You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Thinking of picking up a trail bike while there are some 2018 deals around. Really not sure what to go for and was hoping for some opinions.
Narrowed it down to this
Or this...
https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/143130/products/trek-fuel-ex-8-29er-mountain-bike-2018-silver.aspx
Will be used for trail centres and rocky trails around Rivington and the lakes.
I'll try and test ride but as they are on sale I might not get the chance. Might be able to upgrade the wheels on the whyte with the difference if I go for that.
oh, I'm 5'10" if that makes a difference.
Hi Andy.
Saw this post sitting at the very bottom of the first page, about to disappear for ever. So I thought I'd rescue it for you 🙂
No idea about either of those bikes though. I'm currently tempted by a giant anthem or a specialized camber.
In best stw tradition I have a Whyte and would highly recommend - great bikes 👍
Go for the Whyte. I've had my T130 for just over 2 years now and it hasn't missed a beat. Not the lightest, not the fastest but as something that is incredibly good fun to ride and is a dream to own as it's been so reliable I can't recommend them enough.
Whyte all day long.
Love mine.
Either would do the job well. I would be slightly put off by the press fit bottom bracket on the trek having lived with pf30 on a camber for 4 years. But not enough to rule it out if it feels like the right bike when you sit on it.
Having just bought a Cotic FlareMax, I can only help on one of those selections .....
I tried the Whyte T130 .... and I seem to be the only person in the world that didn't like it. For an XL the frame was short, the front end was low (personal peference I know). As a British product, I wanted to like it, but it probably didn't help that my local dealer couldn't be arsed to alter the susnpension for me ... or was only discounting from full price (three weeks ago) by 200 GBP .... and the new ones had just been announced - which apeear to be longer top tube ...
I rode a Canyon Spectral 4 days beforehand at the Canyon test centre ... and loved it. If it hadn't been for the wait/ snapping rear chainstays I would have had on in a heart beat ..... it's a bit more travel than you wanted. But have a look ...
Swings and roundabouts ... whichever fits you best.
Do you prefer Shimano and TRP to SRAM ?
My brother has an older EX8 and I have an older T-130 ...
Might be able to upgrade the wheels on the whyte with the difference if I go for that.
The stock wheels on my T-130 with the WTB i23 and Whyte hubs are quite possibly the worst wheels I've ever owned. Upgraded those for £100... (discounted) and the bike feels much lighter... for such heavy wheels the rims are also made of cheese. (Perhaps with the Maxxis tyres on the wider rims this might be mitigated) but though mine are barely used they are pinged by rocks) It came with god awful tyres as well ... with a beeline on the back.
The only other criticism is for my height (5'10 1/2) and SHORT legs I am completely maxed out on a 125mm dropper on a Med Frame. (Can't remember the EX8)
It also came with a RS ML tune shock... I'm about 73kg and swapping to a ML3 is better... (not necessary but better).
The Whyte is super playful... and i've thrown it down pretty much anything and everything and its a joy to ride.
I've recently added a longer travel NP Mega 275 which I didn't really NEED (but frame was being sold local and cheap) because it saw more use last year on uplifts and it seemed/felt I was somewhat abusing it not because it wasn't handling it. Unsurprisingly it feels less playful... but I'd thought pedalling would be the biggest compromise but TBH not as big as it being less playful
Looking at the specs the Whyte is better value, but a lot of it would depend on your riding style. The Trek is a very efficient, snappy bike while the Whyte has more progressive geometry which sounds, to me, like it'd suit the riding you're talking about better.
Thanks to all for taking the time to reply (special thanks to thegeneralist for saving my thread 👍🏻).
I had a quick sit on the whyte and surprisingly the M felt really short. The L felt much better although it had no pedals on so I could only really test the reach. Might pop back to have a spin on a large tomorrow and just make sure it's not too tall.
I'm leaning more towards the whyte really as I feel it would suit me better. I've had a t129 which I found really fast and capable but I missed something from previous smaller wheeled bikes. If I was racing I would probably go for the 29er but I'm not so I think the whyte is the best choice this time.
My main concern with the whyte was ending up with a heavy bike that I would need to upgrade a lot to be happy with. I can manage wheels, tyres and I have a decent saddle if I need to change that but don't want to be spending almost 2k and having to buy a new fork or shock too.