Goodridge are one of the slowest brands to react to change I’ve ever come across, to my knowledge they don’t make a kit to fit the guide. They’re also the biggest waste of money ever.

I’d just buy the Exposure mount that uses the GoPro mounting system since the Montaro comes with a GoPro mount included, saves on the hassle!

If you like your T129 you should definitely try the 650b T130, it’s incredible!!

What he didn’t mention that there video is that the Neo ultimate had a lighter casting hub shell that broke supposedly broke so often they no longer make it and it uses same hub shell as the Neo but with the 6 pawl free hub. I’m not convinced they’d go the distance so stuck with Hope though I’d also be happy enough with DT Swiss. My build worked out about £450 which isn’t bad I don’t think for a sub 1750g trail wheel set with bombproof hubs and overall build.

Also heard mixed things about Neo hubs so I’ve just gone for a 28h Pro 4/arch MK3 build with Sapim DT Light spokes and they come in at 1735g inc stans tape, so not mega light but should be built to last. Going for DT 350 centre locks would have knocked another 75-100g off but I would have thought the centre lock rings negate a lot of that difference. Only just picked up the wheels this evening so can’t comment on ride yet, but from what I’ve read they should be bang up to task. 1501’s are nice but are pricey also light as they are I can’t help but think the weight difference must be in hub/spokes as the DT rims they use in them are at least 20-50g heavier than the Arch MK3’s and alloy nipples probably save a bit over the brass ones I’ve got on my build.

Forgot about the X01 Eagle on the whyte! Came as stock on the bike but is a massive, game changing upgrade on anything I’ve had before and I’m ususally a SRAM hater but despite my preconceptions Eagle really is that good. Ludicrously expensive at the minute yes, but game changing? absolutely!

For me it’s two bike I bought this year. First was Datum, so versatile and helped get out more often on the road and it’s just a great little bike. Would like it to be lighter but I’m seeing it as a long term project to tart it up. Second bike was my T130C RS, replacing the 18 month old Foxy Carbon I wanted to love but never really bonded with. After a test ride on the Whyte I was sold and not since I first bought my old Mojo HD have I loved a bike so much. I can genuinely see me keeping the Whyte for a long, long time. It’s a bit porky but again it’ll shed some excess fat over the next few months and after that I can’t think of how I could make it better.

Bit of a plug but have a set of whyte hubs on Easton arc 30 rims that’ll have for sale in a week or so, 110mm front and 148x12mm rear with a sram XD driver, nice wheel set but getting some blingier wheels, I’d be after £150 for them :)

Most big online retailers buy in specifically for BF now, all the distributors have to clear stock as well don’t forget, so if they’re discounting their stock the retailers pass this on to the consumer. The mark up is no where near what a lot of people think. I’ve known Shimano stuff to be sold at a loss as are a lot of bikes at the end of the year, just to keep the cash flow up. Also strikes me that since CRC are moving in with Wiggle in Wolverhampton surely it might be cheaper for them to sell stock at a loss than move loads of it over the irish sea and re-locate it.

I’m 6ft 1 and ride a Large T130, find it spot on. Tried an XL and it felt too much like my old Mondraker, fast but not that agile and I specifically wanted something a little shorter and more agile feeling. At 6ft3 you could ride either really, but would probably suggest trying an XL if you can

Loved mine, I had a Special Edition Foxy Carbon XR for 18 months and found it bloody awesome going downhill, with a 160mm Fox 36 up front it felt pretty much invincible. Only sold it as was a bit more bike than I needed in terms of capability and spec and needed the cash for a new house so it had to go if you have the terrain to play to its strengths they’re incredible bikes.

Thanks for the feedback all :)

Originally I wanted to use DT super comps but as I could only find them in boxes and would need two lengths the build price just got silly!

I’ve asked JRA if they can do the lengths I need in D-lights, seems a popular choice and not much more expensive than Comps and cheaper than Revs. The wheels on my T130C RS are nice but damn heavy, about 2kg for the pair as they use ARC 30 rims and champion plain gauge spokes so while nice are not the lightest. Been using that DT calculator today and a 28 hole pair will come in around 1.7kg so a fair old chunk off the weight of the old wheels. Hopefully JRA can sort the spokes and I’ll be good to go!

Usual plug what you own but the Whyte T130 should be on the list, very, very capable bike, great fun to ride and toes the line between all day bike and trail thrasher very well, loving mine so far!

Send it back to Hope! I snapped a tooth on my T-rex a few years back and they sent a new one out straight away, had it in a few days.

The front end geometry is the same regardless of model for a given model year. The 2016 SX has the same geometry as the S/RS etc. They’ve remained unchanged geometry wise for 2017, though the SX now gets the SCR treatment, but fit wise they’re all the same. Loving my T130C, it’s an incredible bit of kit!

lawman91 – Member
As mentioned in your other thread, those X-Fusion posts are shite. Send it back to Winstanleys, buy a better dropped and sell the X-fusion when you get it back. Simples.

Apart from the minor sag issue, i quite like the post, works well and nice and smooth etc.[/quote]

It does work now. It won’t for much longer. They are a nightmare, I know of a few that have been back under warranty 5-6 times in 18 months. Seriously do yourself a favour and use this an excuse to buy another, they are truly dreadful.

As mentioned in your other thread, those X-Fusion posts are shite. Send it back to Winstanleys, buy a better dropped and sell the X-fusion when you get it back. Simples.

@Northwind, agree on the point about bigger “Normal tyres” have got some 2.6 Nobby Nics on order and perhaps we’ll see this as perhaps a good compromise. Like you I’ve tried plus and didn’t like it, maybe a lightish 2.5/2.6 tyre will offer an improvement? Looking forward to finding out!

Another vote for the T130 here, had a couple of weeks on my 2017 T130 Carbon RS and it’s been spot on so far. It is not a plush bike but more of a feedback rich type of bike. Think rally car rather than Chelsea tractor! It’s an awesome bike and can see why its winning awards hand over fist.

Rode on a demo ride B+ a few months back and first try I was looking for negatives and couldn’t find any… Then went back to a normal 27.5 bike and found that great. Went back to the same B+ and all of a sudden it wasn’t quite the same. It felt like it wanted to understeer everywhere and just felt really, really vague in comparison. That was with 3.0 Maxxis Chronicles. Loads of grip don’t get me wrong but the whole feel I look for wasn’t there. Am about to order some 2.6 Nobby Nics as an experiment to see how I get on with semi, semi fat. Hopefully they fit in my T130!

The 2015 T-130’s are much shorter than the newer ones, send it back and get the large! I’m 6ft 1 and a 2017 large fits me like a glove with a 50mm stem, if they’ve sent a medium you need to send it back or you’ll regret it believe me. There is no way anyone of 6ft should be on a medium.

Whyte T129 fits the bill, haven’t ridden one for a few years but thought it as a great bike and liking my T130 at the minute. Have just seen a YT Jeffsy in the flesh and while very nice it looks very, very short.

As others have said only difference you’ll notice is it’s easier to put the wheel in if you have the caps, can be a bit fiddly without. My new bikes are torque cap compatible but my hub isn’t, still quicker than my old 36’s with a bolted axle!

Shimano cassettes are a bit weighty but they seem to last well. I very much doubt my SRAM eagle cassette will last as long even though it’s the best part of 100g + lighter. I’ve learned over the years that weight isn’t everything, thankfully my days of 400g xc tyres are long gone!!

The Suntour Fork on that is actually pretty good, not quite a Yari but not far off and better than a revelation IMO. I’d be more worried about he X-Fusion post, they’re certainly not the best and reliability is patchy. I’d get another brand on there soonish but other wise it looks pretty sorted out of the box. Another T130 owner here, had a 2017 Carbon RS for a month or so now and absolutely loving it, it’s very playful and fun bike to ride, I’m sure you’ll love it.

Most of the bikes I looked at were about the same weight, namely the GT grade. Lighter wheels and better groupset would easily know the best part of 2lbs off, the higher end builds come in under 20lbs from memory. For what it is it’s great, I doubt a Domane or Roubaix would get around Llandegla in one piece like the Datum did!

Had a Datum 10 since January and it’s been superb so far. Perhaps a bit weighty (mine is medium and weighs 22lb dead with M520 pedals) but overall I really like it, very comfy and super versatile, have even done the Blue route at Llandegla on it along with a couple of leisurely off road rides. My only criticism really is the weight of the complete bike (needs lighter wheels I think) and it also lacks a metal chainsuck plate which I’ve found out to my annoyance when the chain dropped and got wedged in between the chainring and chainstay :( Other than that it’s taken it all in it’s stride, highly recommended!

Aside from them being tough I don’t get why people like Hope rims so much. They’re heavy, narrow and from what I’ve seen can be a pain to get tubeless tyres to seal properly. Never had any issues with Stan’s rims, I’ll be getting some new MK3 Arch EX’s on PRO4’s when my cycle to work voucher comes up again in January.

Happens everywhere :( there’s a an awesome section of singletrack I used to ride regularly when I lived with my parents that had a super tight section of trees at the end, the first of which you had to hit a section of the root of one tree that was about 4″ wide to carry any kind of speed (or just run dead narrow bars but who does that these days?!) felt great when you got it right and it set you up nicely for the next few corners. Now it’s just a straight line that doesn’t even need to braked for or any technical skill. Same for a lot of the trails round there too. Bad times indeed :(

BTW tyre wise I’m running the stock High Roller II/Crossmark II combo and for centres and rocky trails it’s great, not a huge amount of braking traction on the rear though! I’ll be changing the rear out at some point I think, possibly for the new Forekaster when they become available.

Had my T130C RS for a couple of weeks now, what a bike! Super, super playful and just launches out of compressions and corners, not mega plush suspension wise but that’s not the point of the bike. It’s a fun, interactive ride and climbs like crazy with the X01 Eagle, have cleaned technical (read super steep) climbs I’d have tried and failed before. Wasn’t sure I’d need such a low gear as 34-50 but it’s very nice to have for those really steep and techy bits. Still playing around with the setup a little, have dropped bars a bit since the pictures were taken and still trying to find a real sweetspot for the fork, shock and tyre pressures but it rips already! Highly recommended!

Likely to be due to over-tightening the lever. Have not seen any new style Maxles fail on their own, only when they’ve tried to be done up to the metric F-ton. I may be wrong but I’d be surprised if it would be warranty if this is the case.

Like DJP above I went to the demo at cannock and rode several T-130’s and also the Four. Rode 2 alloy T130’s (large RS and XL S) and a Carbon Works in Large. Also rode the 4 in a Large. Admittedly I was absolutely fubarred by the time I rode the 4 but overall while I was impressed it didn’t feel as nbice as the Whyte to me. The Whyte felt lighter, livelier and just felt plain better in most areas. Don’t get me wrong the Four felt good (this coming from someone who has a bit of a dislike for Orange, although admittedly price rather performance related!) but the Whyte totally won me over. Now I’m the proud owner of a 2017 T130C RS and it is absolutely chuffing awesome! :mrgreen: Spec is awesome it looks great and rides like a dream.

What the other have said, slx for everything except the shifter, go XTR and get an 11-46 xt cassette

Currently running a Crossmark II on the back and HR II up front and it seems like an great combo, fast rolling with loads of grip on the front and just enough slide on the rear to be fun and fast but not scary. If weights on Maxxis’ site are to be believed though a Minion DHR II and Ardent race would be the best part of 150g lighter so possibly worth a look at those too.

Am I right in thinking that these will take any SRAM direct mount rings? I don’t need them, but then they would be lighter than the X1 alloy cranks I have atm!

Got my first ride in on my new T130 C RS last, it was mega!! :mrgreen: You’ll love it!

Don’t think I’d bother with the RS, go for the S or push the boat out and get the C-RS. Just bought a 2017 carbon RS and it looks the tits. The weight really isn’t noticeable and is mainly in the wheels. Change them out on any of the models and you’ll save the best of a pound or two. My large C-RS weighs just over 30lbs with pedals and setup types set up tubeless a change of wheels and carbon bar and it’d be well under 29lbs. Feels great so far as it is though.

Get the Whyte. Just bought a large T130C RS and it should be mega if first impressions are anything to go by, giving it its first proper run out tomorrow. I actually quite liked a Fuel Ex I rode a few years back, was one of the last 26″ models they did I think. Felt super lively and poppy but under-gunned on techs terrain. Rode the 2016 T130 in S, RS and Carbon Works models in March and just settled the new bike conundrum for me, had looked at various shortish travel bikes both 650b and 29er but it just felt bang on for what I wanted. The trek is likely pretty good, but the T130 will be better.

Definitely a large, medium would be ok but a large would be better. I’m just over 6ft and have recently bought a 2017 T130C RS and it fits like a glove. If you find the large a bit of a stretch just swap the stem to a 40mm and job done.