Whyte ELyte 150 RSX first ride review

We take a spin on Whyte's newest lightweight electric mountain bike.

Liam Mercer

Mar 5 2024

Whyte has established itself as one of the most innovative mountain bike companies in the world. Last year, the brand unveiled its all-new e-MTB platform, the E-Lyte platform, which was released to bolster its already successful pedal-assist range with a sub 20kg, mid-torque and full power ride. We spent a day with the ELyte 150 RSX to get a feel for Whyte’s latest release.

Whyte’s electric mountain bike range needs no introduction and its bikes can be found around trail centres all over the UK – a nod to its quality and reputation. With such a range of full-fat e-MTBs, the unveiling of a lightweight offering from Whyte was simply a matter of time and the ELyte has been built in as ‘Whyte’ a fashion as you would expect.

Whyte ELyte 150 RSX - Technical details

But before getting into the smaller details, all ELyte models don Bosch’s Performance Line SX motor that knocks out 55Nm of torque and a full 600Wh of peak power. That’s paired with a 400Wh internal battery. And just like we’ve seen on previous Whyte e-MTBs, the brand has paid serious attention to the bike’s centre of gravity, so anything heavy is placed as low down on the bike as possible.

The same goes for the space in the front triangle for a 750ml bottle and the Bosch PowerMore range extender. That effort in moulding the ELyte’s centre of gravity has been in pursuit of one thing – handling. But the brand doesn’t constrict the rider to the option of running a range extender or a water bottle as further up the down tube there’s enough space for a small bottle or a multi-tool. However, it must be noted that a small water bottle can only fit on medium and larger frame sizes.

As for the frame, it’s constructed from uni-directional carbon fibre owing to its blend of lightweight and strength. Whyte has gone for it with the weather protection as there’s a seat-clamp gaiter, its internal cable routing ports are sealed and its charge port is at the front of the seat tube as that’s an area that’s well out of the way of rear wheel spray. There’s clearance for up to 2.5in tyres and the pivot bearings are phosphate-coated and packed with marine grease. And, while we’re on the subject of bearings, Whyte offers a lifetime warranty. There’s frame protection in the areas you would expect, too.

That carbon frame is the same frame that you’ll find on the even lighter but more cross-country focussed ELyte 140 Works but this bike uses a longer shock stroke to achieve its 142mm of rear travel. It gets a longer travel fork with 150mm of bounce. This bike rolls on 29-inch wheels as standard but Whyte says that it can run a mixed-wheel setup without issue.

Moving onto the geometry and it’s a very modern trail bike affair. On the large frame pictured here, there’s a 481mm reach with a 64.6-degree head tube and 77.1-degree seat tube angle. There’s a 450.4mm chainstay and a 1,272.6mm wheelbase. Thanks to Whyte’s Shape.it Link V2, the geometry can be slackened which results in a 64-degree head angle with a tweak to the seat tube.

Whyte ELyte 150 RSX - Componentry

The RSX model of the ELyte 150 represents the entry point of the E-Lyte range. It will set you back £8,000 and, although there are cheaper lightweight e-MTBs on the market, such as £7,000 Specialized’s Levo SL Comp Carbon, Whyte is still offering competitive value.

That’s because on top of its RockShox Lyrik Select+ fork and Deluxe Select+ shock, it rolls on the brand’s TeXtreme Innegra-infused carbon rims and, for those not in the know, Innegra is a material used at the front of Formula One cars to fend off stone chips. It’s a technology we’ve seen before, too, used on Sector’s 9i wheels. Those wheels are wrapped with a Maxxis Minion DHF at the front with an EXO casing and MaxxGrip compound and there’s a Maxxis Dissector at the rear with an EXO+ casing and MaxxTerra compound.

Driving the bike is SRAM’s GX Eagle Transmission drivetrain and it’s slowed with a set of SRAM’s Code Bronze Stealth four-piston stoppers. All in, Whyte claims that a medium-framed E-Lyte 150 RSX tips the scale at a gram under 19kg.

Elsewhere, the finishing kit is sorted with Whyte’s own kit, and this particular model doesn’t get the range extender in the box, whereas the 150 Works and 140 Works bikes come with one included in the asking price.

Whyte ELyte 150 RSX - Ride impressions

For my time with the ELyte 150 RSX, I headed out to the Forest of Dean and, once again, the conditions were far from favourable. Although I revelled in the unexpected warmth of springtime sun, it didn’t take long for the rain and even hail to throw more moisture into already saturated trails. Regardless, the ELyte proved a force to be reckoned with thanks to Whyte’s almost aggressive weather sealing but also because the bike is one impressive bit of kit.

The ELyte is a trail bike but it’s a real exhibit of Whyte’s bike-design experience as where nothing jumps out on paper, its ride does the talking. It does a convincing job of hiding the fact that it’s an e-bike in its ride character, which is one impressive feat. Not only is that a credit to the bike’s relatively light weight but also its sorted suspension kinematic and Whyte’s diligence in carefully working on the bike’s centre of gravity.

Of course, when pedalling the bike about, it rewards with its 55Nm of grunt that makes light work of climbs and lengthy traverses, and that’s where the e-MTB factor shines. On the descents, however, it’s almost as if there’s no motor there at all (apart from the assistance it provides).

And that grunt is plentiful. It’s delivered naturally but rapidly, so it reaches full output quickly but without winding on all of the throttle immediately.

The ELyte 150 is a bike that’s all about handling and, over all of the trails I sampled, handling was stellar. In terms of geometry, there’s not much to complain about but it’s how the brand has packaged its motor and battery that makes the ELyte such a natural performer. Because most of the weight is low down in the frame, tipping the bike into a corner feels very much like any non-assist bike, where it’s reactive and as agile as you would expect. It can be pushed into lumpy technical trails with confidence as a result of its heft but it doesn’t wallow or sit deep in its travel thanks to the solid suspension platform.

And that’s what I found the most impressive – the suspension platform. When pedalling, it's stable and efficient but under compression it stands up in its travel but not so much as to restrict its overall movement and limit grip. And that’s without any adjustment to high or low-speed compression. This is where it feels like a pedal-powered mountain bike in that after landing a drop or hitting a berm, the weight of the ELyte doesn’t force it to dive into a load of its travel. It’s frugal with its millimetres of suspension but it’s not afraid to open up when the time comes.

Because of this progression, there’s an uninhibited level of pop and liveliness in that rear end. But when lifting the tyres off the ground via a bunny hop or simply without the assistance of a kicker, the very concentrated BB-centric weight is still there. Of course, this is a trait of all e-MTBs. It can just be a stark and sudden reminder given Whyte’s exceptional job of creating such a well handling bit of kit.

The brand specification of carbon wheels as standard also has a part to play in the ELyte's handling. Carbon is typically lighter than alloy but what's important here is that these rims are stiff. So power transfer is immediate and there's little give in the wheelset as it's loaded laterally.

Whyte ELyte 150 RSX - Early verdict

Although handling is nothing short of excellent, I did find a hint of nervousness in the front end when tackling steeper terrain. The bike was in its Hi setting though, which will certainly have an effect. Another culprit to the twitchiness could also be the fact it’s equipped with a Maxxis DHF at the front, which is not the best tyre in wet and muddy conditions. But even with that said, the ELyte acted as a very solid platform on everything from technical trails with steeper gradients to lengthy traverses and fast flow sections.

The Whyte ELyte 150 RSX is a playful, agile and responsive machine that balances the best of both the analogue and pedal-assisted worlds – it's such a fun and dynamic bike. A detailed review will follow as soon as we get more time on the bike.

whytebikes.com

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Liam Mercer

Since beginning his mountain biking career while working as a resort photographer in Greece in 2014, Liam became a freelance contributor at off.road.cc in 2019. From there, he’s climbed the journalism job ladder from staff writer to deputy technical editor, now finding his place as technical editor.

Partial to the odd enduro race, heart rate-raising efforts on slim-tyred cross-country bikes, hell-for-leather e-MTB blasts or even casual gravel jaunts, there’s not a corner of off-road cycling where Liam fears to tread. With more than 40 bike reviews under his belt and hundreds more on MTB, e-MTB and gravel parts and accessories, Liam’s expertise continues to be cemented and respected by the industry.