Mountain Biking - Whyte Bikes?

I got bored and was looking through ebay and came across this auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=22679&item=7115053445&rd=1 and having never seen one before, my reaction was simply "WTF?". It's by far one of the strangest looking bikes I've ever seen. Anyone ridden one or know anyone who has? Looks like a really odd design to say the least. A bit too complex for my tastes.

it's a small british company. they are also behind some of the marin fs designs. never ridden one, but i've heard/read good things. the newer versions are quite abit "cleaned up" and not so whacky looking.

google around, and look over at www.singletrackworld.com forums; they'll be able to tell you more.

Whyte designs frames for Marin, and another company I believe.....I forget the guys first name. Sweet bikes though..

http://www.whytebikes.com/whyte-2004/images/whyte-prst-4-lrg.jpg

heres a bigger picture of the bike.. pretty neat i think..

hes called john, i think....
anyway, i saw one of those being ridden in a trail i was riding. It was the version down, but still. same principle. It looked really plush and the guy who owned it said that its got like, 6'' travrel front and back. It ws really light too... and expensive

Wow...thats seriously messed up. Kind of scary actually

I'd like to ride one one time just to see what it's like.. Looks like a really interesting design, although a bit more complex than I'd like. It'd definitely get you plenty of looks.

I remember reading about the Whyte PRST-1 bike about five years ago. It looked like a neat concept. I've never ridden one though. From what I understand the suspension design is very similar and borrows heavily from that found on the front end of BMW motorcycles. BMW also used it in their own brand of MTBs. While the BMW MTBs are kind of a joke, I believe the Whyte bikes have a decent reputation.

http://www.bmwworld.com/bmw/kids/4515_832.jpg

What is the advantage to having the front end like that?

Looks really cool, I'd like to test ride one now please:D

What is the advantage to having the front end like that?

Looks really cool, I'd like to test ride one now please:D

The Whyte's suspension design is a 4-bar parallelogram link assembly using a single shockshaft. This coupled with the fact that the fork leg assembly is a solid piece that moves in unison gives you more precise steering. Additionally by placing the shock where it's at, you get more actual travel for the amount of shock stroke thus you can compact the overall real-estate of the suspension assembly while still providing a decent amount of travel. Think of it as like an FSR setup for the front.

Mountain Bike action magazines reviewed that bike a long time ago. They were pretty impressed.

well, the frame's available on ebay for $700 buy it now. Wonder why it's so cheap if it's so high tech... I mean, take a look at Ventana, Litespeed, Seven, Rocky Mountain, Intense, Turner, etc... their frames are a TON more expensive for a good full suspension bike and that's with no fork.

well, the frame's available on ebay for $700 buy it now. Wonder why it's so cheap if it's so high tech... I mean, take a look at Ventana, Litespeed, Seven, Rocky Mountain, Intense, Turner, etc... their frames are a TON more expensive for a good full suspension bike and that's with no fork.

Well, the PRST-1 is a pretty old bike by MTB timeline standards. You're looking at a 5 year old design at least. Also, it's a single-pivot design. That's not inherently bad but it's not as desirable. The PRST-4 and JW-4 are much more updated designs. Also, there's the brand name to be considered. Many people don't recognise the name Whyte.

Makes sense... I kind of assumed it had to be an older/early production model... or even a pre-production for that matter. I find it rather telling that the person selling the frame mostly quotes what's on the website, not so much from his own personal experience.

The Frame looks like there would be a lot of weak spots at joints that could break or cause problems if something got bent

The Frame looks like there would be a lot of weak spots at joints that could break or cause problems if something got bent

This is true. But one could say the same thing about FSR and other 4-bar linkage systems. That said, the strctural members are pretty beefy. And afterall, I believe this is being marketted as an XC and light-freeride frame. You want even more linkages? Check out the PRST-4's swingarm.

http://www.whytebikes.com/whyte-2004/images/whyte-prst-4.jpg

I still maintain that that's one wacky looking bike. :p

I still maintain that that's one wacky looking bike. :p

I'll agree with that. And it makes me want one. ;)

But then again, I'm the goofball on the full carbon fibre MTB with suspension shock technology originally developed for aircraft landing gears. :D

Imagine the looks you'd get riding it.. uninformed people would be like "what the heck is that?" and people in the know would know what it was and be amazed that they actually saw someone riding one. :)

Imagine the looks you'd get riding it.. uninformed people would be like "what the heck is that?" and people in the know would know what it was and be amazed that they actually saw someone riding one. :)

The first time I saw a picture of it, it wasn't very clear how you could even turn the front wheel. Then after doing some searching I could see where the bottom front swingarm linkage was place and it made much more sense.

has anybody had a spin on the whyte 46? adjustable rear(4 to 6 maybe?), maverick fork,pretty high bottom bracket i think...had a sit on one at the melbourne bike show.its quite light and has had great reviews in the uk mags.pretty pricey though.

What is the advantage to having the front end like that?

Looks really cool, I'd like to test ride one now please:D


In addition to what khoun wrote, if that front end works like themotorcycle fonrt end it significantly decreases the amount of brake dive.

has anybody had a spin on the whyte 46? adjustable rear(4 to 6 maybe?), maverick fork,pretty high bottom bracket i think...had a sit on one at the melbourne bike show.its quite light and has had great reviews in the uk mags.pretty pricey though.

I haven't ridden one but I have tried to follow one on a long XC ride I did last year. The rider had only just got back into riding after a 2 year break and this was his first ride for a long time. I am an Experienced long distance rider, but this bike was uncatchable on the gnarly uphill sections, It just smoothed the lumps out and Downhill it was as good as a full down hill machine. The only place we caught him was on the flat where our fitness told. I say we because we were on a Tandem, and were glad when the Whyte 46 stopped at 65 miles, so we could slow down to our normal on the flat for the last 35 miles.

cryogenic... i kno its off topic but are u a member at pinkbike.com?
thought i recognised the handle

Id take one for free, but think I would put my money else where.

cryogenic... i kno its off topic but are u a member at pinkbike.com?
thought i recognised the handle

actually no, I'm not a member on any other bike forums at all... I use this name almost everywhere but there are some other people who apparently use it as well.