Spotted: New Whyte Bikes S-150 Long Travel 29er

While attending the BMBA Datatag UK National Enduro Championship there was one bike on the podium that we did not recognise. It carried the distinctive carbon silhouette of the Whyte T130 trail bike, but something was different. Hold on, was it running on 29er wheels?

Indeed it was, and the numbers on the side, S-150, showed that this bike is new. With the phenomenal success of the G-160 and T-130, UK brand Whyte have been going from strength to strength, and secretly we were all wishing that they would take that ‘geometry focussed’ approach and build a more aggressive 29er. Well here it is, and while it has not officially been released yet, the Whyte Enduro Team are quietly racing the S-150’s to see how hard the long legged trail bike can be pushed. Seeing that elite racer Martyn Brookes took the Masters UK National Champion title and finished 2nd overall on his first weekend on 29er wheels, it would suggest that the S-150 goes pretty well indeed.

When Martyn headed up to the Tweed Valley after the race, we were in a perfect position to corner him and find out more about the bike. While there are still a few secrets we cannot reveal, after a number of headlocks and arm twisting we can say that the new S-150 is a long travel 29er aggressive trail bike, boasting 150 mm of travel front and rear. The bike has a 65.5-degree head angle, aggressive for a 29er, and the Large is roomy with a 480 mm reach (size Medium is 459 mm) and balanced 435 mm chainstays. With a 1212 mm wheelbase and 776 mm front centre in the size Medium, the S-150 promises good numbers for a hard hitting trail bike that can happily throw down at some local races.

We are already working on getting a bike to bring you a full test, so stay tuned for further information. There are so many exciting 29er’s hitting the market this year we predict a boom in the sales of #275AINTDEAD T-Shirts.

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