GT Transeo 2 Vs Whyte Malvern--which one for me?

[Dave7]

I have more or less narrowed my search down to these 2 bikes.
I want it for canal paths/Penine Trail etc. but of course will need road use to get to these places. (I do have a road specific bike)

One of my LBS's tell me the Whyte (in his opinion) is one of the few Hybrids that are actually capable of delivering on trails.........he reckons most are really only urban bikes in disguise and indeed one of the GT reviews has it down as a "comfort ride".

Both have the Shimano Alivio groupsets. They have different forks. The GT frame is 7000 while the Whyte is 6061 (as though that means anything to me)
Similar price for both.
Decisions-decisions

 

[wiggydiggy]

On my recent search I loved the Whyte's, but couldn't stretch that far. I read up on them and they are a MTB company so I'd say that Malvern would be more than capable.

Malvern for me.

 

[HLaB]

Have you got any links Dave ? out of those two however my initial bias is towards the Whyte as they seem to be a little more unusual.

 

[Dave7]

Have you got any links Dave ? out of those two however my initial bias is towards the Whyte as they seem to be a little more unusual.

Links to both bikes below as requested.
I was inclined towards the GT purely as the paint work is "nicer/brighter" but I am now leaning towards the Whyte.
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/35774/GT_Transeo_20_Disc_Bike_2011
http://www.whytebikes.com/2011/bike_page.php?ModNo=W-0-018-11

 

[yumpy]

I've been using a Transeo non-disc for a couple of years as an occasional leisure/training bike - more or less the same spec. apart from that. Nothing's broken yet, the rims needed a bit of spoke tweaking as they went slightly out of true after 6 months or so - nothing serious though. There's a fair bit of play in the forks / front brakes now on heavy braking, considering the quite low mileage. Wheel bearings needed regreasing/packing recently.

One thing I would say is compare the weights ! I don't know what the Whyte is like, but every time we lug bikes over a fence, there's a lot of comments about mine being rather heavy !

Oh, and front lockout is great if you're doing some fast road and eg. towpath on other occasions.

 

[HLaB]

Links to both bikes below as requested.
I was inclined towards the GT purely as the paint work is "nicer/brighter" but I am now leaning towards the Whyte.
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/35774/GT_Transeo_20_Disc_Bike_2011
http://www.whytebikes.com/2011/bike_page.php?ModNo=W-0-018-11

Cheers I prefer the shape of the Whyte but spec wise there doesn't seem to be much between them, other than the grade of aluminum but that alien language to me too. The Whyte has the identical big chain ring (highest gear) but the two other rings are slightly smaller offering slightly lower gears.