Whyte's bike enjoyed an incredible upswing in sales, thanks to lockdown triggered demand.
One of Britain’s most established off-road bike brands has proven that the Covid triggered cycling boom, is not limited to commuter products.
As part of the ATB Sales annual report, Whyte bikes delivered a tremendous performance in 2020. After a challenging 2019, where it prevailed in a copyright court case against Rich Energy, Whyte delivered a series of new trail and enduro bikes in 2020.
The company has also recognized the vast potential of e-bikes, with its E-series range.
Read more: the best e-bikes
Making more money from mountain bikes
ATB Sales achieved close to a fourfold increase in profit for 2020 and much of the credit for that financial success, has been ascribed to Whyte.
Although some considered the biggest beneficiary of Covid bike demand to be in the commuter segment, with people avoiding public transport, Whyte’s robust mountain bike sales prove otherwise.
The brand might have a small line of road bike and commuter models, but its core business remains mountain bikes. Most of the Whyte product portfolio is targeted at mountain bikers and the company’s e-bikes are designed with a technically proficient audience in mind.
Metal bikes creating new value points
A brace of new Whyte trail and enduro bikes launched during the latter part of 2020, which bolstered the product offering. These new models (G-180, T-160 and T-140) combined aluminium frame options, lowering the price point for customers and stimulating demand.
The G-180 and T-160 are 29ers targeted at the enduro and trail riding segments, whilst the T-140 rolls 27.5” wheels, appealing to those mountain bikers who value the agility of smaller wheels.
Some of Whyte’s 2020 success has been attributed to its strong inventory, allowing the brand to supply bikes and accessories when some competitors had exhausted their own stock levels.
With demand hardly predicted to ebb, the challenge for Whyte will be securing parts to ensure it can satisfy demand, for the immediate future.
Global supply chain networks remain vulnerable and despite broad-spectrum industrial capacity having returned to production in Asia, lead times have significantly increased.