Whyte RHe0 3 review: a blast to ride on the road and more than capable off it

Whyte’s range of urban and electric bikes take their inspiration from the brand’s hardtail mountain bikes, with confidence-inspiring handling and a great ride position for metropolitan commuting.

Sitting at the top of the brand's urban and leisure range is this RHe0 3 model, which is available in both standard and mid-step frame designs.

The RHe0 3 combines plenty of practicality with a whole heap of fun, thanks to its sorted handling and mountain-bike like agility. Not to mention a price tag of £2,299 / €2,815 that won’t break the bank.

Whyte RHe0 3 frame details

The RHe0 3 frame is slickly finished with smooth, even welds and hydroformed tube shapes that stand out at this very competitive price point.

The matching alloy fork integrates smoothly with the head tube. The motor system wiring and rear brake hose both route through the head tube, while the front brake hose enters the fork at the crown.

The frameset features mudguard mounts, rack mounts, dual bottle cages (two positions on the down tube) and mounts for a chainstay-mounted kickstand.

The frame’s MTB-style long, sloping top tube is married to a very short effective stem length.

This gives the bike a low standover height, that when combined with the dropper seatpost, makes the start/stop experience of urban riding in traffic comfortable and confidence-inspiring, even with a heavily laden bike.

The steering is designed to be stable thanks to the long fork and relaxed head angle, while the wheelbase is also long to provide large tyre clearance – at 45mm with full mudguards, this adds to the RHe0 3’s relaxed riding nature.

The motor system

The ebike system comes from Kynamic, a newer electric bike motor brand from bicycle chain specialists KMC. This Kynamic hub drive uses a rear-hub based motor rated to 250W with a claimed 45Nm of torque.

The hub fixes to the frame via 15mm bolts, much like Mahle’s original X35+ motor.

Inside the down tube is a 250Wh battery controlled by a remote mounted on the bar, with a monochrome LCD display that shows the speed, motor assistance level, distance travelled and whether the lights are on or off.

The battery is fixed internally, which means on-bike charging only.

Whyte RHe0 3 specification

The Whyte is impressively equipped for the price, with quality full alloy mudguards wrapped around wheels comprising Kynamic's rear hub, a Whyte front hub and well-respected WTB STP i27 alloy rims.

The wheels are shod with Maxxis Reaver tyres in a generous 45mm width. They have a mid-depth block grip that works well for light off-road duties and they roll quickly on the road too.

The drivetrain all comes from Shimano’s budget-focused Cues range. The single-ring nine-speed drivetrain combines a wide 11-46 tooth cassette with a 40-tooth chainring.

What that means is ample gear range to see you along at a brisk pace on the flat, yet with a light range at the top that will help you ascend the steepest inclines comfortably.

I’m impressed by Cues; it's quick to shift and accurate. It’s more vocal than Shimano’s premium groupsets, but it shares the same reliability.

The only obvious budget element of the groupset is the square-taper bottom bracket – an older standard you won’t find on any of Shimano’s component lines above Cues level.

The brakes are fully hydraulic units from Tektro. The well-shaped levers and large rotors provide lots of power and bags of feel.

The integrated lights impress, with the rear strip LED unit flush-fitting the rear rack and the headlight mounted underneath the one-piece bar-stem.

Whyte also includes a useful dropper seatpost that is operated remotely from the bar.

This enables you to drop the saddle height by 100mm, which is helpful at traffic stops to put your feet flat on the ground.

This is especially useful if the bike is laden with luggage or you've got a youngster in a child seat on the rear rack.

The post is topped with Whyte’s own saddle, which along with the Whyte dual-density grips, gives the RHe0 3 very comfortable contact points.

Whyte RHe0 3 ride impressions

The RHe0 3 rides brilliantly. The ride position, with its long reach yet short stem, makes the bike feel all at once confident and comfortable.

Yet, at the same time, it’s a lot of fun to ride fast – the 720mm-wide bar and short stem make the steering quick yet stable and the low-slung MTB-style frame encourages leaning into corners on trails and snaking through traffic in the city.

The Kynamic motor has three modes, numbered 1 to 3. The lowest setting gives subtle assistance that’s useful for maintaining a good pace on flat urban roads.

Mode 2 gives plenty of punch for steeper road climbs and the powerful mode 3 is a proper party setting for having fun off-road or beating traffic away from the lights on the daily commute.

The RHe0 3, at a little over 17kg, is lighter than many rival commuter bikes such as Orbea’s Diem (23.4kg) and Ridgeback’s similarly priced Arcus 3 – winner of our urban ebike category in Bike of the Year 2024.

It has a smaller battery than both at only 250Wh, but the range managed to impress, achieving a maximum of 33.35 miles/53.67km with 1,351.4ft/411.9m of climbing.

If you are looking for extra range, Kynamic offers a range-extending battery that fits in a bottle cage.

Whyte has confirmed the extender comes with its own bottle cage (with a restraining Velcro strap), so riders can use it or a bottle as they wish.

The capacity is 175Wh, expanding the bike's battery capacity by around 40 per cent. It will retail for £250 SRP.

Whyte RHe0 3 bottom line

The RHe0 3 is an impressive addition to the world of urban electric bikes. It's comfortable to ride, handles confidently, is very well-equipped and represents exceptional value for money.

Above all, though, it’s a blast to ride on the road and can handle plenty of fun off it.

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