Whyte Victoria women's urban bike

The Whyte Victoria ia a neat and nippy round-town bike with disc brakes for weatherproof stopping. Whyte places the Victoria in its 'Fast Urban' stable and it is certainly very quick on the road.

The notion 'fast urban bike' could cover a multitude of bike styles from a cross-country mountain bike with slick tyres to a touring-style road bike with a slammed stem for a go-faster stance.

Whyte's interpretation is a flat-bar bike with 28mm tyres and disc brakes. It's a kind of flat-bar version of what's currently achingly trendy in the rapidly narrowing space between cyclo-cross bikes and endurance road bikes.

Whyte are known predominantly for their mountain bikes, and their use of mountain bike geometry on the Victoria gives a good semi-upright position suitable for commuting with a good view of the road ahead.

That mountain bike heritage also means a long front end and a short stem which, everything else being equal, makes for more stable handling at speed.

As the Victoria is the women's version of the concept, the reach is a couple of centimetres shorter that the Men's Portobello as women allegedly prefer this arrangement.

The standover height is a tiny bit lower and the Victoria gets a female-friendly saddle. That's where the adaptation for the female form ends, though to be fair to Whyte there's not that much else you can do with a flat-bar bike.

For a bike whose intended environment is the urban jungle with its big-engined predators, powerful, controllable brakes have to be a good idea. As we're talking about a British-designed bike for wet British conditions, that means discs.

At 28mm, the Maxxis Detonator tyres don't offer the devil-may-care rim protection of fat mountain bike rubber, but they're usefully wider than the skinny racing tyres still found on far too many standard road bikes. They roll well, but despite their supposed protection, internet users report high puncture rates, though this wasn't a problem with the test bike.

The clip and strap pedals didn't get a trial. If that's your thing then fine, but the confines of an strap and cage weren't for me. Likewise, I didn't get on with the Whyte women's saddle, but these items are such a personal choice.

At £699 the Victoria falls well within the cycle to work price range, even allowing for accessories. I have no idea why British urban bikes so rarely come with mudguards and a rack, but there are mounts front and rear on the Victoria. Fitting a rack to early disc-brake bikes was a bit painful because the brake calliper was usually in the way. Whyte have tucked the Victoria's rear brake into the space between the stays; problem solved.

The Tektro Auriga WDS, 160mm rotor disc brakes came into their own in wet weather, providing superb, controlled braking, even in an emergency. The advantages of disc brakes on commuting bikes can't be overstated - having brakes work almost as well in the wet as in the dry is a huge safety boost.

The straight bladed 6061 T6 alloy front fork didn't do much to dampen road buzz. I'd have liked the carbon fork specified on the men's equivalent Portobello bike, even for the £50 more it costs.

Especially at speed, I found padded gloves were a must for a comfortable ride as the Whyte own-brand grips were neither particularly comfortable nor ergonomic. The 28 mm commuter tyres might benefit from being changed up to 32mm for a smoother ride.

I really like the look of the Whyte Victoria, from its matt charcoal frame with subtle turquoise highlights to the slight, smooth curve of the top tube. It's a low key but attractive ride and there is little to mark it out as a women's bike apart from the more compact frame.

Standing at 5ft 6in I found the medium frame an excellent fit. I find a fair few chaps are shorter than me, and I'd recommend them trying the Victoria too if the reach on the Portobello is a little lengthy.

The Whyte Victoria is both quick and versatile. Leave it as it comes and it's a light, speedy bike for whizzing through country lanes. Pop on a rack and mudguards and it's a practical weatherproof commuter with the reassurance of powerful hydraulic disc brakes. 

Verdict

Stable but fun ride with a surprising turn of speed