With the mid-power Fazua motor and trail-optimised build, the YT Decoy SN 29 is the e-Jeffsy to the Decoy SN MX’s e-Capra. How has YT differentiated these two bikes, when they share so many common elements? And how does it stack up against the best lightweight e-bikes? If you want to know all about the new YT Decoy SN 29 range, read our news story here.

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Another good-looking e-bike from YT – the Decoy SN 29 Core 3 does a great job of disguising its electric assistance.

YT Decoy SN Need to know

• Mid-power trail e-bike with 140mm travel and 29in wheels front and rear
• Powered by Fazua motor with 60Nm, and upt 450W peak power
• Gets Fazua’s new, bigger 480Wh battery and sturdier Mode Control
• Same carbon frame as the Decoy SN MX, with the exception of the seatstays
• Flip-chip geo adjustment, carbon swing-link, and room for a water bottle (or range extender)
• Five frame sizes (from S to XXL) and three build options, with prices starting at £6,499 and going to £8,499

The best actors have the ability to make themselves believable in everything from comedy to tragedy. Like chameleons, they can transform our perception of them in order to become something they are not. And so to the YT Decoy SN 29, a bike with a chassis that shares all but one structural element with its no-holds-barred, MX-wheeled stablemate, yet exudes a character and ride quality that is an ocean apart.

Fazua’s Ride 60 system integrates neatly into the Decoy SN 29 frame. That plug below the bottle is for the long-awaiting, long-promised Fazua 250Wh range extender.

Frame and geometry

Last year YT launched its ‘lightweight’ Decoy SN platform, with a carbon frame matched to Fazua’s mid-power Ride 60 motor and battery. It was billed as a ‘Super Natural’ experience, with just enough power to elevate the ride, but not too much to corrupt it. I spent a lot of time on that bike, and came away impressed – you can read my full review of the YT Decoy SN MX Core 4 here – and now there’s a new, more versatile version, fast enough to rip singletrack, but capable to throw down an enduro stage.

Two ways to skin a cat? The Decoy SN 29 on the left uses the same frame bar the seatstays and shock yoke.

YT is the master of adapting and dual-purposing its models. The original Decoy e-bike (that’s still going strong at 6 years old, by the way) used this strategy to diversify its intended use, with the MX bike being longer travel and shred-ready, while the 29in option a bit calmer and less hectic. It’s a similar story here, with the new Decoy SN repurposing all of the frame elements except the seatstays and the shock yoke, saving cash at the factory. That’s enough to tone down the geo, reduce the travel, and accommodate the bigger rear wheel. Clever stuff.

A carbon link is a nice touch on the YT Decoy SN.

Let’s start with the frame material, and all three Decoy SN 29 models use the same Ultra-Modulus carbon. There’s also a carbon swing link using chopped and compression moulded strands of carbon.

The frame layout mirrors the Decoy SN MX, with the shock driven by the seatstays (via the swing link), leaving enough space for a full-size water bottle (or a range extender) tucked in at the base of the down tube. Standover is ample, and the seat tubes are short across the board, yet still get significant insertion depth for running long droppers.

A flip chip gives you 4mm of BB height adjustment, but we’d recommend keeping it in the high setting, as the low options is really low.

At the head tube, there are user-friendly cable ports for the internal routing. Swathes of rubber protection swaddle the vulnerable areas of carbon, and there’s a flip-chip on the shock yoke to fiddle with the head angle and BB height.

Travel is curtailed to 140mm, matched with a 160mm fork, while dropping down a chassis size from 38mm to 36mm or 35mm depending on the brand.

YT has really delivered a Swiss Army Knife of an e-bike, capable and comfortable on a wide range of terrain.

With five frame sizes available, most riders should be covered. Compared to the Decoy SN MX, the geo has been toned down a bit, but it’s still pretty aggressive, with a 64.4º head angle, steep 78.5º effective seat angle, and moderate 447mm chainstays. Of course I didn’t just take YT’s word for those numbers, and measured my size L test bike in the workshop. The full figures can be found at the bottom of the article, and there were some significant discrepancies. Probably the biggest was the BB height, which is extremely low at 329mm, and 8mm lower than claimed. Up front, the head angle was a slack 63.6º. Those figures were in the high flip chip position – switch to low and the head angle drops to 63.3º and the BB height to 325mm. I also only measured 130mm travel, compared to YT’s claimed 140mm. This is because the RockShox shock fitted to the bike was delivering 3.5mm less stroke than it should. YT is looking into the issue, but it’s probably a case of the wrong spec on these early production bikes.

The Fazua motor pumps out 60Nm of torque and upto 450W peak power in short bursts.

Motor and battery

The Fazua Ride 60 fitted to the Decoy SN is very much a known quantity in the motor market. It’s reasonably compact, moderately light, and highly efficient in its use of the battery – so gives great range – but doesn’t boast the best reliability. From talking to Fazua, it sounds like the brand is working hard to fix this reputation, but words are one thing – the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Fazua’s new Mode Controller is more robust and has a higher quality action than its predecessor. Hit the lower button to activate the Nitro boost.

The vital stats are 60Nm of torque and a maximum of 450W peak power for 12 seconds, which is subtle compared to the latest full-fat units. However, in isolation it makes a worthwhile difference, and the beauty of less assistance is longer range. We’ve consistently got well over 1,000m of climbing in the highest Rocket mode out of Fazua-equipped bikes in the past, and the Decoy SN benefits from carrying Fazua’s larger 480Wh battery in the down tube. Adding another 10% cells (for no weight penalty) is a nice bonus, and should eek that range out to 1,200m in Rocket mode. Unfortunately our test bikes were too early to get the bigger batteries, but I still got 45km and 1,250m climbing on the launch with the 430Wh unit, by using Breeze and River modes, and still had charge left over at the end of each day.

The Fazua top tube display is short on data but gives you the essentials.

The new Mode Controller is much nicer to use than the older Ring Controller. It feels better constructed, and more robust, yet it’s still easy to flick between modes by rotating the dial using the thumb pads. Accessing the Nitro boost is also easier, with just a press of the lower button giving the full 450W for 12 seconds, instead of having to hold the ring control forward.

Switching from a 38mm chassis to a 35mm chassis has brought out the sensitive side of the Decoy SN, and made it an easier bike to live with on long day’s in the saddle.

Suspension

RockShox got the call to handle the suspension on the Core 3 model. That means a Super Deluxe Ultimate shock and Lyrik Ultimate fork – both of which we’ve highly rated when we tested them individually. The highlights are the simple adjustments, where you start in the middle of the damping range and add or subtract to suit. RockShox keeps the range of clicks tight, but the difference noticeable, so you don’t get lost in the settings.

RockShox makes it easy to dial in the right amount of damping on the Lyrik fork and Super Deluxe shock.

Downsizing the fork chassis from 38mm on the Decoy SN MX, to 35mm on this Core 3 SN 29 (the Core 4 and 2 both get Fox 36 forks) makes a huge difference to the ride feel. It’s an appropriate decision for the intended use of this bike, and softens the front end, making it more forgiving.

Looking for a brake that’s effortless to pull? The Hayes Dominion hits the spot.

Components

Highlight of the spec on the Core 3 Decoy SN 29 for me are the Hayes Dominion A4 brakes. With a super-light lever action, they take minimal effort to activate, while being beautifully controllable and sufficiently powerful to rein in this 20kg e-bike.

E*Thirteen’s cranks have a high-end look, but they could be shorter given the low BB height.

SRAM’s bare bones S1000 wireless drivetrain worked faultlessly throughout 90km of riding, and I liked the fancy E*Thirteen Helix Race cranks. Given the super-low BB height, it would have been nice to see YT go shorter than the 160mm crank lengths fitted to the Decoy SN 29.

29in wheels are still the ultimate combo for rapid singletrack like this.

Touch points include a high-rise 40mm Renthal FatBar bar and 50mm stem, ODI grips, and an SDG Bel Air 3.0 saddle. If the stem sounds a bit long, and the bars a bit tall, in practice – with the steep seat angle and slack head angle – they all gelled together perfectly.

Yet the Decoy SN still has a rapid change of direction for trails like this.

Performance

When we tested eight of the latest SL e-bikes last year, the Fazua-equipped Santa Cruz Heckler SL almost won. It was the highest-rated Fazua bike in the test, and we praised its exceptional ride quality, and range, but lamented its lack of power and reliability. The YT Decoy SN 29 is a close competitor for the Heckler SL, is a whisker cheaper than the Santa Cruz, and gets a notably better spec, with more adjustable suspension, a wireless drivetrain, and top notch brakes. But what about the handling?

Don’t expect to be blurring the scenery on too many climbs, but if you’re not watching the clock, the Fazua motor does the job.

Climbing

Given the limitations of the motor in terms of power, the Decoy SN 29 did itself proud on the climbs. The steep seat angle and longer chainstays (than the MX) give a good weight balance to maintain traction while keeping the front wheel from lifting. With only 60Nm torque, it was necessary to run a higher saddle on steeper pitches to bring my leg strength more into play, and in this respect the steeper seat angle is really important. This motor prefers undulating terrain with more gradual climbs, but it can still grind if you’ve got the human muscle to throw in the mix.

Momentum is key for sections like this – you can’t rely on the motor alone.

Once again, the motor is the main limiting factor on technical climbs, as it doesn’t have the punch or the overrun to propel a bike and rider in bursts of acceleration up ledges and root balls. But that’s not what this bike is designed to do, so it didn’t particularly bother me.

Get it on a smooth fireroad climb and its fast and efficient. It’s also here that the hitting the Nitro button will make the most difference.

It might not be the lightest SL e-bike on the market, but it’s still a fun unit to throw around.

Descending

YT’s two Decoy SN’s couldn’t be more different when descending. The MX bike is rock-solid, like a sledgehammer with a carbon shaft – stable and unflinching, yet it can be swung around at will. The Decoy SN 29 feels utterly composed, but also much more compliant and forgiving. That’s the difference in the larger rear wheel, reduced travel, and the smaller fork. It feels like a completely different bike – one that will flow along flat singletrack, but square up to an enduro trail with swagger and confidence.

Beautifully balanced suspension is a highlight of the Core 3 model.

Underscoring the pace and malleability of the Decoy SN 29 is the sensitive and grippy suspension. Superbly matched front-to-back, the RockShox fork and shock flutter like the wings of a kingfisher, and add helium-levels of pop, to make getting those 20kg off the ground seem effortless.

The Decoy SN 29 is still capable enough to go big on.

And while the 29er doesn’t quite have the Scandi-flickability of the MX bike, it’s still hella playful, and a delight to make shapes on.