Lifetime warranty bearings

b_real

How important is this when deciding a new bike?

I'm looking at the Whyte T129S.

cooldad

Great if you are keeping the bike for a while, whip the frame into a dealer and they replace the bearings. What's not to like.
How important is up to you. I wouldn't buy a bike based purely on that, but if it was a deciding factor between two....

b_real

Cheers, I'm wondering how often they tended to go and if they went how expensive to fix/replace. The other bike I'm considering is a Norco Sight killer b and there was a thread on here recently about the bearings going on a similar model that sounded like a bit of a nightmare.

cooldad

Marin and I guess Whyte use seriously high quality bearings which last much longer than most in my experience. But sooner or later they go. Others vary.

lawman

I would rather have the norco than the T129, was not impressed by it, the forks were awful, the shock was awful, the avid brakes were horrific and the sram gears felt so out of place on a 2 grand bike, felt like they'd been taken off a BSO, it was just a poor, poor bike. The ride position was the only thing that was decent, I felt quite well centred on the bike, and the maxxis ardents were very good on the bone dry trails. It felt like there was a decent bike if it had components to match, much like the similar Yeti SB95 I rode, but as an off the shelf bike I wouldn't recommend it, you'd need to swap pretty much everything imo.

stubs

lawman wrote:

I would rather have the norco than the T129, was not impressed by it, the forks were awful, the shock was awful, the avid brakes were horrific and the sram gears felt so out of place on a 2 grand bike, felt like they'd been taken off a BSO, it was just a poor, poor bike. The ride position was the only thing that was decent, I felt quite well centred on the bike, and the maxxis ardents were very good on the bone dry trails. It felt like there was a decent bike if it had components to match, much like the similar Yeti SB95 I rode, but as an off the shelf bike I wouldn't recommend it, you'd need to swap pretty much everything imo.

Have only sat on one in a shop but agree totally about the parts hanging off the frame. Cheap and nasty and what you would expect on a £500 hardtail not a £2,000 bouncer is what I thought. I really liked the frame though and would definitely consider it as a fame set with a decent shock.

supersonic

lawman wrote:

I would rather have the norco than the T129, was not impressed by it, the forks were awful, the shock was awful, the avid brakes were horrific and the sram gears felt so out of place on a 2 grand bike, felt like they'd been taken off a BSO, it was just a poor, poor bike. The ride position was the only thing that was decent, I felt quite well centred on the bike, and the maxxis ardents were very good on the bone dry trails. It felt like there was a decent bike if it had components to match, much like the similar Yeti SB95 I rode, but as an off the shelf bike I wouldn't recommend it, you'd need to swap pretty much everything imo.

The forks are great! When bed in and set up ;-)

stubs

supersonic wrote:

lawman wrote:

I would rather have the norco than the T129, was not impressed by it, the forks were awful, the shock was awful, the avid brakes were horrific and the sram gears felt so out of place on a 2 grand bike, felt like they'd been taken off a BSO, it was just a poor, poor bike. The ride position was the only thing that was decent, I felt quite well centred on the bike, and the maxxis ardents were very good on the bone dry trails. It felt like there was a decent bike if it had components to match, much like the similar Yeti SB95 I rode, but as an off the shelf bike I wouldn't recommend it, you'd need to swap pretty much everything imo.

The forks are great! When bed in and set up ;-)

The bike I looked at had very notchy, flexy forks. Just didnt feel like proper Rockshox in fact all the Whytes had nasty cheap feeling forks when compared to Trek and Cubes in the same showroom. Of course might just be a setup thing but didnt make me feel like splashing the cash.

lawman

supersonic wrote:

lawman wrote:

I would rather have the norco than the T129, was not impressed by it, the forks were awful, the shock was awful, the avid brakes were horrific and the sram gears felt so out of place on a 2 grand bike, felt like they'd been taken off a BSO, it was just a poor, poor bike. The ride position was the only thing that was decent, I felt quite well centred on the bike, and the maxxis ardents were very good on the bone dry trails. It felt like there was a decent bike if it had components to match, much like the similar Yeti SB95 I rode, but as an off the shelf bike I wouldn't recommend it, you'd need to swap pretty much everything imo.

The forks are great! When bed in and set up ;-)

They were the worst forks I tried all day, and by a distance. The bike was clearly bed in, was setup exactly the same as every other bike I tried for my weight etc and they just didn't perform as well I'd expect from a 2 grand bike

Ult

Must just have been the bike you saw. I have got a Whyte T129s and with the discount I negotiated I reckon it's a bit of a bargain. The forks and shock are every bit as good as the fox ones on my Trek (Reba fork is probably better!). It just takes a little bit of patience to get them working for you. I also find the X9 set up much smoother than my XT shimano suprisingly. Only downside is the Avid brakes. They are OK but will swop for XT's once I find some cheap enough.

supersonic

They were the worst forks I tried all day, and by a distance. The bike was clearly bed in, was setup exactly the same as every other bike I tried for my weight etc and they just didn't perform as well I'd expect from a 2 grand bike

You set the pressure, comp, rebound and floodgate yourself, or just used some settings you saw? RSs published settings can be way off!

lawman

supersonic wrote:

They were the worst forks I tried all day, and by a distance. The bike was clearly bed in, was setup exactly the same as every other bike I tried for my weight etc and they just didn't perform as well I'd expect from a 2 grand bike

You set the pressure, comp, rebound and floodgate yourself, or just used some settings you saw? RSs published settings can be way off!

set pressure and checked rebound, exactly as I did on the other forks which were mainly fox. They just felt really poor, shocking small bump performance and they gave my arms a real beating, it had clearly had a tough life so was well bedded in, not sure why they were so poor, but they ruined the bike for me, as I say I felt comfy on it, well centred but the components were poor performance wise.

supersonic

Sounds like the comp and floodgate were way, way too high! Or they were knackered.

lawman

Could have been either, the bike itself felt like it had had a hard life, it was a demo bike after all, but I still expected better.

b_real

The Whyte's taking a bit of a bashing here! I'm surprised, i've not read a single bad word about them anywhere else. Looking at the 2k full suss trail bike category, aside from the direct sales bikes (canyon, rose etc) I've yet to see anything with a better spec than the T129S.

Also its the Norco sight killer b 2 or 3 models that I'm considering, not the b1 at £3.5k. The b2 has Revelation RL forks and the b3 has Sektor TK. Are they better than the Reba RLT on the Whyte?

I took the T129 out for a spin and it felt VERY well centered and balanced.

cooldad

One (Lawman) whine does not a bashing make.

b_real

What about two (lawman & stubs)?

Generally the comments above have been about poor spec n the Whyte. As far as I can tell, the spec on the Norco is lower. Pricewise the B3 is the same as the T129S, hence the spec comparison should be B3 (Sektors, Deore, Elixir 1's & no dropper post) v T129S (Reba's, X9, Elixir 5's & Reverb dropper on the T129S). I think the Whyte is a better spec for the money, although I do prefer the Shimano stuff.

Torres

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that the Whyte isn't terrible value for money.
I think we're all comparing it either to bikes from the 08-09 heyday when value was at its peak or direct sales (canyon, YT, etc.) The Whyte is neither of these.

When you compare it to how much it would cost to build a frame up with the components certain people seem to want you'd be talking about spending more than 2k.

On paper it looks like a solid specced, functional bike.

Ult

If you compare it for example to similar priced camber you get higher spec shifters, brakes, fork and shock as well as having a reverb droppper post thrown in. It is actually a pretty good spec for a £2k 29er full sus IMO. Also as per original post you get a lifetime warranty on the bearings which is ideal for British riding. Dealers were happy to offer me 10% off minimum (eventually got more!) so becomes really good value once that is factored in.
Took a few rides to get the fork and shock as I like them, but now that I have, it's a great bike. Climbs pretty well and descends like a demon. Handling feels very "26er" as well but with the rolling benefits of 29".

bennett_346

lawman wrote:

set pressure and checked rebound, exactly as I did on the other forks which were mainly fox.

You're so predictable

b_real

Also as per original post you get a lifetime warranty on the bearings which is ideal for British riding.

Not the first time I've heard this, but I don't really understand what it means. Is British riding harsher on bearings than other places?

lawman

we have worse weather than alot of places, so you'll be replacing bearings more here than a dryer country. As I say the bikeI rode didn't impress me too much, it felt like a good bike let down by the components, whether that be because they wear well worn in or they were just poor, personally I was disappointed by it. The frame and reverb are worth keeping but personally I'd prefer shimano kit on it.

supersonic

The fork is worth keeping too. They are not usually the way you describe. Unless you have a poor comp and floodgate set up.

b_real

Prefer the Shimano stuff as well. Took the Norco B2 & B3 out for a quick spin today and while I was under-enthused about the Deore/Elixir/XFusion/Sektor combo on the B3, the SLX/XT/Float/Revs on the B2 were phenomenal! The X-Fusion hi lo dropper was fine as well.

B2 aint cheap tho :-(

I don't think I ride enough to wear bearings out, even up here in Scotland where the weather is utter gash... so I don't think it should be a significant factor in my choice of bike.

Thewaylander

if you get teh right conditions you can nail bearings ina ride.

At the moment if you ride trail centres they seem to building them with a load of that fine builders sand, and thats death when its wet for any bearings!

adamfo

lawman wrote:

I would rather have the norco than the T129, was not impressed by it, the forks were awful, the shock was awful, the avid brakes were horrific and the sram gears felt so out of place on a 2 grand bike, felt like they'd been taken off a BSO, it was just a poor, poor bike. The ride position was the only thing that was decent, I felt quite well centred on the bike, and the maxxis ardents were very good on the bone dry trails. It felt like there was a decent bike if it had components to match, much like the similar Yeti SB95 I rode, but as an off the shelf bike I wouldn't recommend it, you'd need to swap pretty much everything imo.

Er.. the exact opposite of what MBR had to say. Shimano SLX would make more sense though.

http://www.mbr.co.uk/bikes/whyte-t-129s-review/

lawman

adamfo wrote:

lawman wrote:

I would rather have the norco than the T129, was not impressed by it, the forks were awful, the shock was awful, the avid brakes were horrific and the sram gears felt so out of place on a 2 grand bike, felt like they'd been taken off a BSO, it was just a poor, poor bike. The ride position was the only thing that was decent, I felt quite well centred on the bike, and the maxxis ardents were very good on the bone dry trails. It felt like there was a decent bike if it had components to match, much like the similar Yeti SB95 I rode, but as an off the shelf bike I wouldn't recommend it, you'd need to swap pretty much everything imo.

Er.. the exact opposite of what MBR had to say. Shimano SLX would make more sense though.

http://www.mbr.co.uk/bikes/whyte-t-129s-review/

It may well have been the bike I rode in particular then, but I still stand by what I say, there is a better to be found with a few small spec changes, SLX would be the first change for me across the board, avid brakes just can't cut it against shimano imo.

b_real

Totally agree on the Shimano stuff, esp the brakes. The SLX on the B2 felt infinitely better than the Avid 1's on the B3. However, my LBS are only offering 10% discount on the B2, so it's a bit outside my budget, and I'd rather have the Whyte over the B3. The Whyte I tested a couple of weeks ago felt like an awesome frame. I could ditch the Elixer 5's on ebay & replace with SLX and then i'm in business.

I can't see a better bike out there for the money (in the full suss 650b 140mm travel or 29er 120mm travel markets) outside of the online dealers (i'm not prepared to throw 2k at something that I've not at least sat on).