FIRST RIDE

THE NEW YT TUES MK4

Words, Photos and Video by Cole Gregg

With 21 World Cup wins the YT Tues has firmly established its presence on the circuit. The new Tues MK4 takes from that history of success and refines some key aspects now including a mullet wheelset option without losing touch of what it is to be a Tues frame. With prices starting at $3,999 and topping out with the Core 4 at $5,999 with a killer parts spec this may just be the best value on the market today.

ABOUT THE YT TUES MK4

The MK4 Tues was refined with racers in mind. They added a chainstay flip chip and an additional “Flip Link” adjustment to alter headtube angle and bottom bracket height, all without changing the frame’s kinematics. Additionally there is now an option to run the bike as a full 29” wheel set up or as a mullet. The Small and Medium frames come with the smaller 27.5” wheel as standard.

YT also put an emphasis on upgrading frame protection. There are now integrated fork bumpers providing a clean look to this useful protective aspect for the frame. Both the chainstay and seatstays receive added guards, reducing chain slap noise and vibrations. The downtube frame guard is massive and is great to see. Given that this is a DH bike, it will see some rather rough terrain, so YT thought ahead and made this piece bolt on to make replacements easy.

A notable change is the swap from 157mm DH rear spacing to Boost 148mm. This makes swapping your favorite wheelset in and out a breeze or finding a spare in a pinch. All cable routing is tube-in-tube, making set up a breeze and keeping rattle at bay. The derailleur hanger is now UDH and the upper shock mount is replaceable, all adding to the frame’s ability to adapt and be ready for anything the trails might throw at you.

Suspension | The MK4 is still using the time tested 4 Bar Horst Link, which YT calls V4L. The theme of this bike is refinement not redesign. Coming down off the seatstay is the lower shock mount, connected by two pieces which create the Rate Control Link. Additionally. there is a pivot on the chainstay to help with the isolation of braking forces. In this refinement, YT has lowered the initial leverage rate netting riders less feedback when pressing into terrain at lower speeds. They have adapted all these changes without affecting the kinematics across wheel size and headtube angle changes, making it easier for all riders to find a shock setting that works for them.

Geometry | YT has done more refinement when it comes to the geo of the MK4 Tues, starting with a size small at a 430mm reach going all the way to 510mm for the XXL in the regular flip chip position. Swapping to the low will decrease the reach by 4mm across all sizes. With each frame size increase, the bumps in reach are 20mm.

Out back the chainstay flip chips, called Integrated Length Adjust or “ILA” alters the chainstay length by 5mm. Our size large changes from 440mm to 445mm, while the XL and XXL have a longer 450mm standard length and the S and M have a 439mm to accompany their 27.5” standard rear wheel.

The adjustment offered on the lower shock link alters both bottom bracket height and headtube angle. In the regular setting, the bottom bracket height is 351mm and the headtube angle is 63.5º. The Low setting changes these to 348mm and 63.2º. While these changes are small, they are enough to impact the way the bike rides depending on the terrain you frequent.

Build Specs | At launch there are two models available. The Core 2 retails for $3,999, while the top-spec Core 4 we tested comes in at $5,999. Both models only have one color option, the Core 2 being green and the Core 4 in White.

The Core 4 gets the full Fox Factory treatment with the 40 Grip 2 up front and the DHX2 coil shock out back. TRP’s impressive DH-R EVO Brakes stop on a pair of 220mm rotors. The SRAM X01 7spd drivetrain handles shifting duties, with a carbon crank to transfer the power. Renthal covers the bar and stem combo, and the build is topped off with a carbon SDG I-Beam seatpost and their I-FLY 2.0 saddle.

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

Set Up | Given that YT is a direct-to-consumer brand, you would hope and expect getting the bike shred ready would be a breeze. And that it was. Once the derailleur was attached, it was as simple as putting the wheels and bars on. The shifting out of the box was dialed and required no adjustment. The same goes with the brakes.

Following Fox’s recommended set up for the fork, it was nearly spot on with a few clicks less rebound. For the shock I opted to leave compression balanced for both high and low speed right in the middle. After some driveway bounce tests, I slowed both high and low speed rebound by 2 clicks each. The tires were actually already up to pressure, but I did bring them down to 24 front and 28 rear.

The entire setup process was super easy, I even checked all the bolts on the frame. None of which were loose or came loose on my first few laps.

The 425lb spring that came with the bike was a little soft for my 170lbs mass. I think moving to a 450 would help keep my weight on the bike more centered and resting more in the upper portion of the stroke. While I had no bottom bracket or pedal strikes, it felt like I was sitting deeper into the travel which was backed by finding bottom on all three of my runs. Additionally, my rebound setup in the shock was way off. Initially I thought it was going to need less damping, but after the first lap it was clear I needed to slow it down. Adding some more rebound damping clicks did help, but more time on the bike over longer runs is needed to really fine tune the set up. As far as the fork goes the recommendations by Fox worked well with a slightly slower rebound setting.

On The Trail | As I only had one day on the bike, these findings are not aimed at being a long-term or fully formed depiction of how the bike rides. They are just my initial thoughts, and what you may expect the first time you throw a leg over the MK4 Tues.

The initial feeling of the fit of the bike was spot on for my 6’ 1” height. The bar height and stack felt quite high, which is a welcomed feeling as most bikes I find to feel low, and require riser bars or spacers. I was concerned that due to that initial feeling I would not have a good connection to the front wheel, but I am happy to say I was dead wrong. Once I got the bike pointed down the hill, I was blown away by how much confidence I had in the traction coming from the front of the bike. On the long high-speed flat corners where I am usually toning the speed down, I was able to hammer on with complete confidence.

The bike responded very well to my body inputs without getting unsettled over some awkward rock features. I rolled through a line I have been eying up for more than 2 years on my first lap. Safe to say the Tues MK4 inspired confidence! I was not going all that fast, but had faith in the bike, which is one of the key things I look for. Especially in a DH bike.

Rolling through some jump lines offered a predictable and lively feeling. Pre-loading the bike off lips did not require a massive amount of effort, which over a long day in the bike park will help to keep you feeling fresh for sure.

Price: $3,999 – $5,999
Website: YT-industries.com