YT Industries Report
Yesterday we made the trip down to San Clemente CA - a 'beach-city' between Anaheim and San Diego. It was sunny and mild on a Saturday in February.
YT has a 'Mill Store' in the lobby of their building, with apparel and accessories, a beautiful lounge area with big-screen and even beer on tap, plus an outdoor picnic area with seating, shade umbrellas, and a firepit. Upstairs is a large showroom with all of their mountain bikes on display.
They offer an appointment scheduling process with variety of their bikes in various frame-sizes to go out for an hour or two to test them out. This way you're not stuck waiting, or worse can't get to try the one you're interested in because other customers are riding them.
Two blocks away is a CA State Park with scads of - you guessed it - mountain biking trails. What a hoot!
This company obviously caters specifically to the mountain biking enthusiast, the bulk of their business and clientele are non-electric riders. The place was busy with lots of young men and women, owners, new bike-test customers, and everybody was there with a cult-like enthusiasm. It was truly amazing to see. The customer service people were knowledgeable, polite, helpful, it's the way I would build a business myself.
Out of their quite broad range of mountain bikes is their eMTB version they call the DECOY. There are four models, 2 styles, a 'twenty-niner' in base and pro level of compentry, and their claim to fame the 'mullet' bike with 29" front and 27.5" rear configurations, in comp and pro level. They are all built on the same carbon fiber frame in four or five sizes, with Shimano Steps E8000 mid-drive assist.
I was primarily interested in their BASE 29 that sells for $4399. The Pro 29 sells for about a thousand more, has Fox suspension verses Rockshox on the Base, as well as a step up in gear selector, brakes, and a few other details, like carbon fiber rear triangle verses the base alloy one. The pro version is a little more customizable, and they had a size large to demo so that's what I chose for an hour of trail riding.
Now that I think of it I don't believe I've ever actually ridden a full suspension mountain bike on a trail, so this was rather a new experience for me. Drawing on my dirtbike experience I had no problem getting up and down the trails. The center of gravity is a little higher with a bicycle, and you don't have throttle to point and shoot or roost a corner, so it took some getting used to. First just keeping it on the trail, and then shifting and pedaling, adjusting the dropper seat for up and down terrain. In several places on these trails are narrow wood-slat bridges that cross a ravine. They're only about foot and a half wide and were very unnerving at first. You just roll through them but if you happened to miss you would crash head-long into a ditch. The thought of landing on my head made me a bit nervous at first, but I soon found confidence and was blasting down the trails. A couple of sections were so steep you couldn't stop, so you just have to trust the bike and go for it.
The geometry of the Decoy lends to very high stability - traction is amazing. The bike is not 'twitchy', and you have to throw your weight around and lean it into corners. Traction is fantastic, I never even slipped, well maybe just a tad braking downhill to slow my decent. But you just finger the brakes and stand up, drop the seat, and lean back, and there's never that feeling you're going to go over the bars. Handling is predictable, and by about half way through my ride I was able to keep the bike in the middle of the trail. At first I was over or under-shooting corners and stalling out. Same for a g-out down and up, you have to be ready to pedal as soon as you hit the bottom and start up the next slope, choosing the proper gear ahead of time. Shifting was seamless.
The Shimano drive responds instantly, it's powerful, and quiet. There are 3 assist levels, eco- trail - and boost. I mostly rode in boost, dropping to trail for flatter sections. It was easy to start from a stop on an uphill section of trail - just point it where you want to go, hit an up-pedal and it would take right off. Very confidence inspiring. The Shimano E7000 display is easy to read and control, and it's tucked in behind the handlebar right next to the stem, protected and out of the way.
I never even thought about the suspension - it soaks up all the ruts and bumps, is very comfortable and confidence inspiring as well.
After my ride my sales guy explained all the model differences and features of the bike. We checked the battery range - I had ridden about 5 miles and the range indicator was 26 - so I could figure about 30 miles of range at the pace and terrain I had just experienced. I was about 70% spent, so I got the feeling it would be plenty for a day out on the trail. These bikes have a 500+ watt battery pack very nicely integrated into the front downtube channel, with all of the control cables tucked inside this channel. This lends to easy maintenance and a very clean look and feel.
Overall, the experience left me with the feeling that the bike was an amazing tool that would take you hurdling down a narrow dirt trail with ease. It is the closest thing I've ever experienced to a dirtbike. Reminded me of my early days as a teenager, riding single-track trails on my motorcycle.
The fit and finish on these bikes is something to behold. They exude quality, are a work of art, and have all the best stuff the industry has to offer. And a great company backing them up. No wonder they are so popular - they sell every bike they make.
I asked if they ever have a sale, my sales guy said sometimes once or twice a year, like black-Friday after the end of the season, and maybe one model that they have a surplus of. Might not even be the ebike DECOY, so if you want one you pony up for it. They come with cheap plastic pedals, so they offer Crank-Bros alloy pedals for $100 when you buy the bike.
The frame configuration negates a place to install a full bike-bottle cage, so they offer a half-liter unit that fits under the front shock mount. For me I would likely wear a hydration pack anyway, like we've done for years. That way you can carry tools and lunch, emergency gear, and a couple of liters of icewater with a bite-valve.
I left with a feeling that this was a no-brainer choice. The only reservation I had is how much I could or would actually use one - stealing the chance to get out, and that there are other slightly lessor options for nearly half the price. So I didn't buy one yesterday, but it surely is enticing. No wonder there are so many fans for the brand.
Happy Trails!!
The customer lounge at YT - even beer on tap for when you get back from 'shredding'.
And their showroom...
us.yt-industries.com
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