Will’s new Whyte E-150 RS
If you follow me on social media you will already know that I have a new bike and surprise surprise it’s an EMTB. A Whyte E-150 RS to be exact. This bike was built by Toby from Ace Bicycles who we will also be working with a lot more during 2021 creating articles, videos, photos and other content.
The Whyte E-150 is highly rated by so many people in the media and I’m certainly loving it.
So some of you might be asking why I decided to get an e-bike? Well first of all they are really fun. You can ride in a whole new way, climb things that weren’t possible before and just more trails in less time. But the real reason I wanted to get an EMTB was that when out on a photoshoot I have lug around a ton of camera equipment which is quite heavy, the climbs were killer and keeping up with the talent was near impossible. With the EMTB I can move my equipment around a lot easier and also get ahead and into position quicker. All in all it should make my life much easier.
| e-BIKE SPECIFIC SPECIFICATION | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOTOR | Bosch Performance Line CX (Gen 4). 85 Nm max Torque, 250 W nominal power, 2.79 kg 4 Power settings including progressive eMTB mode which automatically adjusts the support | BATTERY | Bosch 625 Wh internal PowerTube. Reaches full charge in 5 hours with supplied 4A Compact Charger, 80% charge from 0 in 2.5 hours | DISPLAY | Bosch Purion |
| SPECIFICATION | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| COLOUR | Matt Moss with Yellow & Khaki | CASSETTE | SRAM XG-1275 Eagle, 10-52, 12 Speed |
| FRAME | 6061 Alloy, Hydro Formed T6 Aluminium, Multi Butted, Custom Drawn, Tapered Headtube, Internal Cable Routing for Dropper Post and 12mm X 148mm Boost Dropouts | CHAIN | SRAM Eagle, 12 Speed |
| FORK | RockShox Lyrik Select RC 29″, 150mm Travel, 42mm Offset, DebonAir, Charger 2 RC Damper, Fast Black Coating, Tapered Steerer, 110mm x 15mm Boost, Maxle Ultimate | CRANKSET | SRAM EX1, 165mm, ISIS with X-SYNC 2, Direct Mount 34T for Bosch Gen 4, Black |
| REAR SHOCK | RockShox Deluxe Select + RT, DebonAir, Fast Black Coating, Adjustable Rebound, 2 position compression adjustment | BOTTOM BRACKET | N/A |
| HEADSET | FSA No. 57E Orbit ZS, 1 1/2″ Lower and 1 1/8″ Upper Sealed Cartridge Bearings | SEATPOST | Crank Bro High-Line 3, 30.9mm, M/L 150mm Travel, XL 170mm Travel, High-Line Ball Socket Remote Lever |
| REAR HUB | Alloy, e-bike specific, Double Sealed Cartridge Bearings, 12mm x 148mm Boost Through Axle, 9 deg Micro Engagement 4 Pawl, 32 Hole | SADDLE | Whyte Custom, Triple Panel Design |
| FRONT HUB | Alloy, Double Sealed Cartridge Bearings, 15mm x 110mm Boost Through Axle, 31mm Torque Caps, 32 Hole | HANDLEBAR | Whyte Custom 6061 Alloy, 30mm Rise, 35mm Bar Bore, 780mm Wide |
| SPOKES | DT Swiss Champion 2.0mm, Black Stainless, Brass Nipples | STEM | Whyte Enduro Stem, 35mm Bar Bore, 35mm Extension |
| RIMS | WTB HTZ i30 TCS 2.0 System, Asymmetric, Sleeved Joint, Super Tough Construction, Tubeless Ready, 32 Hole | GRIPS | Whyte Lock-on V Grip |
| TYRE | Maxxis Assegai WT, TR, 29″ x 2.5″ 120TPI, EXO+ casing, 3C Maxx Terra, Dual Compound, Front, Maxxis Minion DHR WT, TR, 29″ x 2.4″ 120TPI, Double Down, 3C Maxx Terra, Dual Compound, Folding Bead, Rear | BRAKES FRONT | SRAM Code R, 4 Piston with Sintered Metal Pads, 220mm Disc |
| SHIFT LEVERS | SRAM X01-E Eagle, Single Click, MMX, 12 Speed | BRAKES REAR | SRAM Code R, 4 Piston with Sintered Metal Pads, 200mm Disc |
| FRONT MECH | N/A | BRAKE LEVERS | SRAM Code R, MMX |
| REAR MECH | SRAM X01 Eagle, 12 Speed | ||
| SIZE GUIDE | ||
|---|---|---|
| M | L | XL |
| 5’6″ – 5’10” | 5’10” – 6’2″ | 6’2″ – 6’6″ |
| 168 – 178 cm | 178 – 188 cm | 188 – 198 cm |
| GEOMETRY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SIZE | M | L | XL |
| A HEAD TUBE ANGLE | 64.7 | 64.7 | 64.7 |
| B SEAT TUBE ANGLE | 74.9 | 74.7 | 74.5 |
| C TOP TUBE HORIZONTAL | 611 | 641 | 676 |
| D BB HEIGHT ABOVE GROUND | 335 | 335 | 335 |
| E STAND OVER HEIGHT | 814 | 828 | 828 |
| F WHEEL BASE | 1230 | 1261 | 1298 |
| G CHAIN STAY LENGTH | 445 | 445 | 445 |
| H SEAT POST DIAMETER | 30.9 | 30.9 | 30.9 |
| I HEAD TUBE LENGTH | 120 | 133 | 148 |
| J SEAT TUBE LENGTH | 431.8 | 457.2 | 482.6 |
| STACK | 634 | 643 | 657 |
| REACH | 451 | 476 | 506 |
Whyte E-150 RS Mods
I had some issues with getting a bottle and cage to fit on the Whyte E-150 RS 29r which I think is a common problem for many people. The main issue is that a conventional cage overlaps the charge port and getting even a small bottle to fit can be a challenge with the shock. I didn’t want to use a conventional bottle and cage though as I am a huge fan of the Fidlock system. The issue with this is that the bottle cap touched the RockShox Lockout Knob so I loaded my favourite CAD software Fusion 360 (because it’s free) and modelled what I am calling the Rockshox Micro Stealth Knob (what a mouthful, or not!). This micro knob no longer hits the bottle which is ideal. You can check it out on my site here.
The second mod was done by Toby, owner of Ace Bicycles Guildford and Monmouth. He has created an adapter allowing you to move you Bosch Purion display to a tidier and better-looking place close to the stem instead of near the grips. I am now 3D printing these adapters too and you can speak to Ace Bicycles to get your bike converted.
Review coming soon!
I will be riding this bike for a few months before I put up a review but my initial thoughts are that this is one hell of a bike with a ton of mid-travel support. It feels very planted and tracks so well. The motor makes getting up hills almost effortless and I find myself pushing myself to tackle harder and more technical climbs.
What do you think of my switch to an EMTB? What do you think of the Whyte E-150 RS? If you want to try one yourself then head to Ace Bicycles as they have a few demo models available.