Whyte T-140 S review: a budget masterpiece that defies its price tag

Setup

For my 75kg weight, I set the Whyte’s Pike fork air spring with 84.5psi and increased the number of volume reducers from zero to one.

I set the rebound to taste – fully open – and left the low-speed compression adjuster in its fully open position.

I inflated the rear shock to 195psi and left the stock volume reducers installed (one blue, one purple). I fully opened the rebound adjuster.

This setup matched my preferences well and gave the most balanced ride.

After trying the geometry-adjusting flip chip in its high position, I switched to the low.

While the low setting is comparatively compromised on the climbs – thanks to slackening out the seat tube angle – I thought the downhill performance was worth the trade-off.

I inflated the front EXO casing Minion DHF to between 26 and 28psi and the rear EXO+ casing Dissector to between 27 and 29psi – depending on the conditions.

Whyte T-140 S climbing performance

Initial impressions count, and the T-140’s dominating, slacker-feeling seat tube angle and over-the-back seated position paint an early picture.

Your hips sit behind the bottom bracket, and the balance between effective top tube, stack height and seat tube angle causes you to stretch forward and lower your shoulders to the bar by default.

With the saddle in a neutral or flat position, when climbing I found this put quite a lot of pressure on my perineum, increased shoulder and hand fatigue as more weight was put through them, and made my pedal strokes feel relatively inefficient.

My body defaulted to an backside-back, shoulders-forward, bent-at-the-hips position that’s neither especially comfortable nor particularly efficient.

Despite angling the saddle nose-down and pushing it as far forward as possible in the post’s rails, I still had to make a concerted effort on steeper or more technical climbs to drive power through the cranks while balancing my weight between the front and rear wheels for grip and steering control.

Trying out different bar heights improved the ride position and performance; lowering them gave it a racier, sportier feel with more weight over the front, while lifting them up transferred more of my weight into my sit bones. I preferred the more upright position the higher bar created.

Exhibiting no major pedal bob when seated, regardless of gear, the rear suspension is impressive.

Deeper into the travel, there’s seemingly little to no pedal kickback, helping keep your feet on the pedals and compensating well for clumsy line choice or a lazy riding style.

Along with isolating unwanted rider inputs well, it also remained active and supple even when on the gas. This boosts the bike’s comfort on worn trail-centre surfaces and traction levels on rocky or rooty ascents.

This is improved further by the 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ rear tyre, which has a damped and muted feel.

Up front, the Pike fork flutters in and out of its travel quickly and responsively, and helps keep trail buzz away from your hands and wrists. The Charger RC damper is a real performer.

While the SunRace cassette has a similar gear range to Shimano’s Deore equivalent, gear changes are clunky and slow.

Unless you back off the power when you shift, the chain bangs and crashes into the next gear.

While it’s certainly not a deal-breaker, upgrading to a genuine Shimano cassette would be one of the first things I’d do with the T-140.

Whyte T-140 S descending performance

Downhill, the T-140’s got a big, calm and composed feel.

There are unflustered overtones in the way it handles; it feels like an impressively deliberate and calculated bike to ride that’s slow to react to both your inputs and those from the terrain in the most positive sense.

Assertive and dominant rider inputs see it change direction in a controlled and predictable way.

While there’s a definite lethargy to its ride, this is a blessing because rough, choppy terrain has a limited effect on its stability.

Likewise, messy or bad rider inputs won’t cause it to suddenly fire off-line or behave unpredictably.

Creating this stable ride is a roomy hand-to-feet relationship. It makes you feel as though you’re in the middle of the bike rather than too far forward or back, despite the relatively short chainstay figure.

When the trails tighten, the T-140 responds well to being worked. Dipping your elbows and shoulders changes direction, while a flick of the hips can get the rear when to break traction, but only if you want it to.

Tackling twisty switchbacks by transferring your weight fore and aft makes it dance, and is seriously fun and engaging.

Its geometry is complemented by a damped and muted feel. Square edges and buzzy vibrations are smoothed and rounded – and while it feels supple, it’s far from soft and flexy.

It’s solidly cushioned, absorbing impacts like a well-filled bean bag.

Push the bike hard into a compression or undulation and the suspension remains taut, resisting diving through its travel.

There’s also plenty of pop and support on tap to generate speed or get airborne.

Defying its headline weight figure and muted persona, the poppy suspension gives it a contrastingly playful and light ride.

Bouncing, jumping and working it down smoother trails is really rewarding.

Up the terrain’s technicality to rough and gnarly, and its solidity reappears. This provides grip and stability, and its overall feel mimicks that of bikes costing more than double its asking price. A totally silent ride adds to this.

As on the climbs, the fork is excellent. It’s smooth and controlled, no matter the bump type, whether that’s small chatter or big hits.

While the brakes have plenty of power, the levers feel wooden. Pulling them harder slows you down quicker, but there’s no feedback or additional feel put through the blades.

Finally, after only one ride, a number of spokes in the rear wheel came loose. I tightened these up, but at the end of each subsequent ride more had undone.

Owners of the T-140 should keep an eye on their back wheels as a matter of importance.