Whyte Saxon Cross Team

Whyte is a stereotypically British company. From the heart of the Cotswolds it has been designing class-leading bikes for over 15 years, yet rarely do you see an aggressive advertising campaign trumpetting its latest creation. The brand prefers to let its bikes’ ride quality do the talking, and with its mountain bike range attracting widespread acclaim in recent years, Whyte has applied that MTB know-how to its CX bikes, with excellent results.

‘Our CX geometry is different to that of our competitors,’ says Andy Jeffries, Whyte’s product director. ‘It’s closer to a cross-country mountain bike. The main reason for this is that we designed the bike from scratch without a front derailleur, which radically changed the shape of the frame. It allowed the seat tube to be curved, so we could reduce the chainstay length to bring the back wheel towards the seat tube but maintain the necessary clearance for mud.’

Shortened stays also allow the front centre measurement (bottom bracket to front hub) to lengthen without altering the wheelbase too much. Jeffries says this maintains the Saxon’s lively handling but gives plenty of length in front of the rider to exploit the control and speed that disc brakes permit in off-road environments. Taking inclement conditions further into consideration, Whyte has fully internally routed the Saxon’s cables using its own rubberised frame grommets – preventing the build-up of mud and keeping it out of the frame.

In line with current CX thinking, versatility is a priority. ‘We view this geometry with disc brakes and tubeless tires as very adaptable, allowing the Saxon to keep pace with future innovations in CX design,’ says Jeffries. ‘That is the reason we have stayed with 6061 aluminium for the frame material as it gives us the flexibility to keep this rapid evolution going.’

Confirming the Saxon performance credentials, at last year’s Three Peaks race, Torq Performance’s Neil Crampton took the fastest descent time of Pen-y-Ghent aboard a Saxon Cross Team. ‘Most customers will never push a bike that hard but it is nice to know they are on a machine with those capabilities,’ says Jeffries. Pro-validated quality and UK design makes the Saxon Cross Team a bike with performance credentials to match the best.

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