Decked out with coil suspension and Fox 38 forks, YT has built two new big-hit enduro bikes: the Capra Shred and the Decoy Shred e-bike.

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YT Shreds need to know

• ‘Shred’ edition YT Capra and YT Decoy e-bike use Fox Float DHX2 coil shock
• The Capra Shred comes in 27.5in with 180mm travel, or as a 29er with 170mm
• YT has also adopted the new Fox 38 Float Performance to match the rear end
• Alloy frame for the Capra Shred, and an alloy back end for the Decoy
• Capra Shred is £3,199 and the Decoy Shred e-bike is £5,399

YT has added some extra muscle to its Capra and to the Decoy e-bike, in the shape of a coil shock. Called Capra Shred and the Decoy Shred, YT wanted to add more ‘gnar’ to its line-up, and also built its burliest enduro bike to date.

Fox DHX2 coil shock dishes out 180mm travel on the 27.5in YT Capra

YT hasn’t left the front of the Capra Shred alone either, while the classic Capra is led by a Fox 36 new bike sports the latest Fox Float 38 to help match up with the back end. That makes the Shred edition the only way to get hold of Fox’s new 38 fork on a YT bike, although it won’t be long before the regular Capra gets one too.

Big travel

That back end is now running the Fox Float DHX2 coil shock, and on the 27.5in version that kicks out a massive 180mm travel. The 38 on the front matches it at 180mm travel too. There’s also a 29er version, with 10mm less travel, presumably so YT can actually squeeze in the travel without the back end walloping you on the bum on steep descents.

Fox Float 38 Performance beefs up the front of the bike to match the YT Capra Shred’s burly attitude

The new bikes are built on alloy frames too, which makes sense for big, rough riding, uplifts and bike parks – the natural environment for the Capra Shred. It makes sense that YT has also specced a 2.5in Maxxis Assegai on the front, it’s basically a downhill tyre but running the lightweight EXO casing. There’s a Maxxis Minion DHR II on the back.

The new Capra Shred is £3,199, that makes it a shade cheaper than the Capra Pro, with similar SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain and spec level. It’s significantly heavier than that bike though, the Capra Shred is 15.6kg and Capra Pro with its carbon frame is 13.8kg. The logic is though, while you might be pedalling this bike up hills it won’t be at race speed – it’s all about the descents. YT has kindly specced the new SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain with its big crawler gear, the 52t, to help you grind up the climbs.

YT Capra Shred uses an alloy frame, and comes in sizes S-XXL in 27.5, or M-XXL in 29in

YT Decoy Shred

YT’s first e-bike is the Decoy, a mullet bike with 29er up front, 27.5in at the back and 165mm travel. They’ve taken that bike and applied the Shred treatment – that means a Fox Float DHX2 coil shock and Flox Float 38 Performance fork with 170mm travel. YT has also swapped out the carbon back end for alloy, but kept the carbon front triangle – after all, it houses the battery, motor, and on-off switch, which would all be costly to redesign in alloy.

It gets the same Shimano Steps E8000 motor and custom YT battery with 540Wh, and the same XT drivetrain as the Decoy CF Pro Race. What’s different is the gnarlier Maxxis Assegai front tyre, replacing the Minion DHF.

YT Decoy Shred gets the Fox DHX2 coil shock and Fox 38 fork treatment too. One colour, five sizes from S-XXL

The original Decoy CF Pro Race is £5,999: the Decoy Shred is £5,399. The new bike is a significant 2.5kg heaver though, at 24.3kg.

Living with coil

Air shocks are a doddle to set up the spring, you pump in the right amount of pressure and hey presto. With coil YT needs to supply the bike with the correct spring rate for your weight though – they’re offering four springs, from 300-450lb in 50lb increments. You don’t get to choose though, they’re pegged to the bike’s size and the assumption is that smaller riders are lighter, taller ones heavier. What about if you’re skinny and light but tall? You could buy an aftermarket spring, or sprindex.com offers aftermarket springs too that actually let you dial in the spring rate exactly for your weight.