We are delighted to say that our Whyte T129 – S has won the coveted What Mountain Bike, Trail Bike of the Year.

Congratulations to all the team!

5/5 and overall win in Trail Bike of the Year.

“Fuss – free suspension and top value kit produce fantastic flow and make the Whyte our clear winner.”

“Fast enough up short climbs to make me drop the seat for cornering, poised through corners and neutral through the bars to snatch back traction, well equipped yet very upgradeable…Whyte’s T-129S was the clear winner…”

“Testers who hadn’t ridden a 29er felt instantly at home on technical trails!”

- What Mountain Bike.

Whyte T129 – S – a capable, fun, good value trail bike!

Huge value and great fun, the T129 – S is a proper stormer, this kind of geometry plus big wheels is a winning combination!

Read the latest CTC Magazine to discover just why they love the Whyte T129 – S, a trail 29er that you can ride hard all day!

The tester and editor actually bought a Whyte M109 after this review.

What Mountain Bike lap up our new carbon 29er wheelsets.

“…impressive stiffness…ideal for high mileage monster rides.”

- Guy Kesteven, What Mountain Bike Chief Tester.

It seems our own 1st set of wheels are an ideal upgrade for aggressive trail riders and all day marathon riders!

Grizedale Duathlon

March 10^th 2013

A sunny, but cold day with a bitter wind greeted the near 200 competitors to the beautiful Grizedale forest.  The course consisted of 2 x 6.5km runs sandwiching a 24km MTB ride.  Whyte Bikes sponsored athlete, Tom Gibbs was looking to defend his title and course record set the previous year.  This year he was also using the new Whyte M109S with its awesome Carbon Wheels.

The start was a typically fast affair with many starting too fast, the long fire road drag from the centre being particularly unpleasant, leaving Tom in about 10^th place.  However soon the course left the main tracks and onto much nicer paths leading up to the excellent viewpoint of Carron Crag, the Old Man of Coniston looking particularly great with a fresh dusting of snow.  By this point Tom was up into 3^rd spot and catching second.

The descent is a good mixture of technical rocky sections and some faster fire roads that lead back to the transition at the forest centre.

After about 30 minutes the leaders were onto their bikes and heading upon the start of the TNF trail.  The bike course is based on an extended loop of the TNF trail, with extensions to the south and a cheeky extra climb on the Coniston side.  Tom soon overhauled the two men ahead; however he was caught by a speedy Andy Douglas.  They pulled away from the rest of the field and Tom was on his tail until Tom had a wee stack on a rocky section.  For the rest of the course Tom continued to chase and lost few seconds on the final few technical sections to start the last run a minute down.

Quickly Tom caught sight of his prey and slowly pulled him in, overtaking him on the descent.  Tom hammered back as fast as he could to pull out a 24 second advantage by the finish, successfully defending his title and breaking his record by 3 minutes from the previous year in less than ideal conditions.

Tom Gibbs, Team Adidas TERREX.

Open 5 – Round 5 – Yorkshire Dales

March 3^rd 2013

Next round of the ever popular Open 5 series was held in the lovely village of Grassington nestled in the Yorkshire Dales.  Not only was this part of the Open 5 series, but also the first round of the UK Adventure Racing Championships.  Team adidas TERREX were well represented with Tom Gibbs and Chris Hope going for a 3^rd win out of 3 in the Male Pairs category and new girl Renee Saxton racing with guest star Ian Furlong in the Mixed Pairs.  The prolonged dry period promised dry trails and so it proved, with some excellent fast biking.

The run course took competitors to the North east of Grassington onto some lower moors and sections of limestone pavement.  A highlight being the lovely rocky valley above Conistone.  The dry terrain gave fast running and Tom and Chris were back to transition in 1hr 40 minutes.

They were very quickly out on the bikes.  The bike controls were all focuses to the west of Grassington, including the famous Mastiles Lane and bridleways near Malham.  There were a cluster of controls on the hills immediately west of Grasington and the boys chose to get these before their main decision point at Weets Top.  Here the quickly realised that they would clear the course and it would come down to time rather than points.  Spurred on, they descended to Malham before the big pull up to Mastiles Lane.  Sometimes boggy, today it was a delight, especially the excellent descent to Kilnsey.  Here the Whyte 29CS shone speeding down the gravelly descent.

One final section of tarmac, where the lads overtook some road bikers, led back to Grassington.  After a superb effort, Tom and Chris had cleared the course in 4 hours and 7 minutes, the quickest ever in an Open 5, earning them lots of bonus points and the fastest time overall.

In the Open 5 series Tom and Chris have 3 wins from 3.  The next round is near Keswick in the Lake District, only 10 minutes from Chris’s house – so local knowledge should help the boys seal the series !

Renee and Ian had a good race, but left the decision to go down to Malham a bit late and it cost them 10 minutes, which would probably of given them the win in the Mixed category, as it was they came a very good third and earned some great points for the UK Championships.

The team are leading the UK Championships after round 1, the next round being the Might Contain Nuts 12hour race in the Brecon Beacons.

Tom Gibbs

Team Adidas Terrex Racing

Buy the latest copy of What Mountain Bike now to read all about the test winning Whyte M109-S…

Following MBRs recent review winning test of the Whyte T-129 S, the test is now available on their website @

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

Verdict
Silent in action, stealth in appearance and blisteringly fast, the T-129s is much more than a new 29er from Whyte; it’s a turning point in the identity of the brand. It is also the most accomplished suspension bike the company has produced to date, and the only thing standing between the T-129s and a perfect 10 rating is the rear suspension’s slight bias towards pedalling efficiency over outright grip or playfulness. In that respect, Whyte hasn’t beaten Specialized at its own game — but in every other department the T-129s manages to inch ahead.

MBR rating 9