Yeti Cycles

SB5 Enduro Complete Bike - 2016

The 2016 Yeti SB5 Enduro Complete Bike features an aggressive front end and a monstrous six inches of front travel for confident stability across technical rock gardens and off-camber root systems—though, of course, the relatively tight chainstays let you dice it up if you don't want to roll out the nuclear rolling option of Switch Infinity suspension.

Whichever route you take—direct or dicey—the SB5 Enduro build is equipped to get you there. With a drivetrain composed of predominantly SRAM GX componentry, powerful SRAM Guide R hydraulic brakes, a dropper seatpost, and smooth spinning DT Swiss wheels, the SB5 Enduro toes the line as a race-ready whip at a more wallet-friendly price tag than its top-end sibling, the SB5c.

As with any Yeti, the rear suspension is the star of the SB5 Enduro's frame. The Switch Infinity suspension is a masterpiece of modern enduro design because its linear travel hits the sweet spot of anti-squat to keep pedaling sharp across rocky climbs. Deep in the stroke, the Switch Infinity slider works in conjunction with the upper pivot to produce a vertical wheel path that effortlessly flattens big, square-edged impacts. It also erases the momentary harshness that its predecessor, the Switch Link design, would display when pushed to the absolute limit.

Of course, most riders will never experience that dead spot on the Switch Link, but the SB5 isn't for most riders. It's for the all-mountain racer who demands that their machine eats deep log roll overs with the same tenacity that it cleans long climbs—a rare breed in the enduro scene as a whole, but common enough in Yeti's Tribe of enduro nutters. Despite its apparent complexity, the redesigned suspension is also easier to maintain than its predecessor, which makes even some of the most mechanically inept feel like a pro wrench.

The SB5 Enduro's frame mirrors the top-end Turq models in almost every way except the carbon fiber grade and a few design tweaks. Yeti uses a slightly lower grade of carbon while maintaining the same strict standards for stiffness and strength as the Turq. This does require the use of more material and adds about 300g to the frame, but also comes with a drastic reduction in cost. With thoughtful tube forming, a tapered head tube, and a 142mm rear thru-axle, claiming that it tracks true through rough terrain would be something of an understatement.

Finally, we'd be remiss not to mention that, in our experience, the non-plus SB5 tops out a 2.4in tire. We've ridden plus-sized tires, so we understand the hype, but—when combined with the peerless quality of Switch Infinity (and it really is peerless this side of literal rocket science)—we think mid-sized tires provide a better blend of tire-to-trail traction and forgiveness on questionable lines. The combination also fends off the top-floppy effect of too much tire folding over onto itself. If you want to float, go fat or plus-sized; if you want to race, then we think the 2.4in tire range will come to define your wing of the industry in the years to come.