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Yeti Cycles
SB5.5 Carbon X01 Complete Mountain Bike - 2016

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Payload.

Though almost every other model in Yeti Cycles' Super Bike line falls into a very specific use category, our (admittedly limited) time aboard the brand new SB5.5 Carbon X01 Complete Mountain Bike has left us stumped. If you judge based on travel alone, surely the SB5.5 is an aggressive trail and enduro sled. But the short stays and 29in wheels tell a different story, one that features big watts on long climbs. And then there's the surprisingly compact wheelbase, which lends the SB5.5 a decidedly non-29er ability to dice techy terrain. All told, the SB5.5 is an efficient cruise missile whose 140mm of rear travel drop in like a 140 kiloton enduro bomb that's been field tested by the likes of Yeti's all-mountain bully, Mr. Rude himself.


We've already seen Yeti impose its Super Bike philosophy on the wagon wheel category with the SB4.5, but the SB5.5's additional inch of rear travel rewards the more adventurous rider with a machine that flattens big hits with the same aggression that it cleans long climbs. By "more adventurous," we don't mean plodding bikepacking trips with 70lb of gear lashed about your person and frame. We mean aggressive. Not afraid to take the steppier line. Testing bikes on terrain they may or may not be able to handle. Instead of "more adventurous," some might write "reckless." Whatever. We'll leave those people with their overly restrictive, discipline-specific cycling while we take the SB5.5 across all the ups, downs, ins, and outs of true all-mountain riding.


Yeti's Switch Infinity suspension is the lynchpin of the SB5.5's seemingly limitless capabilities. Its linear travel hits the sweet spot of anti-squat to keep pedaling sharp across rocky climbs, and it also erases the momentary harshness that its predecessor, the Switch Link design, would display when pushed to the absolute limit. Go ahead and ride the shock open; it'll still claw up anything without sacrificing on big hits and deep rollovers.


Like the rest of Yeti's Super Bikes, the SB5.5 rolls out with the Switch Infinity suspension design. The key difference between Switch Infinity and the Switch Link design it replaced is that the older model exhibits a momentary harshness when rapidly successive hits kept it hovering above the 30% stroke point. To address this, Switch Infinity replaces the Link's sinuous travel arc with a linear plane of motion, so the eccentric link changes direction without getting caught in the minute dead spot that produces that harshness. Of course, 95% of all riders won't ever push the Switch Link hard enough to experience this dead spot, but Yeti (being Yeti) went ahead and fixed it anyway.


Other than those two changes, veteran tribesmen will be relieved to learn that the suspension systems are fairly similar. Like the Switch Link, the Switch Infinity slider travels upward under the first phase of compression, when the SB5.5 is settling into its sag point. As the rear end compresses deeper, the direction changes, and the DH-inspired slider travels down toward the bottom bracket shell to maintain a steady pedaling platform. This change of direction is smoother, without the above-mentioned dead space, but the effect is the same. Deep in the stroke, it works in conjunction with the upper pivot to produce a vertical wheel path that flattens big hits. You'll be tempting faster, straighter lines across the chunky stuff, because the SB5.5 is just about the perfect trail buddy, effectively tidying up sloppy, questionable lines and sweeping rider errors under the rug.


The frame itself is actually built to Yeti’s Gravity spec, so it can handle everything from shuttle loops to lapping big lines in the bike park. Like the overly ambitious kid in the buffet line, we've got big eyes and even bigger appetites, but the lines we size up are often bigger than our bellies can handle. Fortunately, SB5.5's got an uncanny knack for smashing through questionable decisions. This starts with the FOX 36 Factory fork, which feels more like the 34 Factory on Yeti's SB4.5 while you're navigating rocky climbs or lifting it over step-ups. But the bigger model's 160mm of ass-saving travel are more than welcome here, since the SB5.5's geometry and Switch Infinity suspension encourage you to stay off the brakes and hold on. It does mean the bars sit a bit higher than the SB4.5, but the SB5.5 is capable of doing things that would make its little brother soil his hand-me-down overalls.


Despite its DH pedigree, the SB5.5 is remarkably similar to the SB4.5 on fast singletrack and climbs. When it comes to the fluid world of off-road bikes, the "best in class" label should only be applied with a delicate touch and a healthy dose of caveats, and that lofty qualifier should definitely never be applied while still basking in the smells-like-recess afterglow of your first experience on the machine in question. But we can't help it. The SB5.5 exhibits what may well be best-in-class pedaling, feeling more like the SB4.5. In addition to the high-modulus carbon lay-up and Switch Infinity suspension, we suspect that the Boost axle standard plays a role here. For starters, Boost is just stiffer. Wider bracing angles for the stays and the spokes make for less wag and more efficiency. That's bike physics 101. The wider spacing of Boost also let Yeti's engineers slam the rear wheel up, so the SB5.5 enjoys the same efficient, agile chainstay length as the 4.5.


The build kit leads with SRAM's X01 group, which has quickly become a staple for the one-by enthusiasts around the Competitive office. If you've ridden it, you know why; if you haven't, well, buckle up. The X01 is supplemented with a Reverb dropper post, a Race Face Turbine crankset, and the reassuring familiarity of DT Swiss wheels. Finally, we've written a bit about the burgeoning trend of not-quite-plus tires, but it bears repeating as often as possible: we think the 2.3 and 2.5in tires on this build signpost the future of off-road rubber, and the SB5.5 provides plenty of clearance for them. They're big enough to reap traction and cushion benefits nearly on par with 3in tires, but they're not so huge that that cushion turns sloppy, so they preserve the SB5.5's surprising nimbleness at lower speeds or during emergency maneuvers while descending.


Frame Material
high-modulus carbon fiber
Suspension
Switch Infinity
Rear Shock
FOX Float X Factory DPS
Rear Travel
140 mm
Fork
FOX 36 Factory
Front Travel
160 mm
Headset
44 / 56 mm Chris King
Shifters
SRAM X01 (right only)
Front Derailleur
n/a
Rear Derailleur
SRAM X01
ISCG Tabs
no
Crankset
30 t Race Face Turbine
Bottom Bracket
Race Face BB92
Cassette
11 - 42 t SRAM 1180
Chain
SRAM 1130
Brakeset
SRAM Guide RSC
Brake Type
hydraulic disc
Rotors
180 / 180 mm SRAM Centerline
Handlebar
Easton Havoc 35
Handlebar Width
800 mm
Grips
Yeti lock-on
Stem
Easton Havoc 35
Stem Length
50 mm
Saddle
Yeti WTB custom
Seatpost
RockShox Reverb
Seatpost Diameter
30.9 mm
Wheelset
[rims] DT Swiss XM481
Hubs
DT Swiss 350
Front Axle
15 x 110mm Boost
Rear Axle
12 x 148mm Boost
Tires
[front] Maxxis Minion DHF, [rear] Maxxis Aggressor
Tire Size
[front] 29 x 2.5 in, [rear] 29 x 2.3 in
Pedals
not included
Recommended Use
enduro, all-mountain
Manufacturer Warranty
5 years limited on frame

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