Pete heads to Dorking and the Surrey Alps to check out the latest Fazua-powered ebike in the form of the YT Industries Decoy SN 29 Core 4.
Already a big fan of of the YT Industries Jeffsy, Pete heads south to check out its mid-power brethren, the Decoy SN 29.
Photos by Roo Fowler.
Key features:
- Fox 36 Factory Grip X2 160mm fork
- Fox Float X Factory shock
- SRAM XO AXS Eagle T-type 12-speed drive
- Fazua Ride 60 motor
- Fazua 480Wh battery
- Hayes Dominion A4 brakes
- DT Swiss HXC1501 carbon wheels
- YT Postman V2 dropper
- £8,999.00 RRP
- YT-Industries.com
Much in the same vein as last year’s YT Decoy SN MX being the ebike Capra, the Decoy SN 29 is the ebike version of the Jeffsy. As the name suggests, the bike runs on 29″ wheels, but there’s more than just a wheel swap here. 140mm of V4L travel with a Fazua Ride 60 motor, and as released, a 480Wh battery. The larger capacity is due to new cells. Geometry is better suited for longer rides and the build reflects this.
Whilst the bikes share the same front triangle, the head and seat tube angles are steeper, chainstays longer and you get a lighter fork, shock and wheelset to boot. Kinematics and geometry change with yoke and rear triangle. Kinematics have been altered to provide better small bump feel and improve end stroke support.
A flip chip offers two positions, Regular and Low to alter head and seat tube angle as well as BB drop. YT insist that Regular is just fine and that ‘Low’ might be too low for many but that adding this feature isn’t complex or expensive so they’ll keep offering it.
Three YT Decoy SN 29 models will be available, the Core 4 seen here at £8,999.00, the Core 3 at £7,499.00 and the Core 2 at £6,499.00. All come with the same carbon fibre frame, motor and battery.
Geometry
The YT Decoy SN 29 is available in S, M, L, XL and XXL sizes. A flip chip on the shock yoke allows changes from Regular to Low.
Reach on the M in Regular is 457mm with a seat tube of 400mm. Head angle is 64.4 degrees with an effective seat tube angle of 78.6 degrees. Chainstays are 447mm across the sizes with a wheelbase on the M of 1241mm.
Opening moves
At the YT Mill I would be handed a rather fetching looking Decoy SN 29 Core 4, the cream of this latest crop of mid-assist ebikes from the German direct sales outfit and essentially a ebike Jeffsy. The Ultra Modulus carbon frame houses a Fazua Ride 60 motor and a 430Wh battery. Production bikes will come with the larger battery.
Fox Factory suspension deals with the bumps, SRAM’s XO AXS T-type with the new RaceFace Era carbon cranks handle the drive, Hayes Dominion A4s the stopping, DT Swiss HXC1501 wheels are shod with Continental rubber. Cockpit is also RaceFace carbon with YT’s Postman V2 dropper rounding everything off. Despite coming specced with carbon wheels, carbon cranks and XO AXS, compared to the Decoy SN MX Core 4, it’s a mere £500 more expensive.
The Surrey Alps would be the location for our two day outing on the Decoy SN 29 and with the usual help from the YT gang, it was a breeze to get the bike setup. You know the score by now. Sag, damping and lever throw. Something that I immediately noticed was the Hayes Dominion A4s on this bike felt far better than the ones I really didn’t care for on the Atherton S150.
Much like the Decoy SN MX, the power delivery from the Fazua drive unit felt natural and we were soon buzzing our way to the first trail, the new Mode Control on the bars being night and day compared to the outgoing, with two spaced flanges perfectly positioned for moving the power modes up and down.
Normally, I would save the first trail for brake pad bedding in, but the sun and loam got the best of me and I was soon trying to keep YT’s Isaac Paddock in sight as we whooped and hollered down an absolute loamer of a trail. From there it was simply a case of trusting the bike and my instincts.
Speed was high from the off, the Hayes brakes being a far cry from the disappointing encounter from before, being every bit the anchor required for a bike just over the nineteen kilo mark. Only into day two did I think to adjust the forks. A little bit of wind out and a little bit more low speed compression and the bike once again went up a notch. I never once felt the need to flip the chip into Low.
A good sign of a solid bike is an ability to ride trails blind with speed and confidence and that was evident from the get-go with the Decoy SN 29 Core 4. No surprises, solid suspension being consistent in all situations and a high spec meant this was an easy bike to crack on with. It has since arrived at home to get a whipping on the trails in my back yard, so keep an eye out for the full review in the coming weeks.
