The Ride
I’m generally a fan of how the mid- to long-ish travel 29ers ride these days. There was a time not too long ago when bikes like this felt like unmanageable boats. They didn’t turn very well, and whatever the exact opposite of playful is would be the best way to describe them.
Tweaks to geometry, fork offsets, and improved wheels have changed that dynamic for the better, and Jeffsy is a great example of a longer-travel 29er that doesn’t feel particularly boatish, yet retains the stability you’d want out of a 29er.
On the trail, the Jeffsy pumps and pops well, as opposed to bikes that favor a point, shoot, and plow style of riding. And that’s noteworthy for a 29er like this, because any bike with big wheels and a decent amount of travel tends to do well at plowing.
Over some of the rocky chatter (which there is plenty of in Moab) I found myself wishing the Jeffsy was a little more forgiving. It didn’t have the suppleness of some other comparable bikes in this class, which sometimes meant traction in corners wasn’t all it could be. Fussing around with the suspension improved this a bit (and further efforts likely would have improved it more), but I didn’t find the Jeffsy to be a cushy steamroller of every little bump on the trail. Just so we’re all on the same page, though — the 29” wheels still do their thing, and it’s not like the suspension wasn’t working. “Cushiness” just isn’t the Jeffsy’s defining characteristic.
What the Jeffsy does well really became apparent when I stopped trying to ride it like a plow bike and started looking for things to pump and pop off of. It was then that the Jeffsy’s place in the universe pretty quickly became clear. The fastest way through a rock garden is in the air — that’s the logic that the Jeffsy ascribes to, and the bike is impressively good at getting a lot of air off of pretty much any little obstacle.
And that makes it pretty damn fun. Pump through a corner, pop off a rock or a root, and don’t worry too much about how clean the landing is, because the 29” wheels don’t really care.
While the Jeffsy isn’t the slackest, lowest, or longest bike in its class, it’s still plenty stable at speed. And not being the slackest, lowest, and longest means that it shows some better manners for situations when the trail isn’t pointed steeply downhill.
To be clear, the Jeffsy is still best suited for trails of the downward persuasion, but on flatter trails and yes, even climbs, the Jeffsy is fine. Not “Wow, this thing is an amazing climber!” but fine. There’s a bit more bob in the pedals than is ideal for long uphill grinds, but that also means the suspension is a bit more active, which can help on techier climbs.
One thing I did come away thinking is that I’d be curious to try the Jeffsy with a longer-travel fork. Plenty of trail bikes are spec’d with a fork that gets 10-20mm more travel than the frame, but the Jeffsy is set at 140 mm travel front and rear. I think bumping the fork up to 150 mm travel would be a worthwhile experiment — it would raise the front end up a bit, slacken the head tube out a bit, and I think it’d help the bike feel a little more planted on rough trails. It would, of course, detract a bit from the bike’s climbing abilities and maneuverability in tight spots, but I have a hunch the tradeoff would be worth it.
Bottom Line
The YT Jeffsy 29 is an entirely competent bike, and it brings a bit of playfulness to the table, which isn’t what you’d expect from a semi-long-travel 29er. Yes, it still has big wheels. No, it’s never going to whip through corners like a slalom bike. But it pops, pumps, and is entirely enjoyable on trails that aren’t just dead-straight chunder fields, which is the traditional home of the long-travel 29er.
But for all of the Jeffsy’s positive attributes, you also can’t ignore the fact that it’s just a damn good deal. If money was no object, the Jeffsy would be a good bike that isn’t groundbreakingly different from some of the competitors. But money is an object for many of us, and the more that factor matters to you, the more the Jeffsy 29 stands out.
climbing/descending vs the evil following?
Hey Brian,
I’d give the Following the edge on climbs, mostly by virtue of it having less travel. And I’d give the Jeffsy the nod on descents, again, largely because it has a bit more travel. But the Jeffsy was a decent climber, and the Following is a really good descender, so the difference isn’t huge.
-Noah
i had the same experience. jeffsy is a bit better climber. depends on what you prefer, though both do well either way.
Can you draw any comparison to the banshee prime?
Awesome read. Love the breakdown and photos. Outerbike sounds like a super cool way to test some bikes, can’t believe we hadn’t come across them yet. Looking forward to getting out to Moab and hitting some trails. Thanks for the inspiration!
The Jeffsy doesn’t climb very well with the stock 32 tooth chainring. A 30t or smaller helps this bike out significantly!
More antisquat, less pedal bob, less pedal kick-back, and higher bb when mashing! Also, because the rear-suspension curve is so progressive by itself, removing bottomless bands or tokens from the rear shock helps with off the top sensitivity and suppleness. Switching the flip chip to high makes it stupid-efficient, but less stable for everything else. I’ve left mine in the low position with the the other changes I mentioned. More than stoked with my YT, after some tweaks.
The Jeffsy has longer chainstays than all of it’s contemporaries. I know that we’re not supposed to care about such passe things anymore but it seems like that should matter (at least a little) for this class of bike. Everyone keeps saying how “poppy and playful” the bike is so that probably means it doesn’t matter in this case? Does the front wheel comes up easily or is it noticeably harder and “poppy and playful” applies when you have the assistance of a trail feature?
Hey Scott,
I’m not sure that’s accurate. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of bikes that are more or less comparable to the Jeffsy 29 that have the same length or longer chainstays than the small / medium size: Santa Cruz Hightower, Specialized Stumpjumper, Yeti SB 5.5, Transition Smuggler, Rocky Mtn. Instinct, Ibis Ripley LS, Intense Carbine, and Niner WFO. I’m sure there are others that aren’t springing to mind.
But yeah, the Jeffsy’s chainstays aren’t excessively long. I didn’t notice that it was any harder to get the front end up on the Jeffsy than any other 29er that I’d put into the “poppy and playful” category.
-Noah
watching trail peek rides his new jefsy and i wouls say this bikes has lots of pop
then again, dude can manual any bike all day
How would you compare it to the Django 29er? That’s my current ride and I just put a 150mm DVO up front and have been happy with the results so far.