You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Had five days lay on the couch with my back wrecked after doing days of black runs on a hardtail. Felt it getting sore on day two and like an idiot I carried on. I think it's time for FS to go with the soul for big days of brutality on the back.
I've always wanted a yeti and with a decent deposit I can get one for around £50 a month.
Problem is for a bike (it's a discounted 2018 model) it has fox performance forks when you'd expect factory and slx brakes and shifters.
But still, £50 a month? I can soon upgrade!
Friend has the xc version and it's a flexy bearing mess.
Can't speak for the heftier ones.
Heftier bearing one with the weird two mini stanchions was recently in LBS, it wasn't very old and they were totally FUBAR.
I’ve heard they are cracking bikes. The. Newer ones less so, but still.
They always seem like a heart purchase, without the head getting much of a look in.
Had five days lay on the couch with my back wrecked after doing days of black runs on a hardtail. Felt it getting sore on day
Ha ha. You are me. I'm on my 5th day now, getting better. But I have my Turner Czar in the garage waiting for a good smacking.
More style over substance then? I do think I need a FS though. Might do what I always advise others and gonsexomd hand.
Buying a yeti without a warranty? You’re a braver man than me.
The running costs, tyre clearance and fragility of the frames should be enough to have you looking elsewhere. I had the chance to buy an SB150 at trade but still wasn’t convinced.
Personally I wouldn’t pay the boutique brand tax and go with decent brands with a good warranty.
What sort of fs bike are you looking at - trail 130mm sort of travel - or enduro / burly trail 150-170mm travel?
Also what sort of riding will it be used for - big xc sort of days out (not actual xc racing as that’s totally different) or more winch and plummet?
Yetis are a "heart over head" kind of purchase (IMO), not functionally or technologically 'better' than other cheaper brands but the intangibles of them sway things too... And it sounds like your head is currently struggling with the VFM aspect of things OP.
In all honesty if its nice to ride, it's the right colour, and you can afford it, does it matter if the canyon equivalent has a better spec for less money? It won't be as "special" to you will it...
Best to either entirely about brands and buy the best bike you can afford, that might be a Canyon or it might be something boutique. Also if you haven't sat upon a Yeti they might not suit your shape.
Mine looks awesome...on my wall.
Never had any issues with bearing life....the rear triangles broke before the bearings wore out.
It was really nice to ride tho and the warranty support was good (thankfully).
If you buy it on finance make sure the warranty is longer than the finance...
Tbh, I’d visit a few shops and see what else is cheaper. Something like a Whyte S150 might not be a bad shout, decently specced Alu versions around £2k.
Whytes didn't suit me at all, I've had two.
I've got my soul for riding on the flat near me and doing blues with the Mrs, and I'd like something with lots of travel (capra) for lakes, blacks, peaks. Our hobby at the moment is camping close to nice riding and were loving it.
I’ve had two. They’ve been faultless and fantastic bikes.
£50 a month sounds like a great deal depending if its the type of bike you need.
If you’ve always wanted one, why not go for it?
SB66 was an awesome bike, I loved it, absolutely ate techy descents.
Twice though I found multiple cracks on the rear tri, twice it took 12 weeks for a replacement.
I eventually asked for an alloy rear, got fed up of their carbon.
Wasn't overly impressed by silverfish either tbh.
Got plenty of silverfish stories. They've always been pretty good with me - but friends have had issues.
Yeti was a great car. Karoq even better.
So an enduro bike - so much choice out there!
Just a few I can think of - some were on my list when buying but some were too expensive - e.g. the Santa Cruz)
Santa Cruz Bronson (boutique ish but I’ve seen good things about their warranty)
Bird Aeris 145lt / am160
Airdrop Edit
Canyon Strive
YT Capra
Radon Swoop 170
Whyte g170
Trek Remedy / Slash
I thought about the SB130 and 150 when having slight issues waiting for a Ripmo. Very nearly went for a ride on the 130 as it is a thing of beauty.
Personally I wouldn't be bothered about the forks as they performance models with Grip damping work very well.
How much are you thinking of spending - £50 a month is cheap, but for how long and how big a deposit?
Don't disregard Santa Cruz as being too expensive. Just wait until the autumn and buy in the sales. They often have 25 - 30% discount in places like Stif.
Exactly, but a Bronson V2 discounted, on a 0% for 24 months credit card, set up a direct debit, pay yer 50 a month.
Done.
My friend has got an SB6, it’s lovely but easily the most poorly made/designed bike I’ve ever heard of.
He’s a 48 year old bloke who doesn’t race or anything like that, but 2 cracked rear ends, a cracked front triangle, 2 destroyed ‘switch infinity’ things. It’s about 2 years old, well in theory anyway there’s little or nothing left of the original frame.
He plans to sell it before the warranty ends.
Ooft, that's mental.
The 2018 Yeti wont have the life time warranty on the infinity ston.. switch link meaning UK riding wont be cheap, A friends just had the switch warrantied by Silverfish on his 3 month old peak district sb150 ... 3 months 🙁
In addition to all the warranty issues, they've got big feet and the hairs get everywhere.
My friend has got an SB6, it’s lovely but easily the most poorly made/designed bike I’ve ever heard of.
He’s a 48 year old bloke who doesn’t race or anything like that, but 2 cracked rear ends, a cracked front triangle, 2 destroyed ‘switch infinity’ things. It’s about 2 years old, well in theory anyway there’s little or nothing left of the original frame.
He plans to sell it before the warranty ends.
sounds a similar story to my mates apart from the front triangle. was also 2/3 months wait each time the rear broke so he got rid straight after the second time.
Maybe a read through the owners forum on MTBR would help, MTBR Yeti Forum seems to be miss of people with no issues and loving the bike or lots of issues.
I do like a Yeti but they're ridiculously expensive and although the're as robust these days as any similar bike out there my mantra is don't buy what you can't afford to break and replace and don't rely on warranty. But check out Leisure Lakes...they've got top end Cannondale Jekklys reduced from about £4,500 to £2,999 at the moment. A really good bike and at that price with the Fox 36's and Fox dual piggy back shock thinks and SRAM X01 (or Shimarno XT for a few hundred quid less) seems like a frigging steal to me.
I've gone from long term Yeti ownership (I always said that Switch infinity looked like a bad idea) to Rocky Mountain and I loves it just as much I do.
If you like the look then get one.
I rode a 575 for 6 years no issues then sold it on here still it great nick. I then bought a secondhand 2 year old SB6 (oh the madness) which I have run for 2 years now, still with the original SI unit.
They are not ride-and-chuck-in-the-shed bikes though. I clean the SI after most weekends (as I do the drivetrain anyway) and pump fresh moly in the grease ports monthly. A couple of the bearings never last more than a year. Mostly riding all seasons here in Scotland and trips abroad.
Ive know a couple of mates who owned them. I cannot recommend them.
You want a bike to ride, not one that will be tied up with a warranty issue from a foreign supplier dealt with by a middle man who messes you about.
Go for somthing with a good reputation and great back up. Preferably somehting that can cope with UK riding.
One of the very much Alfa/Lancia-type brands of the bike world. Lovely to look at and brag about and there will be the handful of rides where it performs insanely well, but the rest of the time will be a living nightmare. Loads of fancy, boutique options out there, Ibis Ripmo gets rave reviews and I truly loved my old Mojo HD, it was so efficient, very quick and never put a foot wrong, was just too small for me. Briefly rode the Ripmo in April and came away impressed, too much bike for me (the new Ripley is more my bag), but it felt solid, pedalled insanely well for a bike of that travel/intention and felt really lively and agile. Worth a look!
Yeti riding mate one- loves it. Has had bearings and switch thing going a year.
Yeti riding mate 2 - has had loads of them over the years. The one that stuck in my mind had the down tube smashed by a rock inside 3 months.
Yeti and Evil are the two brands never to buy with my own money.
Another vote for Santa Cruz or Ibis if you’re looking for Californian Carbon.
I’ve ridden all three brands (only at test days like) and Santa Cruz always shines. Lifetime warranty too.
I don’t think the SC bikes are particularly overpriced for what you get - they certainly represent better value for money vs Yeti, and i’ve never heard a horror story about them.
There’s a reason every other bike on the trail is a Santa Cruz!
I fancy a 5010 myself 🙂
Of course, you could always try a left field option - Kingdom XFS? 😉
Love mine, but not had it long enough to have any input on warranty issues. Bought it because it was the one I liked best after test riding many others. Had a Santa Cruz before that and have an Orbea too. All of them are good bikes. Fox performance is fine and I never had an issue with SLX either, so i wouldn't let that stop you. I buy my bikes from a local shop who are really good guys. I know if I ever have an issue with a bike, they will look after me. That's what I want when I'm parting with that amount of cash.
Owning a Yeti is a bit like owning a classic car. Brilliant when it works. Absolute nightmare when it doesn’t. They seem to crack for fun, switch thingy needs constant attention, 12 weeks to get a warranty replacement for when it brakes again.
I’d love to own one as they ride brilliantly but when other brands are as capable and don’t snap whats the point?
I loved my ASR5 and never had any problems with it, still have the frame to build up for fun some time, also have a DJ which will be around after the apocalypse with the cockroaches. Would love a sb130 but definitely wary of the mud clearance, less so the various issues reported on mtbr. As above you need to at least partly want it because it's a yeti really.
Another vote for Santa Cruz or Ibis if you’re looking for Californian Carbon.
What about Colorado-an Carbon, though? I loved my Yeti ASR5. I mean my new bike (Canyon) is just better, but I don't love it as much. Perhaps it's a daft sentimental thing, but it just looked cool and felt special.
I don't know if I'd bother with the silly slider things though...
Had one. Never having another.
As per quite a few posts above the warrenty support is terrible. Old importers (Evolution) were excellent, new ones (Silverfish) much less so.
.
As an asside, Cy from Cotic once helped me out and lent me a Rocket at a race when my Yeti was broken and the Ytei dealer there with a full demo fleet was being very unhelpful. I saw him again at Transend yesterday and had a quick word to show him my Solaris. He had completely forgotten about it but a couple of years later when I was in the market for a hardtail a Solaris was top of the list. Sometimes being nice does pay off (I've got a Cotic X too by the way)
Yeti SB5c owner here. Full disclosure - pivot bearings seized in rear sub frame after 18 months, however it was all resolved by Yeti though the dealer, Tredz, inside 4 weeks, FOC.
I love it, never had any issues with the switch infinity, traction is great, climbs like a goat with almost zero pedal bob even when full open. Handles rough descents better than it should for only 5" of travel. It's faster than my 6" Enduro bike on all but the gnarliest terrain.
My SbB95C has been faultless and whilst I’m not overly fond of air, I’m not slow or timid either. It takes a beating.
I have the long term use of an SB130, whilst I don't actually own it, I do need to look after it at least.
It's the first Yeti i've ridden since an SB66C I had, which literally fell apart & was a total ball ache on warranty.
When I built it up, to be fair, it felt very well put together, much better than the old one & a decent finish, as you should expect of a frame that expensive. So far, no issues, but i'm under no illusions they are perhaps a bit fragile.
Could I actually pay for one though? Given how expensive they are, probably not is the answer!
I've heard great things about how they ride but I wouldn't buy one for the reasons listed above - overpriced, questionable durability and the distributor.
Plenty of good, cheaper choices out there in full-sus bikes.