Yeti SB100 XC-Trail bike goes to Switch Infinity and beyond

Cross country bikes continue to enjoy a resurgence of brand support this season, and Yeti has jumped into the fray with both feet with the introduction of their SB100 and SB100 Beti line of XC-Trail bikes. The new lines rely on an all-new version of the brands well reviewed Switch Infinity suspension mechanism, which already appears on their popular trail and enduro bikes, designed for the shorter-travel XC 29” SB100’s purposes.

The new bike, scheduled to make a first appearance this weekend under Canadian Olympian Geoff Kabush at Moab Rocks mountain bike stage race, fills in the vacancy in Yeti’s lineup left when the ASR-C disappeared. Keeping up with the trend towards more technically demanding cross-country courses, and XC riders demanding more capable race bikes, the SB100 is described by Yeti as “a trail bike with an affinity for XC.”

The Golden, Colo.-based company have redesigned their Switch Infinity suspension mechanism, shrinking and repositioning it in the SB100’s frame, to deliver 100mm of rear travel. Moving, and rotating the Switch Infinity linkage 90 degrees allows the mechanism to be tucked inside the seat tube. As a result, the new frames fit a full water bottle in the front triangle and, to fit the aggressive XC purpose of the bike, straightens the seat tube to allow for longer travel dropper posts to fit in the frame.

Dropper posts are becoming more common on XC bikes even at the World Cup level, but Yeti has made a point of saying the SB100 is designed to be as much fun as possible on the descents, while still feeling like a race-bred XC bike on the climbs. With Yeti’s reputation for excellent carbon fibre work, both in aesthetically drool-worthy terms as well as functionality, and a SB100 Turq option, the SB100 is sure to still fall within the weight range of a race worthy XC-Trail bike.

Yeti doubles down on the descending-oriented frame design by adding Fox’s new lightweight Step-Cast 34 fork, giving the bike a longer 120mm front travel and adding more stiffness to than Fox’s pure-XC Step-Cast 32. The SB100 will also feature SRAM’s new DUB carbon fibre crankset across the line.

In addition to different colour options, the SB100 Beti, Yeti’s women’s specific offering, features a shock tune for lighter riders, 170mm crankarms, and a different saddle. SB100 Beti is available in sizes small to large.

The SB100 will be available in Yeti’s premier Turq-Series carbon fibre layup, with three different build kits as well as a frame only option, and in one build kit for the Carbon-Series carbon fibre layup option. All SB 100’s are available in size small to XL