Kona Remote 160 DL & Remote X: Shimano EP800 Power at Aluminum Pricing

Kona’s Remote 160 DL and Remote X relaunched the brand’s full-power e-MTB range back in August 2024, and two years later, both aluminum bikes are still running the same motor they launched with: Shimano’s EP800, an 85Nm, 500W-peak unit paired with a 612Wh Darfon downtube battery. Same Process-derived aluminum chassis, same drive partner Kona picked when it brought the Remote back. No Bosch swap on either bike.

That’s still worth paying attention to. Kona sits in the middle of a full-power aluminum e-MTB conversation Trek, Specialized, Santa Cruz, and Canyon have all been part of. Kona’s number: $4,999 at US launch for both the Remote 160 DL and Remote X, now listed at a flat €6,999 in the EU — undercutting most of the carbon competition and a chunk of the aluminum field too.

Quick Take

Remote 160 DL 160mm travel, aluminum, $4,999 (US) / €6,999 (EU)
Remote X 180mm travel, aluminum, $4,999 (US) / €6,999 (EU)
Motor Shimano EP800 — 85Nm torque, 500W peak power
Battery 612Wh Darfon downtube battery, both models
Remote X geometry (size Large) 63.5° head angle, 480mm reach, 645mm stack
Remote 160 DL geometry (size Large) 64.5° head angle, 480mm reach, 640mm stack
Wheels 29in front and rear on both — no mixed-wheel option
Frame 6061 aluminum, geometry drawn from Kona’s Process 153
Sourced from Bikerumor, Bike Perfect, Kona’s own product pages
Best for: Riders shopping full-power aluminum e-MTBs who want a widely serviced motor without carbon pricing
Skip if: You want carbon, mixed-wheel flexibility, or find the Remote X’s 63.5° head angle too slack for how you ride


Remote 160 DL	160mm travel, aluminum, $4,999 (US) / €6,999 (EU)
Remote X	180mm travel, aluminum, $4,999 (US) / €6,999 (EU)
Motor	Shimano EP800 — 85Nm torque, 500W peak power
Battery	612Wh Darfon downtube battery, both models
Remote X geometry (size Large)	63.5° head angle, 480mm reach, 645mm stack
Remote 160 DL geometry (size Large)	64.5° head angle, 480mm reach, 640mm stack
Wheels	29in front and rear on both — no mixed-wheel option
Frame	6061 aluminum, geometry drawn from Kona’s Process 153
Sourced from	Bikerumor, Bike Perfect, Kona’s own product pages
Best for:	Riders shopping full-power aluminum e-MTBs who want a widely serviced motor without carbon pricing
Skip if:	You want carbon, mixed-wheel flexibility, or find the Remote X’s 63.5° head angle too slack for how you ride

Isn’t Kona Going Bosch? That’s a Different Bike

Kona does have a real Bosch story this year — it’s just not these two bikes. The Remote 160 CR is a separate, carbon-framed model running Bosch’s Performance Line SX motor: 60Nm of torque, 600W peak power, and a 400Wh battery, with an optional 250Wh PowerMore range extender. It’s lighter, pricier at around $7,899, and built around a different idea entirely — less power, less weight, more control.

The Remote 160 DL and Remote X aren’t that bike. They’re the aluminum, Shimano-powered siblings, and Kona hasn’t said anything about moving them to Bosch. If the newer motor and the lighter carbon frame are what you’re after, the 160 CR is the one to look at — and it’s a genuinely different buying decision than the two bikes covered here.

Remote 160 DL vs Remote X: What’s Actually Different

Both bikes share the frame material, the motor, and the battery. The travel and the intent split hard.

	Remote 160 DL	Remote X
Price	$4,999 (US) / €6,999 (EU)	$4,999 (US) / €6,999 (EU)
Travel	160mm	180mm
Frame	Aluminum, Process-derived geometry	Aluminum, Process-derived geometry
Motor	Shimano EP800, 85Nm / 500W	Shimano EP800, 85Nm / 500W
Battery	612Wh Darfon	612Wh Darfon
Head angle (Large)	64.5°	63.5°
Reach / Stack (Large)	480mm / 640mm	480mm / 645mm
Wheels	29in front and rear	29in front and rear

The Remote 160 DL is the more versatile of the two — the trail bike that happens to have a motor, built for riders who want one bike for climbs and descents without a dedicated shuttle mentality.

The Remote X is the gravity-focused sibling. 180mm travel, a 63.5° head angle, and the same 29in-only wheel setup — no mixed-wheel flip chip on either bike, so don’t expect the mullet flexibility Specialized and Santa Cruz build into some of their own full-power bikes. This is the bike for shuttle laps, bike park days, and riders who want the motor to do the climbing so the frame can focus entirely on getting down.

Why Has Kona Stuck With Shimano Instead of Chasing Bosch’s Numbers?

Kona hasn’t published a detailed explanation for keeping EP800 across the aluminum Remote line, and it’s a fair question — 85Nm and 500W is no longer the standout number it once was. DJI’s Avinox motor puts out 120Nm and 1000W of peak power, and Specialized’s own motor in the Turbo Levo 4 runs 101–111Nm.

But EP800 has a couple of things going for it that a newer motor doesn’t: a long track record and broad OEM support. Canyon runs Shimano’s EP801 successor across the Spectral:ON and Torque:ON, and it’s a well-liked motor for the price. Keeping a proven platform on the value-focused aluminum Remote, while saving the newer Bosch SX motor for the premium carbon 160 CR, is a fairly conventional way to segment a lineup — the cheaper bike gets the established parts, the flagship gets the new tech.

How Does the Pricing Actually Stack Up?

Line up the Remote against the full-power aluminum field this site has already covered:

Canyon Spectral:ON CF 7 — $3,899. Carbon, Shimano EP801 at 85Nm/600W, the budget outlier in this list.
Remote 160 DL — $4,999 (US) / €6,999 (EU). 160mm travel, Shimano EP800 at 85Nm/500W, 612Wh battery.
Remote X — $4,999 (US) / €6,999 (EU). 180mm travel, same motor and battery.
Santa Cruz Vala AL 70 — $7,299. 150mm rear/160mm fork, Bosch CX Gen 5 at 85Nm/600W.
Specialized Turbo Levo 4 Expert — $8,999. 150mm rear/160mm fork, Specialized’s own 101–111Nm motor.

At US pricing, the Remote undercuts the Vala AL 70 by $2,300 and the Levo 4 by $4,000, while matching the Vala’s torque output almost exactly — both run 85Nm. The EU pricing tells a different story: at €6,999, the Remote sits much closer to the rest of the full-power field, so budget for that if you’re shopping outside the US.

What the aluminum frame and older motor buy you is field data. EP800 has been in Shimano’s lineup long enough that reliability patterns are well understood, and 612Wh Darfon batteries have shipped on enough bikes that failure modes are documented. That’s the trade-off against the 160 CR’s newer, lighter, and less proven Bosch SX setup.

Is 85Nm Enough for Most Riders?

Not the biggest number on the market, but worth separating the spec-sheet gap from what actually changes on trail:

Steep, sustained climbing is where higher-torque motors pull ahead. On 20%+ grades, DJI’s Avinox and Specialized’s own motor both have more in reserve than EP800’s 85Nm ceiling.
Flat and moderate terrain barely notices. On rolling singletrack and grades under 12%, 85Nm already delivers more torque than most riders can put to the ground efficiently.
Track record favors the established motor. EP800 has years of service history across dozens of bikes; the newer, higher-output motors on this site’s radar don’t have that yet. Our Vala AL 70 review flagged thermal throttling on Bosch’s Gen 5 CX during a 25-minute fire road grind at full turbo — a reminder that bigger numbers on a spec sheet don’t always hold up under sustained abuse, regardless of brand.

The honest read: 85Nm is plenty for most riding, and it comes with a longer track record than the newer, higher-torque motors chasing bigger numbers. Riders who regularly grind steep, sustained pitches and want every available Nm should look at the Levo 4 or a DJI Avinox bike instead.

Who Should Actually Care About This

Full-power e-MTB shoppers comparing aluminum bikes under $5,000. The Remote 160 DL and Remote X sit well below the Vala AL 70 and Levo 4 on US pricing, with a motor that’s been proven across years of EP8/EP800 deployment.

Riders who want a widely serviced motor over the newest spec-sheet numbers. Shimano’s dealer and service network is deep, and EP800 parts and know-how are easy to find compared to a motor that’s only been shipping for months.

Anyone actually shopping Kona’s Bosch news. That’s the Remote 160 CR, not these two bikes — carbon frame, Performance Line SX motor, and a materially different price and weight class.

Skip the research rabbit hole if you want mixed-wheel flexibility (neither Remote offers it), or you’ve already decided torque numbers above 85Nm matter more to you than proven reliability.

What We Don’t Know Yet

Whether Kona brings the Bosch SX motor down to the aluminum Remote line. Right now that motor is exclusive to the carbon 160 CR. If Kona brings it to the aluminum bikes, this comparison changes.

Current US-market availability by size and build. Pricing and configuration can vary by dealer and region; confirm current stock and exact build kit before buying.

Long-term component wear specific to the current model years. EP800’s track record is well established generally, but wear patterns tied to this specific frame generation haven’t been published in depth by outlets covering the bike.

The Bottom Line

The Remote 160 DL and Remote X are exactly what they’ve been since Kona relaunched them in 2024: aluminum, Shimano EP800-powered full-power e-MTBs that undercut most of the carbon competition and a chunk of the aluminum field on US pricing. Nothing about the motor or battery has changed, and no Bosch swap is coming to these two bikes — that story belongs to the separate, carbon Remote 160 CR.

If you’re shopping full-power aluminum and want a motor with a long track record over the newest torque numbers, the Remote X and Remote 160 DL are still a reasonable place to start. If bigger numbers matter more than proven history, the Levo 4, a DJI Avinox bike, or Kona’s own 160 CR are worth cross-shopping instead.

Reporting sourced from Bikerumor, Bike Perfect, and Kona’s own product pages for the Remote 160 DL and Remote X. No test bike has been ridden by our team at time of publication.