WHYTES 120CRS
£3,499 Whyte’s new shorter-travel 29er is a radical ripper if you like your XC riding properly extreme
If you want a proper pinner that charges enduro-hard on descents but is still e cient enough to hold its own in a marathon XC situation, then Whyte’s new 120mm 29er literally stretches what you can expect from a short-travel bike.
The frame
To keep development costs down, Whyte use the same frame on the S-120 and T-130 bikes. All models have an aluminium rear end too, but the carbon mainframe saves a significant 650g over the alloy equivalent. The radically-stretched reach (480mm on the large) is 5mm longer than on Whyte’s S-150 enduro bike and the head angle is equally slack, at 65.5 degrees. While sections such as the top tube are slimmer, the stays and pivot points are properly chunky. At 2,600g without shock, the frame is relatively heavy compared to other 120mm trail/race options like Scott’s Spark or Intense’s Sniper.
Whyte will replace the big pivot bearings for free if they wear out, the internal cable/hose entry and exit points are neatly sealed, and the seatpost is clamped internally with a rubber grommet to keep spray out of the frame. The SRAM DUB bottom bracket (BB) is a screw-in unit that’ll be easy to eventually replace, and there’s room for a full-size bottle and 29x2.5in or 27.5x2.8in tyres.
The kit
While the frame is weighty, the cutaway legs of the Fox 34 Step-Cast fork save significant grams without any obvious accuracy compromises. The DPS shock out back matches its 120mm of travel and three-way compression damping adjustment. With 32 single-gauge spokes on 27mm-wide Race Face rims, the wheels are sturdy rather than speedy, but the rear hub hooks up fast. The 2.3in Maxxis Forekaster and 2.25in CrossMark II tyres are an excellent choice for fast all-weather riding.
There’s a 34t chainring on the Truvativ Stylo cranks to speed up the 12-speed SRAM Eagle gearing and the GX shifters are noticeably more refined in feel than NX. While 180/160mm rotors save a bit of weight from the SRAM Guide brakes at the expense of ultimate power, modulation is excellent. Whyte’s own 40mm stem and 780mm bar are spot on for techy trail handling, but some testers found the grips too fat. You get BikeYoke’s excellent Revive
dropper as standard, and the whole package is really well-priced for a shop-bought/supported bike. Overall weight is OK for a trail bike, if not exactly podium optimised.
The ride
The versatility and velocity of the S-120 mean it easily outrides the scales in everyday use. Unlike on a lot of lighter 120mm frames, there’s no trace of twist or twang from either end. That means you can make the most of the long-reach geometry and slack head angle to push the bike really hard into turns or charge through rock and root spreads. While you can feel flex through the cutaway tips of the SC fork if you really wrench the big 780mm bar around, control from the ‘GRIP’ damper is consistently impressive.
Whyte have used a shorter shock than on the old T-129 to alter the leverage ratio and progression, for more supple traction but firmer mid-stroke support and drive. The one time we raced the S-120 – in the six-hour Steve Worland cup at Bristol Bikefest – we ended up leaving the damper in ‘open’ mode, to carry speed better and reduce fatigue.
On such a tech and speed-hungry bike, you inevitably find yourself in situations where you might want more travel, and the equivalentpriced S-150 is only 700g heavier. That’s balanced by the fact that, on the S-120, there’s less pitch and handling change under braking and weight shifts. This means you can push harder and get a more visceral reward on less seismic segments.
Illustrating just how versatile this bike is, not only did we win the solo category in Bristol (with lighter wheels) and smash out some climbing KOMs on Strava, quashing our initial weight concerns, but it also took the flat-out descents of the ’Ard Moors Enduro in its stride (albeit with tougher tyres on). It hasn’t flinched, mechanically, during several months’ hard use hosting other testing components either, putting it right up there in the rankings for naturally fast yet feisty trail riding, all year round. GUY KESTEVEN www.whyte.bike
Hefty for its travel, but combines superb tech trail handling with easy velocity in a top-value package