In the messed up world in which we are living through I almost feel ashamed to ask about a high ticket item, but as demo days are hard to come by a blind punt might me on the cards for a new frame.
Coming from a 160mm front and back bike Im after something more peddley on thye up and playful on the downs that doesnt comprimise on the downs so much .. Reading that the sb130 lunchride edition is 160 front and 137 rear (like the sentinal and offering --without the daft superdooper boost back end ) it could be right up my street.
My question is basiclly to owners who may have had issues, what has the customer service been like from Silverfish and what problems have you had in the first place and how was it resolved if at all.
cheers
I can't help with your main question, but i rode one for half hour and it was probably the best pedalling bike I've ridden. I bought a Ripmo which is very close in the efficiency stakes, as I had heard too mnay horror stories about Yeti reliability & support.
A mate had 3 front & 3 rear replacement triangles for his SB6 before they ran out.
My question is basiclly to owners who may have had issues, what has the customer service been like from Silverfish and what problems have you had in the first place and how was it resolved if at all.
Yes I had one. Well, I actually had more than one, due to warranty issues.
Cracked frames, SI links wearing & shop getting basically stonewalled from the distributor claiming the wear was ‘acceptable’ 🙄
Silverfish, as ever were consistent. Consistently shyte. I’d struggle to think of a brand I would recommend buying less.
What youve written is exactly why I bought a Trek Fuel ex9.8
Today's ride again has not made me have 2nd thoughts
Can’t give a direct ownership experience of a SB130, but I owned an SB5c. It was similarly over-forked, 150 front 125 rear, it was a great bike. Switch Infinity worked faultlessly. The only time I had an issue was when I cracked a rear triangle, while doing some maintenance (ham fisted mistake on my part) the frame was sorted and back to me within 4 weeks, which was pretty decent.
Reading the comments is why I asked the questions in the first place... doubts.The customer service ive had from Jungle over the last 2 years has been second to none even sending bearings out within 12 hours during the height of lockdown 2020 . I did look at the Ripmo but the bushings and chainring clearence was a worry.
Back to the drawing board !
I had one, actually I’ve still got it in my loft.
Really enjoyed the bike, infinity link works but is a bit of a pain as it needs cleaning and lubing every couple of weeks otherwise it eats itself never had to deal with the warranty side personally any problems were either wear and tear or damaged caused by me 😆
From what I’ve heard from too many people I wouldn’t touch a Yeti with a barge pole. That switch infinity thing seems a really bad idea, particularly in this country. 2 extra little stanchions right down in all the nitty gritty mud. I know of someone who lives in Australia who has had problems with it eating itself and has cracked a rear swing arm.
I’ve got the latest alloy Sentinel and it’s really good and pedals ok - but can’t imagine it pedals any better than what you have now - assuming you’re on something like a Nomad?
If you’ve got on well with Santa Cruz then perhaps a Tallboy or Hightower would be worth a look?
I think silverfish are the distributor for a Evil as well as Yeti unless it’s changed since I last looked. I’ve heard Evil have improved their frame reliability / warranty over recent years.
Although I did hear they can wear their bearing seats - but that’s just one case.
I love the look of the offering and fancied one but it was over budget for a new one and I didn’t dare buy one secondhand. I’d definitely take the offering over the sb130.
My SB95c has been faultless for years. No infinity link, though.
I was looking for a bike with less travel/,more trail to replace my Airdrop Edit and I really wanted to buy the Yeti. In the end I bought a Bird Aether 7 with a 150mm Pike and saved a big chunk of money and didn't have to worry about it breaking.
I'd be looking at a Transition Patrol or Ibis Ripmo if I were spending that kind of cash. Much better warranty support and easier to service with no crazy proprietary suspension system.
Yeti have always had a problem with crack-prone frames too.
I did look at the Ripmo but the bushings and chainring clearence was a worry.
My (recently sold) RipMo went 4000km with zero bushings issues. Every year they were taken out, inspected, lightly lubed and put back. Ibis will replace them for free if they do wear.
I ran a 32 Oval on a standard boost crank. The clearance looks tiny but again in all that milage never had a single issue.
a very fast peddly bike and can handle tough riding, with a fox36 upfront.
ive had a quick ride and its so fast off mark, no wonder i can never keep up with a mate on his.
he loves it, i'll likely get one, but i wouldnt own one as my only bike.
the switch infinity does need additional care. and he's had his rear triangle replaced, had to saw his old one to get it warrantied.., quick turnaround within a week
ps. no shame in spending money on what you enjoy..
I’ve had a SB5c with the infinity link for about 5 or 6 six years. It’s been to the Alps, Spain, NZ, bike parks, etc.
The only issues has been with the pilot, the bike has been great.
I could be coming from a megatower which its been %100 brilliant but just a bit of a big brawler bike that comes alive when ridden a little harder . I can help feel that there are bikes more UK friendly that will climb better but still let me haul on the downs more "all mountain" I have looked at the hightower, stocks a problem but happy wo wait . I worry that it wont climb any differently to the mega . So many people on here on the faceache groups have mentioned the cracking of swing arms and truth be told living in Saddleworth that gritty slop will kill that switch link.
Never ridden a mega tower but everything I have read suggests they are a bit ‘monster trucky’.
The Tallboy could be an option - unless that’s not quite rowdy enough. I seem to post a similar list quite often of fairly slack trail bikes:
Bird Aether 9
Norco Optic
Nukeproof Reactor
Evil Offering
Trance X (I think this is similar ballpark)
Trek Fuel Ex is probably a little steeper than the above but still a decent all rounder.
You can put a shorter stroke shock and fork on the sentinel to get 150mm front / 140mm rear. The alloy one I have is quite ‘sturdy’ (heavy) but the carbon one is a thing of beauty and if you’ve got the budget for a Yeti then you could get a decent specced transition. I was running my sentinel 150/150 but just upped the fork travel to 160mm. Still happy to pop off lips and rail round berms - but has a really slack head angle to help you out on the steep / tight off piste sort of stuff.
I guess it depends how much of a compromise you want for something more playful / perhaps a bit better up hills.
It was similarly over-forked, 150 front 125 rear
The way that Yeti explain it on their website is that it actually better balanced when the fork rake is considered.
So a Yeti Sb150 has 170mm front and 150mm rear travel. A 170mm fork with a 64deg head angle gives about 150mm vertical travel, therefore it matches the 150mm vertical rear travel.
Similarly the 130 Lunch ride with 160 front and 137 rear has very similar front and rear vertical travel.
Seems to make sense, and makes me question if my previous bikes with equal front and rear headline travel numbers actually had more rear then front vertical travel.
I would buy frame only stock permitting as almost everything on my Mega is what I would want on a new frame anyway. Im after moon on a stick I think light climbs well and descends like a downhill bike thats poppy and playful ....
I missed the demo day at Wheelbase to looking back ..
i wouldnt worry about saddleworth grit, its the same sandstone/boggy we have over the hill around holmfirth / marsden. keep up with greasing the SI and it should work fine.
it ruins all bikes :0)
Seems to make sense, and makes me question if my previous bikes with equal front and rear headline travel numbers actually had more rear then front vertical travel.
I completely agree, that's why I run the SC5010 I replaced SB5c Yeti with, with the same 150mm travel fork.
@stevedoc
Have you considered a Pivot Switchblade or new Intense Primer?
I doubt you are, but if you’re a size medium in Santa Cruz I have a brand new HighTower frame for sale, ya know just saying!
I have owned a SB130 (not the LR, so 130mm rear with a 150mm fork) since 2019, and overall I love it. But it's not been without issues. The Switch Infinity has been fine. I've followed Fox's instructions for cleaning and lubing and it's great. Biggest issue is bearing life. The bearings on the SI, seat stay pivots and the link seize and become really 'notchy' so quickly it's staggering. The result is that you need to disassemble the rear end a couple of times a year to rotate/flush/repack or replace the bearings. (Bear in mind, I'm not doing huge mileages and rarely ride in terrible weather – I have a gravel bike for that.) It's not a difficult procedure but the seatstay pivots require a bespoke tool for the job. It's more a pain than I was expecting. Certainly makes Santa Cruz's 'free bearings for life' support look very attractive. Support from Silverfish is patchy at best. You speak to one person, and they're really helpful; the next is dismissive. It's got to the point that I can't be bothered and just do the preventative maintenance on a regular basis. Yeti's frame guarantee is supposed to be be 'no bullshit' (their term) and I've seen lots of reports of that being the case in the US, dealing directly with Yeti. I doubt it would be the same in the UK, primarily because Silverfish distribute so many brands.
@Peekay not really looked at Intense or Pivot for one at £4k for a pivot frame that I cant justify .I think I'm torn sb130 or Hightower . The wonder is , is there really much difference between the High and Mega .
The offering again was a massive possibility but the faff of a new super boost rear wheel.
I was really close to getting an SB130 frame to build. On paper, it's exactly what I like in a bike.
Last minute find by my missus ended up with me buying a 2021 S-Works Stumpy frame instead. It's a great all-round bike too! Descends like it has more travel than 130mm, lightweight and it climbs well.
In the end it was all the reported problems that put me off getting one. I know the internet can be a bit one-sided with problems though. There's probably more SB130's around that have never had an issue compared to broken ones, but knowing my luck...