Yeti Cycles

SB130 Carbon C2 GX/X01 Eagle Mountain Bike

For some, fun days on the trail are only achieved through gravity-fueled shuttles, but we think there's a lot of adventure to be found in between, and an all-mountain trail rig better equips us for our average day on the trail. Now, that's not to say that a bike capable of fun is average — in fact we think they are anything but — capturing lively pedaling characteristics that rocket you up climbs, with smooth handling on descents is a challenge that's quite daunting, but Yeti Cycles has never shied away from a challenge, and its easy to see with the SB130 Carbon C2 GX/X01 Eagle Mountain Bike. This mid-travel 29er offers best-in-class capability, making quick work of steep, technical trails, while remaining lively and playful on smoother singletrack, too. That means that everyone can get a piece of the fun regardless of your trail preference or riding style. Factor in its pocket-friendly carbon construction, plush Switch Infinity platform with FOX suspension, and a snappy shifting, wide-range SRAM X01 and GX Eagle drivetrain, and you have an ultra-capable bike that won't leave you under-gunned on the descents, or out-biked on the climbs.

Longer and slacker continues to be the name of the game, and on the SB130 the numbers lean towards the trend of a more capable descending bike that can still pedal when it's time to earn your turn. Its 65.5-degree headtube is a full degree slacker than the brands 5.5, a bike that already pushed the boundaries of a long-travel 29er. Of course this contributes to unflappable stability when descending steep, technical terrain, but usually, a headtube angle so slack would be a bear on climbs and have lazy handling manners on the rest of the trail. This simply isn't the case with the SB130 as it employs a 44mm fork offset to bring the front wheel in closer to the rider so the contact patch is more aft than fore, for improved traction and a front wheel that's less likely to wander when the trail points up. Further helping in this regard is the 77-degree seat tube angle centering you right over the pedals letting you put the hammer down on the climbs. Further harnessing the watts and contributing to positive handling is the frame's Boost spacing placing the hub's flanges further apart and improving the spoke's bracing angle for a stiffer wheel and combining with the 1x-specific frame to allows space for tire clearances in the neighborhood of 2.5-inches with 433mm chainstays, the shortest we've seen yet on a full suspension 29er from Yeti for quick power transfers and the ability to get the front wheel up and over obstacles easier.

A Yeti wouldn't be a Yeti without its signature Switch Infinity suspension and the new-reconfigured SB130 utilizes some new linkages and a metric shock that frees up some precious real estate allowing for the fitment of a water bottle inside the main triangle. What remains the same are the two silky-smooth Kashima-coated stanchions housed just above the bottom bracket that translates throughout the stroke of the Fox DPX2 shock to adjust the leverage ratio from supple, bump sucking plushness, to mid-stroke, anti-squat pedaling support, to a mild ramp up near the end responsible for its bottomless feel. You'll find that it bobs way less than other designs on the climbs and because its axle path isn't nearly as rearward as some platforms, it doesn't get hung up over square-edge hits letting you take speed and momentum over the obstacle. Whereas the older 4.5 required a little more precision when it came to line choices and favored maneuvering around obstacles, the new SB130 is tuned for full send and is happy taking on a point and shoot approach.

The ideal SB130 rider is one that might find the SB100 a little under gunned compared their riding buddies' rigs or on their typical riding terrain, whereas an SB150 is simply more bike than what's needed and is just extra weight and travel to pedal around. We feel that the geometry, suspension package, and build kit on this SB130 are all responsible for that neutral, well-rounded position adding confidence on every ride with the ability to work so well in a wide variety of trail conditions. It's certainly a bike we'd have no reservations about pulling off our rack at the trailhead and question if we had the right tool for the job. It simply carves buff, flowy singletrack with aplomb while not backing down on drops, rock gardens, and jumps in the park if that's your thing too. The 130mm of rear travel might not seem like a lot, but with a 150mm FOX 36 up front and 29-inch wheels, this bike can save your hide when the going gets rough.