Download WHYTE 901

SPECIFICATION
Frame 6061-T6
aluminium
Fork RockShox Sektor
Gold RL, 130mm travel
Wheels Whyte hubs,
Whyte Trail rims, Maxxis
Ardent/Ardent Race
27.5x2.25/2.2in tyres
Drivetrain SRAM S1000
chainset, GX r-mech, X5
shifters and f-mech
Brakes Avid DB3,
180/160mm
Components Whyte
Sizes S, M, L XL
Weight 12.6kg (27.7lb)
GEOMETRY
Size tested M
Head angle 66.5°
Seat angle 72.4°
BB height 302mm
Chainstay 424mm
Front centre 729mm
Wheelbase 1,153mm
Down tube 715mm
Top tube 638mm
Reach 447mm
WHYTE 901
£ 1 , 1 9 9 / 2 7. 5 i n / w h y t e . b i k e
NEED TO
KNOW
Q Lightweight alloy
frame with cuttingedge geometry
Q SRAM’s 2x10
drivetrain offers a
wide gearing range
Q Short stems and
l
b
B
rands live or die by their mission
statements. And it’s not just the
corporate giants that have catchy
slogans to hang their hats on; even
small companies like Whyte try
to define themselves in five words or less.
‘Performance by design’ is Whyte’s motto,
so it may come as a surprise to learn that
the secret sauce that makes its 900 series
hardtails so darn tasty was stumbled across
by accident rather than by design
According to Ian Alexander, Chief
Designer at Whyte Bikes, the process all
started when a prototype 900 series frame
showed up with a head angle that was a
full two degrees slacker than the original
drawing. Rather than reject it, Whyte’s
designer assembled it, rode it and then
totally re-evaluated his take on hardtail
geometry. Almost overnight, Whyte’s
hardtails became synonymous with longer,
lower and slacker geometry, and with this
ce, the 905 was an
the £1,200 hardtail
years straight, and a 900
tured in our Bike of the
ds since its inception.
gile and with composed
ing even in the roughest
ain, the 905 is the
dtail against which
others are measured.
, more accurately, it
s quickly become the
rdtail from which all
ers are measured.
d even though the
try of the Whyte 901 has
Refined seatstays bring
added comfort to the
2017 Whyte 901
been in the public domain for over three
years, it’s gone largely unnoticed by the
bigger brands, who still seem more focused
on traditional XC style hardtails. It’s only
a matter of time, though, before everyone
catches on, so Whyte has tweaked the 901
for 2017. It’s moved the rear brake mount
off the seatstays and onto the chainstays,
effectively making the seatstays longer and
more compliant, while the height of the
front end has also been increased to put
the rider in a more commanding position on
the descents. Subtle changes, for sure, but
it should be enough to keep Whyte ahead
of the hardtail development curve, and this
time it’s leaving nothing to chance.
NOVEMBER 2016
mbr
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