First Look: Whyte Bikes E-Lyte with Bosch SX Motor
Only a few years ago, if there wasn’t an eMTB in a brand’s lineup, they seemed left behind. That trend has shifted to lightweight E-bikes and Whyte Bikes is the latest to jump on board with their E-Lyte series. We caught a glimpse of this bike which was literally still under wraps back in the spring at Eurobike.
The E-Lyte models are built as all-arounders to tackle any type of terrain with contemporary geometry and dual 29” wheels. All of the models use a full carbon frame and at the top of the spec list, the E-Lyte 140 Works model weighs just 16.4kg (36.1 lb).
At first glance from the drive side, the Bosch SX motor is barely noticeable, as is the adjacent 400 Wh battery which is built into the slim downtube.
The E-Lyte models are built as all-arounders to tackle any type of terrain with contemporary geometry and dual 29” wheels. All of the models use a full carbon frame and at the top of the spec list, the E-Lyte 140 Works model weighs just 16.4kg (36.1 lb).
At first glance from the drive side, the Bosch SX motor is barely noticeable, as is the adjacent 400 Wh battery which is built into the slim downtube.
E-Lyte 140 and 150 Details
• Frame material: Carbon
• Wheel size: 29 front & rear
• E-Lyte travel: 135mm rear/140 front (142/150 - E-Lyte 150)
• Head tube angle: 65-65.6° (64-64.6° - E-Lyte 150)
• Reach: 435, 460, 485, 510mm
• Chainstay: 450mm
• Weight: 16.4kg / 36.4lb (140 Works, size MD)
• Pricing: £7,999 - 10,999 GBR
• whytebikes.com
• Frame material: Carbon
• Wheel size: 29 front & rear
• E-Lyte travel: 135mm rear/140 front (142/150 - E-Lyte 150)
• Head tube angle: 65-65.6° (64-64.6° - E-Lyte 150)
• Reach: 435, 460, 485, 510mm
• Chainstay: 450mm
• Weight: 16.4kg / 36.4lb (140 Works, size MD)
• Pricing: £7,999 - 10,999 GBR
• whytebikes.com
Frame and Motor Details
The exploded view: full carbon frame, Bosch SX motor, contemporary geometry, all at 16.4kg - the Whyte E-Lyte looks to be a promising lightweight eMTB.
An integrated top tube display.
... and Bosch SX motor with 55Nm of torque.
Their trim weight doesn’t confine them to riding with like-minded bikes though. The Bosch SX mid-torque motor puts out 55Nm and can be tuned to pump out 600W of peak power, meaning the E-Lyte can keep up with full-powered E-bikes too, according to Whyte.
While that may be true for a shorter period of time, you’ll want additional juice to ride with friends on bigger E-bikes. Thankfully, the Bosch PowerMore 250Wh range extender can be carried in the bottle cage and plugged in for a total of 650Wh.
The plug for that extra battery and charging port is located inside the front triangle at the base of the downtube, placed out of spray from the front tire - that’s just one aspect that Whyte built into the E-Lyte to survive savagely wet conditions.
In fact, there’s a whole host of additional features to keep the weather at bay. Throughout the frame, you’ll notice a seat clamp and chainstay yoke gaiter, sealed internal cable guides, as well as a downtube protector.
Furthermore, the frame is backed by a four-year warranty and the bearings are covered by a lifetime guarantee.
Suspension Design
Clean lines and 135 or 142mm of rear wheel travel via a Horst-link design, depending on the model.
It’s hard to knock the Horst-Link and the lines that the clevis-mount shock produces. One benefit of the work around the seat tube, as opposed to a rocker link that pivots on the seat tube, can be for optimal pivot placement without compromising the seat tube angle or post-insertion depth.
On the flip side, that linkage design can add stress and limit shock choices, such as coil-sprung dampers, but the E-Lyte is equipped with air shocks across the range.
To add more numbers to all the stats of the E-Lyte are the travel figures, which are not typically reflected by other brands. The digits in the model name refer to the front suspension travel, not the rear. The E-Lyte 140 has 135mm of rear wheel travel, while the 150 gets 142mm.
Geometry
A flip-chip allows for head and seat tube angle changes by 0.6 degrees.
Spec and Pricing
Hope cranks and brakes on the E-Lyte 150 Works will win over the local fans.
As per usual, less weight equates to higher price points and that’s true for the E-Lyte. Three models round out the lineup which start at £7,999 GBR with the E-Lyte 150 RSX. Each one of those is equipped with SRAM Transmission shifting of various levels.
The longer travel E-Lyte 150 RSX is bolted up with a RockShox Lyrik fork and SuperDeluxe rear shock, Whyte branded carbon rims, Maxxis EXO+ DHF/Dissector tires, and Code Stealth Bronze brakes.
On the 150 Works model, you’ll find a Fox 36 Factory fork and Float X shock, the same wheels and tires as the RSX, but the brakes and drivetrain jump up a spec level. Then, there’s the Hope cranks and brakes that will no doubt grab the attention.
For the £10,999 140 Works short-travel model, the Fox fork is slimmed down to the 34 model, the carbon rims come from DT Swiss, and the drivetrain is top of the ladder with the XX Transmission model.
Lastly, the range extender is included in the cost for each of the Works models.
E-Lyte 140 Works - 16.4kg - 10,999 GBR
E-Lyte 150 Works - 19.2kg - 9,999 GBR
E-Lyte 150 RSX - 18.9kg - 7,999 GBR
Whyte do not currently have distribution in the US. However, they do have distribution in NZ/AUS, Chile, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, Denmark and Sweden, Finland and Estonia, Israel, Italy, Norway and Poland. International pricing is not yet available.
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I'm a fan of the lightweight ebike because I'm not fond of the heavy ebike handling, experience, and I don't need much power. I think the lightweight ebike is the more avid/hardcore mtb-er's mountain ebike. However, not many options in lightweight ebike category yet.
Dont know about that. I agree with the trek fuel exe motor but definitely not this one.
Oh, wait.
That said, I'm not really buying into the 36# model actually existing or making much sense. Properly speced with a 36mm fork, ready to ride, 42-44#s all day long. Which is fine but so far away from 36#s on a spec sheet.
I do think this bike looks amazing btw.
Nah.
The lightweight ebike market exists solely for first time buyers or very recreational riders. Most of the people who ride a lot end up wanting to upgrade to a bigger bike.
Reason is, you aren't exactly hopping around on on a 36 lb bike anyways, and you give up a lot of component rigidity (Fox 34 and lightweight trail rims with 36 lbs isn't exactly a good match if you want to descend). So once you start beefing up to 40+ lbs, you may as well get the more powerful motor with more range.
And for the heavyweight bikes, pinion system is pretty much the best right now. They could single handedly win e-mtbs if they were to sell direct, especially if they released a standard middrive unit with exact same mounting points for a cheaper price so that people could upgrade to the gear system later on or buy a higher spec bike with it.
That being said, the main issue right now is the regulation on the power limit for an ebike, which is stupid. You already have speed limiters in place, there is no reason to limit power. Motors with more torque means that you can have a single speed ebike that would be absolutely fantastic for descending, as the ratio of sprung to unsprung mass in the rear gets even higher. The only thing that would sort of suck is technical climbing, but then you just run gears on it and run in lower power mode. This would also lead the adoption of 52v batteries which are more efficient than 36 and 48 volt ones that we have now.
The Full Fat e-bikes are much too powerful and carry too much battery juice/ weight, for undulating AM trails in my personal experience. If I rode in the mountains and rode up a dirt road, then back down a one-way trail, I'd be all about a FF. But I don't, I just ride rugged trails with short ups/ downs over and over.
A properly speced SL vs. a properly speced FF (which naturally needs more robust/ heavier componentry anyways) still maintains a 12#+ weight delta which is a lot when the nature of your trails limits your speeds well below a FF anyways. I work hard at it but only need about 250-330 wh per ride, so a 700 wh battery doesn't interest me.
I did laugh out loud at the 'very recreational riders' comment because from my perspective you have this exactly backwards. Mostly experienced riders want the 'bike' experience whereas the elderly's and overweight people want the 'e-motorcycle experience'.
I love how a guy that has never ridden or likely even seen a 'Pinion' e-bike claims they are the best. Actually, reviews state that they are inefficient and loud, but the idea is great I agree with that.
>The Full Fat e-bikes are much too powerful and carry too much battery juice/ weight, for undulating AM trails in my personal experience
This is just a matter of getting used to the bike. Unless you spent 50+ hours on a bike, you really don't have a perspective on how it rides. Couple of my friends ride Pole Voimas, and they do absolutely fine on any AM trail. Just like with regular bike where you have to figure out how to shift and when to pedal hard vs sit and spin, you just have to learn how to use the motor efficiently. Its not like these bikes put out that much power.
>I did laugh out loud at the 'very recreational riders' comment because from my perspective you have this exactly backwards. Mostly experienced riders want the 'bike' experience whereas the elderly's and overweight people want the 'e-motorcycle experience'.
its not backwards. Its true that some people will go for the biggest one, but it in general, the vast majority of people that ride trails ride trails want a light bike solely for pedaling efficiency. They don't boost off of stuff or whip or do any real stunts that would warrant a lighter bike. And when you have a motor, the pedaling efficiency is moot. Getting better usually means attempting bigger features, which is a matter of skill , but also you will want more suspension to make sure that you don't break anything on a hard landing, or able to roll steep rough sections easier. All of this warrants a heavier bike with more travel.
Even in Austin, having been there myself and ridden Cat Mtn, there is no way you would be better off with a lighter ebike there compared to a full on e-enduro (or even a DH rig). But Im guessing you personally don't ride at that level.
> love how a guy that has never ridden or likely even seen a 'Pinion' e-bike claims they are the best. Actually, reviews state that they are inefficient and loud, but the idea is great I agree with that.
They are technically less efficient than a traditional drivetrain, but the actual figure doesn't matter when you have a motor. Furthermore, Im not sure that the planetary gearboxes in traditional drivetrains are that efficient either. But they are the best from an integration standpoint for reasons I mentioned - mass ratio, simplicity, zero-pedal shift, e.t.c
Ebikes are not bikes nor motorcycles, so lool at them has it is: EBIKES
This is silly. What are you going to do a 6-hour ride on 1 water bottle? Come on. When you run a RE you need a hydration pack just because of the time and distance covered.
"Whyte has just publicly revealed its 2024 bike lineup following a behind-closed-doors event in Bristol (UK) a couple of weeks ago. But along with very impressive full production models of its brand new E-Lyte three-model range of e-MTBs and the RHeO line up of electric urban bikes (bar the RHeO 1 which is purely human powered), there were only four other conventionally powered bikes in production for 2024.
At first I wondered if there was another press event happening that would cover the other model ranges, but after checking with Whyte, a representative confirmed that they have axed every single one of those bikes."
@whytebikes: Bike looks great, nice work on the weight as well!
I like a lot of drop as much as anyone and have a 210mm OneUp on my Relay. But it's just a clunky, binding, hard to press lever, needs grease constantly thing. It has a short stack height for sure, but it also feels cheap as hell.
For me, I'd prefer a bit less drop in exchange for better feel in a dropper post.
Regarding the Whyte and its insertion depth, sure it's not 'Transition' good, but very few bikes are and I'm certain at 5'11" I could get a 200mm on there, just like I did on my SJEvo that also has the seat tube kink.
Pro Tip: The SqLabs saddles have very low rail to pad height distances and will get you another 12mm all day long over other average seats. I also find them to be the most comfortable seats.
Womp womp
Rsx version is lighter and 2000GBR cheaper ????