Everything YT Industries

[Hairy]

So I got the fork back from Stoke last week and also received the new Monarch Plus RC3 shock I bought from a fellow hubber. It has to be mentioned that the fork upgrade is not complete yet, they installed the Charger 2.1 RCT3 charger but the Debonair shaft was out of stock so we will have to wait on that. I did however have them install a 150mm shaft which I got from a friend to increase the travel by 10mm.

 

I really couldn't be happier with how it feels....it really doesn't take a pro to notice a rather significance difference. I didn't ride anything too gnarly yet as I want to dial in the suspension first and it does take some getting used to...for me at least. I went to Banhoek since I know the trails fairly well so here is my complete layman opinion of the upgrades:

 

>Monarch Plus RC3: I came from the Monarch R so having a compression lever (a.k.a climb switch) is quite a novelty in itself. I was concerned that the Plus, being more squishy, might make for a more difficult climb but flipping the switch honestly does make a difference and I felt no compromise on the climb...in fact I felt really fresh after getting to the top of "Klipwerf". I have to admit that I put tool little air in the shock when I set it up (160 psi) so although the ride was super plush (especially small bump  compliance) I failed to get the same pop that I used to and cased quite a few jumps on the flowy "Again" segment. I've since upped it to 210 psi which still puts the sag around the 25% mark so will test it this afternoon again.

 

> Pike Charger 2.1 RCT3 damper and travel increase: The most noticeable difference here was the small bump  compliance again. It really has more of that cliché magic carpet ride feel now and the higher speed hits like the little rock garden on "Afterburner" felt way more controlled. We were pressed for time and I do feel I need more time to get the perfect settings as I feel I had too much rebound compression. Either that or the damper and increased travel just soaks up much more of the hits than what I'm used to. I may need to adjust my riding style a little bit because I'm used to the fork reacting much more pronounced and normally compensate for this by leaning slightly forward on the fork to put some weight on it (my way...again, not a professional tip probably) whereas with this damper the fork stayed fairly low over the same hits which made my balance feel to far forward.

 

With the shock and damper combo the increased traction in corners was impressive....it tracks so well. The dirt was also damp and grippy which played a part no doubt but I sure felt like a hero going down.

 

If I may brag a little bit here I do hold the KOM down Afterburner (believe me, I don't know how either...probably a technical bug, lol) and although I didn't get time for multiple runs to really give it a proper go I was a fair few seconds off my personal best. I'm not too surprised though since the low shock pressure did steal a lot of momentum and my flow was definitely not there yet as I'm still getting used to it all....oh wait, thinking of it now I also had to back down slightly for a runner, haha. On certain trails more travel and supple suspension to not necessarily translate to faster times though.

 

I'm really looking forward to see what the fine tuning will deliver as well as the Debonair shaft as I've been told that also makes a real difference to the fork's performance. For now it is smiles for miles and at a fraction of the price of a 2020 Pike this upgrade makes a lot of sense in my mind.

sexy bike

[Johnny Lawless]

The only unfortunate part about the 150mm shaft is that my sag guide on my stanchions are only for 130 and 140mm travel, lol. 

[Hairy]

There were previous discussions regarding water bottle solutions for the YT Jeffsy's other than the Cashmaster bottle and cage ...sorry, I mean Thirstmaster.

 

A while ago a friend gave me a old Left hand entry Cannondale water bottle cage. I tried to fit it in the YT, but there was still not enough clearance between the top of the water bottle and the underside of the shock.

 

Over the weekend I thought I would give it another shot, and drilled a new upper hole in the cage in order to allow it to drop further down into the frame (Lower fixture is slotted). This gave me the clearance I needed, so much so that I could also go and fit a pump bracket too.

 

Now the bracket and the bottle cage are both on the beefy side of things. If I were to use a more slim combo the clearance would be even better. As it currently stands I have a few (Emphasis on few) millimetres clearance when in the static position, once sagged there is a generous gap.

 

So this is just a heads up.

 

 

[NickGM]

There were previous discussions regarding water bottle solutions for the YT Jeffsy's other than the Cashmaster bottle and cage ...sorry, I mean Thirstmaster.

 

A while ago a friend gave me a old Left hand entry Cannondale water bottle cage. I tried to fit it in the YT, but there was still not enough clearance between the top of the water bottle and the underside of the shock.

 

Over the weekend I thought I would give it another shot, and drilled a new upper hole in the cage in order to allow it to drop further down into the frame (Lower fixture is slotted). This gave me the clearance I needed, so much so that I could also go and fit a pump bracket too.

 

Now the bracket and the bottle cage are both on the beefy side of things. If I were to use a more slim combo the clearance would be even better. As it currently stands I have a few (Emphasis on few) millimetres clearance when in the static position, once sagged there is a generous gap.

 

So this is just a heads up.

I have the exact same thing on my YT. Which i should probably post here some time just to contribute. I've currently got 130mm travel up front and was wondering what the feedback was like from guys who have a bit more. So thanks for the "race report" Pyka.

[Johnny Lawless]

There were previous discussions regarding water bottle solutions for the YT Jeffsy's other than the Cashmaster bottle and cage ...sorry, I mean Thirstmaster.

 

A while ago a friend gave me a old Left hand entry Cannondale water bottle cage. I tried to fit it in the YT, but there was still not enough clearance between the top of the water bottle and the underside of the shock.

 

Over the weekend I thought I would give it another shot, and drilled a new upper hole in the cage in order to allow it to drop further down into the frame (Lower fixture is slotted). This gave me the clearance I needed, so much so that I could also go and fit a pump bracket too.

 

Now the bracket and the bottle cage are both on the beefy side of things. If I were to use a more slim combo the clearance would be even better. As it currently stands I have a few (Emphasis on few) millimetres clearance when in the static position, once sagged there is a generous gap.

 

So this is just a heads up.

 

I nearly got a blooming heart attack when I read that you "drilled a hole", hahaha...

[Hairy]

I have the exact same thing on my YT. Which i should probably post here some time just to contribute. I've currently got 130mm travel up front and was wondering what the feedback was like from guys who have a bit more. So thanks for the "race report" Pyka.

Hi Nick, how did you end up with a 130mm travel fork .. thought they all came 140mm except for the top of the range racing ones at 150mm travel?

[NickGM]

Hi Nick, how did you end up with a 130mm travel fork .. thought they all came 140mm except for the top of the range racing ones at 150mm travel?

 

My mistake, typo (or a braino): I've got a Pike RC 140mm. 

[Jewbacca]

My advice is to leave it 140/140.. I swapped out air springs to run 160 and 150 and imho  it feels junk.

 

Went back to 140 and everything felt like I was coming home.

 

Moar is not better in this case

Edited June 8, 2020 by Jewbacca

[Johnny Lawless]

My advice is to leave it 140/140.. I swapped out air springs to run 160 and 150 and imho it feels junk.

 

Went back to 140 and everything felt like I was coming home.

 

Moar is not better in this case

Interesting statement, considering YT both recommended a 150mm fork for more aggressive riders and chose to spec the newest models with this. Maybe if you also upgraded your shock to something more capable to balance out the fork it would have felt better. 160 would be too much for this frame I agree but 150 is within YT’s recommended travel range.

 

I don’t think you can make a blanket statement that anything other than 140/140 “feels junk”. Would be beneficial to this discussion if you would elaborate on what exactly felt so horrible as I doubt 10mm could take your bike from great to “junk”, lol.

 

But it all depends on rider preference I suppose. These upgrades feel unbelievable in my opinion and that’s not me just trying to justify my purchase, I could very easily swap it back to a 140 but there’s no way that’s going to happen.

 

I spent a lot of time finding a shock with the correct tune for the fork and maybe the new charger damper feels a lot better than when you just switched out the air shaft?

 

Due diligence rarely ends in disappointment in my experience

Edited June 8, 2020 by Pyka

[Jewbacca]

Interesting statement, considering the top of the range race model came with a 150 from YT. Maybe if you also upgraded your shock to something more capable to balance out the fork it would have felt better. 160 would be too much for this frame I agree but 150 is within YT’s recommended travel range.

 

I don’t think you can make a blanket statement that anything other than 140/140 “feels junk”. Would be beneficial to this discussion if you would elaborate on what exactly felt so horrible as I doubt 10mm could take your bike from great to “junk”, lol.

 

But it all depends on rider preference I suppose. These upgrades feel unbelievable in my opinion and that’s not me just trying to justify my purchase, I could very easily swap it back to a 140 but there’s no way that’s going to happen.

 

I spent a lot of time finding a shock with the correct tune for the fork and maybe the new charger damper feels a lot better than when you just switched out the air shaft?

 

Due diligence rarely ends in disappointment in my experience

Well, that is why I said IMHO. Hardly a blanket statement if I'm saying 'in my opinion'.... I am by no means very scientific and it definitely comes down to how you like to ride. The moar fork (with charger) might suit you better than it did me.

 

I had a monarch plus rc3 debonair in MM tune (I played with the tune a lot) running the rear. I felt that gave me the best feel between amazing grip, some fun pop and a good climbing platform. That part of the bike ripped.

 

I played with the front end quite a bit to see where I could find a sweet spot. I had the RCT3 Debonair Pike. I based my 'feel' on a few decent days out at Jonkers, how it felt on the Canaries, Iron monkey and Plumber and what it did at speed and climbing. 

 

160 was junk. It felt unbalanced, so I snuck the 150 in. Played with some volume spacers etc and while it obviously fely better that at 160, no matter what I did I still felt like the bike was 'off'. I fiddled for a while.

 

O dropped to 140, slotted 1.5 volume spacers in and BOOM! Suddenly it just 'felt' right out the car. More balanced on the climbs, better balance in the pre-load, better grip.. It even felt more committed in the steeps. Dunno, maybe a ramp control jobby would have made the 150 better, but it just wasn't working for me.

 

For me, what makes Jeffsy so rad is that it does everything 'well' and feels really fun. Adding more fork took that feeling away

Edited June 8, 2020 by Jewbacca

[Johnny Lawless]

Well, that is why I said IMHO. Hardly a blanket statement if I'm saying 'in my opinion'....

 

I had a monarch plus rc3 debonair in MM tune (I played with the tune a lot) running the rear. I felt that gave me the best feel between amazing grip, some fun pop and a good climbing platform. That part of the bike ripped.

 

I played with the front end quite a bit to see where I could find a sweet spot. I had the RCT3 Debonair Pike. I based my 'feel' on a few decent days out at Jonkers, how it felt on the Canaries, Iron monkey and Plumber and what it did at speed and climbing.

 

160 was junk. It felt unbalanced, so I snuck the 150 in. Played with some volume spacers etc and while it obviously fely better that at 160, no matter what I did I still felt like the bike was 'off'. I fiddled for a while.

 

O dropped to 140, slotted 1.5 volume spacers in and BOOM! Suddenly it just 'felt' right out the car. More balanced on the climbs, better balance in the pre-load, better grip.. It even felt more committed in the steeps. Dunno, maybe a ramp control jobby would have made the 150 better, but it just wasn't working for me.

 

For me, what makes Jeffsy so rad is that it does everything 'well' and feels really fun. Adding more fork took that feeling away

See now this is much more usable feedback...even though you are completely wrong, lol.

[Jewbacca]

See now this is much more usable feedback...even though you are completely wrong, lol.

How can an opinion be wrong?

[BaGearA]

There were previous discussions regarding water bottle solutions for the YT Jeffsy's other than the Cashmaster bottle and cage ...sorry, I mean Thirstmaster.

 

A while ago a friend gave me a old Left hand entry Cannondale water bottle cage. I tried to fit it in the YT, but there was still not enough clearance between the top of the water bottle and the underside of the shock.

 

Over the weekend I thought I would give it another shot, and drilled a new upper hole in the cage in order to allow it to drop further down into the frame (Lower fixture is slotted). This gave me the clearance I needed, so much so that I could also go and fit a pump bracket too.

 

Now the bracket and the bottle cage are both on the beefy side of things. If I were to use a more slim combo the clearance would be even better. As it currently stands I have a few (Emphasis on few) millimetres clearance when in the static position, once sagged there is a generous gap.

 

So this is just a heads up.

please cut that cable tie off your shock body , the hairs in my ear are cringing 

[Johnny Lawless]

How can an opinion be wrong?

Would italics have helped? Relax bud, it was rather obviously meant as a joke

[Jewbacca]

Would italics have helped? Relax bud, it was rather obviously meant as a joke

Sorry... With the last few weeks under my belt I'm probably a bit quick to assume the worst! hahaha

 

You are 100% right about the rear end though... Once you get that right the bike goes from Prince Adam to He-Man...

[RiverInTheRoad]

My 2c:

 

I had a 2016 Specialized Camber (120mm/120mm 29er). I bought a 140mm Fox 34, amazing fork, ruined the bikes handling, LOL. I couldn't get the fork to work with the rear shock - keep in mind I am a noob. Got a 120mm air-spring for the Fox 34 and then it was absolutely amazing.

 

Less is more sometimes. 

 

PS: I had a Jeffys and think 150mm would work fine, I think 140mm would be better though as my Jeffsy felt like it collapsed into the rear travel when climbing. My bike was slightly too small for me though.