It was the big unfilled hole in the line, so it was no great surprise to see the Yeti SB140 launching today a couple of weeks after the SB165 but it’s arguably a much more important bike for UK riders (or any trail riders without access to uplifts or constant gnar) coming with that sweet spot of Goldilocks travel that’s capable enough for the descents, but without too much of a weight or pedal penalty on the climbs.
If you’ve not been paying attention, this is the fifth new Yeti to launch in the last year or so. The numbers refer to the amount of rear wheel travel and go as follows:
- Yeti SB100 – 29
- Yeti SB130 – 29
- Yeti SB140 (This one ‘ere) 27.5
- Yeti SB150 – 29
- Yeti SB165 – 27.5
Which should all be simple, except there are two different wheel sizes hidden in there. The SB100, SB130 and SB150 are all 29ers, while the SB165 and SB140 are 27.5 wheeled. Confused? Sorry…
Back to the Yeti SB140 then. As you’d expect, it has 140mm rear travel and (here) a 160mm fork. Like all of its new generation bikes, Yeti has brought the geometry bang up to date, with a slack 65° head angle and a pretty steep 77° seat angle, along with stretching the top tube out too for that modern ride. It has apparently been designed “to reward riders who like to rip and find creative lines on their local trails.”
The SB140 sits squarely between two of Yeti’s most popular models, the SB5 and SB6. The SB5 and SB6 will be discontinued for 2020 and the bike product line has been simplified into two categories — bikes that race (SB100 and SB150) and bikes that rip (SB130, SB140, and SB165).
So Yeti is saying that if you’re an XC or marathon racer, you want an SB100, if you’re an enduro racer, you want the SB150. If you just like riding trails, then pick a SB130 or SB140 depending on your liking of the wheel size. Simple!
And for 2020, the bike line has more progressive leverage rate curves, giving the bikes great pedaling characteristics, controlled mid-stroke and a bottomless feel. Which should suit everyone, right?
Tune in shortly for our first impressions of the new Yeti SB140. Meanwhile, here’s a video showing the kind of thing we’ve been doing on our secret test bike…
Fun fact fans might like to note that the photographer on this bike launch was Calder Valley local and cold weather fan Ben Page, while the lad with the ‘tache in the video is called Easton, and Hannah knows his Dad. Small world. That scene where they’re hanging out in the back of the truck looking like happy campers…? They were being eaten alive by biting flies. Which is probably something we can replicate more easily than all that jibbing.
More details can be found on yeticycles.com
