The Whyte G-160 Works is a monster of a bike, its uncompromising super long and slack geometry brings downhill bike confidence and performance to the enduro sector- with the right rider. The Whyte G-160 Works is not a bike for gentle trail rides, it’s for smashing through rocky direct lines and going against the clock. However, at £ 4799 the Works model comes at a hefty cost, we tested the far more affordable £ 2499 Whyte G-160 S to see its animal instincts are equally as feral!
Specification of the Whyte G-160 S
The new 2017 Whyte G-160 S hits an aggressive price point of £ 2499 and comes fitted with a sensible build for the type of rowdy riding it will encounter. The SRAM GX drivetrain and SRAM Descendant crankset provide all the benefits of 1×11 performance in a robust package that will not cost the earth if you send it into a tree. We were very pleased to see a RockShox Reverb Stealth and Guide R brakes, both great performers at this price point. We also like the 160 mm RockShox Yari RC fork with Boost axle, the damping is almost as good as the more expensive Pike and Lyrik and the burly chassis adds confidence to the front end. The rear is controlled by a RockShox Monarch Debonair shock, delivering up 160 mm of linear plush suspension. The 29 mm (internal) wide WTB STs rims are not the lightest but in our testing have proven tough and resilient and open up the supplied WTB tyres well.
A bike with such aggressive intentions needs a suitable cockpit and we were pleased to see a comfortable 780 mm bar and 40 mm stem, perfect for keeping in control when everything starts to get a little wild. For the money it is a good build with little to complain about, ready to head out and shred. At this price point the payoff is always weight and at a portly 14.4 kg the G-160 S not going to hustle the front on climbs, but it ascends steadily enough and prefers having gravity on its side anyway.
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