YT Industries’ latest Tues iteration builds on the winning ways of the previous bike but adds in a heap of adjustability for wheel size and geometry.
The YT Industries Tues Mk 4 immediately got to the sharp end of World Cup downhill under Vali Höll and Oisin O’Callaghan but how does it fare under someone a little less rapid? Pete heads north to Nevis Range to find out.
Photos by Pete Scullion.
Key features:
- Fox 40 Factory 200mm fork
- Fox DHX2 Factory shock
- SRAM XO1 DH 7-speed drive
- TRP DH-R EVO brakes
- Crankbrothers Synthesis DH Alloy wheels
- SDG i-Beam carbon post
- £5,999.00 RRP
- UK.YT-Industries.com
YT Industries launched their fourth generation Tues downhill bike at the opening round of the 2024 UCI Downhill World Cup at Fort William this year and it immediately found gold with Vali Höll winning both semis and finals that day. That said, she did have an idler fitted for race runs, something the production bike doesn’t have.
This latest offering shows that YT knew they were onto a winner with this bike, and beyond making the reach slightly longer on all sizes, the bike just became more adjustable. A flip link gives you the option of running MX or full 29″ wheels without affecting the geometry, whilst the link flip chip offers BB drop and head angle adjustment, and the rear axle flip chip gives 5mm wheelbase and chainstay adjustment. The new frame also gets integrated bump stops in the head tube.
Beyond that, you get the same carbon fibre frame offering 200mm rear travel via the V4L linkage. This linkage is designed to be supple off the top, promote mid-stroke support and bottom out resistance.
The Tues Core 4 is the higher of the two spec range, suited out with Fox Factory suspension, a 40 and DHX2 combo. Drivetrain is SRAM’s XO1 DH 7-speed whilst brakes are TRP’s DH-R Evo anchors. Wheels are Crankbrothers’ Synthesis DH alloy rims on i9 1/1 hubs shod with Maxxis Assegais front and rear in DH casing, naturally. A direct mount Renthal stem holds onto a set of Renthal Fatbar and ODI Elite Motion V2.1 grips. Seat post is a carbon SDG unit with a YT saddle.
Geometry
The YT Tues is available in S, M, L and XL.
S and M come stock as Mullets, the larger sizes as full 29ers. Reach on the M in Low is 446mm with a seat tube of 390mm. Head angle is 63.2 degrees with a seat tube angle of 76.2 degrees. Chainstays are size specific with having 439 or 444mm chainstays. Wheelbase is 1252 or 1257mm.
Opening moves
The first thing that became very apparent when I took delivery of the new YT Tues was how light it is. I’m sure I have had enduro bikes that come in heavier and the balance was noticeable from the off too, with the i9 rear hub shod with a 7-speed block there was not much weight out back either.
It took a little longer than usual to get the suspension right, mostly due to the fact that I haven’t ridden a bike with this much travel in a while, meaning everything felt a little unfamiliar. With all the adjusters on the Fox Factory dampers though, I could fine tune the feel easily enough.
I thought that there was little mileage in riding this bike half cocked, so I drove straight to Nevis Range to get this bike warmed up and fine tuned on the toughest track on these fair shores. I would soon find out where the bike excelled and where it didn’t pretty quickly on the slopes of Aonach Mor.
Nine full runs at Nevis Range saw the Tues deal with twenty five kilometres (fifteen and a half miles) of downhill riding taking in six vertical kilometres of descent (nineteen thousand, six hundred feet) later and the Tues had only gotten faster through the day with little complaint from the bike.
Very quickly it became obvious that I was running to much wind in the tyres. I’d erred on the side of caution here to not have to walk the bike some 400m vertical with a flat but grip suffered as a result. On top of this, the rear shock felt a little too firm on the smaller hits. After run three, I dropped some wind out of the wheels but still going firm as punters don’t get to ride the woods, ran a few more millimetres of sag and a couple of clicks more low speed compression.
These changes brought the bike to life. Grip went through the roof and on the first rock garden after the final boardwalk, the bike sped up when I braked, rather than slowing down. I knew I’d found the right setup as the shock was now singing the same tune as the forks. I could simply concentrate on learning the track and building confidence, and therefore speed.
The next six runs just got quicker and quicker. Some key sections needing to be ridden fast in order to be able to link the others together, requiring full commitment. At every point, the Tues felt composed and allowed me to ride it as fast as I dared. Beyond a couple of sketchy moments where my hubris got the best of me, the bike had me covered.
So far so good then and a solid showing from the new YT Tues. I’m looking forward to tuning my brain into that downhill mentality and really starting to gallop on the bike bike. I will likely sling some flatter bars on the bike to bring the front end down a touch and put some pads with more bite in the brakes but that’s personal preference.
