Yeti Cycles

SB5 Carbon XTR Complete Mountain Bike - 2015

You've read the reviews, seen the promotional videos, and basked in the glowing hype surrounding the Yeti SB5 Carbon XTR Complete Mountain Bike. Now's your chance to find out firsthand what adjectives like perfect, revolutionary, and superlative mean in terms of how a bike feels on the trail. Since this SB5 is built-up with Shimano's flawless XTR group and ENVE's M60 Forty rims and DT Swiss 240 hubs, the only limits are yours. So get to overcoming.

The frame revolves around Yeti's Switch Infinity slider, which is similar to its predecessor, Switch Link, in that it travels upward while the SB5 settles into its sag point. As the rear end compresses deeper, the direction changes, and the slider travels down toward the bottom bracket shell. Deep in the stroke, it works in conjunction with the upper pivot to produce a vertical wheel path that effortlessly flattens big, square-edged impacts. Think of it as everything that has earned the Switch Link such high praise, except that it rides smoother and is easier to maintain than the previous eccentric pivot.

Undoubtedly, there will be those who balk at the idea of having a seemingly complicated pivot, but in reality, it’s lighter and more user-friendly than the Switch Link pivot that it replaces. The lightness can be attributed to the Kashima-coated mini-stanchions and feathery forged shuttle, which were co-developed with FOX Racing Shox. Ease of use comes courtesy of the easily-accessible grease ports, which do away with the need for time-consuming rebuilds. Not that you'll need to worry about rebuilds, as FOX has successfully tested production units to well over a million compression cycles while completely submerged in mud.

But the SB5 is a bike, not just a little doodad, and if Switch Infinity is its heart then Yeti’s proven carbon fiber chassis is its skeleton. Frame weights are right around five pounds with shock, depending on size, which puts it on the lighter end of the trail bike spectrum without sacrificing strength or stiffness. The frame climbs like it's motorized, and with a long, low geometry, a tapered head tube, and a rear thru-axle, it sticks to its line over trail furniture like a cat on carpet.

Shimano's XTR one-by build kit might continue our bike-as-body metaphor by representing the central nervous system. It's the smoothest shifting mountain groupset this side of Di2, which is only fitting considering the smooth ride of the frame and suspension. Shimano's XTR brakes with Ice Tech rotors also lead their industry category. Since it helped develop the Switch Infinity link, it's no surprise that FOX supplies the suspension components: a FLOAT CTD rear shock, and a 34 FLOAT fork — both Kashima'd-out for virtually frictionless operation.