YT CAPRA SHRED 27.5

With YT saying that “bike parks are the perfect playground” for the Capra Shred, it may look like an outlier in this enduro test, but its burly build and 180mm of travel make it an absolute beast when pointed down any kind of hill. The bike comes with either 650b or 29in wheels (ours uses the former) and is built around the alloy Capra frame, but uses a coilrather than air-sprung shock.

Geometry errs on the side of agility over stability, with a 435mm reach and 430mm chainstays on the medium. We measured the head angle to be 64 degrees, a full degree slacker than the brand state on their website. At just over 340mm off the floor, the BB is lower than YT claim in their charts, too, and makes for a real corner-ripper of a bike. The 74-degree seat tube angle isn’t the steepest, making it a reasonable rather than rapid climber.

While the Fox 38 fork may not come with the latest all-singing, all-dancing

GRIP2 damper, we were impressed by its cheaper GRIP cartridge, especially when housed in this sturdy 38mm chassis. Adjustment is a bit limited but it’s a smooth, well-controlled fork. That said, our tester, who weighs 68kg with kit on, had to run the rebound damping fully open in order to get the fork to return quickly enough, and ended up removing the internal volume spacer, too. He also dropped to a 300lb spring at the rear.

The Capra Shred has our favourite Maxxis Assegai/Minion DHR II tyre combo. We appreciated the widerange 10-52t SRAM GX cassette, too, particularly when winching up steep climbs. Here, we also toggled the shock’s low-speed compression lever, to keep the rear end propped up and the riding position more efficient.

Despite the supple, traction-rich initial stroke of the fork and shock, there’s bags of support through the mid stroke. Combined with the shorter wheelbase and smaller wheels, this gives the Capra Shred a lively, agile ride, but it also feels surefooted and maintains momentum well. After fiddling around with volume spacers and spring rates, we got it feeling incredibly well-balanced, predictable and composed through burlier terrain. And man, does this bike carve a turn! Commit, lay off the brakes and you can feel the tyres’ shoulder treads clawing away for every ounce of grip before you unweight, shift your weight and slingshot into the next corner.

Sure, it could be a touch roomier and the seat tube angle a degree or so steeper, but it’s a hooligan of a bike. If you’re looking for a solid mini-downhill machine, it’s well worth considering.