Bird Aeris of Whyte T130

MTB_Trail_Rider

Hi guys, would appreciate the help as I have a bit of a dilemma . I'm fairly new to MTB's coming from a road bike background.
From reading the reviews and looking on the forums I have narrowed the bikes that I want down to 2 candidates which are the Bird Aeris or the Whyte T130s

I know that the white is off the peg where as with the bird it has a very good options list to spec from, but bike for bike with the cost spend being the same I would like to know which bike would be best for me.

If it's relevant I'm 6'3" and about 93kg

Thanks in advance, much appreciated.

cooldad

I'd pick the Bird. You can talk to the guy who puts it together, who happens to be the same guy who owns the company.

Bespoke is better.

rockmonkeysc

Bespoke may or may not be better. The off the shelf options could be what you want.
The Whyte might be too small. The large size is too small for me and I'm only 6'1"

supersonic

The Aeris is a longer travel machine, with slacker angles - this will make the handling more stable and give extra confidence on the downs. The Whyte should feel sharper in the handling stakes (though is not particularly steep compared to some). However the Whyte doesn't really have the light weight to go with its more xc based poise at this money. This is probably a lot to do with a lot of mid range parts such as the double ringed x5 kit and own name kit. You are getting quite a bit more gear range though. The Aeris GX spec, with reverb is about the same price and gets a better fork to boot. In fact I'd buy without the reverb - you can always buy one after market for less than the upgrade price.

Both get good reviews - is testing an option? If not, then I'd probably go the Aeris - lifetime warranty for any owner on frame leans the deal, and I think it is simply a better package.

Is hard to overlook the Baordman Pro FS though:

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/products/9 ... -650b.html

lawman

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Bespoke may or may not be better. The off the shelf options could be what you want.
The Whyte might be too small. The large size is too small for me and I'm only 6'1"

Really? I'm 6ft1 and rode a large T130 last weekend and it felt spot on. Was it a 2015 model you rode? They've added 20mm to the frames this year and it certainly felt great to me. Also rode the XL and that was just too long with a 50mm stem. Great bike though, can see why it's getting rave reviews!

Chris71127

I have a 2016 t130 and I love it. The single ring version. I have no complaints at all. I come from a carbon xc bike and the geometry is completely different. Far more laid back and downhill focused. Only complaint I had was the stock tyre choice.
I'm 6ft and I wouldn't want it any bigger although 6,3 might be pushing it. I think they do an xl.

BloggingFit

I own an Aeris and really think it's a great bike but having never lived with a Whyte I can't give a good comparison back to back. As Supersoninc states, based upon spec you get better perceived value from Bird. Sizing wouldn't be an issue with Bird either for you running an XL. One of their Team riders is around 6'3" and has no issue with fit.

They have a few places dotted about the UK for test rides as well as from their office location on near the Surrey/Hampshire border.

Ultimately I would test ride both and mae a decision of the back of which you prefer the feel of.

rockmonkeysc

lawman wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Bespoke may or may not be better. The off the shelf options could be what you want.
The Whyte might be too small. The large size is too small for me and I'm only 6'1"

Really? I'm 6ft1 and rode a large T130 last weekend and it felt spot on. Was it a 2015 model you rode? They've added 20mm to the frames this year and it certainly felt great to me. Also rode the XL and that was just too long with a 50mm stem. Great bike though, can see why it's getting rave reviews!

I think it was a 2015. It was at a demo early last year. The large felt a bit short. XL seems to be hard to get.
I thought it was OK. Could say anything bad about it but didn't want to buy one.

lawman

RockmonkeySC wrote:

lawman wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Bespoke may or may not be better. The off the shelf options could be what you want.
The Whyte might be too small. The large size is too small for me and I'm only 6'1"

Really? I'm 6ft1 and rode a large T130 last weekend and it felt spot on. Was it a 2015 model you rode? They've added 20mm to the frames this year and it certainly felt great to me. Also rode the XL and that was just too long with a 50mm stem. Great bike though, can see why it's getting rave reviews!

I think it was a 2015. It was at a demo early last year. The large felt a bit short. XL seems to be hard to get.
I thought it was OK. Could say anything bad about it but didn't want to buy one.

The 2015 ones were pretty short but rode a 2016 last weekend and was very, very impressed. The large fit me like a glove, the XL just felt too big, was bigger than my large Foxy which is a big old bike! I am thinking of moving the Foxy on in the next few months, just more bike than I need and could use the money from it's sale for other things. The T-130 is top of the list as a potential "downgrade" in price terms at least, but performance wise I couldn't fault it, certainly a match for the Foxy in pretty much every area. Less stable on descents maybe, but more involving to ride.

MTB_Trail_Rider

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the in put on this so far. I can't really get to try the bikes out as I don't really get the time and none of the centres that I know of are that close to where I live.

Having had a bike fit in the past I have been told that I have along torso. I have a custom road bike which has an extended top tube as a result, so I guess from reading the posts so far this would lead me to the Bird as being a better fit for me.

I like the fact that I can spec this bike too, thinking of going for XL frame with the xt11 group set Monarch plus rear shock and Atlas cranks, 180 rear 203 front rotors. If I go wth the reverb thats an additional £200 not sure it's worth the extra!

clint29

I own the 2016T-130 yaris and it's a very capable bike and great fun to ride it's a large and I'm 6'. I've never ridden an Aeris so can't compare like for like. My old bike was an Orange Alpine 160 and more than what I needed for the riding I'm now doing, the Whyte looks really good in the flesh aswell.

dellydel

Funny people mention the size of the Whyte t130, I did a demo at Cannock Chase last weekend and tried the 2016 t129scr in large and it felt perfect (I'm 6'1" myself). I then tried a large in the 2016 t130 yari and it felt a little shorter, but maybe it was just that the bar was lower on the 29er (head tube 10mm shorter)? Either way both the whyte bikes were fantastic and for the money I think it's a great package, the geometry, yari fork and GX1x11 were great! In fact the only thing I would upgrade are the tyres. I think you would be more then happy with the Whyte and if you are doing more trail riding and xc riding the Whyte would be better suited!

clint29

dellydel wrote:

Funny people mention the size of the Whyte t130, I did a demo at Cannock Chase last weekend and tried the 2016 t129scr in large and it felt perfect (I'm 6'1" myself). I then tried a large in the 2016 t130 yari and it felt a little shorter, but maybe it was just that the bar was lower on the 29er (head tube 10mm shorter)? Either way both the whyte bikes were fantastic and for the money I think it's a great package, the geometry, yari fork and GX1x11 were great! In fact the only thing I would upgrade are the tyres. I think you would be more then happy with the Whyte and if you are doing more trail riding and xc riding the Whyte would be better suited!

I think the T130-yari is a definite contender for trail bike of the year.

rockmonkeysc

The Yari fork is a bit crude. I thought it would be better. Felt like a lighter Domain RC to me.

clint29

Whyte t-130rs won What Mountain Bike trail bike of the year. I'm loving mine.

Angus Young

clint29 wrote:

Whyte t-130rs won MBR trail bike of the year. I'm loving mine.

The Whyte has smashed it in every test I read so far. Sounds like a cracking bike. It would be at the top of my list if I were looking for a bike.