FIRSt RIDE REVIEW
YT DECOY SN 29
April 10, 2025
YT Industries is launching the latest in their SuperNatural line of lightweight eBikes, the Decoy SN 29. With a Fazua Ride 60 drive unit powered by the newly upgraded 480Wh internal battery, this mid power do-it-all 29er eMTB aims to deliver a machine that provides the good times on all mountains.
We managed to log a couple of rides on this new electric mountain bike to bring you the key information and our first impressions when we got it out On Trail.
THE TOP LINE ON THE YT DECOY SN 29
The YT Decoy SN 29 is in essence an All Mountain version of their Decoy SN MX. The Fazua Ride 60 drive unit provides mid-assistance with 60 Nm torque and up to 450W Peak Power. It’s powered by the new higher capacity 480Wh battery fixed inside the downtube, which offers solid energy density now providing 10% increased capacity for no extra weight.
There’s a pair of 29” wheels, which YT chose for this eBike with all mountain intentions in order to boost efficiency. The travel is reduced to 140mm out back to go with these larger wheels, and up front there is a 160mm fork.
YT DECOY SN 29 DETAILS
YT used their top-tier Ultra Modulus carbon fiber for the Decoy SN 29 frame, further dropping weight and boosting stiffness with the carbon fiber shock link. There’s a two-position flip chip to let you tailor the handling characteristics between a regular and low geometry position. And the front triangle will happily accept a large water bottle, or the upcoming Fazua range extender.
The rest of the details are well covered, with revised internal cable routing; protection covering all the key areas, and mounts for a tool on the underside of the top tube.
YT offers the Decoy SN 29 in a large five size range from S-XXL, with small 20mm reach gaps to let riders dial in their perfect fit.
The new Fazua high-density battery is joined by the new Mode Control remote on the handlebar. This features a dedicated Nitro mode button, letting you obtain full power out of the drive unit with a quick tap of the button, regardless of which mode you have selected.
YT DECOY SN 29 GEOMETRY
To accompany the larger rear wheel and more trail-focused nature of the Decoy SN 29, they made some small tweaks to the geometry. There’s a slightly longer rear end and more bottom bracket drop, integrating the rider deep into the bike and more centered between the wheels.
Check out the geometry table to see the full spread of numbers on YT’s new versatile e-machine.
BUILD SPEC OFFERINGS
YT is offering the new Decoy SN in a choice of three core builds, from the Core 2 at $/£/€ 6,499 to the Core 4 at $/£/€ 8,999. All are offered in a choice of one unique color per spec level, or in the classic black as featured in the video.
FIRST RIDE IMPRESSIONS
We managed to log a couple of rides on the new YT Decoy SN 29 at the Hindhead trails near their Surrey Hills, England, YT Mill location. The majority of this time was spent quick-lapping short segments of trail to shoot the On Trail video feature, so there was no choice but to quickly get to grips with its handling. Thankfully, it was a bike that I was able to hop onto and feel comfortable immediately. From the very first corner, I felt in-tune with YT’s new all mountain eBike, letting the good times roll with no delay.
The Fazua system provides some concerns over its durability, with many riders suffering issues and ourselves having had some form of issue on 3 out of 12 drive units we’ve had on test to date. The unit fitted to my Decoy SN 29 would freeze from time-to-time, requiring a restart. We’d love to see these reliability quirks improved on, as when it’s working it has good power and control, with high levels of efficiency.
ON TRAIL | The Decoy SN 29 sits in a very well-rounded space, where it will happily cover good ground on mellower terrain, but has your back when pushing hard up until you’re in the roughest enduro terrain. In this way, it’s very much an e-Jeffsy, but with a touch more of a planted feel with that extra weight low down.
The low BB doesn’t offer the best ground clearance for the way up and along the trail, even with the short crank spec. But the benefits to the feeling of rider integration may be worthwhile for many on the way down the hill – low bb’s feel excellent in the turns, and help with feelings of stability and control.
Sunk deep between the axles and well balanced, the Decoy SN 29 was a blast on everything the Surrey Hills had to offer. It’s no secret that this is not the world’s gnarliest zone to ride though, and I’d still personally be reaching for the Decoy SN MX if I was looking to get rowdy in the bikepark or charge the chunkiest technical enduro runs. Up until then, I thoroughly enjoyed the balanced feeling in both geometry and suspension character, and its silent ride which let me fully concentrate on the next lip to pop off or side hit to slash.
It’s early days in testing the new YT Decoy SN 29, but initial impressions have been very positive, and I’m excited to log some more miles on this midpower eBike on my home trails to see exactly where it taps out.
ABOUT THE WOLF
Robert’s habitat is the Tweed Valley, Scotland, which is renowned for its root-littered enduro mountain bike trails. Robert has been developing his bike handling skills for the last 16 years. Since he was a pup, he’s been riding everything from BMX through to enduro and downhill bikes. Combining a playful style with occasional speed-focused aggression, he favors supportive bikes, and does his best to push them hard.
Rank: European Tech Editor
Size: 6’2” / 189cm | 220lbs / 100kg
Social: @robert_johnston