2019-05-01_Mountain_Bike_Rider

£2,999

Two-positionflip-chip

takeshalfa degreeoff

theheadangleand8mm

offthebottombracket

height in the low setting

BiggerThirstmaster

4000 waterbottlewith

a magneticattachment

—locatesquicklyand

is held securely

Verdict

TheYTJeffsyremainsa great-value

bike.TheCommençalandVitusboth

havesimilarbuilds,butasa trailbike

thenewJeffsyis a morebalanced

packageandit is muchlightertoo.

Therearea coupleofthingswedon’t

like—thefixed-positionseatpost,

clunkyshiftingandforkflex—but

theJeffsywinsour29erTrailBike

oftheYearawardbecauseit’sthe

mostversatilebikeherewiththe

mostcomprehensivesizing. It’s

lightenoughtoride

allday,butsolid

enoughand

capableenough

tosmasha load

ofdescentsina

bike park.

yt jeffsy 29 cfcomp

specification
FrameJeffsycarbon/
aluminium,
140mmtravel
ShockFoxDPS
PerformanceElite
ForkFox 34 Float
PerformanceElite,
140mmtravel
WheelsE13TRS
wheelset,E13TRS
Plus29x2.35intyres
DrivetrainE13
TRS32tchainset,
ShimanoXTr-mech
andshifter
Brakes
SRAMGuideRS
200/180mm
Components
RenthalFatbar
800mm,Renthal
Apex60mmstem,
E13TRS+150mm
post,SDGFly
MTNR saddle
SizesS,M,L, XL,XXL
Weight13.82kg
(30.47lb)
Contact
yt-industries.com

Geometry
(LOWSETTING)
SizetestedXL
Headangle66.3°
Seatangle70.7°
BBheight335mm
Chainstay440mm
Frontcentre810mm
Wheelbase1,250mm
Downtube
760mm
Toptube637mm
Reach 494mm

t

woyearsago,theYTJeffsy

wasourwinning29erbike.

Lastyear,duetothedizzying

paceofbikedevelopmentthe

ratingdroppedtoaneight.This

year,theJeffsyCFCompis backwitha

vengeance,benefitingfroma newframe

andfreshgeometryalongsidethesame

keenpricingand140mmtravel.

For£3kyougeta carbonfront

triangle,adjustablegeometry,

top-qualitycomponentsandFox

suspension.Onpaper,it looksway

betterthanthepreviousmodel,but

canit deliverwhereit counts?

Beforewegettothat,however,we

shouldpointoutthatwe’retestinga size

XL.Whilethismightsoundlikeit’sa big

bike,it doesn’tlooktoobigorridethat

way.Yes,it hasthelongestreachinthe

test,butineveryother aspect it’s similar

totheotherbikes.

suspension

For2019,YThasswitchedtoa Fox 34

FloatPerformanceEliteforkonthe

JeffsyCFComp,whichis basically

a FactoryforkwithouttheKashima

coating. It feels great over small bumps

anddealseasilywithbigG-outs,

butthe 34 is notasstiffasthe 36

fittedelsewhere.

WemeasuredtheJeffsy’srear

travelat130mmandit rampsupquite

a lot,whichmeansit pedalsgreatand

there’splentyofpopwhenhitting

jumps,butyoudofeela littleshort

changedonsquare-edgehitcompared

totheScottandCommençal.

components

ForthesecondyearrunningYTflips

Eaglethebird,fittinginsteadE13’s

11-speed,9-46tcassette.Andwhile

there’sa biggerjumpbetweenthe

upperandlowergearsthanwitha

SRAM12-speedcassette,thereare

feweroptionsinbetween.Running

a 32tchainringmeansthelowest

gearontheJeffsyis actuallyhard

topushonthesteepestclimbs,and

we’ddefinitelyconsidergoingdown

toa 30tring.

Alsomakinga returnappearance

is the150mmE13TRSdropper.We

stillhavea littlebitofa sizingissue

withthisset-upbecauseit hasa deep

collar,soit’slikeridinga 170mmpostin

termsofoverallheight.Andwiththree

pre-set heights, you can’t just drop it

10mm—youhavetodrop it 50mm to

itsmiddleposition.

performance

Astiffframe,reallyprogressive

suspensionandthelowestweightof

allthebikesontestmeanstheJeffsy

leavestheothersfordeadontheclimbs.

It instantlygetsa halfwheelahead

becausethere’snoneedtoreachdown

toflicktheProPedalleveron,and

witha coupleofquickcrankstheYTis

disappearingoffinthedistance.

OnthedownhillstheJeffsydoesn’t

quitefeelasplantedastheCommençal,

butwitha massive494mmreach

measurementyouarereallycentredon

thisbike,andweneverfeltlikewewere

goingtogetpitchedoverthebarsor

neededtogetourarserightbackover

therearwheelonsteepstuff.

Oncewechangedthetyres,the

Jeffsyhelda goodlineonloamyand

groomedtrails,butonwetrootsthe

backenddoesstepoutsuddenly.Soit

lackstheridefeeloftheScottGenius,

andtoanextenttheCommençal,so

youdohavetomakemorecorrections

tolinechoiceonlumpyterrain.How

muchofthatis duetotheshocktune

orframestiffnessis hardtosay,butit’s

a compromisewe’rehappywithgiven

howwelltheJeffsypedals.

Weinitiallyranthestock60mmstem

onourXLtestbike,butswitchedtoa

35mmmidtest.Thesteeringfeltmore

directwiththestubbystem,butthere

weretestersthatpreferredthelonger

one.Anin-betweensizewouldbea

goodcompromise.It wouldbenice

toseeoptions,likethis,andupgrades

offeredontheYTwebsite.Forexample,

there’sonlya £100differenceinthe

retailpricebetweentheFox 34 and 36

PerformanceEliteforks,soif wecould

upgrade we’d definitely tick that box.

29in trail bikes

74 mbr M ay 2 019