2026 YT Decoy Core 4 E-Bike

Launched in 2019, the Decoy was YT’s first foray into the e-MTB space. Whilst the online chatter often cited its geo as conservative, that did nothing to hold the bike back, whether in tests or in the web shop where it’s still sitting pretty as YT’s best-selling bike to date. Even the somewhat aging Shimano EP801 motor has done little to blunt its appeal over the past few years, driven as always by a strong price/value ratio underpinned by the direct-to-consumer sales model. With all that said, 6 years is an eternity in model years, and after launching two mid-power e-MTB offerings in 2024 and 2025 it was high time for YT to refresh their full-power eeb. Enter the all-new Decoy.

Note: YT entered a self-administration process under German law on July 16, 2025, with the goal of restructuring the finances of the company. This process has left a number of recent customer orders hanging in limbo, with the related funds tied up in the estate and the company unable to fulfil those same orders at present, pending resolution. However, YT has stated that they are seeking new investment partners to help move the business forward and they are at this time actually still able to take new orders (paradoxically enough). They are working with the affected customers individually towards a solution. We will update this statement as things evolve. Here is what YT told us when we reached out regarding the situation:

“We are currently undergoing a legal restructuring to put YT Industries on a strong and sustainable path for the future.

If you placed an order before July 15th, please note that—due to legal regulations—it may be part of the restructuring process and will be reviewed individually. Our customer service team is already reaching out to affected customers to provide clarity and support.

Orders placed on or after July 15th are not affected and will be fulfilled as usual.

With the launch of the new DECOY, we’re excited to give you a first look at what’s next. This is just the beginning. Availability will be shown as ‘Coming Soon’, as we continue to stand by our policy of not offering pre-orders. Stay tuned — more bikes are coming soon!

*this only affects GmbH (EU), our USA entity remains unaffected.”

UPDATE FROM YT AS OF AUG 1 2025:

“We want to sincerely apologize once again for the inconvenience caused by our ongoing restructuring. We understand that waiting for a resolution is frustrating and we want to assure you that we’re working hard to remedy the situation.

We’re actively working with the involved payment providers on a legally compliant solution that will allow us to resolve every customer case. While we can’t give an exact date just yet, we’re making great progress within the given legal framework. We have already started refunding several orders and are confident that all cases will be sorted out in the coming weeks.

Rest assured, we will do everything possible that no customer will suffer a loss due to this situation. We’re taking full responsibility and doing everything we can to regain your trust.”

YT Decoy 2025 Highlights

• Ultra Modulus Carbon Frame
• 170 mm of rear wheel travel with 235x65 mm shocks
• Built around 180 mm fork travel
• BOSCH Performance Line CX 85Nm I 600W Peak Power (unlock via app: 100Nm | 750W)
• BOSCH POWER TUBE 800 Integrated Battery | 800Wh | 36V I 4A Charger
• BOSCH KIOX 400C USB-C I ANT+ Bluetooth I Flow APP I Navigation
• Decoy Core 4 weight: 23,2 kg (Size L / setup tubeless, no bottle or pedals)
• Core 4 MSRP: 8999 € / £ / $ (11899 CAD)
• Core 3 MSRP: 7999 € / £ / $ (10599 CAD)
• Core 2 MSRP: 6999 € / £ / $ (9199 CAD)
• Core 1 MSRP: 5999 € / £ / $ (7899 CAD)

Initial Impressions

The outgoing Decoy sports 165 mm of rear travel paired with a 170 mm fork. The all-new bike gets a bump to 170 mm in the rear, and is optimized around a 180 mm fork. Similar to the old bike, the new Decoy features a 27.5/29-inch mullet wheel setup. At launch, the four available builds are all based on the same “Ultra Modulus” carbon frame (YT’s highest-end frame building tech), with prices ranging from $5999 USD to $8999 USD.

The heart of an e-bike is the motor and battery system, of course. For the new Decoy, YT went with the Bosch Performance Line CX option, pumping out 100 Nm of torque and 750 W of peak power (after unlocking it via the Bosch Flow app). A Bosch Power Tube 800 integrated battery provides the watt-hours needed to hoist yourself up a mountain a few times, and YT worked on their own bespoke battery mounts to keep everything solid and rattle-free. The battery is not easily removable, so you’ll charge it on the bike via a charging port that is also of YT’s own design. Starting from an empty battery, the supplied 4A charger needs 2 hours and 36 minutes to charge to 50% and 6 hours and 54 minutes to 100%.

To control the system, the Decoy sports the new Bosch KIOX 400C integrated top tube display. It’s not a touch-screen, so you access the system functions and settings via a small, handlebar-mounted, wireless remote. There is of course an app available to customize your settings as well, and there’s a USB-C port on the display that allows you to charge your phone or power a light from the bike’s battery while on the go.

The frame is a beefy affair, as befits a bike with lofty ambitions when it comes to shredding the gnar. The lines are definitely YT-esque, although the fat downtube is a little bit unbecoming from some angles perhaps. The finish is of very high quality, with the distinct design language shaping the frame lines right down to the smallest details.

There’s an imposing shield mounted under the motor that provides both protection and ventilation. The chain stay protector is similarly overbuilt, with large ridges designed to help keep the chain quiet. There is a flip chip which provides the ability to adjust bottom bracket height, head angle, seat tube angle, and reach in two positions – regular and low. YT deliberately renamed the two positions to more accurately reflect the underlying design goals with each, as they have found that when you name the positions “high” and “low,” very few people will want to run the “high” position even though it may well be the baseline position around which the bike was essentially designed. YT makes a compact water bottle specifically for the Decoy that actually holds a surprising amount of liquid (475 ml) despite its comically small appearance.

Serviceability is an important topic, and YT sweated the details here as well. Both the top tube display and the charging port are easy to remove, which provides easy access to the internally routed cables in key areas. There are cable routing guides running through the down tube, with the cables exiting the guide tubes just before the headset area. This allows for alternate routing through the head tube cable ports to support running the front brake on different sides. Pushing the dropper post cable up through the seat tube is facilitated by removing the charging port.

The geometry of the new Decoy has also evolved with the times. With a spread of 5 frame sizes there’s a reach number likely to suit almost every rider, while the slack head angle will allow for tackling the rowdiest of tracks. The 78-degree seat tube angle was chosen to facilitate climbing in steep terrain, and with 445 mm chain stays across all frame sizes the bike should be able to make good use of the available power on the way up. In keeping with the times, the stack has grown quite significantly across all frame sizes.

YT’s roots are in gravity, and the suspension kinematics have been designed accordingly. The leverage ratio curve is progressive to ensure plenty of support and bottom-out resistance, while the anti-squat is significantly lower than on YT’s pedal-powered bikes to improve comfort and reduce unwanted pedal kickback while descending (it is common to reduce anti-squat on e-MTBs since the motor does the heavy lifting and the extra pedal-bob is deemed an acceptable trade-off in return for extra downhill performance).

The build kits on offer present good value for money, as always with YT. The $5999 USD Core 1 is the entry level of the range, but still uses the same high-end carbon frame construction as the other models. At the top end of the catalog we find the $8999 USD Core 4, with Fox Factory suspension, carbon DT Swiss wheels, and a wireless SRAM Eagle Transmission drivetrain. All the builds get the same Continental enduro casing tires with the super soft compound up front, and there is no difference in terms of motor or battery system across the range.

On The Trail

To give us a flavor of the new bike, YT whisked us away to Bielsko-Biala in Poland – home to both enduro and downhill World Cup racing this year. We rode the high-end Core 4 model, in size L for yours truly. Day one saw us tackling a series of natural trails, with recent rains providing for a very spicy challenge at times. With grip ranging from “oooooh K” to “ooooohhhh shit” and plenty of ill-intentioned sniper roots laying in ambush in the steeps, we were on our toes from the very first run.

The new Decoy proved to be a very confidence-inspiring ride, even in the tricky circumstances of the first day. The suspension action is both smooth and supportive, equally impressive both in the front and out back. The geometry is easy to get along with, and the bike never felt as heavy as the numbers might suggest on paper. There is no doubt that a full-fat e-MTB is less nimble than something significantly lighter, but the flip side of that coin is the incredible planted feel the extra weight provides for. The generous stack creates a relaxed and dynamic riding position, further accentuated by the high-rise handlebar spec. The build kit was equally impressive right from the start, with a particular gold star mention for the brakes: the more we ride Maven-equipped bikes, the more impressed we are. Contrary to what you might think, these ridiculously powerful stoppers are capable of plenty of modulation, and the lever action quickly becomes second nature, even in very greasy and slick conditions. The 220 mm rotors selected by YT will have you thanking the product managers as you drop anchor with all that e-MTB weight pushing you towards your impending doom with great enthusiasm.

For the second day, we headed out to a more bike park-y area, where the significantly drier trails allowed us to push the bike harder. Once again we were really impressed by just how good the suspension was in rough terrain. The bike was never out of sorts, even when plowing through rocks on unknown trails and basically hanging on for dear life at times. Needless to say, the bike is capable of as many aerial antics as you can muster up, the progressive rear linkage ensuring you can always touch down in control.

So what about the whole E-thing then? The gen 5 Bosch CX Performance Line motor has seen some crucial updates recently, most notably a software tweak that unlocks 750 W of power and 100 Nm of torque, putting it closer to the numbers of the output leaders in the category. YT went with the KIOX 400C top tube display to provide more system information and configuration possibilities directly on the bike. The small remote is easy to use, and once you memorize all the different remote button sequences there’s a lot you can do with it (long-press, double-clicks etc).

On the trail, the motor is smooth and dynamic in action. There are a number of different ride modes available that dictate how much support the motor will provide in different riding scenarios, and you can also tweak the parameters of each such mode individually via the Flow app.

One parameter we found particularly useful is the “Dynamics” adjustment, which essentially controls how aggressively the motor responds to rider pedal input. It doesn’t reduce the total amount of support available, but it controls how quickly and strongly the support kicks in. Tweaking this setting will help smooth things out in technical terrain, avoiding overwhelming the rider with too much power too quickly. The motor over-run is not something that can be tweaked at this time, and we did find it to be a bit much in some situations (motor over-run is where the motor continues to run for a short amount of time after you stop pedaling).

For the first day of riding, this 90 kg (~200 lbs) tester used mainly the Tour+ support mode and we were able to cover 40 kms (~25 miles) and almost 2200 meters (~7200 feet) of climbing with 6% of battery remaining, which Strava referred to as a “steady ride with 135 BPM, max 167 BPM. Solid effort with brief intense moments.” If we translate that to rider terms, it was a decent workout but the legs and lungs were definitely still feeling OK at the end. We climbed on a mix of steep fireroads and greasy trails, and we were in general impressed with the amount of control on offer from the motor – we rarely found ourselves spinning out uncontrollably, which is no small feat in such challenging conditions of grip. There’s even a hill start function that holds the bike in place with the motor as you get ready to start pedaling uphill – purists will scoff but it can be a useful tool, especially for those still perfecting their riding skills.

On the way up, the motor is relatively quiet, and on the way back down the hill, there are almost no annoying knocking sounds anymore. What little you hear of the motor is not disturbing in any direction of travel, leaving you to enjoy your riding and your surroundings. On the second day of riding, we used the eMTB or eMTB+ modes almost exclusively, and we covered 21 kms (~13 miles) and 1127 meters (~3700 feet) of climbing with 36% of battery remaining. In these support modes you are able to winch yourself straight up some pretty steep terrain, without ever needing to force your legs that hard. There is plenty of power and torque on tap even for the serious bumps. Comparing the Bosch motor to the gen 4 Specialized Levo (S-Works version) and the Avinox motor, there is not all that much difference between the three options in most regular riding scenarios. The Avinox will hands down win a drag race up the hill (especially in Boost mode), and the Specialized possibly edges ahead of the other two in terms of absolute smoothness and software control, but there’s not all that much in it and we’d happily pick any of these three systems for our next full-power e-MTB. The level of e-MTB sophistication reached by all these manufacturers is quite impressive by now.

Build Kit Report

Suspension

The very latest Fox Factory suspension found on our test bike performed flawlessly during our two days of riding, providing absolutely impressive levels of compliance and support. The YT designers seem to have arrived at a near-perfect configuration of the rear triangle, with impressive performance through rough terrain. In terms of value, the $8999 Core 4 needs to deliver and the chosen suspension package certainly helps contribute here.

Brakes

We touched on this earlier on in the article – the Mavens impress us more every time we ride them. Incredibly powerful, they are also capable of plenty of modulation and we had no trouble staying in control even with a 220 mm rotor up front in very greasy and slick conditions.

Wheels and Tires

The Core 4 gets high-end DT Swiss carbon wheels, which helps take the sting out of the price tag. We obviously can’t tell you how this wheelset might age after just two days of riding, but it delivers crisp engagement from the DEG Ratchet hub and a ride feel that is not too harsh. The super soft, enduro casing Continentals do a great job as a front tire in mixed conditions and we did not suffer any punctures in our group during the two days of riding.

Drivetrain

We’ve often praised SRAM’s Eagle Transmission drivetrain, and the XO version found on the Decoy Core 4 is no exception (there’s even an XX chainring to make you feel even more special). Near-perfect shifting under power and easy actuation via the wireless pod shifter make for a good experience out on the trail. The shifter is connected to the main bike battery so you’ll never have to forget to charge it again.

Finishing Kit

A 40 mm rise Renthal cockpit equipped with ODI grips provides a great place to pilot the new Decoy from, with comfortable angles and a generous stack height. The SDG Bel Air saddle is a known quantity at this point, not the most comfortable saddle we’ve ever sat on but also far from the worst (saddles are of course subject to individual rider anatomy variations and preferences, and they will not suit every rider every time). The YT Postman seat post is smooth in action, and reasonably generously sized with 200 mms of travel on sizes L and XL and even 230 mms on the XXL. This tester could have ran more than 200 on the size L but he is on the upper limit of the size bracket and has relatively long legs for his height. At any rate there is plenty of room in the frame thanks to the short seat tube length.

Other Builds

For those unwilling to part with 9 big ones, there are other models available. The Öhlins-equipped Core 3 will please the gravity enthusiasts with its coil shock and Title cockpit. RockShox fans will be well served with the Core 2, which drops a further $1000 compared to the Core 3 thanks to a cable-actuated drive train and more affordable wheels. Finally, the Core 1 serves up Marzocchi suspension and a Shimano drivetrain to further reduce the cost, all while still using the exact same frameset and motor/battery system as the other models. All the builds exist in black, or a unique color option for each level.

What’s The Bottom Line?

After launching two new mid-power e-MTBs recently, YT did not beat around the bush when it came time to renew their full-fat option. The all-new Decoy goes big, whether we’re talking about power, weight, or shred-ability. It’s got more travel, more watts and more torque than its predecessor, and it has benefitted greatly from the advances Bosch has made with their latest motor and battery system. Smooth enough to tackle technical terrain, powerful enough to hoist yourself up pretty much any mountain you fancy, and more than capable of getting rowdy on the way back down, the new Decoy should be squarely in your sights if you’re in the full-power market. There are several builds which offer impressive value for money as well – all in all, we think the new Decoy is primed to continue in its best-selling role for YT, subject to the company finding a sustainable way forward for the business of course.

More information at: www.yt-industries.com.

Note: YT entered a self-administration process under German law on July 16, 2025, with the goal of restructuring the finances of the company. This process has left a number of recent customer orders hanging in limbo, with the related funds tied up in the estate and the company unable to fulfil those same orders at present, pending resolution. However, YT has stated that they are seeking new investment partners to help move the business forward and they are at this time actually still able to take new orders (paradoxically enough). They are working with the affected customers individually towards a solution. We will update this statement as things evolve. Here is what YT told us when we reached out regarding the situation:

“We are currently undergoing a legal restructuring to put YT Industries on a strong and sustainable path for the future.

If you placed an order before July 15th, please note that—due to legal regulations—it may be part of the restructuring process and will be reviewed individually. Our customer service team is already reaching out to affected customers to provide clarity and support.

Orders placed on or after July 15th are not affected and will be fulfilled as usual.

With the launch of the new DECOY, we’re excited to give you a first look at what’s next. This is just the beginning. Availability will be shown as ‘Coming Soon’, as we continue to stand by our policy of not offering pre-orders. Stay tuned — more bikes are coming soon!

*this only affects GmbH (EU), our USA entity remains unaffected.”

UPDATE FROM YT AS OF AUG 1 2025:

“We want to sincerely apologize once again for the inconvenience caused by our ongoing restructuring. We understand that waiting for a resolution is frustrating and we want to assure you that we’re working hard to remedy the situation.

We’re actively working with the involved payment providers on a legally compliant solution that will allow us to resolve every customer case. While we can’t give an exact date just yet, we’re making great progress within the given legal framework. We have already started refunding several orders and are confident that all cases will be sorted out in the coming weeks.

Rest assured, we will do everything possible that no customer will suffer a loss due to this situation. We’re taking full responsibility and doing everything we can to regain your trust.”

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 52 // Years Riding MTB: 20 // Weight: 190-pounds (87 kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Johan Hjord (bike check) and YT / Ale di Lullo (action)

View key specs, compare e-bikes, and review all the new YT Decoy builds in the Vital MTB Product Guide.