2024 eMTB LITE GROUP REVIEW

YT DECOY SN CORE 2 REVIEW

Words by Staff  |  Photos by Dusten Ryen

Robert was our first tester to hop aboard the YT Decoy SN for his first ride review over in Europe several months back. He absolutely loved the bike, and we were excited to get our hands on a long-term tester here in the States. YT’s Decoy SN Core 2 model ended up being our official review bike for the 2nd Annual Lightweight eMTB Shootout, and despite some Fazua drive unit issues, it is still a bike our team had a lot of fun riding. Let’s dive into the pros and cons of the Super Natural YT Decoy.

We’d like to offer a huge thank you to our sponsors: Outdoor Research, Schwalbe Tires, Ride Concepts and the Running Y Resort. Without their gracious support, these types of content series would not be possible. Give them a thanks down below!

ABOUT THE YT DECOY SN CORE 2

The YT Decoy SN has 160mm of travel a 430Wh battery and is YT’s first foray into the SL eBike market, stemming from their pursuit to make their “best enduro ebike” yet. YT opted to use the Fazua Ride 60 system to add assistance to this 160mm rear and 170mm front mixed wheel enduro machine.

DRIVE UNIT AND ELECTRONICS | The YT Industries Decoy SN in the last bike alphabetically in our 2024 SL eMTB Shootout and the final of the four using the Fazua Ride 60 system. The 1.96kg (4.3lbs) Fazua drive unit produces 60Nm Torque and up to 450W of Peak Power using the Boost mode. It’s powered by an internal, fixed 430Wh battery which weighs 2.3kg (5.1lbs). A Range Extender is promised to arrive soon, availability TBC.

The Fazua system uses a top tube-mounted LED display which displays the battery life and mode selected. Lifting this display reveals a USB-C port which can be used to charge accessories. A Ring Controller on the handlebar allows for the system modes to be cycled, and for the Walk and Boost modes to be activated.

On the Fazua app, riders are able to customize the different power modes; check the battery life and update the system firmware.

FRAME AND FEATURES | YT manufactures the Decoy SN with their Ultra Modulus carbon fiber front and rear ends only – their highest carbon fiber grade that produces the lightest overall frame. It’s designed around mixed wheels only, with no provisions to fit a 29” wheel in the rear.

On the lower shock mount there’s a two-position flip chip that allows riders to select between “regular” and “lower” geometry settings to tailor the characteristic of the ride. Custom protectors are fitted to the downtube and chainstays to reduce noise and keep damage to a minimum. Cables are routed internally through ports in the side of the head tube, keeping rattle to a minimum while affording easier servicing. Inside the front triangle is room for a water bottle, and there’s a separate tool mount.

SUSPENSION | The YT Industries Decoy SN uses YT’s V4L (Virtual Four Link) Horst Link suspension design to deliver 160mm travel to the rear end. It packs enough progression to be coil or air friendly, with both options featuring across the build specs. YT is keen to highlight the good initial sensitivity, mid stroke support and bottom out resistance, whilst retaining enough pop to offer a playful feel.

GEOMETRY | The Decoy SN is available in a choice of five sizes from Small to XXL, suiting riders from 5’1” (155cm) to 6’7” (200cm). Reach figures range from 435mm to 515mm with equal 20mm size gaps to let riders obtain the right fit. Stack heights are reasonably high across the range to offer confidence in steep terrain. Unlike some of their other models, the chainstay length remains a consistent 442mm across the size range.

BUILD SPECS | YT Industries offers the Decoy SN in a choice of three standard builds, from the Core 2 tested at $6,499 to the top-spec Core 4 at $8,499. All are built around the same Ultra Modulus carbon fiber frame, and feature powerful brakes, burly tires and quality suspension.

The “entry level” Core 2 build is spec’d sensibly, placing the focus on key performance boosting areas and minimizing cost with some select budget-minded components.

A RockShox suspension package features the ZEB Select fork and Vivid Air Select shock. TRP provides a DH-R EVO brakeset with 220mm front and 203mm rear rotors for dependable stopping power. A Shimano SLX drivetrain offers dependable shifting performance with an XT shifter for crisper feel.

The cranks are e*thirteen’s Helix core e*spec alloy units, with a MRP SL custom chain guide; Race Face provides a Aeffect R 35 stem, and there’s an SDG x YT custom Bel Air V3 saddle. YT’s in-house alloy handlebar and Postman V2 dropper post shave a little cost without limiting performance.

Rounding out the specs are a DT Swiss H1900 wheelset, which is wrapped in a Continental Kryptotal tire combination as standard. These tires were switched out for our Schwalbe Albert Radial Trail Ultra Soft control tire spec to ensure consistency for this shootout. With this tire spec, total build weight on the size Large YT Decoy SN Core 2 came to 45.6lbs.

TESTING THE YT DECOY SN CORE 2

SETUP | Being a direct-to-consumer brand, YT sends their bikes nearly completely built. The only assembly required is attaching the bars and installing both wheels. After a quick switch to our Schwalbe control tires, the YT Decoy SN was ready to roll.

The suspension setup was also fairly straightforward, as we know the RockShox Vivid and Zeb well. Both the Vivid and Zeb were at RockShox’s Select level, meaning less adjustability and perhaps slightly less performance. While it wasn’t necessarily more challenging to set this suspension up, having RockShox’s Ultimate level suspension would have been welcomed.

ELECTRONICS & INTEGRATION | The Fazua Ride 60 drive unit and 430Wh battery are tucked neatly beneath the Decoy SN, fooling people into thinking it is an acoustic bike with a thicker downtube. The battery is fixed, meaning that removal would require dropping the motor, which may be an inconvenience to some, but saved weight for YT.

Fazua’s LED Hub is located on the top tube, showing 20% battery drops through the five indicator lights. Paired wirelessly to the LED Hub is Fazua’s Ring Controller, allowing you to change the ride mode. Unlike the Bosch system that can be toggled between modes on the display, the Ring Controller is the only way to power the bike on and change ride modes — aside from the Fazua app. If the Ring Controller were to fail, you would be left with using the app to switch modes, which wouldn’t be ideal. Especially since it feels a little fragile.

It is important to note that we did have issues with this Ride 60 drive unit. Nearly all of our testers had the drive unit stop working at one point or another. The problem seemed to be a connectivity issue that was less frequent when the motor was pulled out, and connections were inspected. This wasn’t an issue with the three other Fazua-equipped bikes on test, and we feel confident that YT would be more than happy to help had we been a “regular” customer. YT wanted the bike back as soon as we wrapped up to diagnose the connectivity issue we experienced. *We will update this review once they diagnose the issue internally.

CLIMBING | Sourpatch can attest to how well the YT Decoy SN climbs — he pedaled up a trail a few miles when the drive unit was not working at all. Pedaling the 45.6 lbs Decoy uphill with the drive unit off is a testament to the very comfortable geometry with which YT equipped the bike, and solid pedaling kinematic. Despite the weight, it climbed surprising well with the motor off, albeit at a slower pace than a traditional analog bike.

The geometry on the YT Decoy SN is fairly neutral, and puts the rider in a comfortable position. A steeper HTA (64.2°) and shorter reach (475mm) compared to many in its category, paired with a steep STA (78.3) favor the rider toward the front of the bike, providing control and traction when needed. And while we weren’t huge fans of the 50mm stem YT spec’d the Decoy with, it likely factored into the climbing comfort.

Technical climbing was a bit tricky on the Decoy, as the squishy-off-the-top suspension could have the bike settling into the travel more than you want. However, this plush feeling in the top of the stroke was so nice over the fast, chunky stuff on the way down that we didn’t want it to change. The compromise was to lean more into the Fazua drive unit on techy climbs, remembering our expectations for climbing with a bike in this travel category.

The Fazua Ride 60 drive unit is pretty solid in the mid-power category and delivers just enough power to take the edge off the climbs. While still giving a good amount of kick, Fazua’s motor delivers a natural, consistent power as you pedal up.

DESCENDING | First impressions may have the Decoy SN feeling as if it is just another big, squishy bike that tracks well over chunky terrain. This is absolutely true, and the geo is aided by YT’s V4L four-bar suspension that provides plenty of grip and support on spicy descents. Although we would have liked more adjustability on the suspension, the RockShox Select platform was sensitive off the top but supportive through the travel.

The YT Decoy SN was a bike that just about anyone could throw a leg over and feel instantly comfortable and confident. Quite a bit of this comfort comes from the same geometry that makes the Decoy pedal uphill so well.

Describing the geo as “Middle of the road” probably isn’t the selling point YT would choose for the Decoy. However, it is precisely what makes the Decoy perform well at everything it does. It certainly isn’t the longest bike on test, with a 1,263mm wheelbase and 442mm chainstays. But the numbers it has strike a good balance between stability and playfulness. The same geo that is just long enough to strike confidence over the chunk is also short enough to keep the Decoy snappy and playful. The bike pops well over jumps, snapping around corners at higher speeds is fun, thanks in part to steeper HTA. This “Steep” HTA is paired with the tallest stack height on test (648mm), which helps keep the rider weight off the front of the bike on steeper bits of trail.

All of this creates a very well balanced bike that just seems to do everything well.

FINISH AND VALUE | At $6,499, the Decoy SN Core 2 YT provided was one of the most affordable bikes we had on test. The only bike that had the Decoy beat was the Devinci E-Troy Lite, which was $100 cheaper, but also had an alloy frame compared to the Decoy’s carbon frame.

While the YT Decoy SN Core 2 didn’t have an overwhelming build overall, there were a few standouts at the price point. First, and already mentioned, is the carbon frame. The next closest bike with a carbon frame is $1,500 more expensive, and while the carbon Decoy may not be as refined as something like the Pivot Shuttle we had on test, it is carbon nonetheless and far from rough around the edges. The other significant standout were the TRP DH-R Evo brakes, which were a surprising choice at the Core 2 spec but much appreciated.

COMPARISON AND RANKING?

First and foremost, the bike performed well from flow trails to higher speed tech — maybe not the “best” performing bike in one category, but perhaps the “best all-rounder” if we were giving out titles.

But we must consider how value plays a significant role in comparing and ranking the YT Decoy SN amongst the other bikes on test. One of our main gripes was the Select-level Rockshox suspension on the Core 2. If we bumped up to the Core 3, we would get a Rockshox Ultimate Zeb and Vivid, along with SRAM Transmission and other upgrades for $1,000 more. Even upgrading to the $8,500 Core 4 build still has the Decoy SN at a lower price point than nearly all of the carbon bikes on test.

With that in mind, YT’s direct-to-consumer model and savings put the Decoy SN pretty high up.

The Wolf’s Last Word

If you have steeper, faster or chunkier trails that need to be tamed, this bike is up for the task. It can leave you feeling a bit winded on flatter, less-exciting bits of trails as the planted feel can make it ride a bit heavy until it wakes up. Aside from some drive unit connectivity issues, we had a blast on the YT Decoy SN. It’s a bike that does everything well and has enough squish to escape some hairy situations. Plus, at only $6,499, it could just be the best value, leaving room in the budget for upgrades.

Price: $6,499
Weight: 45.6 lbs (20.6 kg)
Website: YT-industries.com

Thanks again to our amazing sponsors who made this group test possible.

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