A half fat ebike that takes aim at the full fat offerings, the Whyte e-Lyte 150 Works is also a riot when the ground points downwards.
Whyte Bikes relaunched their range for 2024 and the e-Lyte 150 Works was at the forefront of that. Pete has spent the festive period getting to grips with Whyte’s half fat ebike offering.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- Fox 36 Factory 160mm fork
- Fox Float X Factory shock
- SRAM XO AXS T-type 12-speed drive
- Bosch Performance Line SX motor
- Bosch 400Wh battery (250Wh range extender available)
- Hope Tech4 V4 brakes
- Hope Pro 5 hubs on Whyte Innegra Infused Carbon rims
- Whyte drop.it. II dropper
- £9,999.00 RRP
- WhyteBikes.com
Geometry
The Whyte e-Lyte 150 Works is available in Small, Medium, Large and XLarge.
Reach on the Medium is 456mm with a seat tube of 420mm. Head angle in the ‘Low’ position is 64 degrees with a size specific seat tube angle of 77.3 degrees. Chainstays are 450.4mm across the sizes and the wheelbase on the Medium is 1242.1mm.
From the get go, the e-Lyte 150 Works was going faster than I could comprehend and I had to recalibrate my brain a touch to stay ahead of what the bike could do. With sag set to 30% and the rebound on the faster side, this bike was smoothing out all manner of hits, providing plenty of grip with the big Hope anchors bringing everything to heel if I ran out of talent.
Anyone used to the bigger Bosch motor will need to pay attention to the preference for an easier gear and higher cadence on the SX unit, and getting the peak power does require a cadence that tends to feel like overkill. On techy climbs too, this combined with the Dissector rear tyre requires careful management to keep the cadence to grip ratio in your favour.
Once you’re pointing the bike downhill, the bike is a riot. If you choose to plough, the bike will handle it. Far more than a 142mm bike should. If you want to skip, hop and pick your line then the bike feels far lighter in the hand than the numbers might suggest.
I realise that this is a bike just a pound shy of ten grand, but it’s very nice indeed to have brakes on an ebike that can truly have the measure of the bike that they’re tasked with controlling. The Hope Tech 4 V4s have a reputation for being potent but on the e-Lyte they are well in their element. If, like me you like one-finger braking they can take some setup, more in terms of clamp position as the levers are long. Power and modulation are seemingly infinite.
Elsewhere, the components have been faultless. The SRAM XO AXS T-type drive has been slick and smooth, transferring that high cadence power smoothly throughout. Hope’s Pro 5 hubs meet the hype and add that extra bit of forward momentum thanks to their labyrinth seal. These are laced to Whyte’s own carbon fibre rims, the combination providing a stiff but not harsh rolling experience.
It’s worth noting that the test period available was shorter than most and as a result the big hill days were the range extender would be welcome hasn’t been used. Range on the fitted 400Wh battery is decent and this gets you well into full fat power rankings with the range extender, bumping you to 650Wh. Obviously there’s a weight penalty with this, so there is a trade off but this weight mounts low.
Had we had the bike longer then the emphasis on going after the full fat ebikes in a lighter package would have been easier to gauge. As it stands, the e-Lyte remained a half fat option, but in that, it’s slightly higher weight doesn’t feel like it holds it back any.
If I was buying one of these, I’d likely just switch the Dissector out, maybe even the front Minion DHF for something stickier and whilst the climbing speed might suffer, techy climbs would be dispatched with ease and the descents would truly hit the sound barrier.
What do we think?
Whyte e-Lyte 150 Works is worth it alone for the way in which it transports you down a hill, regardless of the style of terrain in front of you. It’s also adept at getting you back to the top swiftly to do it again.
We love:
- Rocketship fast
- Confidence-inspiring ride
- Excellent brakes
- Good range
Could do better:
- Stock tyres wouldn’t be our first choice
