YT Just Announced The YT Decoy – A fully integrated carbon e-MTB

No this isn’t an early April fools joke, YT really has entered the e-MTB market with an all-new bike they’ve called the YT Decoy.

The YT Decoy has come as a little bit of a surprise, not because it’s a YT designed and developed e-MTB, but for the fact that it’s such a well thought out and well-priced bike.

YT already have the popular Capra and Jeffsy models, and it would have been pretty easy for them to simply adapt the alloy versions of those bikes to accept a motor, bolt on a battery and hey presto! But the Decoy is something else.
Instead, YT has spent the past 2 1/2 years building what it believes is the best e-MTB on the market: an e-MTB with custom battery, Shimano E8000 drive system and clever design and specification features to disguise the fact that this is an e-MTB, hence the name.
Actually, before we get into the nitty gritty of this new model, let’s have a watch of the traditionally wacky YT Decoy launch movie, this time around featuring Vinny Jones.

Enjoy that? Good, now lets talk bikes.

YT Decoy

So the YT Decoy is an e-MTB, but it’s also one of the most integrated bikes we’ve seen so far. Every aspect of this bike from frame design, battery choice to components spec has been considered to really streamline the overall look of the bike.

When designing the frame, YT knew that they wanted to integrate the battery in the downtube and that they would increase the dimensions of the other frame tubes to keep everything in proportion. They also knew that they wanted to use Shimano’s E8000 drive system, but not the bulky Shimano battery.

This presented a few issues, the first being to design and develop a custom battery of their own, and the second to convince Shimano to let them use it. As you can imagine these were no small tasks, but YT managed both. This is great news for YT, but also anyone buying the Decoy because the YT Custom battery has a larger capacity and should offer better range than a Shimano model. Win, Win, Win.

The integration theme continues with a hidden power button found under the top tube, an integrated rear wheel sensor in the frame, and even the use of a smaller Shimano E7000 monochrome display on the handlebars, just to make everything a little less obvious. Of course, the Decoy still looks like an e-MTB, but a very neat and subtle one.

YT uses its tried and tested Virtual 4 Link suspension on the Decoy but has minimised kick back to avoid any negative influences on the suspension action. The 165mm of rear wheel travel is matched to a 160mm fork, then given a pair of mismatched wheel sizes. 29in up front and a 27.5 Plus wheel on the rear.

YT Decoy Geometry

Geometry is up to date, not “farmers gate”, and with five size options to choose from and a low standover height on each, riders have plenty of options to size up or down to get the perfect fit.

YT Decoy Range

The YT Decoy range is made up of three models all sporting the same frame, motor and custom YT battery, with changes to the specifications to bring them in at different price points.

YT Decoy Pricing

• Decoy CF Pro Race – £5,999
• Decoy CF Pro – £4,999
• Decoy Base – £4,199

YT Decoy Pro Race specifications

• Frame // YT Decoy Carbon frame with intergrated battery 29in Front and 27.5+ rear
• Front Suspension // FOX FACTORY E-BIKE 36 FLOAT, Kashima, 160 mm, FIT GRIP2, 15QRx110 BOOST, 44mm Offset
• Rear Suspension // FOX FACTORY FLOAT DPX2, 2-Position Lever 230x65mm
• Wheels // Front: 29in e*thirteeen e*spec 31mm internal widtch 110x15mm Rear: 27.5in e*thirteeen e*spec 36mm Inner width, 148x12MM
• Tyres // Front: 29X2.50, MINION DHF II EXO Rear: 27.5X2.8, MINION DHR II EXO
• Shifter // Shimano XT Di2 on-bar SWE7000R
• Rear Derailleur // Shimano XT Di2 Shadow Plus 11-speed
• Crank // Shimano XT 165mm
• Cassette // e*thirteeen TRS e*spec Plus 11-speed all steel 9-46t.
• Saddle // SDG RADAR MNT YT Custom Yellow
• Seatpost // Fox Factory Series Transfer, 31.6mm, 150mm travel w/Raceface Lever (125mm Travel for size Small)
• Handlebar // Renthal Fatbar 35 black, 30mm rise, 800mm width
• Stem // Renthal Apex 35, 40mm
• Headset // Acros AZX-260 high cap
• Brakeset // SRAM Code RSC 4pot, 200mm rotors front and rear
• Grips // ODI Elite Motion Lock-on
• Motor System // Shimano Steps E8000 25KM/H 250W
• Battery // YT Custom battery 540wh
• Mode Switch // SW-E7000 On-bar
• Display // Shimano E7000 monochrome
• Sizes// S,M,L,XL,XXL
• Claimed Weight// 21.9kg size small, tubeless, no pedals.
• Price // £5,999

YT Decoy Pro specifications

• Frame // YT Decoy Carbon frame with intergrated battery 29in Front and 27.5+ rear
• Front Suspension // FOX 36 FLOAT Performance Elite E 15QRx110 BOOST, 44mm Offset
• Rear Suspension //FOX FLOAT DPX2 Performance Elite230x65mm
• Wheels // Front: 29in e*thirteeen e*spec Plus alloy 31mm internal widtch 110x15mm Rear: 27.5in e*thirteeen e*spec 35mm Inner width, 148x12MM
• Tyres // Front: 29X2.50, MINION DHF II EXO Rear: 27.5X2.8, MINION DHR II EXO
• Shifter // Shimano XT
• Rear Derailleur // Shimano XT Shadow Plus 11-speed
• Crank // Shimano XT 165mm
• Cassette // e*thirteeen TRS e*spec Plus 11-speed all steel 9-46t.
• Saddle // SDG RADAR MNT YT Custom White | Silver
• Seatpost // SDG Tellis 31.6mm | 125mm/150mm/170mm Drop
• Handlebar // Renthal Fatbar 35 black, 30mm rise, 800mm width
• Stem // Renthal Apex 35, 40mm
• Headset // Acros AZX-260 high cap
• Brakeset // SRAM Code RS 4pot, 200mm rotors front and rear
• Grips // ODI Elite Motion Lock-on
• Motor System // Shimano Steps E8000 25KM/H 250W
• Battery // YT Custom battery 540wh
• Mode Switch // SW-E7000 On-bar
• Display // Shimano E7000 monochrome
• Sizes// S,M,L,XL,XXL
• Claimed Weight// 22.2kg size small, tubeless, no pedals.
• Price // £4,999

YT Decoy Base specifications

• Frame // YT Decoy Carbon frame with intergrated battery 29in Front and 27.5+ rear
• Front Suspension // RockShox Yari RC 160mm, 15QRx110 BOOST, 44mm Offset
• Rear Suspension // RockShox Deluxe R 230x65mm
• Wheels // Front: 29in DT Swiss H1900 Spline 30mm internal widtch 110x15mm Rear: 27.5in DT Swiss H1900 Spline 35mm Inner width, 148x12MM
• Tyres // Front: 29X2.50, MINION DHF II EXO Rear: 27.5X2.8, MINION DHR II EXO
• Shifter // Shimano SLX 11 Speed
• Rear Derailleur // Shimano SLX 11 Speed
• Crank // Shimano FCE 8000 165mm
• Cassette // Shimano CSM7000 11 Speed
• Saddle // SDG RADAR MNT YT Red|Silver
• Seatpost // SDG Tellis 31.6mm | 125mm/150mm/170mm Drop
• Handlebar // Raceface Aeffect R 35, 30mm rise, 780mm width
• Stem // Raceface Aeffect R 35, 40mm
• Headset // Acros AZX-260 high cap
• Brakeset // SRAM Code R 4pot, 200mm rotors front and rear
• Grips // ODI Elite Motion Lock-on
• Motor System // Shimano Steps E8000 25KM/H 250W
• Battery // YT Custom battery 540wh
• Mode Switch // SW-E7000 On-bar
• Display // Shimano E7000 monochrome
• Sizes// S,M,L,XL,XXL
• Claimed Weight// 22.4kg size small, tubeless, no pedals.
• Price // £4,199

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