Anyone ride a Yeti SB140

Whats it like – climbing, descents, recommended upgrades?

Thanks

Wife borrowed one when we were in the states and absolutely loved it. She is normally playing catch up when we ride together; Gets a bit nervous on the steeper, rougher stuff but pretty much every time I stopped she was right there.

Climbed well, descended superbly. Not a long term owner review but I think we’d happily buy two if those lottery numbers come up 🙂

I have the older SB130 Lunch Ride. 160 Fox 36 up front and 140 out back. I changed the shock to a Float X which made a big difference. New ones come with that shock.

I’ve had a lot of trail bikes – RipMo v1 and V2, Revel Rascal, Bird Aeris etc. I was a total Ibis Fanboy, but I ride the Yeti all the time. The switch link is just brilliant for the kind of rooty stuff we have in the FoD. Climbing is good, it’s not super light but I’ve always put DW link bikes as the best climbers, and the Yeti is at least as good.

Descending it’s very good, very calm, you definitely get the benefits of the switch infinity – mine is an original 2019 I bought 2nd hand and it needed some love from Sprung Suspension on the 36, but now I’m more confident on the Yeti than any other bike for a long time. Cornering it’s really fun, neutral but lots of grip.

I have lots of nice bikes, but 90% of the time I’ll ride the Yeti. Except when it’s muddy because the tyre clearance isn’t all that (I run a 2.4 Damf on a 30mm internal rim) and the switch link will get covered in crap and it’s VERY expensive to fix. I’ve fashioned a read guard on the seat stays that gives it a bit more protection.

Apparently the new switch links are better sealed – I make sure I service mine every 3 months (which is a pain because you have to remove the main swingarm bolt to get to the second grease port). Otherwise I’ve had zero issues in a 1000km since I bought it in May – I (well a mate) changed all the bearings which definitely needed doing. Silverfish have good stock.

There’s a 2024 on PB (maybe the one you’re looking at?) with the later Switch Link. Still not cheap tho. Not good value in terms of new build tho. I’d be looking at a discounted frame and building it myself.

In summary, I really like mine. Apparently they do get out of their depth on really steep/gnarly stuff but I don’t ride much of that 🙂 As a trail bike it’s a great combo of climbing/descending and while currently it’s keeping my RipMo on the workshop wall!

And controversially I prefer this colour!

Thanks Alex that’s a great review

I am looking at a 2025 frame with a custom build

Just a blatant plug but I’ve got a 2024 sb140 turq (top of the range model turquoise classic colour too) 3 month old frame from new that’s itching to be built and enjoyed by someone for sale in the classifieds, it’s an absolute beauty! Go check it out and save yourself a fair few pennies if your after a frame only option

I’ve not ridden one of those but as a previous Yeti owner never again. Very fast when it worked but very fragile and woeful warranty support, not a good combination.

I’ve not ridden one of those but as a previous Yeti owner never again. Very fast when it worked but very fragile and woeful warranty support, not a good combination

I was going to say exactly the same about a riding buddy’s experience. I would not touch them with a barge pole after that. If I were paying boutique prices I’d expect a commensurate level of aftercare, which is categorically not what he got.

Mine was owned by the same fella from new (He gave me all the receipts, wow bikes were cheaper in 2019). Silverfish replaced the switch infinity unit for free under warranty. I don’t think he did much maintenance (and he lived Peaks way so quite gritty) hence the headset and all the bearings needed doing when I bought it. Never been done in previous 5 years and it’s definitely had a life. He told me he took it out in all conditions. So not as fragile as I’d expect/heard.

I appreciate this is a sample size of one, but I know someone else who broke theirs (in a crash) and got a very fair replacement price from Yeti.

I didn’t pay that much for mine. But after a set of bearings and needing to get the fork serviced (as whoever did it when he owned it was, er, a bit rubbish based on feedback from Sprung) it was probably ‘about right’. For a laugh I priced up a new frame with my preferred set of parts. Yeah, that was never going to happen!

Anyway @gooner666 you can tell I really like mine, but I’m not sure I could bring myself to buy a brand new one!

I have an SB 140 with 27.5 wheels – bought though CTW in a sale. Its definitely a fun bike. I do find it a bit heavy (I am more of a XC rider with wheels on the ground) – but it doesn’t stop it climbing. I’ve cleared everything locally going up. I’ve only been locally in W.Yorks on it. Not really challenging or technical where I live. Would I choose it for 2/3 hours of fun – yes – would I choose it to be on an all day XC ride – nope.

I can talk about the SB130, although it was a few years ago now I went though the ordeal of ownership.

Basically the first one, which thankfully cracked in the end, was an unreliable pile of junk. The second one, which also cracked, was also an unreliable pile of junk. Couple with a distributor whose warranty department rivalled the pace of a glacier, it was an experience I would never want to bother with again.

Regardless of the above, there are better trail bike out there anyway, IMO.