Yeti just dropped another mid-travel carbon trail bike after debuting their longest travel mountain bike just two weeks ago. The new 140mm/5.5″ travel SB140 is the fifth new bike they dropped on us in the last 12 months, landing right smack in the middle as that perfect do-it-all trail bike that can be as serious & race-oriented, or just a playful bike to go shred your local singletrack.
Yeti SB140 carbon 27.5″, 140mm trail mountain bike
It looks to us like the new SB140 will fill in one of the last remaining gaps in Yeti’s overhauled full-suspension mountain bike line-up as a playful trail shredder. A year ago, Yeti had a complex array of SB4, SB5 & SB6 bikes, covering everything from short-travel trail bikes to enduro in that ~4-6.5″ sweet spot of travel. But now in the past year, the SB family has ditched inches in favor of metric to better break down the optimal amount of Switch Infinity travel for your type of riding.
And with that Yeti has essentially divided their bikes into ‘Race’ character 29ers that are meant for speed above all else, and ‘Rip’ character trail bikes for mountain bikers just out for a fun ride.
The 27.5″ wheeled SB140 is the sweet spot in the trial rippers, taking over from the SB5.5 – apparently developed because “the young rippers at Yeti… wanted bikes that were playful and fun.” You can ride this 5.5″ travel bike on any trail you can imagine – pedal it to the top or catch a shuttle, backcountry singletrack or bikepark.
Geometry
Much like all the other recent Yeti trail & enduro bikes, the new SB140 also gets progressive geometry. More than just slack & long, a 65° headtube and 77° seat angle means a capable descender that will jump back up the climbs with weight over the front end. And just like its longer travel ripper sibling, the Switch Infinity suspension is a plush descender with good pedaling efficiency for the climbs.
Thanks to the smaller, more agile wheels and slightly shorter travel, the SB140 will also fit more riders. Five sizes are available (XS-XL) and the bike can be had in classic Yeti turquoise, Inferno orange, or simple Lead gray.
Tech details
The SB140 shares pretty much all of the tech of the recent SB165 in a lighter, shorter travel setup. Like that enduro trail bike, the SB140 also gets a significantly longer 160mm fork to balance the bottomless feel of its Switch Infinity sliding main suspension pivot.
Again, two levels of carbon are available, Yeti’s top lightweight Turq layup or a more affordable C/series carbon (190g heavier, but just as strong). Both are designed around large volume air shocks, for progressive kinematics delivering “superior pedaling, controlled mid-stroke, and a bottomless feel”.
The carbon SB140 gets a low stack from a full carbon integrated headset, then rattle-free internal cable routing (including a stealth dropper), the Kashima-coated Switch Infinity by Fox slider, a pressfit BB92 bottom bracket, ISCG05 tabs, Boost 148 rear end, sealed Enduro Max bearings, and molded rubber downtube, seatstay & chainstay protection.
The new SB140 is also covered by Yeti’s “no-B.S. Lifetime Warranty”. Ride it on any trail you want, and if something goes wrong Yeti will straighten you out. They’ll even give you a deal on a replacement if you accidentally ride the bike off a cliff. “You CAN race, jump, ford streams, shred the gnar or ride it hard. Don’t worry, you don’t need a lawyer to decipher how it works.”
Pricing & availability
The SB140 is available now in Yeti shops in several complete bike builds in the two levels of carbon, and a $3400 top-spec Turq carbon frame-only option without a shock.
The most expensive complete Turq carbon, complete bike build will set you back at least $8300 with a Fox Factory 36 fork & matching Factory DPX2 shock, plus a SRAM XX1 Eagle mechanical groupset and alloy DT Swiss M1700 wheels at 28.83lb. An extra $1900 will get you carbon DT XMC1200s and an upgrade to AXS wireless eTap if you are going no-holds-barred, dropping some grams as well.
The most affordable Turq carbon bike available now is $7400 with X01 Eagle at 29.05lb claimed, but a $6900 spec with Shimano XT 1×12 group (29.55lb) will be coming in September.
At the more reasonable end of the spectrum with the C/Series carbon frame, $6000 will get you Fox Performance suspension and a X01/GX Eagle mixed drivetrain at 30.1lb. Or for $5400 you get all GX at 30.25lb.
