2018 Whyte S-150C RS Granite

At face value Whyte's brand new S-150's are 29er full sussers with 150mm front and rear travel. Look more closely and it becomes apparent that the S stands for “Switch” and that the S-150's can also swap to 27.5 wheels with 2.8 tyres, without any extra adjustment necessary. Peer even closer to find out that the S-150C Works was the bike that Martyn Brookes piloted to victory of the British Enduro National championships. The S-150 range is at home pretty much everywhere off-road, feeling surprisingly fast and light footed on multiple types of terrain from cross country trails to technical singletrack descents.

Whyte are always pushing the limits of geometry to make their bikes simultaneously more stable and more responsive. Despite these aims seemingly being at odds with one another, Whyte have improved both qualities with their 2018 mountain bike geometry and the S-150 series is an excellent example of this. By pushing out the front wheel and slackening the head angle, Whyte mountain bikes are masters at eating up terrain and self-correcting for enhanced stability. Combining this relaxed front end with a low bottom bracket promotes a lowered centre of gravity for even more resolute stability and traction when pounding down tough and technical terrain. With 65.6 degree head angle and 335mm bottom bracket height the S-150C RS is one of the most relaxed mountain bikes going. Whyte keep the handling super sharp and reactive by combining short stems with wide handlebars for huge leverage over the front wheel, resulting in pin-point front end steering that doesn't compromise stability. The result is a bike that goes exactly where you point it in a controlled and stable manner. The S-150C RS utilises a 40/50mm stem with 760/780mm handlebars (different sizes depending on frame size) for extremely close control. Whyte also tuck the rear wheel in as much as possible for enhanced reactivity on tighter trails. The result of all these efforts is a very high level of control and a bike that is tonnes of fun to ride as it complies with your every demand without every feeling twitchy or unresponsive, allowing you to push boundaries like never before. Putting all these efforts with geometry into a carbon frame, really makes the most of them. The carbon frame of the S-150C RS is the same frame used by the Championship winning Works bike and equipped with the excellent components I'm about to detail, the S-150C RS is a very competitive bike for its price.

The S-150C RS's suspension system works in perfect harmony with Whyte's mountain bike geometry to enhance the characteristics of stability, traction and cornering control. The S-150C RS's custom fork plays a big role in this. Rockshox only produce a 150mm travel 29er Pike RC fork for the S-150C RS and they've also reduced the fork's offset (distance between steering axis and axle). Bringing the axle closer to the steering axis increases the trail of the front tyre and increases control of the front wheel. RockShox top tier Pike RC trail fork delivers a smooth and convincing performance, keeping your front wheel in touch and under control on some of the gnarliest surfaces. This compliments Whyte's efforts with the front end geometry nicely and makes for for astonishing front end control at insane speeds. RockShox Deluxe RT Debonair shock plays its own role as well, with its light compression band keeping the rear engaged with the ground as much as possible for optimal traction and therefore power transfer and handling. The S-150C RS also comes equipped with a RockShox Reverb stealth dropper post, so you can get that pesky saddle out the way when you need to.

The sweet stability and control granted by the S-150C RS's geometry and suspension is taken to the next level when combined with the superior rolling of 29 inch wheels. Everything comes together to allow the S-150C RS to blitz along trails and up hills and down descents, without ever feeling uncontrollable. This is also in no small part thanks to the high quality Maxxis tyres used on the S-150C RS that supply ludicrous amounts of traction and edge grip for razor sharp navigation between obstacles on your journeys. Already proven to be incredibly versatile and fast on 29 inch wheels, the option to equip the S-150C RS with 27.5 wheels, on plus width 2.8 inch wide tyres adds yet another string to the bikes bow. The S-150 bikes do not come with 27.5 wheels as standard. Whyte offers two optional extra 27.5x2.8 wheelset packages with the S-150 series. There's a high quality alloy option for £599 and a top level carbon option for £1299. Both wheelsets come with Maxxis tyres, Whyte tyre sealant, a digitial pressure gauge and cassette tools (full contents in specification), so you can swap wheels over in a jiffy to give your S-150 bike a whole new dimension of performance.

The actual physical size difference between the standard 29er wheelset and large volume tyres on 27.5 wheels is relatively minimal, meaning the two can be swapped without any adjustment for an efficient and simple wheel swap. The only change in geometry is the bottom bracket being lowered by 6-8mm (depending on suspension sag). Super simple wheel swap completed, the S-150C RS takes on a new personality for when the trails get properly sketchy. Despite Whyte's significant efforts to make the S-150C RS as agile and technically capable as possible on 29er wheels, there are some jobs that 27.5 wheels just do better. The geometry set-up of the S-150C RS means that the 27.5 wheelset still rolls very efficiently, whilst the extra width of the 2.8 tyres combined with the natural manoeuvrability of a 27.5 wheelset, makes for incredible grip and tight front end handling, perfect for negotiating loose and twisty trails. Noticeably when hard one the brakes, the tyres really dig in for top notch control. The option for a second 27.5 wheelset with a dead simple wheel swap, takes the versatility of the S-150 series to another level, with both wheelsets offering blistering performance and defined ride characteristics for different types of terrain.

Any top level bike is not complete without a top level groupset and that's why all of the S-150 series was specifically designed around SRAM's single chainring (SCR) Eagle 12 spd groupsets. Whyte are a significant driving force in the SCR trend, helping to pioneer it alongside SRAM a few years ago. Developing frames specifically for SCR, chainstays can be designed symmetrically, making them both stronger and lighter than chainstays that are compromised by having to accommodate a front mech. The removal of the front mech and extra chainrings from the right side of the bike improves weight distribution and lowers the bikes overall weight. The rear pivot span is also increased benefiting stiffness and power transfer. It makes riding less complex and means there is less to break. The S-150C RS uses SRAM's newest GX Eagle groupset with their Guide RS disc brakes. Pairing a 32 tooth chainring with a, 12 cog 10-50 cassette, the S-150C RS has a massive range of gears for all the different gradients and surfaces that you'll be covering. A team level frame equipped with SRAM and RockShox top technology, the S-150C RS is a real mean machine capable of blowing your socks off on a wide variety of routes and rides.