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Izzo Blaze 29

The YT Izzo Core 3 is reviewed by Benji in The Big Short bike grouptest in issue 142 of Singletrack World. See what he thought!

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The YT IZZO CORE 3 is a trail bike that commands your attention. Visually striking with clean lines, a considerate build spec and a geometry that can man-handle some pretty gruelling terrain, the IZZO CORE 3 is impressive, to say the least. Held back by a less than ideal tyre choice and a lacklustre own-brand dropper post, it's difficult to fault this well-executed and playful trail bike. Why are mountain bike cranks so long? The best cycling water bottles that money can buy. Endura launch its first MTB shoe range for 2022.

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YT launched its short travel Izzo 18 months ago, and in its original form it was a short travel bike with 130mm travel that bridged the gap between trail and XC. Shortly after, YT over-forked the front end with a 140mm travel Pike and called it the Izzo Blaze. And to complete the Izzo family YT has now gone the other way; lightweight bits and 120mm of travel mean the Uncaged 7 is aimed squarely at those who prefer their pain and pleasure in equal measures. If you want to  read more about the best XC and down-country bikes, check out our buyer’s guide. Need to know 120mm travel version of YT’s short-travel trail/down-country bike Lock out the front and rear suspension with a twist of the wrist Wireless SRAM AXS drivetrain and Reverb dropper post Components chosen for weight saving without sacrificing capability Limited to 300 bikes worldwide Frame Unchanged from the original model, the Izzo frame cuts quite a dash with its sharp creases, slender tube profiles and continuous lines hewn from YT’s top end Ultra Modulus carbon. It’s undoubtedly a good looking bike, and nothing on the Uncaged 7 changes that. That bright Laser Yellow paint might prove divisive, but in a sea of blacks and greys, personally I love it. The Izzo’s layout represents the epitome of classic suspension bike designs given a modern twist. As pioneered by Scott, the shock sits upside down, which allows the upper rocker link to be kept narrow and away from knees and gives direct access to the damping controls for the remote lockout while keeping the cable mostly hidden. There’s a big and boxy junction between the down tube, bottom bracket and seat tube that doubles as the lower shock mount, but YT has included a small drain hole to ensure the area doesn’t turn into a bird bath. At the back there’s a pivot on the chainstay, which bucks the trend among short travel bikes to run flexstays and probably adds 100g or so to the frame weight. Geometry and sizing Offered in five frame sizes, the Izzo is relatively contemporary in terms of sizing but does suffer slightly from overlong seat tubes on the larger options. Reach spans from 432mm on the Small to 517mm on the XXL, which is slightly longer than the regular Izzo simply because the head angle is a touch steeper and the front end lower due to the fork having 10mm less travel. My size large test bike had a 475mm reach, a few mm shorter than our benchmark down-country bike, the Transition Spur. To help keep the balance and handling consistent across the size range there are two different chainstay lengths – 432mm on the smaller frames and 437mm on the XL and XXL. And for making subtle changes to the handling, a flip chip at the rocker link gives 0.4º of head angle adjustment (65.5º/65.9º) and alters the BB height by 5mm. Components Uncaged in YT parlance refers to models …Continue reading »

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The YT Izzo Core 4 doesn't fit the typical trail bike mold. This 27.5 lb carbon 29er has 130mm of travel front and rear along with a moderate modern...

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Experts Only! The IZZO-BLAZE checks out of YT's "Downhill clinic" with an extra centimetre of travel, grippier tires and a more robust spec. But not everyone will benefit from the additional reserves on the trail. Here’s why.

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