The new 160mm-travel YT Decoy SN, or Supernatural, is designed to be ‘the best enduro bike possible’.

That bold claim was the key goal for the engineers tasked with designing the SN – not to build the best enduro eMTB, but the best enduro bike full-stop – powered or not.

A blank page was given to the team, with no travel figures, weight goals, or – reportedly – motor or battery requirements in mind.

Early in the three-year development process, the team came to the belief that to reach the full demands of enduro riding, the bike had to be assisted.

Despite this, YT wanted the new Decoy SN to feel as if you’re sitting on a non-assisted enduro bike, with all the handling benefits that brings, rather than on a heavy electric mountain bike.

Therefore, YT opted for a lighter motor and lower-capacity battery – the Fazua Ride 60 with its 430Wh battery.

After all, if you want a full-power eMTB, there’s always the standard non-assisted Decoy.

Tom Marvin rode the new YT Decoy SN Core 4 at its launch event and you can read his first-ride review here.

Facts and figures

The Decoy SN is a 160mm-travel carbon eMTB, with a 170mm fork up front and mixed wheel sizes – ‘MX’ in YT speak.

YT set out to make a bike that felt as natural as possible. As such, while it claims there were no weight constraints, the Decoy SN has been kept moderately light. It is, however, fitted with parts that should stand up to the rigours of enduro riding – a big fork, grippy rubber and punchy brakes.

This results in claimed weight figures (for a Small) below 21kg across all three models offered.

The shape of the bike is modern, without being extreme, although it’s longer, slacker and taller in stack than the YT Jeffsy and Capra.

The reach numbers are middle of the pack – ranging from 435mm to 515mm across the S to XXL size range, while the head angle is moderately slack at 63.9 degrees and the seat angle fairly steep at 78 degrees.

Chainstays are mid-length at 443mm across all sizes.

YT’s engineers spent plenty of time perfecting the shape of the bike, using high-modulus carbon fibre to form their desired shapes.

The headbox (as YT calls it) is one area that saw a lot of development work. The angular shapes are inspired by the Porsche 911 and Ferrari Testarossa families, while there’s method, too, in the shapes.

The new hose and cable-entry ports, for example, have been built to ensure the rear brake hoses can have a smooth arc from lever to internal hose guides, whether you run the brake lever on the left or right-hand side of the bar.

YT utilises its tried-and-trusted V4L suspension linkage – a four-bar Horst linkage with a pivot on the chainstay.

It has been designed to give maximum grip, while delivering pop when you’re hauling down the trail.

As such, it’s said to be supple in the early part of its travel, supportive when you’re mid-way through the 160mm on offer and progressive towards the end to ensure you’re not putting your ankle joints to the test when you bottom it out.

The heart of the matter

The beating heart of any eMTB is the motor and battery system – and YT has gone to Fazua for its drive unit.

Unlike with the Decoy, the brand decided three years ago to use the stock battery from Fazua.

The performance and integration of the motor was what drove the engineers to fit the unit.

It’s designed to have a natural feeling and light weight, ensuring the bike rides as ‘normally’ as possible. It’s also small in stature, meaning there’s little compromise in being able to place pivots where they’re required.

The 430Wh battery isn’t huge, but it helps keep bike weight below 21kg. With the efficiency of the motor, YT claims that on the lowest assistance mode an average rider could get up to 2,000m of climbing assistance, while in the higher modes, you’ll get 1,300-1,500m.

With peak outputs of 60Nm and 450W, it might not shift uphill quite as effortlessly as a full-powered electric bike motor. However, there is a Boost mode, adding 100W of power for a limited time.

The battery is fully integrated as low as possible in the frame, saving around 1kg in weight and keeping the bike’s centre of mass low.

The motor is well protected. A dual-material protector prevents rock strikes from damaging the down tube, while there’s a harder skid plate under the motor that’s designed to slip over rocks and roots if you run aground. It is also engineered to aid motor ventilation.

The motor’s modes are changed by a small ring-shifter mounted on the bar. This is said to be intuitive to use, without the need to look down at the bar to spot which button you’re hitting.

The top-tube located display is also svelte and minimalist. However, its hidden trick is a USB-C port that can be used to charge phones or computers, or to link up to a computer to perform a firmware update.