I own 4 different size routers. I have been blessed with a wife who understands wood-working.
This Whiteside bit we are talking about is a fairly big aggressive bit. It has a 1/2 inch shank too.
I have a "just larger than laminate trimmer" 1-1/4 horse Dewalt router that will only accept 1/4 inch bits, and a similar, slightly larger, older Craftsman. I use these for smaller tasks like routing pickup pockets. neck pockets, and control cavities that have been drilled out first.
The next size up, and quite frankly the smallest I would use with the Whiteside bit, is a 2-1/4 horse Makita.
This router has both a solid base, and a plunge base. The weight of this router is good, making it possible to work with it in my hands. I also had it mounted in my router table until just recently.
Then I got my new 3-1/4 horse Porter Cable.
The Porter Cable is a great router for table mounting, but is a bit heavy for hand work. It has 2 chucks, one for 1/2 inch and one for 1/4 inch. This router will handle almost any bit out there. This is the table mounted router I use for template work.
In my opinion one of the mistakes we make when buying tools is under buying. In other words, not buying a tool powerful enough to maintain RPM while cutting.
This leads to burning the wood, and dulling the bit faster because of heat. I know this out of my own experience. Like most of us, I did not have the money to buy some of these tools until I got a bit older. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.
Hopefully this helps you in your choice of routers.