Yeti Cycles

SB150 Turq Mountain Bike Frame

For technical trails when we're going as fast as possible over rocks, roots, and drops, the Yeti SB150 is the ideal steed. It's a race-bred machine whose sole purpose is to get you down the mountain as fast as possible, and has already proven itself a winner at the highest levels of enduro racing. Boasting 150mm of plush Switch Infinity rear travel (designed to pair with a 170mm fork), progressive race geometry, and unstoppable 29-inch wheels, the SB150 makes quick work of steep descents while maintaining good pedaling characteristics for long days in the saddle that involve plenty of elevation gain. It's much more capable on gravity-oriented trails than its shorter travel sibling the SB130, and does a better job carrying speed over roots and rock gardens than its longer travel sibling the SB165 thanks to the 29-inch wheels. So if going fast is your priority and you want a capable bike that won't hold you back, the SB150 is a worthy steed to throw a leg over any day of the year.

The unmistakable Yeti ride quality is attributed to their Switch Infinity suspension design. Honestly, Switch Infinity is one of the best designs we've ridden. It's plush throughout the 6-inches of rear travel, delivering a smooth ride quality that feels like you've got more travel than the numbers show, and it maintains impressive traction across chattery small bumps and larger square-edged hits alike. 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. For the SB150, Yeti made the leverage ratio more progressive to provide greater compatibility with modern shocks and various rider weights and styles. The refined leverage ratio also gives the bike better small-bump compliance, quicker ramp-up in the midstroke for a more playful and supportive feel, and better bottom-out control while still allowing full travel usage. The refined suspension kinematics are attributable in part to the patent-pending wishbone shock extender, which also maximizes standover height and allows Yeti to fit a water bottle inside the front triangle—all while maintaining compatibility with a coil shock should you want to throw one on the bike later on.

On paper, the long, low, and slack geometry with plenty of suspension travel make the SB150 look like a wicked descender, and that it is. By using a 44mm shorter offset fork, Yeti was able to seriously slacken the real head angle for better stability on descents and high speeds, all while maintaining excellent steering precision. The longer reach, steeper seat tube angle, and short chainstays help move the rider forward on the bike, keeping weight on the front wheel for better traction on steep chutes and chunky downhills. Paired with a metric Float X2 rear shock, this bike absolutely rips on the descents.

These geometry benefits are not one-sided though, as the steeper seat angle, short-offset fork, and forward riding position help keep power to the pedals and the steering quick and nimble when climbing. Frankly, we were quite surprised with how well this bike goes uphill, clamoring up the loosest, steepest, and most ledgy terrain we could find with relative ease, enough to convince us the SB150 is worthy of being a one-bike quiver.

This model uses Yeti's TURQ Series carbon fiber, consisting of the highest quality materials Yeti can get their hands on, delivering a fine balance of strength, low weight, stiffness, and compliance. High-modulus carbon fiber is meticulously hand laid using carefully researched and tested carbon layup structures to reinforce critical tube junctions and high-stress areas without adding excess weight or bulk. The result is a frame that is roughly 220g lighter than the standard C-Series carbon, with the same levels of strength and stiffness. The frame is tested for durability by Yeti's hard-charging team riders, and Yeti is confident enough in the frame to include a lifetime warranty to the original owner against defects in materials or workmanship, including the Switch Infinity link. The frame comes with molded guards to protect the downtube and chainstay, and incorporates full-length cable tunnels to simplify maintenance since the housing slides easily through the frame and pops out in the same place every time. Lastly, it's worth mentioning that there's enough clearance in the rear triangle for up to 2.5in tires.