I have a full fat 2022 kenevo expert that I absolutely love, selling it to a good mate of mine and have ordered a new karve evo rsx, hopefully the new evo rsx will bring me as much joy as the kenevo has, if it wasn't for the motor being old in comparison to the new bikes I would have kept it and just upgraded it. ive upgraded the rear shock on the evo rsx to a est e-STORIA so hopefully with the new m2s motor it will bring me as much joy as my lime green flying machine
Whyte Karve Evo
- Thread starter lh270519
- Start date
James_MTB
Well-known member
- Jan 15, 2018
- 362
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I contacted Whyte via email and received this reply.: "The Karve RSX is our lighter option within the Karve range and is hopefully close to the 20kg mark, depending slightly on the final build spec."
I was going to wait for the new Orbea Avinox Wild. Maybe not now.
looking forward to seeing the reviews of the karve trail bike be one id be getting. Glad to see Whyte have gone fair on the price too
Must be more than rear triangle, shock & fork that’s different I’d imagine. We’re talking 3kg a difference between bikes, unless the original 23.9 weight of the Karve RSX was misrepresented.
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davosaurusrex
E*POWAH Master
Wheels, tyres, brakes, drivetrain?
According to various websites & geo geeks it’s all quite similar components on the 2 top end bikes
I’d end up putting a 38 on the lighter bike anyway.
Shame you cant spec the evo RSX with the carbon rear triangle.
You never know, Whyre might offer it as an upgrade or after market part in the near future
When I scanned the build kits they looked identical - same drivetrain, wheels, tyres, dropper, finishing kit. And Whyte have said it is exactly the same frame so as far as I can see the ONLY weight differences are fork/shock/carbon rear triangle. That's 1kg give or take. And the 160 bike has as 29er rear wheel and tyre which will be heavier than the 27.5 on the EVO which will offset some of that.
I can't see how the 160 is going to be any lighter than 23kg. (Edited - 23kg not 22)
You could swap parts to save weight yourself - the DT Hybrid 1900 wheel set weights 2200g while their DT EXC 1500 is 1800g. Take off the DD rear tyre and replace with an EXO+ or a Conti Enduro casing would be another 100g or so. It'll probably come with a cheap saddle that won't be that light - could save another 100g or more there. The Maven brakes are heavy - 380g per end. Hope or Shimano XT would save maybe 150g? Theres a reason Amflow fit the Magura at c250g!
That would get it towards 22kg (edited 22kg not 21) without sacrificing performance or toughness but it's a chunk of cash.
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davosaurusrex
E*POWAH Master
I wouldn't be going lighter on tyre casings on a full power Ebike, personally
Tyre casing depends on trails and rider weight and the tyre pressures you run more than bike weight surely? You're not going downhill faster on an e bike, the change in system weight for me going from an unpowered bike to the Karve might be about 5kg but that's from 95-100kg, far less than the difference. between me and my partner or some of the peopel I ride with (20kg lighter or heavier respectively). I've had no issues with Conti Enduro.
I can see why you might want a DD on the Evo given its purpose. Less so on the 160
Edited. I’d got the weights wrong in writing it. At most the 160 is 1kg lighter than the 180. The Karve is going to be 23kg. You could cut another c1kg fitting more expensive wheels and changing brakes, rear tyre and some finishing kit without sacrificing performance and get it close to 22kg.
timotei99
Member
Hi, have you tested this bike yet? Is there a YouTube clip showing your review? Thanks
There are no reviews or first impression videos online, as far as I can see. Neil Donoghue said he’ll have one last week, so fingers crossed we get some new vids soon.
I see theres a Karve EVO RSX “first impression” type video on YouTube. Annoyingly it’s in Czech, but the bike does look good. It has some actual ride footage, it would be interesting to know what they’re saying.
Looks like its actually Chris Akrigg in the video at the beginning
Looks like its actually Chris Akrigg in the video at the beginning
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James_MTB
Well-known member
- Jan 15, 2018
- 362
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Could you please post a link?
jeddartjustice1972
New Member
- Mar 21, 2026
- 17
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I've had a change of mind and the non evo version at 160mm travel will be my next bike.
Realistically it's more suited to my skill set or lack of them
Realistically it's more suited to my skill set or lack of them
I'm actually thinking the fact that it's the same frame on both is a bonus (rather than a missed weight saving for the 160). Buy an end of line 180 fork and shock and you can convert your trail bike to an uplift bike in half an hour for less than £1000 (quick search found a Zeb Ultimate 3.1 for £560 and a Vivid Coil Ultimate for £400 in the right sizes)I've had a change of mind and the non evo version at 160mm travel will be my next bike.
Realistically it's more suited to my skill set or lack of them
(does it need a different linkage from Whyte as well?)
- Feb 10, 2026
- 13
- 13
Yep, you'll need their shape it link but it's not expensive
wonkycustard
New Member
LBS (fairly Large national chain) notified me and others of a delay in receiving the EVO RSX models originally scheduled for collection 1st week of July. All bikes delayed. Different size models have been delayed for between 3 and 6 weeks.
adammann93
Member
My EVO RSX order has just been pushed back to 3rd August from the 30th June.
wonkycustard
New Member
seat height/ inserrion
Mondraker carbon frame issues
British build
spec value for money
Spec for money is what clinched it for me also.
I’m aware insertion depth is an issue on the zendit, but the karve seat tube is still quite long for a modern enduro bike. Does the karve have more saddle clearance than the zendit?
I demoed a velduro medium with a 200 dropper post, this was revolutionary, considering I ride a medium. Silly prices for the decent build on that bike.
