2017 Whyte USA 905

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2017 Whyte USA 905
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flag MolonLabe48
Posted: Oct 1, 2016 at 15:07 Quote
A few months ago I moved from northern Kentucky to the Houston area. Before the move I decided to sell my 2014 Santa Cruz Heckler figuring I wouldn't have any need for a 6" travel bike down in Houston. Come to find out, there are quite a few mtb trails within an hour or 2 of where I live.

Recently I got an itch to get another bike and opted for a trail oriented hardtail and after searching and searching I stumbled upon Whyte Bikes 900 series. The spec and pricepoint of the 905 is pretty much unbeatable and everything about the bike checked the right block for what I wanted. I decided to place a pre-order on a 2017 model since Whyte was offering a 10% discount.

After waiting a few weeks for Whyte USA to receive their inventory, it finally arrive earlier this week. Just took it out on its maiden voyage today and this thing is awesome. Exactly what I was looking for.

Since the Whyte 900 series bikes don't seem to get a lot of love in this forum, I thought I'd start a thread to see if anyone else could share they opinions as well.

Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt176/jbarbaresi/MTB/DSC_8671-01_zpsiyrashqd.jpeg
flag ptpt
Posted: Oct 5, 2016 at 4:01 Quote
Great looking bike. The Renthal cockpit also looks like a 'works' factory upgrade.

Interesting that Whyte Bikes are appearing on the radar stateside. Rightly so, they are very popular over here!

What sort of trails have you got around Houston?
flag MolonLabe48
Posted: Oct 5, 2016 at 12:01 Quote
ptpt wrote:
Great looking bike. The Renthal cockpit also looks like a 'works' factory upgrade.

Interesting that Whyte Bikes are appearing on the radar stateside. Rightly so, they are very popular over here!

What sort of trails have you got around Houston?

There is not much elevation in the area so most of the trails are relatively flat and smooth singletrack. There is one decent set of trails about 20 minutes from me called Jack Brooks that is a little more technical. I still need to get out and do some more exploring but nothing so far compares to what I'm used to.
flag whoputthattreethere
Posted: Oct 29, 2016 at 11:08 Quote
Still liking the 905? Any more thoughts on it?
What size did you go for based on your size?
Really close to pulling the trigger on one, whyte is recommending medium based on my height 5'11" but also that's all they have. Reach looks right on the medium for me though.
flag titaniumtit
Posted: Oct 29, 2016 at 11:28 Quote
Interesting, their HQ is just down road from me.

I used to have the titanium version of that above. Got rid of it quick as steering was way too twitchy and was more setup as very light travil bike verging on race xc weapon.

Enjoy though!
flag Gorran
Posted: Oct 31, 2016 at 15:03 Quote
whoputthattreethere wrote:
Still liking the 905? Any more thoughts on it?
What size did you go for based on your size?
Really close to pulling the trigger on one, whyte is recommending medium based on my height 5'11" but also that's all they have. Reach looks right on the medium for me though.

I'm 5'10 and have a medium 2015 905, if I was you I would definitely try to ride it before you buy as I think if I was any taller I would want a large.

The bike is absolutely amazing though, feels so much better than a hardtail should in scary steep stuff, I've ridden several mountain passes in the Lake District and Wales on it and raced a couple of PMBA and Scottish enduro series rounds. It also felt fine doing a 50 mile XC event.
flag whoputthattreethere
Posted: Nov 1, 2016 at 10:43 Quote
A test ride couldn't happen, pretty rare over here in the states.
From what I read their sizing changed starting 2016 and the large was re-classed or the frame geometry stretched so a 2017 medium is the same as a 2015 large.
The reach number looks right to me on the medium and is longer then the large 29er I currently ride which feels overall big to me, so I think I'll be OK with the med. If it doesn't work out they'll accept it for refund.
Ordered and paid for,waiting on the shipping notice.
flag SenorMartillo
Posted: Nov 2, 2016 at 9:25 Quote
WhoPTTT: youre gonna love it. I bought one of the first Whytes sold in the US a year ago, liked it so much I ended up buying a T129 for my wife and a 405 for my kid. The spec, fit and finish, the whole package on all of them is just sublime. No silliness or untested "innovation". Just a well grounded, well balanced, thoughtfully spec'd bike with impeccable trail manners and a very competitive price point. The fact that in 2016 you can actually call the distributor in California and get a human on the phone to help is gravy.
flag whoputthattreethere
Posted: Nov 2, 2016 at 11:12 Quote
Ordered Monday, shipped Tuesday, should get here on the 8th.
Good experience so far, good communication and they were willing to deal some on the pricing.
I'll get it out to some real trails Thursday after I get it and report back.
flag Gorran
Posted: Nov 8, 2016 at 13:50 Quote
whoputthattreethere wrote:
Ordered Monday, shipped Tuesday, should get here on the 8th.
Good experience so far, good communication and they were willing to deal some on the pricing.
I'll get it out to some real trails Thursday after I get it and report back.

Awesome, tell us what you think! I just dislocated my shoulder riding down Helvellyn in the snow so unfortunately no matter how good the bike is it doesnt protect you from riding like a moron.
flag whoputthattreethere
Posted: Nov 9, 2016 at 14:40 Quote
"no matter how good the bike is it doesn't protect you from riding like a moron."
My wife's thoughts exactly.

Snow? what's that?

First impressions - wow

Order process - Timeline was right on. Only issue is they didn't set the tires up tubeless as requested. Arrived well packed, no damage. Set the bars, adjust the levers, pop on the front wheel and you're riding.

Frame very well made,welds look neat for Aluminum. Hydro forming on the tubes is great looking unless your a chromo straight tube kind of person. Personally I like the more modern look.Pictures don't due the vividness of this color justice, it's way dayglo orange. No excuse for a motorist to run you over if you do some road time with this color. No complaints there. Lot's of wows on the looks from the family members.

Love this drive train on first impressions which are limited. I'm not new to 1 x 11 but I like the ratios with this setup better than my Shimano setup. Love the double thumb shifting also. Dropper seems good,lever is a little cheap in my opinion, other than that no issues. All of the components are top notch.

Medium was perfect for me, I'm 5'11 with a 32" inseam. Reach, stack and stand over are large for a medium designated frame. Feels like there's enough room to work on it and it's large enough to saddle comfortably for me. I did change the bars after the first test ride for my140 Raceface bars with a touch more rise to them.The bike shipped with 2 spacers above the stem so I could have started there but I like my old 140's and it worked out perfect with the swap. Can't say much about the Yari with what I got to ride, full open plenty of cush, full lock just a bit of compliance and no bob on hard pump pedaling. Came with 2 bottomless tokens in the box but don't think I'll need them with my style of riding.

Only got to ride it around the neighborhood,rough asphalt and shell rock flat trail. Rear is more compliant than I thought it would be but it has big ol' 2.4 borderline fat bike tires so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. We'll see how it is on some rougher stuff tomorrow. I can tell already it's going to be easy to flick around. The back end comes right around on command at high speed. Fast! Fast! Fast on flat ground, surprisingly so. I will have no issue XC running this rig with my wife and if geometry performs the way I think it will on some more challenging terrain it will be the perfect ride for me.

If I survive the the over confidence this rig will probably inspire tomorrow out at the park I'll report back.
flag Conan2015
Posted: Nov 9, 2016 at 16:51 Quote
Hi guys, I've got the 2016 905 , I'm just wondering would it be worth changing it from 1x10 to 1x11? Looks better and more modern like that and I'm also interested in trying 11 speed!
flag titaniumtit
Posted: Nov 9, 2016 at 19:10 Quote
No point unless you're riding up a proper gradient mountain.

That and the fact 11spd cassettes cost a fortune to replace.

Personally what was wrong with 1x9. Bloody marketing bs gimmicks.
flag whoputthattreethere
Posted: Nov 10, 2016 at 3:16 Quote
Conan2015 wrote:
Hi guys, I've got the 2016 905 , I'm just wondering would it be worth changing it from 1x10 to 1x11? Looks better and more modern like that and I'm also interested in trying 11 speed!

Cost/ benefit typical riding conditions really.

Do you run out of range at either end? Are you running a smaller chain wheel up front so you can mange your typical climbs and running out of top end on the straights or vice versa?

If yes you could benefit, if not you're not missing anything.
flag whoputthattreethere
Posted: Nov 10, 2016 at 13:51 Quote
Sees trails, eats trails, this bike rocks, enough said.

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