Kinesis GF_Ti V3 vs Whyte Wessex One?

Freetime101 wrote:

Freetime101 wrote:

Thanks for the detailed info – much appreciated!
From what I’ve read about both bikes, and the way I intend to build them, I’m inclined to agree with the do it all/Sunday best comment – unfortunately this fuels my “buy both” feeling 😀
Interesting about the whyte being short – how much longer is the stem you fitted, and did this effect the handling?
Cheers!

It came with a 110mm stem (medium frame) and I just felt cramped compared with my Canyon Ultimate (which is medium frame with 100mm integrated stem). I put a 120mm stem on and slammed it, now I feel right at home on it, it hasn’t had a detrimental effect on the handling.

Just for a bit of context/comparison my Wessex has about 10 mm less reach and about 15 mm less saddle-bar drop than my Ultimate, so having a long stem compensates for the more relaxed geometry and suits me well.

If you did go for the Wessex I’d recommend a second set of bling wheels with some racey tyres on. That way you have the versatility of the wider (tubeless) tyres on one wheelset (possibly with a bigger cassette), plus a lightweight aero wheelset for the fast Sunday rides 🙂

I can only speak for the

I can only speak for the Wessex, as I own one (albeit the 2x version) – but I’ll try and give you as much info about it as possible! I also have 1x on one of my other bikes, so I feel I can make some useful(ish) comments on that.

My first ride on my 2x Wessex really surprised me as I’ve never ridden a bike like it (My other bikes a Canyon Ultimate). It felt quite short in reach, this was really easily solved by sticking a long stem on, which I promptly slammed (Dave Arthur did the exact same when he reviewed this bike).

The other thing that really stood out was how calm, stable and comfortable it felt, yet it’s very nearly as fast as my Canyon. I could easily ride it all day and stay comfortable (in fact, I rode just over 100 miles on it and felt absolutely fine after – it just calmly rolls through the miles).

The stock tyres felt a bit slow, but I had a set of mid/deep section wheels with Conti GP4 seasons that were destined to go on it anyway – that made the bike feel quite a bit faster! The only other thing I do notice is it doesn’t hold speed uphill so well (unlike my Canyon Ultimate – which isn’t a surprise). The Wessex isn’t a massively light bike, but I don’t think it’s trying to be.

The Wessex has provisions for dedicated mudguards (which is very nice as they don’t require any hassle to fit, and they fit perfectly) and it still looks excellent and feels fast even with the mudguards attached.

There is absolutely no comparison to be had between long drop calliper brakes and disc brakes. I’ve had a bike with long drop callipers, they were no way near the performance of my disc brakes (rim brakes are excellent for lightweight race bikes to use in good weather though!).

The other excellent thing about disc brakes is you can stick a nice set of carbon wheels on and not need to worry about wearing the rims or losing braking performance in the wet.

As for the 1x, I use a 40t chainring with 11-36 on my CX bike (which I also use on road with road wheels), never had any issue climbing, but it does run a bit short at the top end – that said, I rode it up and around the Mendips (up Cheddar Gorge etc) and kept up 18mph with no issues. The Wessex has a 44t with 10-42, this gives you more or less the same gearing as 50/34 11-32. I haven’t been bothered by/haven’t noticed the increase in jumps between gears.

I use my Wessex as my year-round bike as well as my commuter bike and my not-so-good-roads road bike – it really hasn’t let me down as it’s very fast whilst being very comfortable and capable of tackling naff country roads.

In my mind, the Kinesis is a bit more of a “Sunday best” bike for riding when the weather is good and you want to do a short blast on decent roads (which may be ideal for you?). The Wessex is more of an all-round bike, but is also incredibly fast when you want it to be.