bike designed for riders up to 6ft 3″ (or so they say) To get the same saddle to bars position as on my Soul, my desk top workings show I’d need a 90mm stem!

Had my MK5 Soul for around a year now and absolutely love it! My T130 hardly gets ridden, it’s just plain awesome. I liked the BFe I had years ago but it was a tank and too small, this fits like a glove, is way lighter and I think it looks the dogs too. Just need the matching Escapade now!

£12 for parking is insane. Llandegla is my local centre and that’s £4.50 or £60ish a year for a season pass, which seems reasonable, but given what Cannock has to offer, that is just plain daft pricing. £6 is bad enough, charging double that is going to turn a lot of people away. I get the trails need maintaining somehow, but surely there are better ways than this. Maybe they’re just hoping putting the price up so much reduces traffic so they don’t get torn up as much? Who knows but I won’t be going any time soon that’s for sure!

Carbon is easily repairable, lots of places do reasonable priced carbon repairs and they often end up stronger after repairing. Alloy is not easy to repair. I would be hesitant to buy a full alloy bike, the alloy back end of the T130 is bearable simply because it’s 2 parts and easily replaceable if there was an issue, certainly cheaper than a whole new frame.

Same as the 2017 model bar a colour change, the spec is great, with top-end RS suspension, reverb and carbon wheels. I have a 2017 T130C RS and it’s been a great bike, it’s fast, fun and has been supremely reliable. The Genius is a nice bike but the spec is obviously no where close to the Whyte, plus I hate the idea of the TwinLoc system, no need for it in this day and age. I’d go for the T130 all day long.

@kelvin, cheers for the update, I better get a move on by the sounds of it!

Contemplating one of these myself as a replacement for my Datum. The Datum’s a lovely bike but it’s a little to road-biased to be a proper all rounder and if that weight on road.cc is accurate the Escapade’s barely heavier than the Datum either. The Mercury would match my MK5 Soul rather nicely too… @Kelvin presuming the Mercury colour will be around for a while as it’s not been out that long?

Very different bikes. The Yeti may only have 10mm more rear travel but with a 150mm (or even 160mm) fork up front it’s a more of a light enduro bike as opposed to the Ripley, much more of a burlier XC bike in spite of the geometry. For me I would prefer the Ripley I think, new Tallboy also worth a look.

216x63mm shock on all T130’s up to 2019 MY. For 2019 They changed to Metric sizing. My Monarch went off for a service and came back leaking air (twice!) so was replaced with a Monarch Plus as they don’t make the normal Monarch in the right size anymore. Works well, though I do wonder if it needs a lighter tune as per comments earlier in the thread. Cane Creek shocks need a little bodging to make them fit. Fox DPS will work, but DPX2, Float X2 and Float X don’t fit.

Not enough clearance for a 190x50mm shock, the link hits the seat tube. Think I’d go down the 130mm fork route  personally, air shafts are so easy to change if you already have a 140mm fork.

Given the only bikes to have landed in the UK have gone straight to demo fleet use or the mags to my knowledge and their won’t be many who have. I think a UK-based poster on MTBR has one, the Ibis forum is quite well populated there.

Silverfish have distributed Yeti for years (well as long as I can remember!) so it’s not a recent thing. In short, Yeti seem to be the Alfa of the bike world. One day a year it’ll ride like a dream and you’ll love it. The rest of the time you’ll be pulling your hair out over some issue and regardless of how good the warranty is, I couldn’t be living without a bike for weeks/months on end. I adored the old SB4.5c, it rode like a dream, but it was ridiculously expensive and I’ve seen first hand the issues with wear on the switch link and a few more serious frame issues too. I would love to own one, but unless I was a) beyond minted and b) didn’t have to maintain my own bikes, I wouldn’t even think about it. Plenty of other nice brands out there, Ibis/Transition etc

Waiting for my local dealer to get their demo bikes, then I’ll be having a go! I briefly tried a Ripmo a few months back and liked it, but waaaaay too much bike for me. The Ripley looks perfect, it’s even the same colour as my beloved old HD140. Subject to a test, I’m fairly sure it’ll be my next bike, it just ticks all the boxes for me on paper.

That is a bargain!! I might get another couple of pairs at that price!

7Mesh are the kings of this kind of kit. The fit is ace, with enough room to move but never feel overly flappy. They avoid the ghastly MX-inspired designs other brands seem obsessed with too. Not cheap, but incredibly durable (my first pair of their shorts still look like new after 2 and half years use and as I say the fit is beyond good. A set of Glidepath shorts and Eldorado jersey would be my tip!