First ride: YT slices deep into gravel with Szepter

Every brand needs a gravel bike these days, it seems, and gravity-driven German direct-to-consumer brand YT getting in on the game with its first-ever drop bar bike is further proof. But is there still room for something new? Something interesting? The Szepter, a mountain biker’s gravel bike, YT does manage to carve out an interesting space for itself.

The Szepter line is only two models right now, but its far from a half-way entry into skinny tires. YT jumps in with two well-designed and distinctive bikes. The Szepter is clearly trail focused without being unnecessarily extreme. We had a chance to test out YT’s new gravel bike for a few days during a sweltering California heat wave. Read on for details on the bike and our first impressions.

YT Szepter

What is a Szepter? It’s YT’s mix of scepter and its German spelling, Zepter. It’s also a good sign that YT isn’t stepping into gravel lightly. According to YT, it “symbolizes superiority and authority,” and “dethrones conformity to existing design and function, as does the rider that conquers both road and trail.” So, YT is confident. It’s also bringing what its learned from years on the gravity side of mountain biking to the design of its gravel bike. This is, unapologetically, a gravel bike that is designed for rides with a solid percentage of singletrack mixed in with paved and unpaved roads.

Geometry

You might expect YT’s first gravel bike, then, to be something extreme. Instead, YT mixes mountain influence with what’s already working well. There’s no extreme 66.6-degree head angles or mountain bike-width tires. But the Szepter is designed around a 40-mm RockShox Rudy Ultimate gravel fork. The higher-end Core 4 model also comes with a Reverb AXS dropper post with 50mm or 75mm travel, depending on size, with room to clear much longer-travel posts or even a 30.9 diameter post instead of the 27.2mm post the bike comes with.

Designing the Szepter around a fork allows YT to push the geometry on the Szepter without being extreme. Head angles range from 69.3-69.4-degrees, slacker than the low-70s usually seen on gravel bikes but reasonable, with longer reach and a short (for gravel) 50mm stem. Combined with shorter 425mm chainstays, this keeps the Szepter handling quickly on trails without being twitchy or nervous at speed. YT also steepens the seat angle to 74.3-74.4 (depending on size) to give the Szepter better power transfer on steep, loose gravel climbs.

All in, it’s…