Simply the best

BikeRadar and MBUK name two Whyte bikes as winners in their prestigious Bike Of The Year 2024 awards.

Ever since we started, we’ve been doing things our own way – eschewing trends for first principal engineering to create bikes that ride and perform better so everyone can have their best ride, every ride. In a nutshell, we follow where the engineering takes us to develop and deliver extraordinary bikes that help unlock everyone’s riding potential. Along the way we’ve turned as many heads as we’ve racked up independent test wins and now, in 2024, we continue to build on this heritage with both our latest mountain (MTB) and electric mountain bikes (eMTB).

Following months of testing and back-to-back comparison with bikes from many other brands – including from the biggest players in the world ¬– internationally respected expert test teams at BikeRadar.com and Britain’s longest-running mountain bike magazine, MBUK, have named our lightweight, mid-torque, full-power eMTB, the ELyte 150 Works as their best ‘Lightweight E-Bike Of The Year’, alongside naming our T-160 RS full suspension mountain bike as their best ‘Trail Bike Of The Year’.

#RideExtraordinary

ELyte 150 Works: the best lightweight eMTB of the year

“Downhill performance, uphill comfort, low weight and a top spec combine in a brilliant package,” said MBUK of the ELyte 150 Works as they awarded it a score of 4.5-stars out of 5 and the lightweight e-MTB category win.

They praised the bike’s capable handling and ride – a product of our holistic Total Geometry and low centre of gravity concepts: “Its handling is calm and composed-feeling, which extends its downhill capabilities beyond its mid-travel suspension figure. Also best ridden quickly and hard, it’s both dynamic and stable, feeling comfortable on a wide gamut of terrain types.”

They also said that: “If the ELyte is balanced on the climbs, it's on another level when descending,” and that it delivers: “a fun, engaging and brutally fast ride, closer to that of a 160mm travel rig.”

It's 4.5-star score gave it clear daylight between it and BikeRadar and MBUK’s second placed bike, Santa Cruz’s Heckler GX AXS, which secured 3.5 stars, with Specialized’s Turbo-Kenevo SL 2 Expert back in third with 3 stars.

T-160 RS: the best trail bike of the year

The performance of our T-160 RS full suspension MTB went one better, securing a perfect 5-star score ahead of runner ups Canyon’s Spectral CF7 and Marin’s Rift Zone 29 XR.

“Sorted chassis and stellar kit make the Whyte a no-brainer for the Trail Bike Of The Year win” said MBUK of the T-160 RS. “It crushes technical descents, shreds bike parks and gives tons of confidence when hauling through the woods at warp speed.”

“Whyte's approach to geometry and suspension set-up is almost perfect,” they said of our Total Geometry concept and custom rear suspension tune, which also delivers efficient pedalling performance for climbing: “And, when you need to get back to the top of the hill, it helps out with the feel of a bike with considerably less travel.”

In short, their verdict was emphatic: “If you're looking for a mid-priced, true UK do-it-all rig, look no further.”

Read the full reviews and Bike Of The Year feature in MBUK issue 434, on-sale now.

Double-double award wins

This double Bike Of The Year award win joins our earlier double wins for our E-160 RSX and ELyte 140 Works bikes in BikePerfect.com’s ‘Best Electric Mountain Bikes 2024’ list for ‘Best Full-Power’ and ‘Best Lightweight’ bikes.

E-160 RSX: the best full-power eMTB

"The RSX delivers beautifully composed handling and suspension and excels in steep and demanding DH terrain," said BikePerfect.com of our flagship, full-fat eMTB, the E-160 RSX.

"This is a rock-solid, tough and reliable machine with a near perfect specification that's more than capable enough for enduro racing."

E-Lyte 140 Works: the best eMTB with a lighter weight and motor spec

“Whyte’s lightest e-MTB is an outstanding further and faster flyer.,” said BikePerfect of our cross-country (XC)/down-country ELyte model, and awarded it 4.5 stars. They also described its ride as delivering: “Genuine aggressive XC vibes with blistering speed and seriously impressive range.”

“If you want maximum speed, efficiency and distance for flat out blue/red trail center charging or far, fast backcountry epics, the E–Lyte 140 Works is the clear winner.”

The critics agree

It’s not just BikeRadar and MBUK who have been blown away by our latest bikes, so have PinkBike’s Seb Stott, Singletrackworld’s Benji Haworth, MBR’s Alan Muldoon, BikePerfect’s Guy Kesteven, Off-road.cc’s Liam Mercer, The Loam Wolf’s Rob Johnston, BikePerfect’s Mick Kirkman, and many more.

Test ride near you

Lightweight. Full-Power. Experience either or both aboard our award-winning eMTBs at a demo near you. See our calendar of events to get behind the bars and experience extraordinary for yourself.