Hi, my name is Miles and I'm responsible for the vast majority of the write ups you can see on this website. I've been riding a Whyte R7 bike almost every day for the last year and here's a few words I've put together about my experience:
Simply put, Whyte R7 bikes are brilliant! Ever since I started at Flat Harry's I'd had my eye on the sleek and uncomplicated Whyte Montpellier that was hung on our wall. It only took me 3 months to commit to purchasing one outright and I've now been commuting on mine 6 days a week, and fitting in occasional longer rides, for a year and I love it.
Despite Whyte characterising their R7 range as just urban bikes, this actually does them a disservice, neglecting their versatility. Thanks to their lightweight design and long wheelbase/slack head angle geometry they eat up the road with panache, making them more than capable of being used for lengthy road rides. The preference for wider tyres and disc brakes also makes them ready for gravel and off-road sections. Granted you can't hammer down these stretches, but they're far from being no-go areas.
I proved both these points on a 90 mile ride to the New Forest earlier this year, when my Google maps SatNav threw a serious wobbly and took me to some very interesting places. This included being unwittingly shoved onto major A-roads where I felt the urgency to put the power down and pound the miles out so I could exit them as quickly as possible. The Montpellier responded really well to my increased power output, happily rolling at 20mph for extended periods. The R7's fundamentally simple design keeps them light, making for great acceleration and the wider tyres roll really well, preserving your hard earned momentum once you get going.
When Google Maps directed me into a lovely forest just South of Hook, my 28c Vittoria Rubino Pro-Control tyres absorbed the terrain impeccably. When it directed me down 2 miles of undulating singletrack further South, the stability conferred by the long and relaxed R7 geometry was most welcome, with my 1x drivetrain proving to be more than capable of getting me up and down with no stress. There are very few hybrids and urban bikes on the market, as fast and versatile as Whyte's R7 bikes.
The above versatility noted, I should reinforce that the R7 bikes are of course at their best in an urban setting. The vast majority of the miles on-board my Montpellier have been commuting miles. Riding in all kinds of weather (storms, hail and heatwaves all included) performance has never been lacking and reliability hasn't been a concern. The irony of working in a bikeshop is you seemingly have so little time to maintain your own machines, fortunately for myself this has not been too much of an issue with the Montpellier. Fully sealed internal cabling, a threaded bottom bracket and SKS raceblade mudguards have helped keep it healthy and in full working order despite a lack of TLC. After many months of hard-riding in often nasty conditions, everything still works like new, with only my chain requiring replacement recently.
When conditions do get nasty, I can rely on my hydraulic disc brakes and wide tyres for completely consistent braking and cornering, a real confidence boost and particularly beneficial for beginners, such as myself at my time of purchase. I'm by no means saying every bike produced should have disc brakes and that is a debate for another day, but on these R7 bikes they really do make all the difference.
Aside from safety and reliability, the R7's nippy and agile performance is most welcome. Decent acceleration is a real boon to urban bikes, as it helps them clear traffic signals and roundabouts in a safe and timely manner. The lightweight design and wide ratio cassettes mean hills really are no problem. According to Strava I climb over 550 foot in elevation just on my way back from work and the Montpellier really takes it all in its stride. The R7's are really fun to ride, with great responsiveness and a comfortable design making your time on the bike a real pleasure.
To summarise, I had high hopes for my Montpellier and frankly it has exceeded them. I look forward to putting many more miles in on it, riding to work and exploring the countryside over the years. If you're after something simple, good value for money and highly capable, a Whyte R7 bike should be your first port of call. They aren't the answer to everything, but on many occasions they have proven to be the most appropriate bike to suit a customers needs, even if they come in looking for something entirely different.