Whyte’s Kado RS is the first new e-bike out with SRAM Transmission mechanical drivetrain, and at £6k it looks like decent value

Jamie Darlow

Whyte Kado RS costs £5,999, uses Bosch CX and gets a blend of SRAM Eagle Transmission 90 and 70

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Well that didn’t take long – less than 24hours since SRAM introduced its Eagle Transmission mechanical shifting, and we have a new Kado e-bike from Whyte using the groupsets.

The new bike is called the Kado RS and it uses a blend of Eagle Transmission 90 and 70, two new drivetrains SRAM reckons are the toughest mechanical groupsets out there. Think of them like Transmission AXS, just with a regular cable doing the shifting rather than a diddy motor.

The new Whyte Kado RS also gets the the latest Bosch Gen 5 CX motor, 150mm travel, an 800wh removable battery, and costs £5,999. That means it slots nicely into Whyte’s Bosch CX powered Kado ebike range we reported on earlier in the month, between the entry level Kado S for £4,499 and the Kado RSX at £7,499

Whyte Kado RS

Whyte’s new Kado RS has a properly workable spec, not blinging with AXS or Ultimate but competent and reliable with Transmission mechanical

Whyte Kado RS need to know

  • Kado is Whyte’s new e-bike range, with 150mm travel it replaces the Whyte E-160
  • Kado RS here gets SRAM Eagle Transmission 90 and 70 drivetrain combo
  • There are three bikes in the Kado range, Kado S, Kado RS and Kado RSX
  • Prices are £4,499, £5,999 and £7,499 respectively
  • Kado RS uses the latest Bosch CX Gen 5 motor and an 800wh removable battery
  • Weight is 25.4kg

The most exciting thing about the new Kado RS is not its brand new Transmission 90 and 70 drivetrain though. Gears are pretty darned useful on a mountain bike, but if they’re working consistently and reliably then you can pretty much just forget about them and concentrate on the good stuff.

Whyte Kado RS

The Whyte Kado RS in its natural habitat, South Wales turns

More interesting is the price, the spec and how to compares to other new e-bikes with the Bosch CX Gen 5 drivetrain. For details on how the bike rides you’ll have to wait for our review though, coming soon (fingers crossed).

Whyte appears to have continued its tradition of producing decently priced bikes with the Kado – they’re not exactly what you’d call cheap, but they’re definitely undercutting plenty of the competition here. So far we’ve reviewed the Transition Regulator CX XT at £8,500, and the Santa Cruz Vala at £10,000, which makes the new Kado RS look like pretty good value.

Whyte Kado RS

The Kado RS looks like pretty decent value when compared with other CX bikes out there

OK so the kit levels are not the same, the Kado RS here uses a modest RockShox Zeb Select fork to the Regulator’s Ultimate, and the Vala’s Factory suspension. But the point is you can’t jump onto a Santa Cruz or a Transition for £4,499, a la the Kado S… or even £5,999 for the RS.

Could it be that by swerving the more expensive SRAM AXS drivetrains and going straight for Transmission 70 and 90 Whyte has created something robust and good value?

The Kado also has a proper UK slant to it, by which I mean it packs the most battery possible, and a really low centre of gravity. We’ve talking about the Bosch 800Wh battery rather than the 600, and it’s removable too, recognising the fact plenty of Brits need to charge their batteries separately to their bikes.

MBR Whyte E-160 RSX First Ride

The Whyte E-160 RSX was a cracking bike, low slung and ridiculously planted in janky terrain

Whyte is also boasting plenty about the Kado’s super low centre of gravity, something we loved about its predecessor, the E-160 – one of the best electric mountain bikes I’ve ridden. It’s tilted the motor to make way for the battery to be mounted lower down, thus dropping bike bike’s centre of gravity. Why do we care? According to Whyte’s chief engineer Sam Shucksmith it “makes the bike more agile and a lot more fun to ride.” Fair play.

Whyte Kado RS build

  • Fork: RockShox Zeb Select with 160mm travel
  • Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select R,
  • Frame: Carbon front triangle/alloy rear triangle
  • Motor: Bosch Performance Line Gen 5 CX
  • Battery: 800Wh removable internal battery
  • Brakes: SRAM DB8 Stealth
  • Shift Levers: SRAM Eagle 70, 12-speed
  • Rear Derailleur: SRAM Eagle 90 T-Type mechanical, 12-speed
  • Cassette: SRAM XS 1270, T-Type, 10-52T, 12-speed
  • Chain: SRAM Eagle 70
  • Crankset: Whyte 155mm ISIS arms, SRAM Direct mount 36T chainring, T-Type
  • Price: £5,999
Whyte Kado RS

Whyte says putting the battery low in the frame makes the bike more planted, but also more poppy and fun