Chris Hilton, who was the mountain bike drivetrain product manager at SRAM, has joined YT Industries as their new Chief Technical Officer. Chris has been developing products since the mid-90s and will continue to do so at YT as he heads up the research and development side of the business.
Chris has been an innovating force in mountain biking and oversaw the introduction of XX1 1x systems, 12 speed Eagle and wireless AXS drivetrains in his ten years at SRAM.
| The business aspect is critical of course, but I love riding bikes and that’s my passion. This is clearly shared by YT and the people within the company. I look forward to developing products that more people want to be a part of and excite them to go ride their YT bike.—Chris Hilton |
Chris is taking over from Stefan Willared, who has been with YT since almost the beginning and was the engineer responsible for their curent line up of bikes. After 10 years in the CTO role, Stefan is becoming the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to "confront the challenges posed by developing a brand that operates on a global level".
| Our effort and success in the past years has led to us become a brand with a global following. My experience within the industry and knowing YT Industries inside out allows me to take on the new role as Chief Information Officer. I look forward to pursuing the goal of improving the customer experience as a whole and ensuring the further development and success of the brand.”—Stefan Willared |
The final change is the introduction of Elmar Keineke as Global Marketing Director.
-Steeper actual seat tube angle. Current actual angle is around 65 degrees. Not ideal for long legs.
-More supple rear end. Current kinematics are supposed to offer better pedaling efficiency for longer rides, but the trade off is that the back wheel can get hung up on rough decents. I'll trade having to flip a switch on the shock for better suspension all day long.
-Water bottle mount. I like water.
Ok thanks. Bye
E13 seatpost on the 2016 bike was a pig, underrated spring, sticky, seal head ate way too much mud. E13 sent a free uprated spring, then the UK distributor serviced the post for free. OK that's an admittance of issues, but the customer service was great.
E13 components on the 2019 bike defo "feel" a bit cheaper than SRAM, but 1 year into riding the newer bike, the 11spd dinner plate cassette and it still works well, hubs, seatpost all good, cranks etc fine, that's with some shitty UK weather and regular riding. The only E13 thing I didn't keep stock was the LG+1 tyres, they are perfect for gravity runs but draggy on the flat.
TL;DR I went for a cheaper (E13 based) build on the 2019 bike and I'm no less impressed.
I'm still the shitest component on the bike.
That said, next year I am expecting (hoping) for full Shimano 12 speed gearing and Fox suspension. Maybe a slight price increase in affected models. It would be worth it for a Capra Al 29 with XT 8100, Code brakes, the new fox coil shock and the 38. That's would be a fantastic build.
I got 2 YTs.
Number one reason = the progressive rear suspension.
Before I got my first full suspension bike I had test ridden a few brands.
Most of them at the time had almost linear rear suspension which felt like shit in park.
And lots of air pressure to not blow throught the travel on any little jump feels like a pogo stick.
Of course thats just my personal preference.
Today there are more options for me and maybe my next bike will be by a different brand.
A bike equipped with low volume air shock that is too easy to bottom when riding with 30% of SAG is a shit bike and company deserves to go under.
@OneTrustMan I have tried one, maybe too much progression was the case that I felt like it was not that plush... I did not like the feel of the TUES.
Since I started at YT I have had some great meetings with Shimano. AND with SRAM. I think having 2 big companies push each other to develop the best possible products has been really good for riders. 10 or so years ago, most of us were riding bikes with FDs, XC geo, few dropper posts, and pretty small wheels and tires. Bikes have come a long way because of a competitive market. Bring it on!
The US doesn't like YT because they can't forecast their supply chain worth shit. People who want a cheap bike and will put up with bad customer service will get a YT, but the US has a full blown love affair with Santa Cruz and Yeti. If you want a freeride brand, look to Commencal. They support DJ Shreda and Kyle Strait.
At the moment it looks like every second new MTB is an Ebike, sadly!
the frames (at least the carbon ones) are shocking, and the component specs are very often blingy name brands that tend to fall to pieces and cost a fortune to replace like all the e thirteen junk they put on them.
The bolts have torque heads that are far to small for the size of the bolt they are in, the way the ACB bearings in the swing link are assembled is a joke and most of the end up stripping the treads on the weird bolt together insert, the rear ends rarely line up and the quality of the carbon inside is verging on dangerous.
Canyon, propain radon etc are all very well made bikes but i have found YT quality to be total dogshit.
No problems here in relatively drier California - I recently did 2 of the frame bearings for the first time on a 2015 CF. Never stripped a bolt.
The only thing that is even remotely accurate is the e13 droppers were less than brilliant, and the recent TRS+ rims were a bit soft, but otherwise completely talking out your arse.
to be honest not seen a post 2017 capra locally, people have got wise to them and moved onto more sensibly built and spec-ed bikes.
everything e thirteen falls to pieces, the bb's last weeks, the rear hubs not much longer. you are right about the droppers though total shite.
wonder why they swapped from the tiny little torx heads? maybe because they were doing exactly what i said they do, i understand owners and employees are going to defend their bike, but as a neutral bike mechanic i would urge anyone to avoid them, go canyon, propain or radon if you really must go direct, they are far better put together bikes even though they haven't bought themselves the "bro image" that YT have.
Cheap for a reason.
I NEW PRODUCTS, but I'll settle with products that after some rides:
Don't fail
Don't creak
Don't cost an arm and leg
Don't become absolete after month
Don't require Expertise Hands to keep then moving
...
Don't.... uhm... Did I mention Don't fail?