MICROMOBILITY
brand, we definitely identified that need to develop the brand further.” Just like many other bike brands saw a boom throughout Covid, Whyte is also recognising the challenges the industry is now facing. How they’re planning to tackle this lull, is by rationalising and prioritising their ranges. Not just for the sake of it, but to make things easier for shops and customers. “Historically, our range had grown quite a lot,” continued Skinner. “We had a lot of urban bikes, gravel bikes, kids bikes etc. And obviously as the whole industry saw through Covid, there was a massive boom, but now we’re in the doldrum following that. “Alongside this, the market’s also changed. So what was selling three, four years ago, isn’t anymore. Particularly with the popularity of electrification, we’re now seeing top-end, analogue bikes have kind of fallen away, and a threshold where electric is more dominant. “So we’ve taken that and taken the opportunity to rationalise our range. There’s no point having a bike on a shop floor that is not selling. That’s not helping the rider, because they’re not using it. It’s not helping the shop, because it’s just got money tied up in a bike that’s not going anywhere, and it’s not helping us as a brand.” By rationalising their ranges, Whyte is focusing on not just rider trends, but creating bikes that will actually benefit riders.
Whilst other companies churn out model year after model year bikes, Whyte has always been a bit of an anomaly, and only updating a bike when they felt it warranted a change that would benefit the rider – not just to follow a trend. In November, Whyte launched their newest ranges: the
E-Lyte, a lightweight mid-motor electric mountain bike, and the RHeO 3, an urban and city hub-driven offering. They’re for two very different markets, but one thing that remains the same is the brand’s attention to detail and need to be different, as Skinner continued. “With the E-Lyte range, we set out with a very clear mission to deliver the best bike in this category. It’s got to punch well above its weight, and deliver on energy density, on weight, performance and handling. And the same for the RHeO range. We applied our engineering know-how into the urban range, and gave the bikes all these subtle, nuanced changes that ultimately add up.
“It is kind of an application of marginal gains, but things
like high-volume tyres, stretching the geometry out to give riders a sense of security, and dropper posts. And that’s key to anything we’ve ever done – and seeking performance and usability in every bike we make isn’t going away.” Fans of the brand need not worry about Whyte’s new direction. Mountain bikes are and likely always will be the main focus of the brand. But what the company does want to
www.bikebiz.com
Whyte Centre of Gravity rig (Image credit: Roo Fowler)
achieve, is engaging with a wider audience, as Skinner explained. “We’ve had a bit of an awareness challenge. So unless you’re an enthusiast rider and typically an older enthusiast rider – because the heyday when we started was in the 90s - you’re not necessarily aware of us. “So we wanted to make sure that we can help build a brand that’s going to help us engage and reach more people. We are still fundamentally an engineering-led brand, and that’s not changing.
“But we also recognise if you have a cold, clinical kind of brand image, then that’s not necessarily going to help you engage with more people.
“Whether they’re kind of bound by the transport and utility in the cities, or hardcore enthusiast mountain bikers who want to get out and race enduro or just go out on adventures. Whatever it might be, we need to bring our brand up to the same level as our product, ultimately to help give us a platform to be able to reach and engage with more people.”
The company’s injection of cash has recently seen investment into their engineering teams, quality control, product management, and all the things that make Whyte who they are – but now, bigger and better. A big player, with a not-so-small team anymore.
February 2024 | 39
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
