Design Team
It's what the British have always done best. Glorious single digit defiance against far bigger opposition that we're theoretically no match for on paper. That's where the opposition have always failed though, pitting paper theory against raw talent and stubborn independence. We're very proud to carry on that tradition at Whyte.
Like most great British success stories from Formula One to the fields of Agincourt, the way we operate just wouldn't work on a big, mass market scale. There are literally a handful of us in the Whyte design team, but we're proud to be a genuinely uncompromised, tight knit team. A team whose clear thinking, forward focus and inspirational innovation is fired and forged by the harsh reality of UK riding day in, day out year after year.
Our successful designs are born from a rare mix of cutting edge computer CAD packages and sodden, grinding moorland singletrack. An encyclopaedic knowledge and appreciation of the finest details of fibre construction and alloy alchemy mated with the make or break clarity gained on 2am death laps in the pouring rain. However long it takes, the design journey is always made worthwhile by the shared, sly top of the climb or bottom of the descent grin that signals a project turning from OK to truly outstanding though.
If our bikes and our riding weren't so important to us though we wouldn't have pioneered not one , but two unique dropout designs. The 'Big Gripper' system that synced Formula One and Moto GP technology to produce a super stiff rear triangle/wheel connection years before bolt through axles and the geometry and 1 or 9 gear adjustable '19' design. Our frames wouldn't be so shockingly stiff in terms of linear response and power transmission if it wasn't our effort and our race team that had charged them up so many climbs so many times. Our geometry wouldn't be as sorted as it is unless we'd become obsessed with finding the perfect ride height and front centre dimensions to tame the slipperiest singletrack descents on our lunchtime rides. Hell, we might even begin to care less about mud clearance than cutting a few mind crushing weeks off development time if we weren't so determined our bikes will never clog, however sticky the Cotswolds get.
We wouldn't have it any other way though. Without the dedication, experience and skill of our design team the reviewers wouldn't have written so many superlatives and handed out so many awards for our scrapbooks. Our team riders wouldn't have had so many victories. Most importantly of all, we couldn't guarantee you the ride of your life unless we'd spent a significant part of ours making it that good.
