[Closed] New bike day. Whyte G160s bring the bounce.

Great choice, a very underrated bike - sold mine last year and swapped for a G170 which is also great but I really miss the 160! Once you get used to it you should think about pushing the forks to 170...

Enjoy!

Perfect bike for you from what you've described on here previously.. And dare I say it.. A better colour than my orange one😬

Agree with the 170 forks.. Made mine even better

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Looks good Steve. 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

Not my garage, not even my house.... they're just ebay pics...

Just waiting for a mate to collect it for me this week 🙂

I was kinda hoping to have it for our first day at Swinley this weekend. But not sure that's realistic a timescale at the moment.

Very nice that. Warn us if the 130 goes for sale.

Already is up Eddie.

In Classifieds 🙂

Looks nice, loved mine before it got nicked 🙁

I could never get the rear shock working as I liked, until I blew up the Monarch and replaced it with a DPX2 which was lurvely.

Enjoy.

I’m claiming the blame for this one.

You can feel fairly well assured that it’s had an easy life when it’s still got the stock tyres on....

To those saying “go 170mm” - what’s the thinking? Slightly slacker and better BB height?

@mashr for me at least that is bang on - this bike is very long and low but not especially slack, so moving to 170 made complete sense. Also, helps to reduce pedal strikes!

With the added expense of going to a newer and more expensive bike, that's not on the cards at the moment for me.

If i need clearance it already has more than the T-130 and i also have a 29er HT 😉

If i need clearance it already has more than the T-130

It'll also been running more sag, so bear that in mind when you've just clipped a pedal and are exiting through the front door 😉 bloody 175mm cranks!

I do like the look of the G160 it has a v purposefully agro look to it. Tried one out at a JE James test days and it was a very fast ride. I think you'll enjoy it!

I think i've got some 170s anyway....

I thought you said this was a good idea ? lol

You can feel fairly well assured that it’s had an easy life when it’s still got the stock tyres on….

Big shout out to Maxxis who have the white logo tyres for easy spotting. Is there something similar for WTB?

Bike looks awesome, green and just a dash of pink to bring it out, without being too garish.

Big shout out to Maxxis who have the white logo tyres for easy spotting. Is there something similar for WTB?

Yes, nobody in the UK has ever bought a WTB Convict/Riddler combo like that 😉

weeksy

Subscriber
I thought you said this was a good idea ? lol

There's a chance I can't be fully trusted....... seriously though you'll enjoy it. I would definitely get my hands on a pack of shock volume spacers though, you'll likely need them if it doesn't already have a load installed

I would definitely get my hands on a pack of shock volume spacers though, you’ll likely need them if it doesn’t already have a load installed

We're getting into the realms of Voodoo magic there... it's stuff that i have no concept about at all. I was planning on throwing the Shockwiz on both ends and seeing what that tells me...

I can then bore you all senseless with pics of Shockwiz settings

G160 is well known for a leverage rate that actually drops off as you go through the travel. So a lot of the benefits of an air shock are actually negated (also making it a terrible candidate for a coil shock), shoving a load of spacers in helps get back to something a more useful and less likely to bottom our when you'd not expect it. It's a 2 mins job to add/remove them, so easy to play around with

Weeksy - I presume those are Lyriks in which case you just need to change the air spring to a 170 one - costs about 30 quid...

Edit - actually I've just found a spare 170 air spring which I have knocking about - yours for post if you want it. It is the 2018 model, so not the latest Debonair version but perfectly serviceable...

Edit again - and it will fit Yari's too...

The S comes with a Yari as standard so it would benefit from a damper change too

LOL information and thank you overload... Lets just get the other million things done first like taking the forks out of the T-130 and putting them into my lads bike, along with putting the correct forks for sale back into the T-130. Then the wheels, then the dropper...

That's all before the G160 even arrives and we get started.

But thanks all... keep the info coming.

Hang fire on selling the 130 until you've ridden it if you can!

I have both, the 160 is amazing. BPW, the Alps, enduro stuff around the Tweed valley and I love it BUT the cross country and flowy stuff it's just not as fun as the 130. It really needs to get up to crazy speeds (to me) for it to come alive but the 130 is fun messing around popping off stuff and carrying a lot less speed...

The joy of being an 11 year old who'd dad likes bikes
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49339430702_058f8ac124_5k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49339430702_058f8ac124_5k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2iaXtMG ]2020-01-06_01-28-17[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Pro4 evo wheels and Fox 34s 🙂

scared myself reading a load of reviews and Pinkbike comments now LOL.

I think the consensus is "the T-130 is a better bike for most riders/circumstances"

Hahahahahaha.

Well as the old saying goes, we'll see 🙂

Think i need to look into where to buy the Monarch volume spacers/bands, but think https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/9x-Rockshox-Monarch-Volume-Spacer-Bottomless-Token-Improved-Design/223695301674?hash=item3415476c2a:g:NMMAAOSwk5FdqrjI

Is about the right answer 🙂 ?

We may have a bit of a problem with "hang onto your T130 for now" as my boss seems to be having it... Which if the G-160 isn't the right bike, well i guess i'd just go to a later T-130 than mine is, which would be what would happen I think. However i'm hoping/planning that this isn't the case and i love the G-160.

But i must admit... i'm not as confident as i was lol.

But i must admit… i’m not as confident as i was lol.

Genuinely, don't sweat it! There will be situations where you miss your 130 when it's not quite as tough a trail but you'll absolutely love the capability of the 160. Straight out of the box it needs your weight further forward than the 130 to get the best out of it but the places you're talking about taking it it'll be in it's element.

If I had to get rid of one I don't know which it would be so I definitely don't have one rated miles ahead of the other... That's between a 2017 G-160 RS and a 2019 T-130 S.

You'll be fine with the G160S, mine was my only bike for a couple of years mostly ridden around FoD rather than BPW.
After it got nicked I hired a T130(sr?) from PedalABikeAway a couple of times and I never thought "this is soooo much better"

Of course that could say more about my style/lack of talent than anything else.

LOL it's too late to worry now 🙂 The G-160 is arriving at my mates place in a couple of hours and I'll be giving it a baptism of fire at Swinleys new skills park on Sat. There's only 1 way to find out the answer as to whether a bike is right or wrong and that's to give it some time.

If i need fast and light (ish) i've got the 29er HT sitting here too for them days

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Bring it on. Collected!!!

I’d have to de-sticker those rims but blimey it does look sweet.

https://flic.kr/p/2ic5c27

https://flic.kr/p/2ic49bJ

Gweeeeeen!

That looks in proper good nick. Please buy some clear heli tape for it. Doesn’t deserve red electrical tape.

Sissy guard still on, unblemished paint (impressive for a Whyte) and the original tyres - that things barely been ridden

My my that paint does look in good condition... Mine seems to fall off at the merest glance 👀
Nice

Wouldn’t normally recommend it for a used bike but it almost looks worthy of invisiframing

Didn't go quite that far, but I have bought a load of helicopter tape to be going on with.

Mine seems to fall off at the merest glance 👀

Same for me, Paint on my hardtail is shocking!

Weird that, paint on all of mine and my mates have been excellent.

Maybe it’s just the yellow colour or maybe just because I hammer mine through the winter FOD slop.  Who knows, but it’s very, very thin. I knew that they had pretty shoddy longevity to the finish when I bought it.  Not that I’m worried about it.  It’s a mountain bike and a winter bike specifically.  The bigger issue for me is Whyte putting the bottle mounts too low in the frame so you can’t actually fit a bottle!

Must admit.. Didnt buy mine with the idea that the paint would stay on for long either.
At the end of the day it's built to be used and abused. My only issue was the pedal strikes which was remedied by 170 forks and a couple of bands in the rear shock to keep it sat up a bit.. Spot on after that👍

Get a pack of RockShox volume spacers and put them all in. Mine needed it to feel anything like reasonable, as the leverage ration is actually regressive:
http://linkagedesign.blogspot.com/2015/08/whyte-g-160-275-2016.html

I like the long front end. It is liberating, coming from a 2010 Foxy.

The bigger issue for me is Whyte putting the bottle mounts too low in the frame so you can’t actually fit a bottle!

This annoyed me too. Why not just put the bottle cage bolts in a more sensible position? A shimano Di2 adapter plate or Wolf Tooth adapter will help relocate if you need. I made my own, grinding down some standard bottle bolts to fit the cage to the plate and using countersunk bolts to fit the plate to the frame (yes yes, the yard needed tending to 2.5 years ago):

Before, with biggest bottle possible (side loader cage)

Plate

Plate fitted

After, with bigger bottle in

Get a pack of RockShox volume spacers and put them all in

Already ordered and watched the video for installing.

Collected and it's stunningly good condition. If it's done 20 miles at the local park i'll be surprised. There's barely a mark on it.

Set up the suspension to roughly where it needs to be, set the bars to the correct rotation, the levers are done and the massive lump of plastic has been removed from behind the cassette...
The cassette is a bit of an issue though as it seems to be XD drive... which makes it incompatible with my Hope Pro4's i think which are Shimano style... or are the cassettes interchangable ? I have no idea LOL.... Never seen an XD drive before today.

Riding wise i've only been playing on the close, but the position feels great, comfort is great. It seems to turn brilliantly, the only minor downside is that it's a bit less willing to 'pop' jumps etc, but i guess that's the longer wheelbase and slacker head angle.
SRAM brakes feel better than i expected considering reviews, feel lovely actually.

You’ll just need an XD driver for your Hope hub. Sounds great! If you add some volume spacers and/or run less sag you’ll get more pop.

Ah, excellent. I'll look into that, for now the Hopes will stay on my boys bike so he'll be more than happy.

T130 has now been dropped off with the new owner, so we're all in on this G160.

Looking forward to Swinley tomorrow, there will be videos, they're likely to be rubbish lol. But we're doing our best

Protective tape installed along with the Shockwiz for tomorrow

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Enjoy the jumps tomorrow!!

Looks great!! Enjoy!!

If you put an XD driver on your Hope hub, make sure you remove the end cap before installing/ removing the cassette. That way the cassette tool is able to engage properly with the splines of the cassette. Otherwise it can sit a bit shallow and you risk breaking the splines. It also helps to have an extra deep cassette tool. Hard to describe but obvious enough when you come to do it. They are also quite easy to cross thread so just take your time with it.

Thanks Timbo 🙂

Anyway.. off to Zwift thread for race 😉

Here's the fun from today at Swinley.

The new G-160 was excellent. Rides beatifully, although as expected i was bottoming out the back end, but we knew that as the volume spacers never arrived until an hour ago.

But the handling, jumping, turning, all fantastic !!!

I impressed myself by doing them 3 drops, including the 3rd which was right outside my comfort zone and i had a massive rush of adrenaline after the first time over it... proper scared and elated moment.

It may not look that high to some of you, but DAMN it was to me !

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I take it you won't be asking for the t130 back anytime soon😉

It does roll slower and feel way more laid back, but a 2.75 on the front will do that.

In simple terms, I wouldn't have done everything I rode today on the t130.

Can't sleep so just installed the volume spacers as per info earlier. Went with 4 of them to start with, we'll see how that does and go from there. I may even test it later but will be in a far more tame location than Sat morning was.

Was impressed by the brakes actually not really been a fan of avid/SRAM over the years but they're really nice I must say.

This thread has convinced me to get a G160:)

2020. The year of big mountain riding...

The SRAM brakes will probably be nice just now given how unridden the bike looks. They get worse over time ime

One minor thing, due to LLS stuff I sized down. I was on a large 2016 t130. The g160 is a M

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Adjusted after that but firstly wanted to put it on my lads bike, so I'll check mine again next week, but should be close now

SO just to confirm then guys, i've installed 4 volume spacers.

They're now located as per this pic.... Just want to make sure that's the correct location for them, i didn't know if the lines/stops are signficant ?

[img] [/img]

That's it.. Should ramp up just nicely for you now

Thanks mate.... I'll find out at the weekend.

I guess my next question to myself is what rubber to run.

I've currently got the stock rubber which is a 2.5 Convict on the front and a 2.4 Riddler on the rear... But my thoughts are that bulky rubber is going to slow it down a bit ? I rarely run bigger than a 2.25, possibly a 2.35 at times and my preference is for a WTB Trail Boss. I think i've got a few of them in stock in spares pile, i've also got some of the Vittoria Goma in a 2.25 i picked up from On-One this week. Just waiting for my tubeless valves to arrive in the post either today/tomorrow and it will be decision time and getting some of them installed. But for now i may actually just leave it as standard, i certainly had no issues at the weekend, but the Riddler doesn't exactly look suited for UK winters, a little lacking in tread i think.

Bike sounds awesome weeksy.
Rubber? Dhf 2.5wt/2.3 are what I'm on right now. A Dhr 2.4 rear might give me better braking I believe but not used one yet. The 2.3 on the rear is lively and fast feeling though so quite like it.

Anyway, bulky rubber won't slow it down. You'll be going quicker so you will want bigger tyres. 2.5/2.4 sounds right.

I've got that many tyres in the spares, many of them brand new... I can't see me buying new ones at the moment. I do need to look and see what is there other than what's listed above, i think i've got another pair of Trail Boss, but think they may be the High Grip version rather than the Fast Rolling. So think i'll save them for Morzine.

Also need to make some decisions about which bikes get which wheels. I'm not sure i am happy giving an 11 year old my Pro4's LOL, he's currently got the front fitted as i stuck the Boost Forks in his last week. Whether i'll stick the rear on his and also run that there while i get a XD hub/whatever ordered i don't really know yet.

Just for reference... I settled on a dhf front and a minion ss on the rear (because I'm fat, unfit and need all the extra rolling help I can get) but it depends on your local conditions. There are places I've ridden where I decided to put a dhr2 on the rear as well and I could really tell the difference when climbing up fire roads (sooo much draggier)

No experience much of wtb tyres so cannot comment but for muddier tracks the top end magic Mary on the front was also a very good tyre for me paired up with newer hands dampf

I’d run a trail boss fine on the back,
but for a bike like that I wouldn’t run one on the front - you want something as grippy as possible on the front to make the most of it.

I tend to run a 2.5dhf in the nicer weather on my Bird Aeris and either a magic Mary addix soft 2.35” or currently trying a Specialized Hillbilly 2.6” for the winter.

If the brakes are Guide R’s they’re fine really. Run multiple pairs of them over the last 3 years or so with 200/180mm discs on both my FS and the HT. they didn’t deteriorate and rarely needed any bleeding (and the caliper seals didn’t have any issues unlike the shimano brakes I’ve had).

I thought I’d try some Sram Code Rs when some came up cheap and they are a step up - so both bikes are now running a code r on the front and then one has a code r on the back whilst the other has a guide RE on the back. They’re not mind blowingly noticeable on normal trails but they do make a big difference on steep / rocky / fast stuff.

Vittoria Goma in a 2.25 i picked up from On-One this week.

Following the kids around this week on a rear Goma I was reminded they are 'allround' tyres, not sloppy and mid-winter muck tyres. Cue hilarious surfing around and slipping uphill traction moments while they on Magic Mary, Hans Dampf or Der Baron just pull away.
On rocks, the Goma's are ok though and keep up happily.
Compromise time.

I'll wait on the Goma fitting them and keep them for more a summery tyre 🙂 Good info, thanks for that.

If the brakes are Guide R’s they’re fine really

They are indeed fine... the only minor downside is i prefer mineral oil brakes than dot 5.1. But that's just being fussy there. I'm also not sure i have an appropriate bleed kit, but again, no biggy, i'll get one. But other than that, they feel/felt absolutely lovely i have to say.

Is the bike not fitted with the wide WTB rims? I.D. 29mm? If so I think a 2.25 would come up a little narrow. Better suited to some of the newer 2.4/2.5 tyres to give a better profile? I personally wouldn’t run particularly narrow (by today’s standard) tyres on what is, in essence an enduro bike.  But then I guess it depends where and what you are riding.

No idea on rims Russ.

As to where etc, that's going to be complex as it's the sort of bike that's going to end up being a bit of an all rounder for me, so may end up being multi wheeled.

A Saturday could be a BPW trip, with an extneded Ridgeway ride of 90 miles on the Sunday... i won't want to be swapping tyres that often, so it will either be a 1 tyre to rule them all, or a multiple set of wheels scenario. With the prices of wheels and what i already have spare, that's not completely ridiculous these days in the world.

stock rims are indeed i29s. Grippy front with a relatively fast rear is going to be your best compromise. Staying away from WTB might be a good idea too as they tend to be on the hefty side

In that case they are probably the same as came on my Whyte hardtail.  Nice looking and wide rims but bloody heavy.  Maybe a good shout having a nice set of trail wheels with suitable tyres and the standard set with hefty grippy tyres for uplift/alps trips.  That said I don’t personally bother with that, but I don’t ride trail centres really.  So my ‘nduro’ spec tyres stay on for uplift, off piste in fact everything nowadays.  You soon get used to the weight/drag.

Reading the usual horror stories on the SRAM GXP BB made me have a few thoughts, along with the lower BB on the bike compared to some, so thought i'd make a few small changes.

Bottom Bracket swapped to a Hope Shimano BB
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49384574767_df426b0762_5k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49384574767_df426b0762_5k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2ieWRxD ]2020-01-14_12-43-46[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Crankset swapped to a 170mm Raceface Ride setup with a 32T
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49383911138_a848e23df8_5k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49383911138_a848e23df8_5k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2ieTsgL ]2020-01-14_12-43-37[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Might have a competition on our hands here. Similarly at the start of the year I got mine and was just going to "change parts as they needed it" so far i've changed....

- Cranks to 165mm GX
- BB to Uberbike
- Brakes to TRP Quadiem
- Rotors to 200/180mm
- Damper to Charger 2
- Fork spring changed to coil
- Tyres changed to DHF and DHR II
- New chain
- Seatpost swapped to Fox Transfer
- Grips swapped to Fabric
- Chainguide added

I expect you to have a similar list by the end of the week 😉

– Cranks to Racface Ride 170
– BB to Hope stainless
– Tyres changed to not decided yet
– Seatpost swapped to Magura Vyron
– Grips swapped to Fabric (me too)
– Pedals swapped to Nukeproof Neuron

Weeksy - chainguide too? You have ISCG (05?) tabs so could go full top guide and lower skid.

TBH mate with a N/W i've never really needed one. I can't recall the last time i dropped a chain (apart from the Parkwood but that was in the garage and we know why). So must admit, i'm not massively feeling a need to do so.

Fair enough. Mine drop in races.. because it's a race and chains love to drop then. And recently my bb area has become more of a magnet for flying rocks and also hooking up on things if I muck up. I haven't got a skid, but I think I will.