YT Industries has shocked (pun intended) the mountain bike world by releasing a gravel bike, the Szepter.
After 14 years of producing bikes that our friends at mbr regard as “modern MTB classics” (opens in new tab), the German brand has joined off-road counterparts Nukeproof (opens in new tab), Santa Cruz (opens in new tab) and Orange (opens in new tab)in toning down the travel and clamping on curly bars.
YT explains its decision to enter the gravel market thus: “Young Talent. These two words are what YT stands for, but it’s about far more than age it signifies that it’s never too late to try something new, explore new ground, and discover your own Young Talent.”
(Image credit: YT Industries)
YT says that with the Szepter, the brand “makes fresh tracks into new territory, bringing an intoxicating blend of confidence, efficiency, and raw capability to a new gravel platform.”
OK, obviously the gravel market is a fast-growing sector worldwide and so MTB brands are naturally going to follow the money, but in some countries ‘gravel’ is more like jagged rocks and slippery singletrack (UK, we’re looking at you) – all of which means mountain bike companies like YT could be in the best position to make the best gravel bikes (opens in new tab) for terrains outside the American Midwest.
So, let’s have a look at what the Szepter offers.
YT Szepter: frame and geometry
“Gravel by category, gravity by nature,” is how YT sums up the Szepter, prefacing its description of the frame with: “Every YT platform conceived is governed by the purest thrill of freewheeling downhill.”
(Image credit: YT Industries)
The Szepter’s carbon frame has a 69.3° head angle that backs this up – slack by most gravel bikes’ standards. There’s a dropped seatstay rear triangle that YT says is “clean and reactive” – with no form of suspension unlike the new Specialized Diverge (opens in new tab) for example – while a steep 74.3° seat angle across the size range supplies a more MTB-like upright position – which YT says helps with ascents.
The 30.9mm seat tube uses a shimmed 27.2mm seatpost. A maximum insertion depth of 275mm on the larger frame sizes ensures compatibility with up to a 150mm dropper post.
(Image credit: YT Industries)
The curved seat tube transitions into a really neat integrated fender/mudguard, and the RockShox Rudy XPLR receives a YT designed fender upfront too. Thirsty reading this?
The frame has two mounts under the top tube plus water bottle…