It’s all a bit different at Whyte bikes these days – more colour, less angle, better value. I’d pencilled in the Whyte 905 for the Dirt 100, it is after all one of the finest hardtails you will find. It’s what many people think of as what Whyte do best – making lovely hardtails so that people can go and beat their bodies well and truly. Never quite understood why people choose such a bike, its partly down to the fact there’s a perception that they teach you better skills which they don’t (just different ones) and also that riding a hardtail is more pure – which is bollocks.
“It’s upbeat, well proportioned and well made”
There’s was a feeling that we should be obliged to put a hardtail in. Well enough is enough of that false love, if money is a concern buy yourself a T-130 SX which will offer you a whole world more fun and you’ll not get beaten up in the process.
Its pretty crazy that this bike here though, the 160, is one of the most expensive bike Whyte now produce and that at £3999 you get such gems as Sram XX1 gearing and Guide RSC brakes. It’s a full package and is bolted to one of Whyte’s best looking bikes to date. It’s upbeat, well proportioned and well made. But how does it ride?
Brilliantly well. It’s a long bike in wheelbase, one of the longest size L on the market, and the reach at 495mm is close to the juggernauts being offered by the custom Nicolai frames offered by Mojo. But it’s just right, it’s manoeuvrable on the hoof where the slightly too long bikes become lazy and levered into the ground. The geometry numbers on the G-Works are about as good as it gets. The guys also point out that the head angle will also be never more than 66 degrees, something which company’s such as Canyon should have thought of with their slightly too steep Strive.
