The Whyte G-170 is their longest travel bike ever

Benjamin Haworth

Unsurprisingly it kicks out 170mm of bounce at the back.

whyte g-170

The new Whyte G-170 – a replacement for the G-160 which was itself a replacement for the G-150 – has been developed with a fair amount of input from Whyte’s Enduro World Series riders.

whyte g-170

2018 Whyte G-170C Works

2018 Whyte G-170 need to know

  • 170mm rear travel
  • 27.5in wheels
  • Carbon front end or full alloy versions
  • 65° head angle
  • Sizes: M and L only in carbon, S-M-X-XL in aluminium
  • Designed for coil or air shocks
  • SRP £2,399 to £5,499
whyte g-170

2018 Whyte G-170S

Somewhat refreshingly, the G-170 isn’t being pushed as an all-rounder or a ‘long-legged trail bike’. It seems to be very much punted at racers. Enduro racers. The sort of full-on committed enduro racers who have a ‘race bike’ and a separate ‘trail bike’.

What sort of things has the involvement from EWS racers resulted in? Longer chainstays and a suspension layout that’s works equally well with coil shocks and air shocks.

Oh, and you can fit a full-size bottle in there, even with a piggyback shock too. Which, while no-one really races enduro with a water bottle, they are used heavily on training rides and during pre-race practice days.

Hang on. Longer chainstays? Isn’t everything about making chainstays as short as possible in mountain biking? Not anymore it seems. Kudos to Whyte for stepping out of line and extending the stays (albeit only to 430mm). This lengthening claims to result in a more neutral riding position with better front/rear weight distribution.

Whilst we’re talking about the back end, quietly slipped into the bike description is that the G-170 will accept up to 3.0in tyres. So it could be run as a 170mm travel Plus bike. Or a 27.5 x 2.6in tyre setup with loads of mud clearance.

whyte g-170

Tweaked QUAD 4 suspension design

The rear suspension design is still the familiar QUAD 4 system but it has been tweaked to give out a leverage curve that works equally well with modern metric air shocks or coil shocks. The bearings still come with a lifetime replacement warranty even though they are now much lower-profile.

There’s also a new collet design using oversize hollow axles. And you’ll notice that the rear shock is driven by a yoke on the G-170. Stiffer, lighter, betterer.

A quirky thing is that the carbon version of the G-170 will only be available in Medium or Large sizes. So lanky or diddy types are left with the option of getting the aluminium version. Not exactly a hardship but it’s something worth pointing out before any carbon-lusting small/tall folk get too excited.

Speaking of sizing, as with other recent Whyte models the G-170 is essentially sized by length rather than seat tube height. The standover is similar on all the sizes. Pick your favourite reach and spec it with the appropriate length dropper post. Sorted. Well, unless you’re REALLY tall anyway.

Still speaking of sizing – well, geometry really – the seat angles vary depending on the frame size; 75.5° on the Medium comapred to 75.19° on the Large. And yep, those are steep seat angles. The Whyte G-170 is very much on-point with modern progressive geometry.

whyte g-170

Whyte G-170C RS

And we’ll leave you with what any of you enduro racers are dying to know. Geometry numbers.

  • 65° head angle
  • 75.2° seat angle (Large), 75.5° (Medium)
  • Head tube 130mm (Large), 120mm (Medium)
  • Seat tube length 457.2mm (Large), 431.8mm (Medium)
  • BB height 335.5mm
  • Chainstay length 430mm
  • Wheelbase 1240.6mm (Large), 1215.6mm (Medium)
  • Reach 478.8mm (Large), 458mm (Medium)

Available from your friendly neighbourhood Whyte dealer later this month.