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Yeti Cycles Review

By Sam Millers   /  Last updated - December 4, 2023

Based in Golden, Colorado, the Yeti Cycles company’s rise was driven by an increase in demand for mountain bikes. A highlight came in 1995 when Schwinn acquired Yeti Cycles Company. The bikes are relatively smaller and lighter in weight and they have continued to lay a huge impact in the world of mountain biking today.

Two former employees took over the leadership in 2001. As a result, the company’s percentage of profits has continued to grow in double-digit in the past decade. Loyal riders love the fact that they have technologically advanced, race-thriller models that homogeneously favor downhill terrains.

yeti cycles brand logo

To keep up the good cycling spirit, most Yeti employees are allowed to go out pedaling. This initiative has turned out to be good for the company’s image. Yeti has established numerous stores in all the states in order to meet racers’ expectations and demands. It stocks high-end models that people can buy online for fast home delivery. Depending on the country you are situated in, it is mandatory to meet the terms and conditions of sale.

Following its establishment in 1985, Yeti cycles have created a huge impact in the line of downhill racing. It started off with turquoise as its main color. With time, it has produced some of the best MTBs thanks to their reputation for making bikes that pay attention to even the smallest details.


Yeti Cycles History

Due to the increase in demand for mountain bikes, John Parker sold his old motorcycle to start Yeti cycles in 1985. This was a bold investment in his passion and it paid off spectacularly.

Yeti Lawwill DH-9

The famous Lawwill DH-9 (Source: Yetifan.com)

His obsession with two-wheeled machines resulted in the birth of Yeti Cycles. Today, modern designs have been created thanks to his great ideas. His brands brought forth the rise of biking legends such as Juli Furtado, John Tomac, and Missy Giove.

  • Once Yeti was bought by Schwinn in 1995, Parker’s influence became irrelevant. Schwinn may have changed a lot of things in the company. Earlier, he had created a brother ski company to support Yeti. However, it did not do well under this leadership.
  • In 1999, the company was acquired by a ski company Volant.
  • In 2001, Chris Conroy and Steve Hoogendoorn purchased Yeti Cycles. Since then, it has come up with magnificent designs under the leadership of Conroy.

For a long time, Yeti bikes have been used in major downhill mountain bike competitions, one of the popular bikes is the Lawwill DH-9 full-suspension downhill bike. Currently, the company has patented rights over Switch infinity technology.


Yeti Mountain Bikes


YETI ARC

Fork Travel: 130mm    Headtube: 67º     Seat Tube: 76º    Chainstays: 432mm

What does the Yeti ARC stand for? ARC means Alloy Racing Composites in reference to the tubing used on the very first ARCs back in the early 90s.

YETI ARC MSRP $ FORK REAR DERAILLEUR BRAKES
Frame 1,900 x x x
C1 3,600 Fox Performance 34 Shimano SLX Shimano Deore 2-piston
C2 3,900 Fox Performance 34 Shimano GX Eagle Sram Level TLM
T1 5,100 Fox Factory 34 Fit4 Shimano XT Shimano XT 2-piston
T2 5,700 Fox Factory 34 Fit5 SRAM X01 Eagle Sram Level TLM
T3 6,800 Fox Factory 34 Fit6 SRAM XX1 Eagle SRAM Level Ultimate

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YETI ARC 35th Anniversary

2021 ARC 35th Anniversary

Image credit: Yeticycles

29″   Fork Travel: 130mm    Headtube: 67º     Seat Tube: 76º    Chainstays: 432mm

YETI ARC 35th MSRP $ FORK REAR DERAILLEUR BRAKES
29″ HT 9,900 Fox Factory 34 SRAM XX1 Eagle SRAM Level Ultimate

 


YETI SB100

Yeti SB100 in black

29″   Suspension Travel (Front/Rear): 120mm/100mm    Headtube: 67.8º     Seat Tube: 74.3-74º    Chainstays: 437mm

YETI SB100 MSRP $ FORK REAR SHOCK – 190 x 37.5mm READ DERAILLEUR BRAKES
Frame 3,399 x Fox Factory DPS x x
C1 5,099 Fox Performance 34 Fox Performance DPS SRAM GX Eagle SRAM Guide R
C2 5,699 Fox Performance 34 Fox Performance DPS SRAM X01 Eagle Sram Level TLM
T1 6,499 Fox Factory 34 Fox Factory DPS Shimano XT Shimano XT 2-piston
T2 6,999 Fox Factory 34 Fox Factory PDS SRAM X01 Eagle SRAM Level TLM
T3 7,899 Fox Factory 34 Fox Factory DPS SRAM XX1 Eagle SRAM Level TLM

Buy from Competitive Cyclist Buy from Backcountry


YETI SB115

29″   Suspension Travel (Front/Rear): 130mm/115mm    Headtube: 67.6º     Seat Tube: 74.1-73.9º    Chainstays: 437mm

YETI SB115 MSRP $ FORK REAR SHOCK – 190 x 45mm READ DERAILLEUR BRAKES
Frame 3,400 x Fox Factory DPS x x
C1 4,700 Fox Performance 34 Fox Performance DPS Shimano SLX Shimano Deore 4-piston
C2 4,900 Fox Performance 34 Fox Performance DPS SRAM GX Eagle Shimano G2 R
T1 6,300 Fox Factory 34 Fox Factory DPS Shimano XT Shimano XT 4-piston
T2 6,900 Fox Factory 34 Fox Factory DPS SRAM X01 Eagle SRAM G2 RSC
T3 8,000 Fox Factory 34 Fox Factory DPS SRAM XX1 Eagle SRAM G2 Ultimate

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YETI SB130

29″   Suspension Travel (Front/Rear): 1xxmm/130mm   Headtube: 67.6º     Seat Tube: 74.1-73.9º    Chainstays: 437mm

YETI SB130 MSRP $ FORK REAR SHOCK – 210 x 52.5mm READ DERAILLEUR BRAKES
Frame 3,499 x Fox Factory DPX2 x x
C1 5,399 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance DPX2 Sram GX Eagle Sram Guide R
CLR 5,499 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance DPX2 Sram GX Eagle SRAM Code R
C2 5,999 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance DPX2 Sram X01 Eagle SRAM G2 RSC
T1 6,799 Fox Factory Fit 4 36 Fox Factory DPX2 Shimano XT Shimano XT 4-piston
T2 7,299 Fox Factory Fit 4 36 Fox Factory DPX2 Sram X01 Eagle SRAM G2 RSC
TLR 7,599 Fox Factory Grip 2 36 Fox Factory DPX2 Sram X01 Eagle SRAM Code RSC
T3 8,199 Fox Factory Fit 4 36 Fox Factory DPX2 Sram XX1 Eagle SRAM G2 RSC

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Yeti SB130 Full Review


YETI SB140

27.5″   Suspension Travel (Front/Rear): 160mm/140mm   Headtube: 65º     Seat Tube: 77.1-76.9º    Chainstays: 432mm

YETI SB140 MSRP $ FORK REAR SHOCK – 210 x 55mm READ DERAILLEUR BRAKES
Frame 3,499 x Fox Factory DPX2 x x
C1 5,399 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance DPX2 SRAM GX Eagle SRAM Guide R
C2 5,999 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance DPX2 SRAM X01 Eagle SRAM G2 RSC
T1 6,899 Fox Factory Grip 2 36 Fox Factory DPX2 Shimano XT Shimano XT 4-piston
T2 7,399 Fox Factory Grip 2 36 Fox Factory DPX2 SRAM X01 Eagle SRAM G2 RSC
T3 8,299 Fox Factory Grip 2 36 Fox Factory DPX2 SRAM XX1 Eagle SRAM G2 RSC

Buy from Competitive Cyclist Buy from Backcountry

Yeti SB140 Full Review


YETI SB150

29″   Suspension Travel (Front/Rear): 170mm/150mm   Headtube: 64.5º     Seat Tube: 77-76.8º    Chainstays: 432mm

YETI SB150 MSRP $ FORK REAR SHOCK – 230 x 60mm READ DERAILLEUR BRAKES
Frame 3,799 x Fox Factory X2 x x
C1 5,699 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance X2 SRAM GX Eagle SRAM Code R
C2 6,299 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance X2 SRAM X01 Eagle SRAM Code R
T1 7,299 Fox Factory Grip 2 36 Fox Factory X2 Shimano XT Shimano XT 4-piston
T2 7,799 Fox Factory Grip 2 36 Fox FactoryX2 SRAM X01 Eagle SRAM Code RSC
T3 8,699 Fox Factory Grip 2 36 Fox Factory X2 SRAM XX1 Eagle SRAM Code RSC

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YETI SB165

27.5″   Suspension Travel (Front/Rear): 180mm/165mm   Headtube: 63.5º     Seat Tube 77º    Chainstays: 432mm

YETI SB165 MSRP $ FORK REAR SHOCK – 230 x 65mm READ DERAILLEUR BRAKES
Frame 3,999 x Fox Factory DHX2 2-pos lever x x
C1 5,599 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance Vanilla SRAM GX Eagle SRAM Code R
C2 6,199 Fox Performance 36 Fox Performance Vanilla SRAM X01 Eagle SRAM Code R
T1 7,199 Fox Factory Grip 2 Fox Factory DHX2 2-pos lever Shimano XT Shimano XT 4-piston
T2 7,699 Fox Factory Grip 2 Fox Factory DHX2 2-pos lever SRAM X01 Eagle SRAM Code RSC
T3 8,799 Fox Factory Grip 2 Fox Factory DHX2 2-pos lever SRAM XX1 Eagle Shimano Code RSC

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Yeti Mountain Bike Size Recommendation Chart

XS – 4’2″ to 5’4″

S – 5’1″ to 5’7″

M – 5’5″ to 5’11”

L – 5’10” to 6’3″

XL – 6’1″ to 6’7″


Sponsorships & Partners

Yeti Cycles has formed partnerships with leading brands to create a more efficient cycling team. Since 2008, it partnered with Nema during its big launch into downhill race competitions.

Partners:

  • Fox
  • Maxxis
  • Shimano
  • DT Swiss
  • Ergon
  • Toyota
  • One Up Components
  • Giro
  • Renthal
  • Cush Core
  • Motorex
  • BR – Backcountry Research
  • Chris King
  • Stages Cycling
  • Victory Circle Graphix
  • Honey Stinger
  • Thule
  • Big Mountain Enduro

Athletes:

  • Richie Rude
  • Shawn Neer
  • Jubal Davids
  • Carson Eiswald
  • Quinn Reece
  • Lauren Bingham
  • Warren Kniss
  • Dillon Santos
  • Chris Heath


Returns

Yeti bicycles can be returned to the manufacturer if they don’t meet your requirements. The return should be made within 30 days of buying them. Unless there was a mistake when filling the order or the product is defective, the buyer will cater for the return shipping costs.


Customers About Yeti Cycles

Yeti cycles review

Yeti Cycles has a philosophy of wanting to manufacture the best racing bikes available in the market and hence they feel that their bikes bring unmatched riding performance.

Below are two riders who expressed their views about Yeti bikes.

Ryan Matthew Sargent had this to say about the YETI SB6 CARBON XT/SLX BIKE 2018, “Yeti, you all rule. I don’t know of any other MTB company that would release a video with other top competitors in them.

That very much reflects the mission of the video, building a bigger and better biking community, Kudos Yeti, Kudos. I bought the YETI SB6 CARBON XT/SLX BIKE 2018 and I am totally in love with it.”

Rick Humphreys had this to say about Yeti bikes, “I’ll support your design philosophy. Riders designing bikes for riders. Sure, Yeti may not be the only company with that approach, but in my opinion, it works.

I’ve had 3 Yetis over the last 8 years and they have been incredibly well designed and bullet-proof. Yes, I see posts regarding the cracks and issues with the frames. I doubt that these issues as exclusive to the Yeti brand. I also see many riders made happy with the great warranty and service provided.”

About the Author

Sam Millers

Sam Millers is the guy behind Bikexchange.com. From the early days of three wheels to conquering challenging mountain trails, Sam's love for cycling knows no bounds. With a background in web development, Sam seamlessly combined two of his greatest passions – cycling and technology. As the creative force behind Bikexchange.com, he shares insightful stories, expert tips, and engaging content for fellow cycling enthusiasts. When he's not exploring new biking routes or tweaking website codes, Alex enjoys sipping on a post-ride espresso and planning his next cycling adventure. 
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