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Crikey, upping my hopeful budget by £500 drops me into this range of what appear to be great bikes.
S150 is held to be brilliant but is the S version a bit lacking in spec, guide level brakes and revelations and alloy frame. But, bricks and mortar store and eagle.
Jeffsy, always good reviews and good value but I'm not overly struck on the reliance on e13 spec compared to the others. Direct sales with Germany won't help with warranty and back up will it?
Finally, that intense reads like a great bike, carbon frame, pikes and reverb. Cheap brakes and wheels but easily upgradable with significant benefits if this is done in time.
I suspect none of them will be a dog but I'd err on the intense, I think.
Choice has never been so abundant!
Or a Bird Aeris? 😀 Always happy to simplify a problem. You can thank me later.
Just had a look at the geo, those intense have a of of seat tube.
S150 is a nice bike, but as above I'd be looking to try the Aeris AM9.
Not sure if you wanted other options but it pays to keep an open mind 
Vitus Escarpe 29 VRX has the spec to beat all the bikes you've listed: Lyric RT3, Deluxe RT3, Guide RE brakes, GX eagle, DT Swiss E1700 wheels, RS Reverb. It's £2430 with the BC 10% discount. It is a little hefty but it's got some proper enduro spec bits on it.
There's also the Trek Fuel EX8, with a bit of haggling at a LBS that would be at £2500.
Are you the kind of person that's more swayed by bling factor and component bragging rights, or are you more interested in how the bike rides and you couldn't give a stuff about posing to your mates...?
I've worked on and built up all of the 3 bikes the OP mentions for customers. There's no contest as far as I'm concerned!
Sure, the Intense looks very nice, and on paper it looks a good choice. The reality is not only that the HA is too steep for what it is, but worse than that a 2.25" rear tyre has ZERO mud room (like as bad if not worse than a Whyte T-129 before they sorted it out!), a 2.35" tyre? Forget it! And then there's the fact that the rear axle is a crap design and unique to Intense, the cable routing for rear mech and brake rubs through the swingarm, the slightly odd leverage rate curve that you could live with but it's not ideal, and the fact that Intense are a byword these days for poor quality!
As for the YT? Geometry just doesn't cut the mustard, and an odd spec. Also I'm not a fan of direct sales bikes for many reasons not just that I run a bike shop.
The Whyte however... Damn that's a good bike! Forget the fact the ally frame is half a kilo heavier than the carbon roughly, forget that the spec isn't as bling, just ride the bloody thing and enjoy, cos it's one hell of a good bike!
I had a similar conundrum, went for the Whyte. Fantastic bike. I did feel the brakes lacked power at first but I've found that using my usual Clarkes sintered pads seems to have fixed that. It's not light, but it climbs well, takes everything in it's stride and is incredibly confidence inspiring. Been using it every week in the Brecon Beacons/Black Mountains/Welsh trail centres. Count on replacing tyres early on for something a bit better suited to winter riding.
Sure, the Intense looks very nice, and on paper it looks a good choice. The reality is not only that the HA is too steep for what it is, but worse than that a 2.25" rear tyre has ZERO mud room (like as bad if not worse than a Whyte T-129 before they sorted it out!), a 2.35" tyre? Forget it! And then there's the fact that the rear axle is a crap design and unique to Intense, the cable routing for rear mech and brake rubs through the swingarm, the slightly odd leverage rate curve that you could live with but it's not ideal, and the fact that Intense are a byword these days for poor quality!
Thanks for the effort in the reply mboy. It's interesting, as none of your criticisms are reiterated in any of the online reviews I have read. It's only ever got glowing reviews. Maybe it's because the mags were sent the £8k superbike spec?
I might just stick to my original budget, less choice!
Canyon spectral CF 8 £2700 carbon frame, Pike, eagle gx, DT Swiss M1700 wheels.
Canyon Spectral AL £2449 Ali frame, pike, XT, DT Swiss M1700 wheels.
Would have to be Pikes or better still Lyriks for me. Revs just don't cut it IMO.
Intense Primer 29: DUBAI ! bling, bling...
Whyte: best pick for you?
Most important: which travel? 130 mm or 150 mm? Are your home trails really "ENDURO"? Able to do a test ride?
But if your trails include very fast, rough stuff:
go for the Whyte 150!
I'd add Cotic's Rocketmax to the list.
I might just stick to my original budget, less choice!
I'd be looking at geometry charts, some massive differences between the bikes you mention in the first post
I've been considering the same bikes!
My wife has a large Jeffsy that I have ridden - it's great but short for a large bike. Also if it were mine I'd want to up the fork to 150mm and probably add offset bushings to drop the BB and slacken the head angle to get it super stable. That's quite a lot of changes straight out of the box.
Primer 29 - Heard about/ seen too many issues with Intense frames for me to buy one direct sales these days. It's a real shame because there has never been a cheaper time to get a previously unobtainable bike.
Whyte... well. All I can say is that I am test riding one at the weekend (hopefully without quite as much snow). I already have a pre-emptive deposit on the s150 C RS. I can't wait!!! Not really many things I can pick up on to worry about. Properly robust and UK weather proof. The geometry looks on paper like what I want. I really really hope I like it as much as I think I will.
vote for the intense here.
Had my primer just over a year and loving it, such a capable and fast bike.
im on the heavier side and had no issues with frame, mind you i dont do massive jumps etc.
Or a Bird Aeris? Always happy to simplify a problem. You can thank me later.
He can't get an Aeris. We ride together and I have one!
And besides, he's just not cool enough... 8)
I've just got an Intense Primer Pro (last year's model) for a v. good price. I got 140mm Pikes instead of the 130mm Fox it should have. First ride last weekend. It is so light compared to the Whyte T-129 I had before and seems much faster everywhere (probably new bike euphoria, though). I considered the Whyte S-150 and the Bird, too, but the Intense stood out. I didn't know about the quality issues ......
Regarding tyre clearance, the reviews say a 2.4 should fit in. It certainly looks like a 2.35 will fit easily. The cable routing will be a pain, but it's not like you do it every week is it? Besides, it does look good ...
arent new revs same chasis as Pike?
just upgrade to a better damper, charger, novparts, fast etc at a laer date
I tried the S150 and I just didnt get on with its at all.
I nearly bought a Jeffsy but due to wanting to try for fit first I didn't go with it.
Ended up with a Trek Fuel 29 as just felt good on my test rides!
It was well worth trying all the bikes though as was all set for the S150 and nearly bought one without trying!
https://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.php?product_id=4676&5871=28502&5975=28951&6834=32616
That, with the extra 10% off. 😉
What 10%???
The new intense colours look suitably lairy on FGF.