YT Decoy CF Pro First Look: Does the stealthy YT still impress?

We take a first look at our YT Decoy CF Pro review bike to see if this stealth e-Bike is still as impressive as it was 6 months ago.

Earlier in the year, I rode the YT Decoy during its launch, I was impressed then but will I still be as impressed all these months on?

The YT Decoy was a breath of e-Bike fresh air when it launched. This was an e-Bike that was designed as an e-Bike first, and in such a way that it hid it its motor and battery very well.

The name suits the bike well, it really does look like a standard mountain bike and even up close parts of the Shimano Steps system have been hidden from view or minimized to really disguise what it is.

It was 6 months ago when I first saw the Decoy, and it has taken until this week for us to receive our long-term review bike. In the time between launch and now though, I have ridden and seen a lot of new e-Bikes and I wondered if the Decoy would still look as good in the flesh as I remember it did.

I needn’t have thought about that though, as once I had unboxed the stealthy carbon YT I was impressed all over again. The execution of this e-Bike really is second to none, and that’s not just me saying it, designers from other brands are as impressed too.

The Decoy that we have received for UK testing isn’t the flagship bike I rode at the launch, but the middle of the range YT Decoy CF Pro, and that’s just fine with me.

All 3 bikes in the YT Decoy range use the same carbon frame, run the same Shimano STEPS E8000 motor and have the same custom YT 540Wh battery. They all run a Shimano 1 x 11 drivetrain too with E*Thirteen’s new e-Bike specific cassette which has been designed to be tougher wearing to deal with the 70Nm of torque the Shimano motor is capable of.

Our middle of the range Decoy comes with Fox 36 Performance forks, these are the Elite E forks which are e-Bike ready and feature the fantastic Grip 2 damper system. The rear shock is the supremely adjustable Fox DPX2 air shock and the dropper comes from SDG.

Finishing kit is all top drawer stuff, including a 35mm diameter Renthal handlebar and stem, ODI grips and YT branded SDG saddle.

Shimano’s XT drivetrain mates to the E8000 motor, but brakes are 4 pot Sram Code brakes.

YT wasn’t the first brand to use mismatched wheels, but they’ve done a better job than most with real rubber front and rear that offers better grip than we’ve found on other bikes. The rear tyre is a 27.5 x 2.8in model while the front is a larger 29 x 2.5 Maxxis Minion DHR II black circle.

That quality rubber is mounted to more e-Bike specific hardware. E*Thirteen E*Spec plus wheels with a 31mm wide rim upfront and 36mm wide rim on the rear.

Now that we have the bike on our own trails we’ll be putting the YT Decoy through its paces to see how it performs at home, and to see if that custom 540Wh battery offers improved range over the stock Shimano battery.

If you have any questions about the YT Decoy let us know in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer them as soon as possible.

YT Decoy CF Pro Geometry

YT Decoy CF Pro Gallery