Decoy X 2026

What it is: the Decoy X is YT's first full-power Avinox-equipped enduro, a hydroformed aluminium 170/160mm mullet built around the same V4L kinematic that made the carbon Decoy SN a critics' darling. The headline numbers are loud: up to 1,300W of peak power and 130Nm of torque, with 60 second bursts of 150Nm in Boost mode, an 800Wh battery that ships on every size from S to XXL, and a claimed 24.8kg at the Core 1 entry trim. The community verdict, condensed: a genuinely class-leading powertrain wrapped in a sensibly priced alloy chassis, with a YT-brand trust question still hanging over the showroom floor.

Drive system and range. The Avinox M2S is the same DJI-built unit currently colonising the high-power enduro segment, and on the Decoy X it lives in a hydroformed alloy down tube with the 800Wh FP800 pack permanently integrated. The motor weighs only around 2.6 kilograms and is barely visible above the bottom bracket, made possible by a compact planetary gearbox and a weatherproof encapsulated housing with IP66 protection, with polymer components designed to save weight and reduce noise. Power delivery is governed through four app-customisable assistance levels and a dedicated boost mode, and Avinox quotes at least 80% capacity even after 500 charge cycles, which is a real long-term ownership win versus older Bosch and Shimano packs.

Range will obviously depend on mode and weight, but the 800Wh pack is the largest in the category at this weight bracket. Charging is the standout: the bundled 12A fast charger does around 1.5 hours to 75% of capacity, or 2.5 hours for a full charge, with a 4A charger available that takes 4.5 hours. That is back-to-back uplift territory if you have a socket at the trailhead. @501AM notes that the Decoy X's 800Wh capacity is materially larger than a comparable Commencal Meta Power SX small at 600Wh, which is meaningful if your local rides are 1,500m-plus days rather than bike-park laps.

Geometry and handling. Sizing is properly thought through: five frames from S to XXL with reach spanning 432mm in the smallest S flip-chip setting up to 515mm in the XXL, distributed in balanced 20 mm increments per size. Chainstays are fixed at 442–443mm across the range, which the velomotion piece is gentle about and Pinkbike commenters are not, with one rider noting that no size-depending chain stays, and in XXL size there is no way to keep your front planted with all that power. That is a fair criticism for taller riders pushing the 1,320mm wheelbase XXL.

The flip chip at the shock mount toggles between Regular and Low, which moves head angle between 64.2° and 63.9° and seat tube angle between 78.4° and 78.1°, with the chainstay constant. That puts the Decoy X bang in the middle of modern enduro-eMTB norms: slack enough for chunder, not so slack it floppy-steers at trail-bike speeds. At the rear, the Virtual 4-Link kinematics work with 160 millimetres of suspension travel; sensitive at the beginning, stable in the middle, progressive at the end, the same V4L curve YT have refined over multiple Decoy generations. One real-world note worth flagging: @rondre3000 on the previous-generation Decoy XL reports a 50mm stem stock and a 5'10" rider wishing for 10mm more reach, so size-up shoppers between sizes should probably go up rather than down.

Build and value. This is where the Decoy X gets interesting, because YT has done what direct-to-consumer brands used to do before insolvency budgets got in the way: a full five-step ladder with the same frame, motor and battery across all of them. The cheapest Core 1 starts at €4,499 and offers 150Nm torque, 1,300W peak power and an 800Wh battery, making it the cheapest bike you can buy with the latest Avinox M2S drive system.

Walking up: Core 1 at £4,499 gets Marzocchi Bomber Z1/Bomber Air, SRAM DB8 Stealth brakes and WTB Sportterra Tough tyres at a claimed 24.8kg, the lightest in the range thanks to the simpler kit. Core 2 at £5,499 adds a Fox 38 Float Performance fork, Fox DHX Performance coil, Maven Base brakes and DT Swiss H 1900 wheels. Core 3 at £6,499 jumps to RockShox ZEB Ultimate, a Vivid Ultimate shock and the DT Swiss HX 1700 DF wheelset, with SRAM Eagle 90 mechanical Transmission and Maven Silver brakes, and a DT Swiss HX 1700 eMTB wheelset with the DEG DF hub upgrade to reduce pedal kickback. Core 4 at £7,499 swaps to Fox Factory 38/X2 suspension and HX 1500 DF wheels. The Launch Edition sits at £8,499 with the Fox Podium upside-down fork, custom-tuned X2, SRAM X0 AXS Transmission and the full DT Swiss DF wheelset.

The standout choice in the ladder is the Core 3: the ZEB Ultimate and Vivid Ultimate combo at this price is unusually generous, and the DF hub is preserved. The questionable one is Core 2's DT Swiss H 1900 370 LN wheelset, which is heavier and not DF-equipped, making Core 3 the clear value pick. The Launch Edition's upside-down Podium fork is a statement piece but, as Pinkbike commenters noted, of debatable real-world need for most riders.

Community-verified strengths. First, the motor: @501AM argues the Avinox makes more sense than the alternatives, having "more power than the full fat Bosch but the same size as the SN" frame footprint, so you get full-fat output without the visual bulk. Second, the consistent 800Wh-on-every-size policy genuinely matters; many E-MTBs save on the battery in small frame sizes, YT does not, all sizes from S to XXL get the same 800 Wh battery. Third, the proven SN geometry: @Singletrackmind notes the original Decoy retained the same geometry through its entire production run, which is a tacit endorsement that YT got the numbers right the first time.

Caveats and known gripes. The biggest is brand trust. @Rando_12345 sets it out cleanly: two YT bikes owned and loved, great prior customer care, but after the recent insolvency the next ebike "would litteraly need to be the best bike on the market and at a lower price than most of the competition" to even be considered. @CarolinaCrawler agrees from a four-YT fleet, saying they would have a hard time spending more money with YT despite loving the bikes. The Core 1 at €4,499 partially answers that challenge, but the Launch Edition at €8,499 does not.

The second caveat is the integrated battery: the FP800 is not user-removable, so charging means parking the whole bike next to a socket. The third is weight. At 25.4kg in size S the Decoy X is not the lightest Avinox enduro on paper, and forum benchmarking is brutal — one owner compared a 22.9kg carbon Teewing Flux Enduro with the same 800Wh battery at £5,250 against the £7,400 YT, calling it 2.5kg heavier and £2,150 more expensive, and not a good buy any way you look at it. That is one rider's view and the comparison is carbon-versus-alloy, but the gap to carbon Avinox rivals is real. Finally, all sizes share the 442mm chainstay, which Pinkbike commenters flagged as a real handling compromise for the XXL.

Verdict. The Decoy X is the best argument YT has made in years. The Core 1 is, by some distance, the cheapest route into a current-generation Avinox enduro with an 800Wh battery, and the Core 3 is the smart-money pick if you want DF hubs and Ultimate-tier suspension without paying Launch Edition tax. The frame, motor and geometry are all credible, and the proven V4L kinematic is a known quantity. It is the right bike for riders who want full-power enduro performance on an alloy chassis, who do long days where 800Wh actually matters, and who can stomach a permanently-integrated battery in exchange for a cleaner frame. It is the wrong bike if you want sub-24kg carbon weight, if you ride an XXL and care about size-specific chainstays, or if YT's 2025 insolvency is still a deal-breaker for you — and for some buyers, understandably, it will be. The full CORE range is available to pre-order in Europe and the UK now, with US availability following later in the summer.