Yeti Cycles

SB140 Carbon C2 GX/X01 Eagle Mountain Bike

Wagon wheels may have their place, but if your cup of tea is best served with a spot of sugar, a couple of tail whips, and a few rollers to pop off of, chances are a 29er just won't float your boat. When nimble riding and a playful feel is what we're after, we gravitate towards lively rides with 27.5-inch hoops, like Yeti's new SB140 Carbon C2 GX/X01 Eagle Mountain Bike. Launch after launch of new 29ers had us a little worried that Yeti had laid this perfect in-between wheel size out to rest, so we can't emphasize enough how pumped we are to be able to saddle up on this lively ride. It's built to dominate trails with punchy climbs that earn lofty descents over undulating rollers, rock gardens, and steep banked berms laced with rocks. It features deep enough travel to get boosty on wild terrain, and playful geometry that's eager to turn any rock or root into a feature. Rollers become doubles to tail whip over, pebbles become launching boards, and berms feel more blast-able than ever before. Pair that up with a steep seat tube for soaring up climbs, slack head tube to handle steep descents with speed, partnered up with 140mm of Switch Infinity suspension, and you're ready to transcend categories, racing ribbons of buff XC trails, or bombing rowdy enduro courses alike, and everything in between.

While its often that we see a new bike launch to replace an older model, the SB140 goes all-new. It brings totally unique geometry up to bat, with a steep and peppy 77-degree seat tube angle that's ideal for soaring up climbs, and hammering on pedals when you hit a buff section of flat, but this doesn't come at the cost of a compromised descent. Yeti crafts the front-end of the SB140 with a 65-degree head tube angle that pairs up neatly with a short-offset 160mm fork to soak up deep rock gardens, drops to flat, and terrain that might have you questioning your line choice. While the 27.5 wheels and peppy 140mm rear travel might have you thinking that this bike is all play, the long wheelbase and low bottom bracket height will tell you otherwise. It stays composed under pressure, and handles descents with confidence when other shorter bikes might waiver, without compromising its ability to come alive when you ask it to.

A Yeti wouldn't be Yeti without the brand's signature Switch Infinity suspension platform. Switch Infinity keeps things plus through the 5.5-inches of rear travel, devouring harsh landings, brake bumps, and square-edge hits alike with smoothness and relaxed composure, while remaining supportive when you're hammering on the pedals and pumping rollers to gain speed. The key to its performance is the translating main pivot, aka the Switch Infinity link, which switches direction as the bike moves through its travel, providing excellent anti-squat characteristics for superior pedaling performance, and ideal suspension characteristics as it gets deeper into the travel.

Yeti decks this model out with its standard carbon fiber, which is nothing to balk at. It weighs in a few grams heavier than its Turq counterpart, but retains the same level of stiffness and strength for reliability that doesn't put such a large dent in the bank account. The build is equipped with a blend of SRAM X01 Eagle and GX Eagle components that finds a balance between precision shifting and economy, keeping the build optimized for performance with a snappy X01 derailleur, and a lofty 12-speed GX Eagle cassette. It's finished off with a plush FOX Performance suspension kit to eat up square-edge bumps and rowdy rock gardens, while the Kashima-coated stanchions in the Switch Infinity linkage keeps the bike moving with buttery-smooth precision.