We had our first glimpse of the 2007 Whyte range some time ago, but the recent Core Bike trade show saw the full range being presented to the trade for the first time. And jolly fine it looks too…

For 2007 there’ll be effectively five models of E-5, although that’s actually made up of three spec levels, two of which have a choice of fork. Pictured is the E-5 Race, which teams the 5in travel aluminium/carbon Quad-Link frame with a 100mm travel RockShox Reba World Cup fork, Thomson stem, Easton bar and seatpost and a complete 2007 Shimano XTR groupset including the UST-compatible wheels. The complete bike has a claimed weight of 24.5lb and a price tag of £3,800.

A little less eye-watering in the price department is the E-5 Works. You get a choice of RockShox Revelation or Maverick SC32 forks, and even though you’re spending £600 less than for the Race the spec is still distinctly posh – SRAM X.0 shifters and rear mech, Hope hubs, Avid Juicy Ultimate brakes, FSA Pro Team Issue carbon fibre cranks and the same Thomson/Easton finishing kit as the Race.

Then there’s what passes for “entry-level” in Whyteland, the E-5 XT. Revelation or SC32 fork, XT transmission, Hope Mono Mini brakes, £2,800.

Also sprouting a Race model is the 19 hardtail. Unlike the E-5, there’s actually two different frames in the 19 range. The Race and Works bikes now have carbon fibre seatstays and are designed around 100mm travel forks. The 19 Trail has an all-aluminium frame and runs 130mm travel forks. Both have Whyte’s unique swinging adjustable dropouts, giving variable chainstay length and making them singlespeed-ready.

The Race and Works bikes run the same spec as the equivalent E-5 models, but doing without shocks and swingarms and things makes them both lighter and cheaper. The Race, at a claimed weight of 22lb complete, comes in at £2,995 while the Works is £2,495. The “standard” 19 Trail has a not-dissimilar spec to the Works, but trades the 100mm Rebas for 130mm Revelations or 125mm Maverick SC32s, drops the X.0 shifters in favour of (now very similar) X-9s, has XT cranks rather than FSA carbon ones and runs bigger brake rotors and tyres. That’ll be £1,995 with either fork option.

Finally we have the original Whyte, the 46. The 46 was in the vanguard of the lightweight long travel movement that these days seems to be called “all-mountain”. For 2007 it’s had a few tweaks to meet increasing competition from the likes of Scott’s Ransom and Specialized’s Enduro SL. For a start, Whyte has trimmed half an inch off the chainstay length. And rather than the aftermarket Alpine Link that you could fit to drop the BB and slacken the angles, the 46 now has adjustable geometry thanks to two swingarm mounting holes on the lower link. According to the tables, the steep setting is a little slacker than last year’s standard set-up, while the long-and-low setting is longer, lower and more relaxed than the Alpine Link gave you before.

There’s just one model of 46, with XT cranks, SRAM X-9 shifters, X.0 mech, Avid Juicy Carbon brakes (203mm front, 185mm rear), Hope hubs and Panaracer Razor 2.3in tyres. As with the E-5 and 19 there are fork options for the 46 – either with the Maverick DUC32 that it’s sported since its introduction (£2,700) or with a Fox TALAS 36 with up to 160mm of travel (£2,600).