I’ve been literally busting to tell about these new bikes for the last couple of weeks, but I’ve had to keep my lip buttoned until now! So without further delay I can finally show you some images of whyte’s 2011 line up and give you my impressions after spending a couple of hours out on the trail.
Whyte 146
Whyte 146
Here we have something that is definitely more my style! Previously Whyte had the 46 that was pitched as being a bit of a trail centre machine, longer travel for the downhills, but still light enough to climb well too. Well this is the updated version, swoopy carbon long travel lushness with a bombproof feel, light weight and sweet handling.
Front view
Swinging my leg over this bit of lushness I immediately felt at home, it was just like riding my El Guapo, but more annoyingly somewhat lighter and better! It’s decked out with some nice kit, new Easton Haven goodies and a mix of X-9 and X-0.
This was my first time on SRAM’s ten speed set up. I’ve had a decent amount of experience of Shimano’s ten speed SLX now and it’s interesting to see the differences between the two. Like most people I’ve chatted to I find Shimano’s use of the triple with ten speed on the rear rather odd. There are obvious advantages to going to a 2 x 10 set up:
- Less weight
- Less prone to chain suck
- Improved front clearance
To cut a long story short though I loved the SRAM set up, you will find you spend most of your time in the ‘big’ ring though. With a 36t cassette on the back most of the time there is little need to drop to the inside chainring. But of course it’s still there to bail you out if you need it. A great system, I loved it! It’s a shame it’s not retrofittable to existing frames as I’d love to whack a set on the hummer.
As I said above the 2 x 10 drivetrain is really faultless and really suits this bike well too. Worth noting this bike are the new SRAM cranks, I think they’ve finally got it right with the styling of these, previously if you wanted non shimano generally you got FSA or Truvative and these look way better (in my opinion anyway!).
X-0
New slimmer Y link
So how did it ride? I absolutely loved it, as far as I’m concerned it’s perfection for this sort of long travel trail bike. Laid back, stable and confident, light weight too.
Hopefully this has given you a bit of a flavour of the 146, definitely worth seeking out a demo bike once they become available and seeing what they’re all about.
Hummerlicious
5 comments
Pike says:
July 29, 2010 at 11:11 pm (UTC 0)
You cant’t retro fit the the new SRAM 2×10 ….. ??
Not questioning that statement, just wondering why?
Hummerlicious says:
July 29, 2010 at 11:32 pm (UTC 0)
It’s to do with the chain line I think, IIRC it’s 17mm different from current set ups. Most new frames using SRAM 2 x 10 have been redesigned to make it fit.
Tweets that mention 2011 Whyte bikes preview « Sussex-MTB -- Topsy.com says:
July 30, 2010 at 12:25 am (UTC 0)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by jimbosussexmtb, Quest Adventure. Quest Adventure said: A quick look at Whyte's 2011 bikes http://fb.me/E9hPyYO3 [...]
Hummerlicious says:
July 30, 2010 at 9:29 am (UTC 0)
Oops, appears I got a bit over excited there, details of the other bike to follow
Sussex MTB demo the 146 from earlier in the season… - WHYTE WORLD says:
November 7, 2010 at 11:02 pm (UTC 0)
[...] Read more at http://www.southdownshosting.co.uk/smtbsite/2010/07/2011-whyte-bikes-preview/ [...]