Fast Bike Friday – Whyte T-140C R 2021

A few weeks ago we looked at Whyte’s new 2021 Whyte E-160 S E-MTB an enduro-focused bike with 160mm of travel and a powerful Bosch Gen 4 motor. As E-MTBs become more and more popular it would be easy for some brands to shift their focus completely away from their ‘acoustic’ mountain bikes, but not Whyte.

With their proven, UK-focused trail geometry which has been the mainstay of their mountain bike range for a number of years now, fans of Whyte mountain bikes can be confident that the new T-140 platform continues their focus on creating maximum fun, wherever you ride with this agile do-it-all trail bike.

The Whyte T-140C R features a lightweight, but durable carbon fibre frame with super-smooth flowing lines and internal cable routing which is very pleasing to the eye and gives a stiff, responsive pedalling platform allowing you to climb tight, technical uphill trails, executing those short, sharp pedalling accelerations that are typically required to get up and over small obstacles and loose ground.

The Whyte T-140C R can handle big-hits too, with its 140mm of suspension travel consisting of a capable RockShox Pike Select RC Boost fork up front with Debonair and Charger RC damper combined with a RockShox Deluxe Select + RT rear shock out back. The T-140C R excels on the descents; agile 27.5” wheels shod with grippy Maxxis High Roller II 2.6” tyres mean you can throw this bike into the tightest of singletrack turns, the cleverly designed suspension platform taking all the hits with gusto keeping you in control all the way down.

The Whyte T-140C R features their proven OTO (Optimised Trail Offset) geometry; so while this bike can be described as agile it’s certainly not twitchy; the OTO principle entails the use of a reduced offset fork to improve steering stability moving the mass of the fork and wheel closer to the steering axis for a more neutral steering feel to prevent any potential for twitchy moments when you’re pushing the limits on the downs.

The Whyte T-140C R has been spec’d with some very choice components and a capable SRAM GX Eagle 12 speed Groupset. A Whyte ‘Drop It’ dropper seat post with remote paddle lever means you can quickly get the saddle out of the way allowing you to throw your weight right back on the steeps while a 780mm wide / 30mm rise handle bar helps you to remain stable at speed.

This is one seriously fun bike with its UK-trail-riding DNA clearly born out of years of development and refinement on previous generations of Whyte mountain bikes. Whether you’re aiming to descend down Nan Bield Pass in the Lake District with no dabs, or are zipping about on the tight, technical singletrack of the Surrey Hills the Whyte T-140C R is more than ready.

Learn more about the Whyte T-140C R here

Blog written by Johnny Dodgin

All photos by James Vincent