2020 YT IZZO Pro Race Bike

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When we swung our legs over the new YT IZZO for our First Ride feature a couple of months ago, we were blown away by how well the bike pedaled and carried speed over flat terrain. But what if our tired old legs were just playing a trick on us, so used to dragging our big enduro bikes up a hill that we had simply lost our reference points? To put our first impressions to the test, we called in some reinforcements to help us evaluate the IZZO against some seriously fast competition. Check out the video review below to see how this new trail bike performed when we took it to Cross Country school, as well as how it did later on when faced with some more technical challenges.

So there you have it, turns out that our first impressions were well-founded – this is indeed a very fast bike that pedals extremely well. But what about when things get more technical? We’ve been riding the IZZO for about 2.5 months now, and we’ve had the opportunity to take it out on most of our habitual enduro-type trails during that time. Now of course, you can’t expect the same level of comfort and forgiveness from a 130-mm trail bike as you would from a full-blown enduro rig, but the angles of the IZZO provide plenty of confidence on more demanding trails as well. The bike is light but never flimsy, and the frame is reassuringly stiff in all the right places. We did eventually swap out the stock cockpit for something a little bit wider and with more rise, and the Maxxis Forecaster was replaced by a 2.30 Minion DHF, which really put the bike in the sweetspot for more demanding trails. A simple enough upgrade to carry out if it makes sense for your riding style and terrain. All the other parts have performed flawlessly for the duration of this test, and the bike still feels as solid and as crisp as it did when it was new. YT says the frame has been tested internally to the same standards as all their other bikes, which bodes well for long-term durability as well.

In case you missed it, take another look at our First Ride feature to learn more about the bike itself:

In conclusion, YT really seems to have hit the nail on the head with the new IZZO. Instead of trying to make another mini-enduro, they’ve really given the IZZO all the pedaling power of a pure trail bike, but with enough gravity DNA left in it to allow for some serious fun as well. Being underbiked is probably more fun than being overbiked most of the time, and if this sounds like the category of bike that might suit your riding style and your trails, we’d certainly look long and hard at the IZZO.

More information at: www.yt-industries.com.

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 47 // Years Riding MTB: 15 // Weight: 190-pounds (87-kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Video by Tal Rozow and Johan Hjord