YT Szepter Core 4 review

The YT Szepter is the first gravel bike from mountain bike specialist YT Industries. It is built around the Rockshox Rudy XPLR front suspension fork paired with a rigid carbon frame, creating a bike that aims to be fit for performing on trails and without sacrificing too much on the road.

Full details on YT’s first drop bar bike can be found in the Szepter launch story. Cyclist has since spent a few weeks thoroughly testing the bike in its top-tier Core 4 guise on familiar terrain. Despite some comparatively radical design features, in the Szepter YT has produced an original bike really does balance its significant off-road capability with consummate behaviour on the road.

For gravel riders that enjoy more technical terrain off-road and don’t mind sacrificing a little speed on tarmac compared to the raciest gravel bikes, the YT Szepter is an excellent choice.

YT Szepter Core 4 frameset

We’re all on the spectrum. When it comes to gravel riding, some of us are nearer the end of the spectrum marked ‘Road’, while others prefer to operate closer to the end marked ‘Mountain Bike’. Me? I’m definitely at the road end. To my mind, a gravel ride should have the speed and feel of a road ride, only on rougher paths and without the threat of motor traffic.

The YT Szepter, on the other hand, exists right at the other end of the gravel spectrum, fizzing as it is with mountain bike DNA. By all accounts we shouldn’t get along at all, but then isn’t that the premise of all the best buddy movies?

YT isn’t a brand that will be familiar to most roadies. That’s because it’s a German mountain bike specialist, complete with rowdy lightning bolt logo, and the Szepter gravel bike is its first foray into unfamiliar territory. Just a glance at the Szepter gives away its mountain bike roots.

There’s the low-slung geometry, with a long wheelbase and dramatically sloped top tube. There’s the dropper post and suspension fork. There’s the chunky tyres and stubby, built-in mudguards. There’s the set of luggage mounts on the underside of the top tube – something not seen anywhere else, and seemingly waiting for a compatible frame bag that doesn’t yet exist.

YT Szepter Core 4 build and geometry

The groupset of this Core 4 model (the higher of the two available models) is Sram Force, with a 1× 38t crankset married to a super-wide-range 10-44t cassette. The tyres are 42mm, with clearance for 45mm rear and 50mm up front. The Szepter looks like it’s ready for action, and then there’s the geometry.

The wheelbase of this size XL bike is a very lengthy 1,115mm, while the head tube is an incredibly shallow 69.4°, leading to a trail figure of 78mm, which is pretty whopping by the standards of any drop bar bike. In terms of looks, geometry and build, the Szepter is like no other gravel bike out there.

Product development manager Frank Dörr says the idea was to bring the different tribes of road riders and mountain bikers together in a bike designed to ‘amplify confidence’ for both.

‘If you’re a mountain bike rider and you decide you’d like the simplicity of a gravel bike, you need to get used to things like drop bars and hoods, and you might not be used to the body position,’ he says. ‘If you’re coming from the road background, you might be used to the drop bars and position, but maybe you’re not confident riding off-road.’

Riding the YT Szepter Core 4

The Szepter aims to make the transition easier for both genres, with the emphasis on fun rather than epic journeys.

‘We decided not to put rivets all over the bike because we’re not offering an adventure bike,’ says Dörr. ‘It’s not the right tool if you want to pack it up and go fly fishing for a couple of days.’

Despite my initial reservations, I decided the only way to approach the Szepter was to embrace my inner mountain biker, so I headed to my local woods to shred some gnar.

The first thing I noticed on the roads getting there was that the bike didn’t behave how I expected it to. Those exaggerated geometry figures suggested it should plough relentlessly forward with all the nimbleness of a barge, and yet the handling felt surprisingly light. I can’t be certain, but I put it down to the slackness of the head tube amplifying wheel flop, which combined with a short 70mm stem makes for very reactive handling, especially at slow speeds.

Also, there’s the weight. At 10.5kg for a size XL, the Szepter is among the heaviest gravel bikes on the market, and yet it carries its bulk lightly. On the flats it buzzed along smoothly with little in the way of bob, thanks to a lock-out on the fork, and on climbs the solid bottom bracket and wide-range cassette meant it cruised upwards with very little fuss. It didn’t do any of these things fast, but that’s not the point of this bike.

Once I got to the woods the Szepter came alive, weaving adeptly around tight bends and barrelling over rocks and tree roots. Within an hour the gnar was suitably shredded, I was caked with filth (those mini-mudguards don’t do much) and grinning like a schoolboy.

YT Szepter Core 4 verdict

During my time aboard the Szepter it occurred to me that, while I fantasise about packing up a gravel bike and venturing into the wilderness, I’m actually far more likely to spend a few hours at the weekend smashing it around the woods. And this is exactly the bike to do it on.

As Dörr says, ‘It’s just about having fun and bringing people together.’

• Buy the YT Szepter Core 4 from yt.industries.com (£4,399/$4,499/€4,499)

YT Szepter Core 4 spec

• This article originally appeared in issue 139 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe