YT Decoy first ride review: A brilliant ebike with outstanding performance

[MattyB]

PS - I do rather like this bike, and it's difficult to complain about the value, geometry and looks. However if what @Andy A was re: the motor told is true I would have concerns about buying one. It does seem strange though; I can conceive YT may have a custom "tune" within the software , but it feels highly unlikely the motor itself has been modified, otherwise it would be a nightmare for them (and Shimano) to support.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

Correct me if I am wrong but plenty of threads on here with members who have been without Specialized, Giant, Focus, Haibike etc for considerable amounts of time whilst issues sorted?

Let’s face it EMTB’s are a new frontier when it comes to warranty’s, and it’s pretty much pot luck across the brands if you get one with any issues and how long it will take to deal with.

I won’t go near a Specialized because why would I take the risk that you go to switch on your bike one day and it just doesn’t work? Fine I could go to Berkshire cycles but that’s still my days riding gone, I don’t know anyone with a Levo who hasn’t had a new motor or it in for repair.

Doesn’t mean it’s a bad bike, but not a risk I want to take.

That is 100% your choice.

The point I was making is quick, excellent after sales service is everything to me and I am sure it is very important to a lot of other people on this forum.

I do not want to wait weeks for my bike to be fixed. I do not want to send it to Germany or Ireland.

So far I have had 1 issue with my 2019. Faulty TCU, fixed in 1 day. My 2017 Levo motor died this time last year, fixed in 1 day.
Since then both bikes have had no issues at all. I am sure something else will happen to these bikes but the comfort for me is I know if I do have a problem it will be fixed quickly by Berkshire Cycles. This is what they consistently deliver, not just to me but many other customers. If you are not getting this kind of service at the moment then you need to go somewhere else where you will get it. There are not many LBSs that do this but they do exist.
Berkshire Cycles is one of them and no, they are paying me to say this.

YT, CRC fixed in a day?

I rest my case.

 

[G-Bru]

Wow! Now that is a nice eBike! Would definitely get one of these in the future!

 

[James_MTB]

I won’t go near a Specialized because why would I take the risk that you go to switch on your bike one day and it just doesn’t work?

Seen that happen with Bosch and Shimano motors

 

[Gary]

I rest my case.

Take it elsewhere mate. Its fairly irrelevant to any discussion about this bike and most certainly doesn't need repeating.

 

[MattyB]

With the wedge of cash saved over buying a comparatively specced Specialized you could buy a spare motor and learn to swap it over yourself if there was an issue requiring the warranty (assuming this stuff about the whole bike going back is wrong, which one would hope turns out to be the case). Not ideal, but I can see it becoming something some of us consider as all the major motors seem to have reliability weak points at the present time.

 

[drjarvis2003]

With the wedge of cash saved over buying a comparatively specced Specialized you could buy a spare motor and learn to swap it over yourself if there was an issue requiring the warranty (assuming this stuff about the whole bike going back is wrong, which one would hope turns out to be the case). Not ideal, but I can see it becoming something some of us consider as all the major motors seem to have reliability weak points at the present time.

Have thought about this myself, nearly bought spare motor a couple of times.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

Take it elsewhere mate. Its fairly irrelevant to any discussion about this bike and most certainly doesn't need repeating.

It is very relevant to this discussion and sorry I will not be taking this elsewhere.

Correct if I am wrong but isn’t this a forum where we discuss different subjects and pass on information and experiences so people can be better informed which will allow them to make up there own minds?

People need to be made aware of the risks (low/medium) of buying a direct sales ‘ebike’ and the after sales service they may encounter and the possible lead time they may encounter.

Is it a small risk? Possibly, But that depends entirely on the individual and their circumstances.

Is it a medium risk? Possibly, But that depends entirely on the individual and their circumstances.

Please read @magnil experience with YT.

Like I said before, you may be more than happy to buy direct, you are getting an amazing bike for a very good price. My choice is no thanks. Your choice may be ‘Hell yeah bring it on!’

YT Decoy first ride review: A brilliant ebike with outstanding performance - EMTB Forums

 

[R120]

That is 100% your choice.

The point I was making is quick, excellent after sales service is everything to me and I am sure it is very important to a lot of other people on this forum.

I do not want to wait weeks for my bike to be fixed. I do not want to send it to Germany or Ireland.

So far I have had 1 issue with my 2019. Faulty TCU, fixed in 1 day. My 2017 Levo motor died this time last year, fixed in 1 day.
Since then both bikes have had no issues at all. I am sure something else will happen to these bikes but the comfort for me is I know if I do have a problem it will be fixed quickly by Berkshire Cycles. This is what they consistently deliver, not just to me but many other customers. If you are not getting this kind of service at the moment then you need to go somewhere else where you will get it. There are not many LBSs that do this but they do exist.
Berkshire Cycles is one of them and no, they are paying me to say this.

YT, CRC fixed in a day?

I rest my case.

Al I am saying is there are lots of people with Specilized bikes who have had to be with out them for considerable amounts of time.

Th example of Berkshire cycles is an anomaly, not the norm. Its great that they do what they do, but not relevant fo a lot of us, and the vast majority of worldwide Levo owners are going to be in a position of being without their bike if there is an issue, as are the owners of pretty much an EMTB if their is a serious issue.

I have heard from other bike shops that a couple of shops monopolise the spares market, which actually makes it difficult for some of them to provide an equal level of service.

I totally agree that excellent after sales service is what we all want, but what I want is to hopefully never have to make use of it, so for me buying a bike that keeps it simple is my main priority.

I am not anti Specilized, its probably the best bike out there, but the experiences fo friends and members on here make me wary.

 

[davosaurusrex]

Take it elsewhere mate. Its fairly irrelevant to any discussion about this bike and most certainly doesn't need repeating.

How is it not relevant? Bloody hell Gary, anytime someone looks at you sideways your rattle comes out of the pram!

 

[Gary]

I think you made your point ages ago. Repeatedly quoting me and boring on and on about how wonderful your service with Berkshire bikes has been is massively irrelevant here.
I get that you're a massive Spesh fan boy and I get that you value your LBS support and that's fine but the Levo is really nothing like this bike and way more expensive and the Kenevo is a tank. I've zero interest in owning either.

 

[Gary]

See the above Dave.

 

[Kiwi in Wales]

I think you made your point ages ago. Repeatedly quoting me and boring on and on about how wonderful your service with Berkshire bikes has been is massively irrelevant here.
I get that you're a massive Spesh fan boy and I get that you value your LBS support and that's fine but the Levo is really nothing like this bike and way more expensive and the Kenevo is a tank. I've zero interest in owning either.

Disagree with you again Gary
After sales support is very relevant in this thread.
I am not a Specialized fan boy.
I have a number of acoustic non Specialized bikes and will be buying a non Specialized ebike soon but not a YT.
I purchased a Levo purely on the after sales service.

As you say in your signature

Get over it Princess

 

[Mcharza]

Unfortunately this is not the case with YT. Got an answer from them now "If there are problems with the drive unit or battery we need the bike in our workshop. A bike shop in your area does not have the possibility to access our drive unit software and therefore can not help you."

Same as when I had problems with damper and crank (and frame), has to go back to YT and a minimum of 5 weeks (my experience with 5 repairs) without working bike. Nice bikes but warranty handling is not good enough for me, can't handle being without my bike .

I agree this. When season is on, waiting 5 week is a no-go

 

[Andy A]

With the wedge of cash saved over buying a comparatively specced Specialized you could buy a spare motor and learn to swap it over yourself if there was an issue requiring the warranty (assuming this stuff about the whole bike going back is wrong, which one would hope turns out to be the case). Not ideal, but I can see it becoming something some of us consider as all the major motors seem to have reliability weak points at the present time.

Matty if you read my earlier post in there I pasted the email reply I got back from YT today and in it they state the bike has to be returned to them if there is a problem with the Motor etc and it can't be taken to an authorised Shimano dealer so it is true, the chances of it going wrong are quite slim I would imagine but nevertheless any issues and it has to be shipped to Germany.

 

[James_MTB]

I've been ebiking since 2015, I'm on my 3rd ebike. All have had motor and\or battery issues.

Personally, I wouldn't buy direct nor do the people I ride with.

We have 3 different bikes (Brose, Shimano, Bosch) from 3 different shops. Those 3 shops have all been excellent with aftercare.

At some point, you will have an issue with your ebike, especially if you ride throughout the year.

 

[Tamas]

PS - I do rather like this bike, and it's difficult to complain about the value, geometry and looks. However if what @Andy A was re: the motor told is true I would have concerns about buying one. It does seem strange though; I can conceive YT may have a custom "tune" within the software , but it feels highly unlikely the motor itself has been modified, otherwise it would be a nightmare for them (and Shimano) to support.

I think the 'custom tune' is just to accept the 3rd party battery that's all. Same with Focus, Lapierre and the others using non-Shimano batteries and their warranty processes are probably similar too.

 

[Gary]

Disagree with you again Gary

Thought you might.
*sigh*

Do you own a YT?
Have you ever?
Have you personally had experience with YT customer service or warranty?
Because all of those things would be relevant. Stories of Berkshire cycles awesome service not so much seeing as the thread is about a YT indusries bike.

I'm not in the slightest princessy about this or throwing toys anywhere.

I haven't even had an Ebike of my own for 5 weeks and am unlikely to for the next 10. No drama though as I have plenty other bikes to ride.

If you have any new info relevant to the Decoy that would be cool otherwise I'm not really interested in whether you agree or disagree with me about customer service regarding a bike that can't even be purchased yet or warranty claims that haven't yet happened nevermind been claimed for yet.

There are already tons of threads on here about the pluses and negatives of buying direct versus via a dealer or lbs. It's pretty dull going over it again here. Especially when the bike in question isn't even available yet and not one single person has had to deal with an Ebike warranty issue with YT

Deal wiv it. (not get over it, there's nothing to get over)

 

[Tribey]

I'm in the market for a bike of this spec.
Robs review caught my eye. I like the bike.
But a Return to Base (Germany) warranty makes it a no go for me.
A UK repair centre would possibly change my mind, but I normally support my LBS.

 

[Fivetones]

I suspect we’ve done the support level/model on this to death now.

Will be interesting to see how they keep up with demand as Specialized have, err, struggled to say the least (yes, I have one on order - I wanted local support at my LBS but I understand those that don’t value that as highly as me - it’s ok folks we’re allowed to chat and have differing views!).

I’m super-impressed by YT from what I’ve read. There appears to be a lot of thinking that’s gone into this (oh, they thought of that) and it’s a great price.

Given the battery tech it would be good to see a smaller battery (300?) as well as the 500 and forthcoming 700.

 

[Tamas]

I suspect we’ve done the support level/model on this to death now.

Will be interesting to see how they keep up with demand as Specialized have, err, struggled to say the least (yes, I have one on order - I wanted local support at my LBS but I understand those that don’t value that as highly as me - it’s ok folks we’re allowed to chat and have differing views!).

I’m super-impressed by YT from what I’ve read. There appears to be a lot of thinking that’s gone into this (oh, they thought of that) and it’s a great price.

Given the battery tech it would be good to see a smaller battery (300?) as well as the 500 and forthcoming 700.

I'm not sure if a smaller battery would make much - if any - sense. The bike would be maybe 1kg lighter with almost half the range...

 

[Fivetones]

I'm not sure if a smaller battery would make much - if any - sense. The bike would be maybe 1kg lighter with almost half the range...

Yeah you’re still lugging a motor I guess.

22kg isn’t bad for an enduro emtb tbh

 

[MattyB]

I'm not sure if a smaller battery would make much - if any - sense. The bike would be maybe 1kg lighter with almost half the range...

It would as a “range extender” for longer rides, but I doubt that will happen given it would hurt the sales of the 700Wh battery that we know is to come.

 

[Mcharza]

I just read from Bikeradar, that you can service the motor at any authorized Shimano service centers.
"As a direct sales brand, YT claims that having Shimano as motor provider offers its customers some extra reassurance because they can take the motor to a Shimano Service Centre to receive any maintenance the system might need"
YT Decoy 29 CF Pro Race e-MTB first ride review

 

[Trail Doug]

Nice vid Rob, would have loved to have seen your face when they got in touch asking you if you wanted to go. It's a lovely looking bike but not for me due to the in frame battery and clown bike wheel sizing.

 

[MattyB]

Matty if you read my earlier post in there I pasted the email reply I got back from YT today and in it they state the bike has to be returned to them if there is a problem with the Motor etc and it can't be taken to an authorised Shimano dealer so it is true, the chances of it going wrong are quite slim I would imagine but nevertheless any issues and it has to be shipped to Germany.

CS reps are not always supplied with the most accurate information, Rob has stated that was not what he was told at the launch event and we have other online sources stating it’s serviceable in country too. Let’s wait and see how this shakes out; I’m betting on Rob’s information as having to ship bikes back would be a huge pain in the butt for YT as well as the customer.

 

[Andy A]

CS reps are not always supplied with the most accurate information, Rob has stated that was not what he was told at the launch event and we have other online sources stating it’s serviceable in country too. Let’s wait and see how this shakes out; I’m betting on Rob’s information as having to ship bikes back would be a huge pain in the butt for YT as well as the customer.

Matty I emailed YT head office direct and that's the reply I got from them directly! It has to go back to them didn't you read it!

I am sure it is serviceable in this country but you would need to check with them first but if there is a fault with it then it needs to be sent back to YT.

I personally love this bike and I really want one now, are you considering one

 

[Richt20000]

It's around 3KG lighter (If I remember correctly the Kenevo is around 25KG), it feels far more agile than the Kenevo.

Thanks for answering all these questions Rob - your the only reviewer who is so dedicated to their reader base!

If its more nimble than the kenevo, How does it compare to the E-sommet? As that is a lot more nimble than a kenevo but still very capable.

 

[Richt20000]

You don't notice that they are mismatched when riding it. Its likely that they went with a 27.5 on the back to keep the chainstay as short as possible. I did ask if you can fit a 29er, they wouldnt advise it. In fact, it wouldn't pass the CE testing with a 29er in it due to clearance.

Thanks. I guess you may be able to bump the fork up to 180mm, switch it to high mode and then run 2x. 27.5x2.8 or even 2.6 wheels... the same idea as the pivot firebird 29.

Side comment: I noticed the pro version says Perfomance Elite, but the photos show a Performace compression dial, not a fit4/RC2 compression dial found on Elite.

 

[Trail Doug]

The trails are in the hills around Coaraze about 25km north of Nice as Rob mentioned before. The trails around there are insane and not just in that valley. There's a great ride you can do all the way over to the Col du Torini if any of you are rally fans.