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The US cult brand Yeti Bikes already has almost 40 years under its belt. It is not only the turquoise livery that is legendary, but also the close links with racing. Then as now: A Yeti is not (only) built to look good. No, a Yeti is there to win races. What riders like John Tomac or Juli Furtado once started, professionals like Richie Rude continue today in the Enduro World Series. But Rude's EWS titles were not the SB150's only successes - the Yeti SB150 also scored top marks in our BIKE tests. A race enduro bike at its best and confident in every situation - that's how we remember the candidate from Colorado. This raises the question: How much change is actually necessary to continue the success story with the Successor to continue writing? Not much.
The biggest update to the Yeti SB160 is the suspension travel
The fact that the Yeti Bikes engineers have increased the rear travel from 150 to 160 millimetres is clear from the model name. In addition, the steering angle is slightly slacker and now measures a full 64 degrees. The reach and seat angle have also been modernised somewhat, but remain far from extreme. The centrepiece of the new edition remains the patented Switch Infinity rear triangle. As a reminder: the main pivot point is clamped to two pistons, which move up and down a few millimetres when the suspension is compressed. Even if the frame construction looks like a conventional single-pivot at first glance, this system turns the Yeti SB160 into an enduro bike with a virtual pivot point. This changes its position as the suspension compresses, and the engineers can optimise the anti-squat and anti-rise values for individual suspension travel ranges.
Yeti SB160: Powerful and sporty
The practical test confirms that on paper, Yeti's high-end enduro bike only differs from its predecessor in the details. In terms of propulsion, our Yeti SB160 T1 test bike is still one of the most efficient enduro mountain bikes on the market. Thanks to Switch Infinity technology, the suspension firms up automatically in the first third of the suspension travel. Even when pedalling out of the saddle, the rear end remains pleasantly composed for a bike in this suspension travel class. As expected, the riding position is sporty. The long reach ensures a comfortable stretch. When climbing, the steep seat angle shifts a lot of weight over the front wheel. Together with the low front end (low stack, short head tube), this allows you to stay in control even on tricky climbs.
But that's not all. The advantages of the Yeti SB160 really come into their own downhill. Even though many enduro bikes now offer as much as 170 millimetres of rear travel, the SB160 offers first-class swallowing capacity. This is because the anti-squat value drops rapidly after the first third of the suspension travel. This means that the rear suspension works very actively and releases a generous amount of travel. Nevertheless, it is difficult to put into words what makes the suspension characteristics of the SB160 so special.
Our test crew came to the conclusion:
You get the feeling that the Yeti SB160 will never run out of suspension travel.
This is both a blessing and a curse: on the one hand, the Yeti bike is extremely stable even in rough high-speed sections - just as a race enduro bike should be - but on the other hand, you lose some agility as a result. Manuals or tricks on the trail therefore require an extra portion of physical effort. But never mind: The long race geometry is more conducive to high speeds than tricks anyway.
The Yeti SB160 has hardly any weaknesses. The developers have only added 200 grams to the frame weight compared to its predecessor. In addition, the choice of components for the SB150 was of a higher quality despite the lower price. Otherwise, the SB160 turns out to be a successful further development that still lives up to the reputation of the US cult brand even after almost 40 years - and the test result still fits.
Test summary of the Yeti SB160 T1
Compared to its predecessor, the SB150, the new Yeti SB160 has only been given a detailed fine-tuning. Fortunately, because the Yeti remains one of the most capable enduro bikes ever. - Peter Nilges, BIKE Test Manager
Technical data and notes Yeti SB160 T1
Manufacturer information
- Price: 10390 Euro >> available here
- Available from specialised dealers
- Frame material: Carbon
- Frame size: S / M /L (tested size, 44 cm) / XL / XXL
Measured values
- Weight without pedals: 15.56 kg
- Frame weight: 3145 g
- Weight of wheels: 5423 g
- Acceleration of running wheels: 4294 kg x cm²
- Handlebar width: 780 mm
- Frame rigidity (absolute): 52 N/mm
Equipment
- Wheels: DT Swiss EX 1700 Spline
- Tyres: Maxxis Assegai; 3C MaxxTerra Exo+ Protection TR 29 x 2.50; Maxxis Minion DHR II; 3C MaxxTerra Exo+ Protection TR 29 x 2.40
- Fork: Fox 38 Float Factory Grip2
- Shock: Fox Float X2 Factory
- Front/rear suspension travel: 170/159 mm
- Brakes: Sram Code RSC / 200/180 mm
- Gear system: Sram X01 Eagle 1 x 12
- Gear ratio / bandwidth: 30; 10-52 / 520 %
- Telescopic post / stroke / Ø: Fox Transfer Performance Elite / 170 mm / 31.6 mm
Valuation
- Driving behaviour uphill: 18 from 20
- Chassis efficiency: 17 out of 20
- Rolling resistance: 8.5 out of 10
- Weight: 1.5 from 15
- Inertia impellers: 4 out of 10
- Bottle cage: 2.5 out of 5
- Driving behaviour downhill: 38 from 40
- Front suspension: 25 out of 25
- Rear suspension: 25 out of 25
- Saddle retractability: 10 out of 10
- Brakes: 13.5 out of 15
- Tyre grip 12.75 out of 15
- Driving stability: 4 out of 10
TOTAL UPHILL 51.5 OUT OF 80
TOTAL DOWNHILL 128.3 OUT OF 140
- Other: 23 out of 30
- Ease of maintenance: good
Bike test rating*: very good 202.75 out of 250
*The BIKE judgement reflects the laboratory measurements and the subjective impression of the test riders. The BIKE judgement is independent of price. BIKE judgements: super (250-205 P.), very good (204.75-170 P.), good (169.75-140 P.), satisfactory (139.75-100 P.), with weaknesses, unsatisfactory. ²Price may be subject to additional costs for packaging, shipping and coordination.
