The YT industries Decoy SN Core 4 had a solid outing at the launch in Saalbach back in June and Pete was looking forward to seeing if that trend continued on home soil.
With the Decoy SN, YT Industries aimed to produce a high performance enduro bike with the help of some assistance to create the best enduro bike. Did they succeed? Pete has been finding out.
Key features:
- Fox 38 Factory GripX2 170mm fork
- Fox DHX2 Factory shock
- SRAM GX AXS Eagle T-type 12-speed drive
- Fazua Ride 60 motor
- Fazua Ride 60 430Wh battery
- SRAM Maven Silver brakes
- Crankbrothers Synthesis E-Bike Alloy rims on I9 1/1 hubs
- YT Postman dropper
- £8,499.00 RRP
- UK-YTIndustries.com

The YT Decoy SN Core 4 has, at its heart a High Modulus carbon frame, MX wheels, 160mm travel via a V4L linkage, a Fazua Ride 60 motor fed by a 430Wh battery. It essentially sits between the full power Decoy and its non-motorised brethren, the EDR-winning Capra.
It would be an error to think of this as a mid power, mid weight bike though, at over 20kg it’s not going to win any weight weenie contests as that simply wasn’t the end goal. What you have here is an enduro capable bike with suitable components with enough help to enjoy yourself between the descents.
The bike you see here is the top tier Decoy SN, the Core 4, and comes shod with a host of primo components that indicate the bike’s intended use. A Fox Factory 38 out front is paired with a Factory DHX2 coil shock. SRAM GX AXS T-type was chosen specifically over the higher spec drive options as the battery sits within the mech. SRAM Mavens handle the stopping and the wheels are custom Crankbrothers Synthesis rims on i9 1/1 hubs. These sport Continental Kryptotal Enduro tyres with the new SuperSoft compound out front.
Geometry
The YT Decoy SN is available in S, M, L, XL and XXL.
Reach on the M is 455mm with a seat tube of 400mm. Head angle with the flip chip in Regular is 64.2 degrees with a seat tube angle of 78.4 degrees. Chainstays are 442mm across the sizes with the wheelbase on the M of 1263mm.
YT were good enough to send me the exact same bike I rode at the launch in Austria, so everything was just as I left it. No setup to do, just let some wind out of the tyres and off we went. What a treat. From there it was simply a case of getting used to riding the bike again, Aberfoyle has a very different vibe and level of grip to bike park trails.
First thing of note is that the Fox 38s were feeling far more supple, which did away with any thoughts I had about the Renthal bar and ODI grip setup being a little too stiff. Having spoken to the Fox chaps in Risca, apparently the change in bushings causes a little less give when box fresh. Now with several rides under their belt, they felt like the 38s would always get along with.
As someone who likes to suffer for their descents, the level of assist from the Fazua motor is definitely what I can get behind. River is essentially spot on for my requirements, and even with the motor off, the bike doesn’t need a heap of power from you to get going. With this in mind, I reckon YT have hit the nail on the head here.
Whilst I actually found the Capra struggled to excite me, the Decoy SN is a different story altogether. I did have discussions with the YT UK lads about testing a Capra with a coil shock, so maybe that’s the difference? In any case, despite the increase in weight, the Decoy SN felt a far more engaging and enjoyable ride than any I had on the Capra.
That’s not to say the Capra was bad, it just didn’t do it for me. Perhaps it did everything too well and removed me from the experience, hence the lack of fizz. The Decoy SN does not exhibit these issues. Quite the opposite. That being it does everything well and is exciting at the same time.
Since then, it’s simply become a case of seeing how hard I can push the Decoy SN. There’s enough help from the motor to get me back to the top for another roll of the dice, and the GripX2 damping combined with that SuperSoft Continental Kryptotal means that I have to push pretty hard before things go wrong. On home turf, the Mavens were at their brutal best. You really do have to use these sparingly and braking late has never been so much fun.
The Fazua motor might have its reliability issues but it’s been solid since I have had it and range, unsurprisingly with me being only 58kg, is pretty stellar. It’s rare that I am running it in Rocket or using the boost function as mentioned above, it’s not really how I ride a bike.
What do we think?
YT have nailed the brief of making an excellent enduro bike. It’s certainly more of an MTB purist’s ebike than someone out for raw power.
We love:
- Lively, engaging ride
- SuperSoft Continenal tyres
- Maven stopping power
Could do better:
- New Fox 38s not great when box fresh