Whyte cx bike

Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything except locks but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value — with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad. Whyte have been pushing their relaxed geometry across their whole range of bikes for a while now; it works well on trail bikes and it works on their flat bar urban bikes such as the Montpellier too. However, I'm not so sure about the crossers.

The slightly languid handling is exacerbated here in the Whyte Kings Cross by the equipment choices, making the whole package feel a bit ordinary. For this kind of money, there are better bikes out there. The frame and fork are nicely built and finished; it's a custom drawn Aluminium frame mated with an alloy straight blade fork.

Wheel-wise you get Whyte-branded hubs laced to Alex deep scetion rims, and Maxxis Detonator tyres are your contact point with the road or trail. Whyte's own alloy finishing kit makes up most of the rest of the build; it's all pretty dependable stuff. The whole bike weighs in at a repsectable Step aboard the Kings Cross and pedal off, and the first thing you'll notice is that slack geometry. It makes the bike quite long the wheelbase is mm and it's very relaxed, even compared to the not-exactly-aggressive Specialized Tricross that I swapped for the commute.

That handling takes some getting used to, especially on drops; I'm not sure if it's because I expect a flat bar bike to handle a bit like a mountain bike, but it took me a lot longer to get used to the Whyte geometry in this guise. In fact it's even more relaxed than the Montpellier, with a head angle of just Even when I was used to it, I'm not convinced it's better than the standard angles for a bike like this. The Kings Cross is actually quite an adept off-roader; I took it down some technical trails on its standard road tyres back when it was dry, and had no issues with the handling.

Stick it on the road though and it doesn't feel particularly sprightly; it has more of the feel of a tourer than a quick commuter. Changes of direction are a bit sluggish and the bike shares the Montpellier's trait of being rather vague at speed.

It's fine on towpaths and fire roads but the geometry doesn't feel better than a standard crosser, just different. The bike isn't helped by its component choices. Sora shifters are what you get at this kind of price, so it's not as though the Kings Cross is underspecced in the transmission department, but it's always a bit underwhelming. Being a biological freak with huge hands I'm one of the few people that can actually change Sora gears from the drops, but even for me it's a stretch and the huge throw of the lever means you inadvertantly apply the brake when shifting more often than on the more refined groupsets.

Functionally it hasn't given me any grief though. The Tektro Lyra brakes are underwhelming too. I was pretty happy with them when I was testing them on the Carrera Gryphon but that's a bike that costs less than half what you'll pay for the Kings Cross.

They're fiddly to set up and you need to squeeze them hard to stop quickly. It's a shame the budget didn't stretch to Avid's BB5s which are much, much better. All in all, I think the negatives of the geometry and componentry outweigh the positives in this particular bike. That's not to say it's a bad bike: it isn't.

You can happily munch miles on it and it's responsive enough to cope with most types of terrain, so if you're looking for an all rounder for a bit of everything the Kings Cross can certainly handle that. In the case of the Boardman you get SRAM Apex and a carbon fork, which makes the bike look significantly better value although we haven't slung a leg over it.

We're currently testing the CdF, so look out for the review of that one. That said, its 10kg weight does require more muscle power to get you up the hills in the first place. Whyte Saxon Cross review. Latest deals. Pros: Versatile bike with a purposeful feel and a good range of gears.

This all lines up to a bike that is That indicates the wheelset is light, the frame and components are not, but durability and cost were the key for the Saxon Cross base model. The gearing looks ready for some serious adventure, and the bike appears built to withstand the most extreme adventures, given is burly weight. Full photo gallery below the bike specs. Enjoying our comprehensive coverage of every title race?

Consider a donation to support CXM. I'll Be a Supporter. Clifford Lee — November 18, If you are intending to use finance as your payment option, please note we will only ship your order to your billing address, and not to an alternative delivery address.

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