Incoming! The blue bouncer. Whyte G-170

[weeksy]

As you'll have seen, me and the big pink Bird Aether7 haven't gelled, I've taken it enduro racing, I've taken it to 417, FoD, bpw and many times to Swinley.

Some days we've got there, some days I've thought "yeah this works" but then the next day I'm fighting it and battling it every time I try and go round a corner.

I had a debate on a Santa Cruz Bronson C, but the thoughts from stw forum and also from geometry geeks website (which is awesome by the way) was that the SC would be too small.

But I did want something a bit closer in geometry to the G160 than the Bird, so in the end I've struck a deal on this


p5pb21222895 by Steve Weeks - Flickr2BBcode LITE

It's a Whyte G170. Very like the G160 but slightly different geometry and fork angle along with the obvious thing like a coil shock installed. But very much a basis on a theme.

I really wanted to love the Bird but it wasn't meant to be.

The guy is on holiday till Monday so we've still got a few days for it all to turn sour, but I'm a done deal on it and happy it'll go ahead from my perspective anyway.

The only downside is that we couldn't complete today and I don't get to test it at bpw tomorrow but I'm sure we'll get plenty of days out on it soon.

[weeksy]

Was just looking for a bearing... 6802 and before i went into the garage i was thinking "do i actually have any"

Turns out i do... 16 of them !!! Considering they're £5 a pop, that's pretty good going.

While i was looking i also found 13 sets of brake pads that i don't even know what bike they're for, let alone when i actually owned them !

[weeksy]

Well as you may have gathered, me and the Bird Aether7 never bonded, not ever. Some trails like the blues at BPW it was great, even some of Swinley stuff too, but some I just couldn't get it around. I raced it at Wales, did BPW, 417, FoD and Swinley but we never gelled.

So a deal came up in a G170 and I took the plunge.

Just sitting on it you can tell right away how low and long the Bird is. Only just put it together so not tested yet. Need to bin the crazy short stem for a 35mm one, will get that ordered tonight. But should get to test tomorrow


2021-09-06_06-52-36 by Steve Weeks - Flickr2BBcode LITE

[millemille]

Next Tuesday.

[weeksy]

Next Tuesday.

No chance. The previous G160 would have still been here if it wasn't for the shock issues, this is it's bigger better brother.

[MingtheMerciless]

Next Tuesday.

It'll be at least a month, we've got to go through endless handlebar, stem, shock permutations first

[weeksy]

Next Tuesday.

It'll be at least a month, we've got to go through endless handlebar, stem, shock permutations first

A new stem is certainly possible, although this one is properly pretty, at 30mm it's very very short.

[Mr Moofo]

Next Tuesday.

If not before

[weeksy]

Next Tuesday.

If not before

Go on then.... i'm curious as to why ?

[Beancounter]

Nice bike.

Excusing my ignorance, how does the G-170 differ from the Bird?

[weeksy]

The Bird is what's called long low and slack, so it's got pointed out forks (Same as the G-170) but the front end is both further out and further down. This is commonly called Progressive Geometry. What this brings to a bike is stability. Stability though comes at the consequence of being slower and harder to turn, along with being less playful and poppy, obviously due to having more weight on the front end. I tried to get the Bird to fit me better in that sense by fitting higher rise bars and having the stem as high as humanly possible, but it always felt a bit too long and had a habit at times of going wide in corners that i couldn't get to resolve. It wasn't all the time and all the corners but i never felt fully confident in it.

Add to that the Bird is a 140mm travel and 130mm on the rear, the G-170 being 170mm both ends.. Which is clearly a lot 'bigger' in the bounce department.

I'm expecting the G170 to be not as fast in some XC stuff as the Bird was, but better in the tricky tech stuff... Which is primarily my reason for the swapping.

[Mr Moofo]

Next Tuesday.

If not before

Go on then.... i'm curious as to why ?

Why will this not have the numerous shock challenges of the 160. The linkage is the same ...

[Mr Moofo]

The Bird is what's called long low and slack, so it's got pointed out forks (Same as the G-170) but the front end is both further out and further down. This is commonly called Progressive Geometry. What this brings to a bike is stability. Stability though comes at the consequence of being slower and harder to turn, along with being less playful and poppy, obviously due to having more weight on the front end. I tried to get the Bird to fit me better in that sense by fitting higher rise bars and having the stem as high as humanly possible, but it always felt a bit too long and had a habit at times of going wide in corners that i couldn't get to resolve. It wasn't all the time and all the corners but i never felt fully confident in it.

Add to that the Bird is a 140mm travel and 130mm on the rear, the G-170 being 170mm both ends.. Which is clearly a lot 'bigger' in the bounce department.

I'm expecting the G170 to be not as fast in some XC stuff as the Bird was, but better in the tricky tech stuff... Which is primarily my reason for the swapping.

Surely with all the hang-ups you saw the Bird having (slow to turn) - then you should have gone less suspension to make it snappy and responsive. However going 170 will give you a monster truck that will be great on the gnar stuff ( that you said the Bird did really well) and lumbering on the trail stuff ...

[weeksy]

Why will this not have the numerous shock challenges of the 160. The linkage is the same ...

Well, no, the linkage is 'similar' but essentially different still, plus a completely different length (in sizes you can actually buy), added to the fact that the shock is a coil which handles the loads differently. If the G-160 was able to accept a coil that would likely have been a solution but wasn't viable with clearance.

So i don't see the G-170 having the same problems in terms of shock, that doesn't mean i will love it of course, but it should have the same problems i had with the G-160 for sure.

[weeksy]

The Bird is what's called long low and slack, so it's got pointed out forks (Same as the G-170) but the front end is both further out and further down. This is commonly called Progressive Geometry. What this brings to a bike is stability. Stability though comes at the consequence of being slower and harder to turn, along with being less playful and poppy, obviously due to having more weight on the front end. I tried to get the Bird to fit me better in that sense by fitting higher rise bars and having the stem as high as humanly possible, but it always felt a bit too long and had a habit at times of going wide in corners that i couldn't get to resolve. It wasn't all the time and all the corners but i never felt fully confident in it.

Add to that the Bird is a 140mm travel and 130mm on the rear, the G-170 being 170mm both ends.. Which is clearly a lot 'bigger' in the bounce department.

I'm expecting the G170 to be not as fast in some XC stuff as the Bird was, but better in the tricky tech stuff... Which is primarily my reason for the swapping.

Surely with all the hang-ups you saw the Bird having (slow to turn) - then you should have gone less suspension to make it snappy and responsive. However going 170 will give you a monster truck that will be great on the gnar stuff ( that you said the Bird did really well) and lumbering on the trail stuff ...

NAh, not IMO, the Bird wasn't slower turning because of the travel, you can still have travel but the ability to turn. The Bird was slower at turning because it was longer and lower on the front end.

2021-07-18_09-41-10 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

This was the sort of stuff the Bird struggled with as i couldn't get it to turn. I don't believe i'd have had the same issues on the G160... or the G170... That doesn't mean they'll be better than the Bird at everything, that would be daft to think. However i do think the things i 'need' it to be better on, it will be.

[millemille]

If you really believe that 5mm difference in reach and 0.5 degree difference in head angle will make all the difference than more power to you....

I believe it won't make a jot of difference and it's all in your mind.

[weeksy]

You must be reading different geometry to me. It's 29mm shorter and 27mm higher stack.

Anyway, the bike is absolutely brilliant. Wish I'd done it 3 months ago. My jumpy riding dad mate said "you look more comfortable in 3 jumps than you did in 3 months on the Bird".
Within 5 jumps I was consistently clearing the big tabletop.

Just feels really good.

I'm bottoming out the shock but it's a 450 spring and after speaking to Jtech suspension I want a 550 in it. But still, feels fantastic.

If I'm being picky it needs a bearing or a BB, not sure yet which, but that's me being fussy. It'll get sorted soon.

Love it

2021-09-07_06-35-17 by Steve Weeks - Flickr2BBcode LITE

[millemille]

https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/whyt ... -7-2020-m/

[weeksy]

It's not a 2020

[weeksy]

My mate who also has an Aeris 145 tried mine "bloody hell that's different to the Bird" as well as my young lad, who tried it in case his breaks this weekend also rode it and said how different it is.

I'm not convinced we're all making it up just to appease me