Who is YT Industries anyway?
YT Industries is a German bike company with dirt jumping roots. Now available in the USA, YT’s line has expanded into DH, enduro and most recently 29er with the Jeffsy. From the beginning, the emphasis has been placed on value for the end-user by cutting out the middle man and selling directly to consumers. A very talented american rider you may have heard of (Arron Gwin) recently won the 2016 World Cup DH Series Overall aboard YT.
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The Details: YT Jeffsy CF Comp1 $4599USD
Carbon frame, Horst link suspension, 29″ wheels, boost 148 rear spacing, 140mm travel front and rear, adjustable geometry: 66.9-67.6 HT angle.
Nothing really stands out as too crazy with the geometry…not too slack or long or with super short seat stays, BUT this bike certainly felt stable, confident and FUN! The component spec is top notch for the price with Rock Shox Pike RCT3, SRAM X1 and DT Swiss wheelset. The surprisingly different tires on this bike (2.4″ Onza Ibex) rolled fast yet had great traction and most of all were whisper quiet (like 2ply downhill casings).
Tricia rode this bike first and really liked it so I gave it a try. Holy shit, she was right (not always:). The bike ripped! It nearly had the downhill confidence of the incredible new 2017 Rocky Mountain Slayer that I fell in love with, yet with 1” less travel and a more trail oriented setup.
We had the opportunity to ride the YT Jeffsy at the Outlier Offload Festival along with a handful of other new bikes that we felt were the hottest of the upcoming 2017 bikes. Among these bikes, surprisingly the YT stood clearly above the rest!
The Ride: Initially the first thing I noticed was how well the bike pedaled while seated and climbing. On mild service road grades the need for the flip into pedal mode on the rear shock was not needed. Upon heading down, I quickly felt the confidence of the geometry and suspension as my wheels headed towards the rougher lines of the PMT trail at Vail. Changing lines, flicking into tight corners and popping over trail obstacles was a breeze. The quality of travel was also great on the Jeffsy, feeling like it had even more travel than the actual 140mm’s.
It’s *really* hard to find something to nitpick on with this bike, but if I had to say one thing, it would be the dropper lever. The dropper for the Rockshox Reverb was mounted above the bar with a matchmaker clamp that doesn’t provide a comfortable lever placement for my tastes. This is a minor squabble that could be easily solved by installing the dropper lever on its own clamp.
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At $4599 with a solid component spec and incredible ride quality, this bike is going to be pretty hard to beat in the trail bike/enduro category for 2017. The Jeffsy is easily one incredible package and one that I hope to have the opportunity to spend more time on.
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This Post Has 5 Comments
The big question is; Jeffsy or Smuggler?
That’s hard, but personally I would choose the Smuggler since most of the terrain I ride doesn’t require as much travel as the Jeffsey has.
Only default I can really find with the Smuggler is that it still has a 142mm rear end if you like to switch wheels from other bikes and care about future resale value.
Damn. To be honest I was kind of hoping you’d say Jeffsy. I was starting to lean that way but now I’m back to a dilemma. Although I suspect I’d be more than happy with either.
Thanks for the great write-ups on both and the quick response!
Sorry, I know these decisions are hard. The good thing for us is that there are so many great bikes out there! You just have to figure out the type of bike you will enjoy most and that suits your terrain best.