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Thoughts on the Whyte Suffolk

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  • October 21, 2014 at 12:50 pm #22607
    parksey

    I know these sort of posts can be a bit repetitive, but I was just looking for thoughts on the 2015 Whyte Suffolk please…

    I’m after a new bike as a C2W purchase. I don’t want to call it a “winter trainer”, as I don’t race, it’s rather intended as a commuter/weekend steed to better cope through the less pleasant months of the year, so disc brakes and ample clearance for wider tyres and proper mudguards are essential.

    The Whyte seems to tick a lot of boxes, haven’t ridden it yet but will stop by the LBS on a Saturday for a quick spin. It seems decent value too, although I’d be interested in opinions as to whether it’s worth the extra £200 over the Dorset for what, so far as I can tell, appears to only really be an upgrade to an 11-speed 105 groupset from a 9-speed Tiagra/Sora mix.

    Suggestions for any alternative bikes would also be welcome. A CX bike is not really what I’m after (unless it’s got road gearing), and I’ve already got a Trek Madone, so am not looking for anything too similar to that either. Boardman is out of the window too as I can’t use Halfords with my C2W scheme.

    The £1200 price of the Suffolk is very much the top of my budget, which is the usual £1k C2W limit with a small top-up.

    Cheers

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Viewing 15 replies - 31 through 45 (of 61 total)
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  • January 28, 2015 at 5:26 pm #818529
    0
    aliring

    Just been on the phone to
    Just been on the phone to cycle surgery and whyte are now going to get me a new set of shimano wheels to compensate. There customer service cant be faulted. Hopefully all the teething issues are in the 2014 model and the 2015 is the bike it should have always been.

    January 28, 2015 at 5:16 pm #818527
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    jacknorell

    Those pics show exactly why I
    Those pics show exactly why I think internal routing is just a bad idea… at least for metal frames.

    January 28, 2015 at 4:51 pm #818525
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    aliring

    pics
    pics

    January 28, 2015 at 4:48 pm #818523
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    aliring

    I bought a Suffolk about 8
    I bought a Suffolk about 8 months ago and have had nothing but problems. So far problems have been
    Wheels rebuilt 3 times
    Brakes replaced
    Crank came off
    Frame cracked, same place as other posts on here
    And now the bit holding the cassette is about to break.

    The bike never felt right from the second I had it. Now with the 2015 frame it does feel like a different bike but I only picked it up last night. So who knows what will go wrong now.

    Whyte have been quick to replace all the parts I have needed but the bike was bought to commute to work and has spent more time at cycle surgery than with me.

    Apparently the 2014 58cm frame seems to crack for everybody. So if you have one make sure you get the 2015 frame on warranty. Even if it hasn’t cracked yet.

    I really wanted to love this bike but the build quality doesn’t seem to live up to the name the mountain bikes have built up.

    I hope now everything has been replaces it might be better.

    Will update

    January 23, 2015 at 9:22 pm #818521
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    julianrh

    I’ve recently got a Canyon
    I’ve recently got a Canyon Inflite cyclocross bike. Aluminium frame, full Ultegra, Shimano disc brakes and DT Swiss wheels for 1499. I swapped the tyres for 28s and put mudguards on for a great value winter bike.

    January 23, 2015 at 2:50 pm #818519
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    Leodis

    I was looking at these bikes
    I was looking at these bikes on CS, I got a Whyte Stirling last year and found the gearing a pain, the finishing kit poor and overall the bike sluggish. I flogged it and bought a cheap Boardman 2nd hand but after 12 months of UK roads its dying a slow death. The Pinnacle Arkose 4 looks good but the wheelset will need swapping out to something lighter with new 28mm tyres and decent mudguards and that’s well over £1600 spent on a pinnacle.

    It’s a tough market to get disc brakes, 105 11s, under 9 kilos and costing roughly CS prices.

    January 17, 2015 at 5:39 pm #818517
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    sfichele

    Update on the cracked frame.
    Update on the cracked frame. Whyte were pretty good concerning warranty.
    They took my old bike and replaced the frame in the space of around a week.
    I have to say really impressive, faultless service.

    December 31, 2014 at 4:03 pm #818515
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    sfichele

    I’ve just had exactly the
    I’ve just had exactly the same issue. The frame cracked in two places on the cable entry holes

    December 29, 2014 at 5:06 pm #818513
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    KiwiMike

    @ JonnyGlasgow9, any update
    @ JonnyGlasgow9, any update on Whyte’s response to your cracked frame?

    December 28, 2014 at 9:37 pm #818511
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    Ruby2

    Hi
    Could I as you which size
    Hi
    Could I as you which size you went for and how tall you are?
    I have purchased a Dorset. I’m 5′ 11 1/2″ tall and went for a 56cm as the frame is listed as for 5′ 9″ to 6′ 0″ so you’d think it’d be on the small end of the scale, but it seems quite large with only 1″ of stand over room.
    Thanks
    Richard

    December 24, 2014 at 8:09 am #818509
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    Anonymous

    Jonomc wrote:Had this bike

    Jonomc wrote:
    Had this bike for 4months now and it is a total bag of crap. I’ve covered 2000km and it now has more new parts than original, including wheels, bottom bracket and headset, basically most moving parts have had to be replaced due to low quality and bits missing (mainly spacers).
    I can’t think of a single thing to recommend about it… The bar tape is OK but not very durable… The bars are quite comfy?

    The ride is harsh and slow to get off the mark.
    The brakes are good, unless at low speed then they judder hugely.
    The spokes are made of breadsticks.
    The shifting feels heavy
    The steering is bland
    The paintwork finish is shocking
    And the specific mudguards are overpriced bits of plastic crap

    THE WORST BIKE I’VE EVER OWNED!

    You wouldn’t recommend in then?

    December 23, 2014 at 7:12 pm #818507
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    Jonomc

    Had this bike for 4months now
    Had this bike for 4months now and it is a total bag of crap. I’ve covered 2000km and it now has more new parts than original, including wheels, bottom bracket and headset, basically most moving parts have had to be replaced due to low quality and bits missing (mainly spacers).
    I can’t think of a single thing to recommend about it… The bar tape is OK but not very durable… The bars are quite comfy?

    The ride is harsh and slow to get off the mark.
    The brakes are good, unless at low speed then they judder hugely.
    The spokes are made of breadsticks.
    The shifting feels heavy
    The steering is bland
    The paintwork finish is shocking
    And the specific mudguards are overpriced bits of plastic crap

    THE WORST BIKE I’VE EVER OWNED!

    December 3, 2014 at 8:48 am #818505
    0
    wilkij1975

    Funny, I had to pay £200 for
    Funny, I had to pay £200 for the shop I used to get me the Whyte in my size. No re-fundable too (but would’ve given me credit with them) but as I was pretty sure I’d be buying it, it didn’t bother me too much.

    I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. The finish is top notch IMO and the cracking issue doesn’t bother me. I’m sure if it was a weak point that they knew about, they would’ve strengthened it. I just need to get some guards for it and find some time to ride the thing!

    November 27, 2014 at 2:19 pm #818503
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    parksey

    Thanks for the input, glad to
    Thanks for the input, glad to hear you’re enjoying the bike.

    Incidentally, I had an email alert from Evans this morning to tell me the GT Grade 105 was now in stock. Called my not-so-local store to be told that to get one in to have a test ride would need me to put down a £50 deposit. Sod that, I’m not putting money down and driving an hour just to look at a damn bike!

    So, the Whyte it will be. It’s the better proposition in my book anyway, even if it is another £200. Notwithstanding the cracked frame issue above, the quality of the Whyte seems to justify the price, the welding on the GT, particularly around that triple triangle area, was definitely on the “industrial” side…

    The Whyte’s still reserved at my LBS (with no money down I must add!) waiting for my voucher to come through, I’m hoping it will all tie in so that it’ll be ready, ironically, for an Evans Ride It event round my way next weekend.

    November 27, 2014 at 1:38 pm #818501
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    wilkij1975

    Just thought I’d resurrect
    Just thought I’d resurrect this.

    Got my Whyte Suffolk a couple of weeks ago. Lovely bike and very comfortable (only managed one 16 mile run as I’ve been busy) and the new 105 works really well as expected. I could do with a slightly shorter stem than the 120mm on the 58cm though. If you end up getting one or have bought one you won’t be disappointed.

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