Yeti Cycles

SB5.5 Turq X01 Eagle Complete Mountain Bike - 2017

Yeti's 2017 SB5.5 Turq X01 Eagle Complete Mountain Bike lands in the sweet spot between the burly SB6 and the sprightly SB5 as a capable trail bike that leans a little more heavily towards enduro-style gnar. If you've seen your trail riding style wander ever farther towards bigger hits and highly technical terrain, but don't quite want to take on the full weight of a pure enduro sled, the SB5.5 may be the ideal choice for your next adventure.

The Turq series represents the most advanced frame that Yeti can build at any given time. For the SB5.5 Turq, that means a more precise carbon lay-up of higher-grade material, molded to reinforce key stress points along the frame without adding bulk. This process results in strength where you need it, and lightness where you don’t. As with the SB5.5, the SB5.5 Turqside arrives with a 66.5-degree head tube angle that can’t wait to blast its way aggressively through steep rock gardens that leave little room for indecision. That long-and-low front end is governed by a short, snappy rear triangle with Boost rear spacing that refuses to let it get too relaxed, always snapping back on point to take on the next stretch of blistered desert singletrack or rooty, rarely-maintained trail.

Yeti’s Switch Infinity suspension's 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. Riding with the shock open won’t condemn you to bottomless squish when you have to transition quickly into a short climb on the other side of a long descent; the bike will still claw up anything without leaving you wide-eyed and white-knuckled when you fly down a deep rollover on the other side.

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.