E180 RS First Ride

[Mikerb]

Only an xc type ride to to start off but it included a few fast sweeping single track and moderate downhill sections. My usual ride is a Levo Comp.
On the flat not a great difference in feel between the 2 bikes but as soon as it gets fast and twisty and/or rowdy downhill the difference between them becomes very obvious. The Whyte is so agile and when you lean the bike into a bend it immediately feel like it wants to self right and it's easy to immediately sweep into the opposite direction. The Levo by contrast takes much more upper body effort. The low centre of balance is very noticeable supplemented in terms of maneuverability by 27.5 wheels as opposed to 29. I'm impressed

 

[simonk]

Have you bought one or was it a loaner?

 

[Mikerb]

Its my bike and I look forward now to doing my more normal forest trail type rides once I have checked over the suspension settings again. This bike has both high speed and low speed compression plus high speed and low speed rebound on both the fork and the shock so a fair bit to adjust! My initial impressions are that the Levo is a better trail bike with a bit more comfort for long adventure rides.... and a lot of that is due to 29er wheels and its very sophisticated software power control. The Whyte is a better gravity bike and just feels more aggressive and a lot more manoeuvrable and playful at speed and when it gets gnarly. That is not to say it cannot do the trail riding stuff. They are both very good bikes.

 

[simonk]

my bike

Nice! Lucky boy, and good choice ?

 

[Mikerb]

Its my bike and I look forward now to doing my more normal forest trail type rides once I have checked over the suspension settings again. This bike has both high speed and low speed compression plus high speed and low speed rebound on both the fork and the shock so a fair bit to adjust! My initial impressions are that the Levo is a better trail bike with a bit more comfort for long adventure rides.... and a lot of that is due to 29er wheels and its very sophisticated software power control. The Whyte is a better gravity bike and just feels more aggressive and a lot more manoeuvrable and playful at speed and when it gets gnarly. That is not to say it cannot do the trail riding stuff. They are both very good bikes.

So now I have completed a session in more typical natural Forest trails that include some berms and moderate drops and jumps, rooty sections etc. Everything seemed to work well. The ride is plush but I ended up only using about 70% fork travel and 80% shock travel which is fine. A different local forest venue I use is somewhat more intense so that is the next stage in set up. The bike gave plenty of support on fast berms, climbed well and got air fairly easily whilst still giving plenty of grip. I ran with 17psi front 19 psi back (tubeless). I weigh 78kg so probably 82kg fully kitted and attached are my current settings (nb I use no of clicks from open/fast rather than the Fox method of dialling back from closed/slow)

 

[Mikerb]

OK..test no 3. Much steeper, gnarly and technical forest trail session. Big drops and G outs, very rooty, decent ramps and the bike did well. Since the last test I have kept fork and shock settings the same but reduced fork air pressure to 75psi. I still did not bottom out, in fact did not go beyond about 80 to 85% travel so it has a lot of ramp which is fine. Overall I felt a lot more secure on the Whyte than the Levo especially on descents that really grabbed your attention, and it felt a lot less physical in terms of stress on arms, shoulders and core than the Levo. I'm not knocking the Levo here by the way...its a fantastic bike, but I got the Whyte precisely for this more challenging gravity type riding, and it is proving to have been a wise decision.
The other major differences I found between the 2 bikes was firstly the need to be more aware of potential pedal strikes with the Whyte and I mean when the pedals are level. It ceased to be a problem once I got used to leaving a little more room. It is also more advisable to hop some medium sized obstacles I might otherwise choose to roll over. The other major difference was using EMTB mode on the Whyte compared to Trail on the Levo. Once my legs had warmed I found there was much less incentive to switch to turbo for climbs when I probably would have done on the Levo. With EMTB I either put a bit more torque into the pedals or select a lower gear and it just keeps giving more power.
So overall I am really pleased with the Whyte but having used it for my last 3 rides I am now looking forward to getting back on my trusty Levo for a session. I like then both!

 

[Giff]

Thanks for sharing those settings Mike...I have the same bike and I am similar weight to you. I'm have changed my forks and damper settings since I got it but am going to check again and compare them to yours....yes I had a Cube before and this is great. Better than me !

 

[Rahr85]

Mine has finally turned up today but I'm at work. Going to get the base settings on then it'll be heading off for invisiframe fitment. Can't wait to get out on it next week ? that 100km will be done in days.