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Whyte’s Kado RSX is the brand’s newest, range-topping carbon fibre eMTB, and it’s blisteringly fast to ride.
Despite the relatively diminutive 160mm front and 150mm rear travel figures, the Kado has a planted and unshakable demeanour on wild terrain.
That’s mostly thanks to its low centre of gravity and not insignificant 24.31kg weight figure.
The front and rear 29in-wheel bike has a mature, no-nonsense feel.
This prioritises getting from A to B as quickly as possible above fancifully flicking, drifting and changing direction down the trail.
At a smidge under £7,500, Whyte’s justified the price with a carefully curated parts list, Bosch’s latest Gen 5 100Nm, 750W motor and an 800Wh internal battery.
It’s also got a lifetime frame and pivot-bearing warranty.
Whyte Kado RSX frame, suspension and motor
The Kado’s carbon frame looks sleek and smooth.
Those glossy aesthetics hide plenty of practical details; cables are routed internally via frame ports, not through the headset, and they’re sealed from the elements.
There’s loads of chain-slap and underside protection, and the pivot bearings are packed with marine grease to keep them smoother for longer.
There’s an in-built rear mudguard, and an offset charging port, so it’s out of the firing line of mud and debris.
Both 29in and 27.5in rear wheels fit, thanks to the geometry-adjusting Shape.It link on the shock yoke.
It’s SRAM UDH compatible, and there’s the impressive pivot-bearing and frame lifetime warranty. There’s also space within the front triangle for a water bottle on all sizes.
Suspension
Running on Whyte’s tried and tested Horst-link rear suspension design, it’s got 150mm of rear-wheel travel.
This is claimed to give grip, support, control and confidence.
Motor and battery
Bosch’s latest Performance Line CX motor boasts 100Nm of peak torque and 750W of peak power (available by an over-the-air update).
The Kado’s compatible with both the 600Wh and 800Wh Bosch PowerTube batteries, but comes delivered with the larger-capacity model.
This is easily removed via an opening at the bottom of the down tube, whether that’s for charging, storage or otherwise.
Like the E-160 that precedes the Kado, the Bosch motor has been ‘clocked’, or turned nose-upwards.
This is said to lower the bike’s centre of gravity – something Whyte is extremely focused on – by allowing the battery to sit ‘beneath’ the motor.
Bikes with motors in the usual position have their batteries ‘stacked’ on top of them, moving mass upwards.
Whyte Kado RSX geometry
The four-size range (small to extra-large) has geometry figures befitting of the Kado’s trail/enduro remit.
Its reach spans 436mm to 510mm across the sizes and the seat tube angle is steep at around 78 degrees, also depending on size.
The Shape.It link adjusts bottom bracket height between a claimed 442mm (low) and 450mm (high), but I measured it at 338mm and 343mm respectively.
It also swaps the head angle between 65 degrees (high) and 64.4 degrees (low).
Chainstay lengths are the same 450mm figure across the range.
| | S | M | L | XL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat tube angle (degrees) | 77.9 | 77.8 | 77.7 | 77.5 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 64.4 | 64.4 | 64.4 | 64.4 |
| Chainstay (mm) | 450 | 450 | 450 | 450 |
| Seat tube (mm) | 395 | 420 | 445 | 470 |
| Head tube (mm) | 104 | 116 | 129 | 144 |
| Bottom bracket height (mm) | 342 | 342 | 342 | 342 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1213.1 | 1243.2 | 1273.7 | 1305 |
| Standover (mm) | 765 | 768 | 771 | 774 |
| Stack (mm) | 623 | 634.4 | 646.2 | 659.8 |
| Reach (mm) | 436 | 460 | 485 | 510 |
Whyte Kado RSX specifications
Topping the Kado range, the RSX’s spec has been carefully curated.
Fox dampers sit front and back, with a 160mm-travel 38 Performance Elite fork and Float X Performance Elite rear shock.
SRAM’s GX Eagle AXS Transmission drivetrain is fitted and the derailleur is powered by the ebike’s battery.
DT Swiss’ H 1900 wheels are wrapped in Maxxis Assegai and DHR II rubber. The front tyre has an EXO+ casing, and the rear gets the tougher DoubleDown variant.
Magura’s MT7 brakes clamp 203mm rotors and there’s a travel-adjustable KS Vantage seatpost.
While the spec is far from luxurious, nothing will need upgrading instantly.
On my scales, the size-large bike weighs 24.31kg without pedals.
Whyte Kado RSX ride impressions
I tested the Kado RSX on my home trails in Scotland’s Tweed Valley, taking in the off-piste enduro descents at Glentress and the Golfie, and the official DH tracks in Innerliethen.
I also clocked up plenty of miles of meandering singletrack, both on official trail-centre routes and in the Scottish lowland backcountry.
The bike got a thorough workout in a host of weather conditions, suited to its UK-designed remit.
Setup
Getting the Kado ready to ride was a simple affair.
For my 78kg weight, I set the rear shock to 205psi, giving 17.25mm of sag. I set all the damper adjustments to fully open.
At the fork, I initially set the air spring to 100psi, but increased this during the initial ride to 107psi. I also left all the damper adjustments fully open.
The only thing I wanted was a longer steerer tube. I was quick to max out the stem’s height on the tube with spacers and felt I could have gone higher.
Be mindful when you’re purchasing your Kado to make sure the bike’s fork has enough steerer tube so you can adjust the height of the bar to your preference.
Whyte Kado RSX climbing performance
Thanks to a relatively steep seat tube angle, the Kado’s got an archetypal enduro-style riding position.
Your hips sit over the bottom bracket rather than behind it; it encourages you to open your shoulders and lift your body rather than stooping towards the bar as more aggressive geometry will.
It focuses your body weight through your sit bones rather than your hands, helping keep fatigue to a minimum on long slogs to the trailhead or big days out in the hills.
Grip and control
The bike’s generous chainstays help when the climbs get more technical.
A long rear end helps better balance your weight between the wheels, focusing more of it towards the front and centre of the bike compared to one with shorter stays.
Once the gradient steepens, this means less unwanted front-wheel lift and more control overall because your weight is further towards the bar anyway.
Grip is strikingly easy to feed into the rear wheel, while keeping the front end planted for steering control.
Picking up the front end to weave around rocks or set up a high line on a technical switchback turn feels fun, but it’s also fast.
And if you just want to keep powering up the steepest inclines possible, you can hunker down towards the bars to get the bike to dig in.
The suspension is smooth enough to keep the worst trail chatter from pounding your glutes, but it’s far from the flutteriest, most active rear end.
Most noticeable on the smallest, highest-frequency bumps, the Whyte’s suspension uses its travel conservatively.
Whyte Kado RSX battery life and motor performance
Bosch’s 100Nm, 750W update to the Gen 5 Performance Line CX really ups the ante when it comes to powering up hills.
eMTB+ and Turbo modes are now rip-roaringly fast when you’re going at full-chat.
Impressively, however, this doesn’t mean you’re lighting up the rear tyre on every slippery, slimy root.
The motor’s power is still easy to control, even though it feels livelier. Bosch’s sensitivity and almost non-assisted feel are still present and correct.
If the new maximum figures are too much to handle, you can always turn them down in the Flow smartphone app.
Battery life takes a relatively small hit with this increased power, with Bosch’s 800Wh unit lasting 34.5km with 1,453m of ascent over 1 hour 45 minutes of riding in Turbo, which is 300 to 400 meters less ascent than when it’s set to the pre-update 85Nm and 600W figures.
The Whyte’s 36t chainring is a bit of an anomaly. While the motor’s got plenty of grunt to power up the steepest climbs, there are times when I was hunting for a lower gear.
The 36-52t ratio isn’t quite low enough.
When asked why Whyte has fitted a 36t chainring, it replied: “the bike was designed around a 36t, changing to a 34t would increase the anti-squat. For some riders or certain terrain that might be desirable. It's just another way of tuning the bike.”
I don't feel anti-squat is a massive concern on an electric mountain bike, so swapping it out for a smaller ring would be high up my immediate upgrade list.
Whyte Kado RSX descending performance
Feeling stuck down, almost glued to the floor, the Kado has a smooth and calm presence when descending.
That’s not because the suspension works overtime to absorb every bump, undulation, compression or rock, but it’s thanks to the chassis’ limited yaw.
The lack of fore-aft rocking or nodding gives it an immovable feel; it’s easy to ride because unwanted inputs from the trail are cut right back, helping you focus on riding faster and harder.
Its low centre of gravity and substantial weight combine to give it this immovable demeanour.
All work, no play…
But when you need to get involved with the ride to change line or take evasive action, it takes a fair amount of effort to chuck it about.
Smaller rider-weight shifts are essentially filtered out from affecting the bike’s trajectory, so if you want to manoeuvre it onto your chosen path, you need to command it authoritatively.
But that’s not to say it lacks agility.
One of the best traits of Whyte’s low-slung bikes is how easy they are to corner.
The Kado’s no exception; it changes direction convincingly and easily. Lean into a turn, no matter its radii, and the bike tips over, hooking confidently and predictably.
It’s obedient and its weight gives its ride plenty of conviction.
But it’s not the flickiest, poppiest, most fun bike to ride. If you’re the type of person who wants to bounce from one line or turn to the next, it’s unlikely the Kado’s for you.
On the other hand, if getting from A to B in the quickest, most efficient way possible is your bag, the Kado is an excellent choice.
Composed rather than plush
There’s plenty of balance between the front and rear dampers but, as on the climbs, it’s not exactly the smoothest bike on the mountain.
What it lacks in outright plushness it makes up for with support and ramp up. It's great both for holding up its weight and managing the extra forces created by riding an ebike hard.
It feels as though it’s got more travel than it does; big hits are absorbed well and only the least sympathetic landings begin to feel harsh.
If you’re looking for a squishier ride without giving up any of the support or bottom-out resistance, Santa Cruz’s 150mm-travel Vala is probably a better bet.
Some extra performance might be hiding behind the Kado’s 160mm-travel fork – fitting a 170mm ZEB or 38 could unlock a little more potential.
High alert
Thanks to the low bottom bracket (338mm measured), pedal strikes are frequent if you’re not careful.
Ruts, rocks and roots are all within striking distance unless you actively lift your feet up as you swoosh past them.
While a lot of the bike’s performance is ravelled up in its low bottom bracket, riders will need to be careful to avoid pedal strikes on certain trails.
Whyte Kado RSX bottom line
The Kado’s a mature, grown-up eMTB that thrives on getting down the hill on your chosen line as quickly and calmly as possible.
But as brutally quick and composed as it is, it lacks some of the pop and playfulness of other bikes on the market.
If you’re looking for a well-made full power eMTB with fantastic warranty support that’s best suited to hurtling down almost any type of terrain, you can’t go far wrong with the Kado.
SQUIRREL_13240704
Product
| Brand | Whyte |
| Price | £7499.00 |
| Weight | 24.31kg |
Features
| Fork | Fox 38 Performance Elite GRIPX2, 160mm travel |
| Stem | Whyte, 35mm |
| Chain | SRAM GX Eagle Transmission |
| Frame | Unidirectional carbon fibre, 150mm travel |
| Motor | Bosch Performance Line CX motor / Bosch PowerTube 800 800Wh internal battery |
| Tyres | Maxxis Assegai 3C MaxxGrip EXO+ 29x2.5in f, Maxxis Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra DoubleDown 29x2.4in r |
| Brakes | Magura MT7, 203/203mm MDRC rotors |
| Cranks | Whyte ISIS, 36t |
| Saddle | Whyte Custom |
| Wheels | DT Swiss H 1900 |
| Headset | FSA |
| Shifter | SRAM Pod Controller |
| Cassette | SRAM GX Eagle Transmission, 10-52t |
| Seatpost | KS Vantage (dropper) |
| Grips/tape | Whyte Enduro lock-on |
| Handlebar | Race Face Turbine Alloy, 800mm |
| Rear shock | Fox Float X Performance Elite |
| Bottom bracket | Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 5 |
| Available sizes | S, M, L, XL |
| Rear derailleur | SRAM GX Eagle AXS Transmission (1x12) |
