Whyte T130 S Yari – the review
Whyte offer their 130mm trail bike in five different component specifications from the base line SX at £1899 to the flagship Works weapon at £4499 the most expensive in the entire range of mountainbikes from the company based in the south east of England and designed in the Cotswolds.
“THE 130 IS ALL ABOUT SNAPPING ONTO A CRISP LINE THROUGH SINGLETRACK, HITTING DOWNSLOPES WITH PRECISION”
The Whyte T130 S is aluminium through and through, it doesn’t boast any parts of mega high desirability such as XX1 or XTR but pretty middle ground Sram GX drivetrain. Don’t be put off for this is an incredibly capable powerhouse and when matched with Sram Reverb Stealth, the superb Rockshox Yari fork and a solid wheelset, the T-130 S is up for it in an instant.
Taking it from the top, the ride is lively, the 130mm travel in closer contact with the trail than its stablemate the 160 Works. But it’s for a different palate than the guzzling long traveller, the Whyte T130 S is all about snapping onto a crisp line through singletrack, hitting downslopes with precision. Indeed much of the time this lesser travel bike demands more skills than might at first be perceived. Yes of course it can be bimbled through the undergrowth but that would be missing the point of the 130.
“Mid-size wheel, mid-size travel, mid-size price-point; recipe for mediocrity…” was what I was thinking about this project when we were initially talking about doing a mid-travel 27.5” suspension bike. Not least because we all knew, everyone, that 29ers are faster. We also had a Bike of the Year winning 120mm 29er in some mags, and a developing Enduro Bike programme in the G-160. So it was going to be a design challenge to make a stand-out mid travel 27.5” trail full suspension bike.
