My Stable *2014 UPDATE*
- Thread starter Keven
- Start date
Transition Covert 2012
You need the IBEX FR 2.25, if you're riding a rocky terrain go for the 60TPI Kevlar, the 120TPI can be a little gentle.
http://www.onzatires.com/21-1-IBEX-FR.html
Tyre volume is like a real 2.35, rolling resistance is very good and grip is beautiful in any terrain. I was riding a lot of tires, maxxis, kenda, conti's, specialized, bontrager and new WTB tcs and really liked the ONZA IBEX. I recently rode on the new bontrager XR4 and was also impressed.
Both options felt better than all other combinations I had.
You need the IBEX FR 2.25, if you're riding a rocky terrain go for the 60TPI Kevlar, the 120TPI can be a little gentle.
http://www.onzatires.com/21-1-IBEX-FR.html
Tyre volume is like a real 2.35, rolling resistance is very good and grip is beautiful in any terrain. I was riding a lot of tires, maxxis, kenda, conti's, specialized, bontrager and new WTB tcs and really liked the ONZA IBEX. I recently rode on the new bontrager XR4 and was also impressed.
Both options felt better than all other combinations I had.
ChopSticks
Banned
Fuck...12.2kgs with a dropper, 34 and 2.35 HD's.... I need one!!!
what size is your frame?
Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been trying to work out how to word a ride review without seeming pretentious or righteous.
My previous bike was a 2011 Transition Covert with full XO group set, Fox RP23 and Fox Float 36 160 RLC FiT forks. I loved this bike but as I’m having less and less time to go on epic weekends to Stromlo or Buller or anywhere, it was being used more for long km rides just to keep my fitness up. While the Tranny is a more than capable AM bike, it really felt like a short travel FR bike due to the slack head angle and very plush suspension. The Yeti on the other hand feels more like a long travel XC bike, and to tell you the truth, unless you ride it hard, it feels just like a 100mm XC bike. More on that later!
Ok, so first of all, the size of the bike is a personal preference. I'm 172cm tall so right on the cusp of small and medium frame. With the top tube being 25mm longer than traditional offerings, this worried a lot of people. My advice to people looking at this frame is go with what size frame you’re used to, but put a short stem on it, it suits the character of the bike more. But to be honest, I didn’t feel overly stretched out over the bike with the extra 25mm, not as much as people made it out to be.
The Yeti was built with the weight figure in mind. I chose the Shimano XTR race group set because of this and I had SRAM XO on the Tranny. Although I was super happy with the XO, XTR was meant to be an even more refined product. Also, it was something different and oh so shiny. For the first couple of months, I regretted the decision so much, I contemplated selling off the group set and going back to SRAM. The mechs didn’t want to stay in tune, the brakes we’re inconsistent, it was noisy, clunky and unreliable; dropping chains, ghost shifting, basically doing everything you wouldn’t expect to see in Shimano’s flagship group set. Stripping the Yeti down after a big sandy day at The Oaks, I did my usual thing, cleaning everything to an inch of its life and retuning everything. Suddenly everything started working how you would expect it. Long story short, seems like Shimano takes (a lot) longer to settle in than SRAM, and also more fiddly and precise tuning is needed (because 2:1) but all-in-all very happy with it now.
Fox was (still) a no brainer for the suspension, not only because of the quality, but it was what Yeti designed the SB66 to use. With the new 34 CTD forks out, I jumped on them like a fat kid on a cup cake. Buttery smooth is one way of putting them, with very very little bed in time and the right amount of fork oil from factory out of the box, all was right with the world. One word of advice with the suspension setup, Yeti recommend 25% sag on the SB66. Set it up with EXACTLY 25% sag! Not 27%, not 21%, Exactly 25%. This is super important. More on this later.
One thing I will say about the forks is that they have a tendency of diving under aggressive breaking, which is bad because to get 100% out of the bike (as previously said) you have to ride this thing super aggressively. This could be dialled out with some HSC, but (IMO) it seems that Fox has “dumbed” down the range of adjustment on its forks compression settings seem to be missing on most of the line-up now.
Finally, the FOX DOSS. At 620gm, it’s not the lightest dropper post by any means, however with (still) so many issues with the Rockshox Reverb (the one on the Tranny being a 3rd gen) and the mechanicals on the DOSS looking so solid, I bit the bullet and grabbed one. I’m very very happy with the result, 2 things though: 1) watch how much pressure you put into the post, this governs the return speed, I put it at ¾ of the recommended PSI and holy shit does it return fast and with a CLUNK. Just something to think about if you want your gooch unharmed. 2) the lever is stupid. There is no other way of describing it; the action is smooth, but that’s not the problem, the problem is the size of it. It just seems to hang out there, it’s not sleek, it’s not pretty and I dare say in a decent off, it would be torn off pretty quick. See photos of my build to get a good idea.
I bought the Tranny when the SB66 first came out. Not one to believe all the hype and suspicious of the longevity of the Switch cam went with a more traditional frame. A couple of years on, it seems there is still so much hype surrounding this bike, especially now the carbon models. Build quality and features on this frame I would give a 9/10. A couple of things I would have liked to see in such a boutique expensive frame: internal cable routing (you don’t realise how ugly cables are until you see a bike with full internal cable routing) Better quality graphics. I’m not sure how hard it is or what’s the process in embedding the graphics in a carbon frame, however mine seemed to be… smudged (?) and dull (which would have more to do with the overall finish I guess) but almost seem to be faded in some spots. Lastly, loose the bottle cage bolts on the down tube. I don’t know if it’s even possible to reach a bottle down there, but it seems pointless to me. I know these are small things, but on a RRP $3500AUD frame, I kinda expected more. Other than that, the usual titanium hardware adorns this sleek and sexy frame with small details like ‘Yeti’ on all the bolt heads give it a nice touch. Easily switchable QR to 142x12 rear end is also touch (why you’d go QR is beyond me) also stiffens up the rear considerably. Built in chain slap guides look very low profile but do the job very well, a removable ISCG collar is also pretty cool, tapered internal headset to keep the front end low and direct mount front mech, so you don’t have to faff about with alignment is also a nice touch. Durability wise, so far I’ve had no problems with the Switch like or any other of the pivots yet. I did re-torque them after about a month of riding, but that’s just me being anal. When I took apart the bike after the Oaks, I found little to no debris in the Switch pivot and still to this day, no play in any of the rear end links. We’ll just have to see how it goes.
The first thing you notice riding the Yeti, is just how stiff the whole package is (insert penis joke here). I’ve never truly appreciated what you read in reviews about a product being ‘stiff’ meant, and it’s hard to put into words. It’s more of a feeling you get, how responsive the bike is as a whole. Pedalling this thing, you feel straight away that there is little to no pedal bob. This is fantastic if your using the bike for a do-it-all type situation, as climbing to the top of a run can be done with ease with a great in saddle position and stable, planted front end (especially for such a long TT and slack HA). However the lack of suspension movement is disconcerting over smaller bumps and rough stuff where the ride can seem harsh and chattery. This also goes for manualing, pumping or jumping as to get the suspension to activate takes a lot more energy than a normal dual suspension bike. Under normal fire road riding conditions, it really seems to sit high in its suspension, great if you’re after an all-day pedal, bad if you’re a MTB novice. It isn’t until the cam ‘switches’ direction where the real fun begins. This bikes fun factor is governed by how much you put into it, you really need to ride this bike to really enjoy it. Which I know is a funny statement, aren’t all bikes ‘ridden’? Well, yes, but as with the Tranny, it was so easy to pop off lips, pump over rollers with little effort, whereas the Yeti almost seems to fight you… until you show it whose boss.
Riding this thing at ten tenths is so important, I started a new paragraph. Most bikes will flatter a more novice rider, especially when they start punching above their weight. Not so much this. The Yeti will reward the more seasoned rider with a fast, fun ride which tracks well, easily flicked, whipped, hucked and manualed and make the more novice rider look awkward and unhappy. Really get the timing and technique right on a drop or jump and it reward you with smooth, almost bottomless travel. Aim, weight and throw this thing into a corner and it will rail it like no-one’s business. No amount of exclamation makes would help describe how it feels to ride this thing aggressively… so I won’t try
In conclusion, I would recommend the Yeti SB66 to anyone above a certain fitness and skill level (That’s not to say that I’m one of them either) as it takes someone like this to extract 100% out of this bike. Is it a super bike? Yes, insane pedalling capabilities matched with more than ample flickability make it an insane ride. Is it a 10/10 bike? Almost, for me, refine a few frame details and I’ll be happy.
Is it for everyone? No
My previous bike was a 2011 Transition Covert with full XO group set, Fox RP23 and Fox Float 36 160 RLC FiT forks. I loved this bike but as I’m having less and less time to go on epic weekends to Stromlo or Buller or anywhere, it was being used more for long km rides just to keep my fitness up. While the Tranny is a more than capable AM bike, it really felt like a short travel FR bike due to the slack head angle and very plush suspension. The Yeti on the other hand feels more like a long travel XC bike, and to tell you the truth, unless you ride it hard, it feels just like a 100mm XC bike. More on that later!
Ok, so first of all, the size of the bike is a personal preference. I'm 172cm tall so right on the cusp of small and medium frame. With the top tube being 25mm longer than traditional offerings, this worried a lot of people. My advice to people looking at this frame is go with what size frame you’re used to, but put a short stem on it, it suits the character of the bike more. But to be honest, I didn’t feel overly stretched out over the bike with the extra 25mm, not as much as people made it out to be.
The Yeti was built with the weight figure in mind. I chose the Shimano XTR race group set because of this and I had SRAM XO on the Tranny. Although I was super happy with the XO, XTR was meant to be an even more refined product. Also, it was something different and oh so shiny. For the first couple of months, I regretted the decision so much, I contemplated selling off the group set and going back to SRAM. The mechs didn’t want to stay in tune, the brakes we’re inconsistent, it was noisy, clunky and unreliable; dropping chains, ghost shifting, basically doing everything you wouldn’t expect to see in Shimano’s flagship group set. Stripping the Yeti down after a big sandy day at The Oaks, I did my usual thing, cleaning everything to an inch of its life and retuning everything. Suddenly everything started working how you would expect it. Long story short, seems like Shimano takes (a lot) longer to settle in than SRAM, and also more fiddly and precise tuning is needed (because 2:1) but all-in-all very happy with it now.
Fox was (still) a no brainer for the suspension, not only because of the quality, but it was what Yeti designed the SB66 to use. With the new 34 CTD forks out, I jumped on them like a fat kid on a cup cake. Buttery smooth is one way of putting them, with very very little bed in time and the right amount of fork oil from factory out of the box, all was right with the world. One word of advice with the suspension setup, Yeti recommend 25% sag on the SB66. Set it up with EXACTLY 25% sag! Not 27%, not 21%, Exactly 25%. This is super important. More on this later.
One thing I will say about the forks is that they have a tendency of diving under aggressive breaking, which is bad because to get 100% out of the bike (as previously said) you have to ride this thing super aggressively. This could be dialled out with some HSC, but (IMO) it seems that Fox has “dumbed” down the range of adjustment on its forks compression settings seem to be missing on most of the line-up now.
Finally, the FOX DOSS. At 620gm, it’s not the lightest dropper post by any means, however with (still) so many issues with the Rockshox Reverb (the one on the Tranny being a 3rd gen) and the mechanicals on the DOSS looking so solid, I bit the bullet and grabbed one. I’m very very happy with the result, 2 things though: 1) watch how much pressure you put into the post, this governs the return speed, I put it at ¾ of the recommended PSI and holy shit does it return fast and with a CLUNK. Just something to think about if you want your gooch unharmed. 2) the lever is stupid. There is no other way of describing it; the action is smooth, but that’s not the problem, the problem is the size of it. It just seems to hang out there, it’s not sleek, it’s not pretty and I dare say in a decent off, it would be torn off pretty quick. See photos of my build to get a good idea.
I bought the Tranny when the SB66 first came out. Not one to believe all the hype and suspicious of the longevity of the Switch cam went with a more traditional frame. A couple of years on, it seems there is still so much hype surrounding this bike, especially now the carbon models. Build quality and features on this frame I would give a 9/10. A couple of things I would have liked to see in such a boutique expensive frame: internal cable routing (you don’t realise how ugly cables are until you see a bike with full internal cable routing) Better quality graphics. I’m not sure how hard it is or what’s the process in embedding the graphics in a carbon frame, however mine seemed to be… smudged (?) and dull (which would have more to do with the overall finish I guess) but almost seem to be faded in some spots. Lastly, loose the bottle cage bolts on the down tube. I don’t know if it’s even possible to reach a bottle down there, but it seems pointless to me. I know these are small things, but on a RRP $3500AUD frame, I kinda expected more. Other than that, the usual titanium hardware adorns this sleek and sexy frame with small details like ‘Yeti’ on all the bolt heads give it a nice touch. Easily switchable QR to 142x12 rear end is also touch (why you’d go QR is beyond me) also stiffens up the rear considerably. Built in chain slap guides look very low profile but do the job very well, a removable ISCG collar is also pretty cool, tapered internal headset to keep the front end low and direct mount front mech, so you don’t have to faff about with alignment is also a nice touch. Durability wise, so far I’ve had no problems with the Switch like or any other of the pivots yet. I did re-torque them after about a month of riding, but that’s just me being anal. When I took apart the bike after the Oaks, I found little to no debris in the Switch pivot and still to this day, no play in any of the rear end links. We’ll just have to see how it goes.
The first thing you notice riding the Yeti, is just how stiff the whole package is (insert penis joke here). I’ve never truly appreciated what you read in reviews about a product being ‘stiff’ meant, and it’s hard to put into words. It’s more of a feeling you get, how responsive the bike is as a whole. Pedalling this thing, you feel straight away that there is little to no pedal bob. This is fantastic if your using the bike for a do-it-all type situation, as climbing to the top of a run can be done with ease with a great in saddle position and stable, planted front end (especially for such a long TT and slack HA). However the lack of suspension movement is disconcerting over smaller bumps and rough stuff where the ride can seem harsh and chattery. This also goes for manualing, pumping or jumping as to get the suspension to activate takes a lot more energy than a normal dual suspension bike. Under normal fire road riding conditions, it really seems to sit high in its suspension, great if you’re after an all-day pedal, bad if you’re a MTB novice. It isn’t until the cam ‘switches’ direction where the real fun begins. This bikes fun factor is governed by how much you put into it, you really need to ride this bike to really enjoy it. Which I know is a funny statement, aren’t all bikes ‘ridden’? Well, yes, but as with the Tranny, it was so easy to pop off lips, pump over rollers with little effort, whereas the Yeti almost seems to fight you… until you show it whose boss.
Riding this thing at ten tenths is so important, I started a new paragraph. Most bikes will flatter a more novice rider, especially when they start punching above their weight. Not so much this. The Yeti will reward the more seasoned rider with a fast, fun ride which tracks well, easily flicked, whipped, hucked and manualed and make the more novice rider look awkward and unhappy. Really get the timing and technique right on a drop or jump and it reward you with smooth, almost bottomless travel. Aim, weight and throw this thing into a corner and it will rail it like no-one’s business. No amount of exclamation makes would help describe how it feels to ride this thing aggressively… so I won’t try
In conclusion, I would recommend the Yeti SB66 to anyone above a certain fitness and skill level (That’s not to say that I’m one of them either) as it takes someone like this to extract 100% out of this bike. Is it a super bike? Yes, insane pedalling capabilities matched with more than ample flickability make it an insane ride. Is it a 10/10 bike? Almost, for me, refine a few frame details and I’ll be happy.
Is it for everyone? No
I tried everything I could think of bordering on stupid to try and drop the chain.
Nothing.
Drops, jumps, corrugations, pedaling backward.
Nothing.
Just silent, simple chain on teeth somehow stuck there with crazy sorcery.
Though not cheap (though cheaper than a single ring and chain guide) its perfectly made, light and pretty.
Bike weight down to 11.9kg without pedals.
So I decided to give Fox another go and (pre) ordered their 2014 stuff.
This arrived today:
Claimed weight: 365gm (though I don't know what size that refers to)
Sneaky install:
From all reviews, the 2014 fixes all the problems that the 2013 stuff had. Forks should be here end of the week
This arrived today:
Claimed weight: 365gm (though I don't know what size that refers to)
Sneaky install:
From all reviews, the 2014 fixes all the problems that the 2013 stuff had. Forks should be here end of the week
A quick update. The bike is feeling solid and amazing. The new Float X is worth every cent and is the closest thing to a coil shock, that's not a coil shock I have ever felt.
I also switched back to a NN on the rear as I wasn't impressed with the Maxxis.
I changed to the Raceface ring purely because it looked more turquoise in the pictures, in real life it's nothing like it.
Upgraded the the calipers and hoses to 2014 Saint gear as coming from a DH background, wasn't happy with the standard XTR stopping power. Still bedding them in, they feel 100% better already.
I pre-ordered the SDG ti-fly Shibuya last year from the states as no-one in Australia was going to bring them in. It only just arrived :/
Last bit of bling was turquoise gear cables. I found these from the UK, very happy with the colour match.
How she looks at the moment
I also switched back to a NN on the rear as I wasn't impressed with the Maxxis.
I changed to the Raceface ring purely because it looked more turquoise in the pictures, in real life it's nothing like it.
Upgraded the the calipers and hoses to 2014 Saint gear as coming from a DH background, wasn't happy with the standard XTR stopping power. Still bedding them in, they feel 100% better already.
I pre-ordered the SDG ti-fly Shibuya last year from the states as no-one in Australia was going to bring them in. It only just arrived :/
Last bit of bling was turquoise gear cables. I found these from the UK, very happy with the colour match.
How she looks at the moment
theMerryPrankster
Likes Dirt
I remember seeing this around the time of 2012 interbike, and thinking they would look sweet on an otherwise all black bike. Where did you order from/do you know why it took so long?
The photo doesn't do it justice, it's so bright, it looks like a unicorn took a shit on my bike!
A family friend hooked me up from a bike shop in the USA, the reason I got was because SDG was producing a limited amount and they we're getting snapped up as soon as they had stock. However, I believe CRC are finally going to be carrying stock very shorty and the Australian distributer are now able to get them, but is still about an 8 week wait.
ChopSticks
Banned
very very nice Kev!!!................................what wood did you use on that deck?
Trialling a new Garmin mount position (I saw it on one of the Would Series Enduro bikes) as the out in front mount broke from the last trip to Stromlo. I also noticed that when your razzing a trail, the last thing your doing is watching the screen, I basically have it on board for Strava so having it mounted on the frame should have too many issues.
Also switched out the NN for a 2.1 Thunder Burt.
Rolls stupidly quick and loves to slide. Would prefer it in a 2.25 but so far am pretty happy.
Generally the Yeti is still going great, I am noticing that the forks seem a touch chattery and the shock doesn't seem to lock out as well as it did in climb mode to when I first bought it. Toying with the idea of sending them back to Fox (again) to get them checked out *sigh*
Also switched out the E13 flats to Saint flats. The lack of rolling resistance is noticeable (more so in leg fatigue than anything) but is less grippy. I found myself having to reposition my 5.10's a fair bit.
Also switched out the NN for a 2.1 Thunder Burt.
Rolls stupidly quick and loves to slide. Would prefer it in a 2.25 but so far am pretty happy.
Generally the Yeti is still going great, I am noticing that the forks seem a touch chattery and the shock doesn't seem to lock out as well as it did in climb mode to when I first bought it. Toying with the idea of sending them back to Fox (again) to get them checked out *sigh*
Also switched out the E13 flats to Saint flats. The lack of rolling resistance is noticeable (more so in leg fatigue than anything) but is less grippy. I found myself having to reposition my 5.10's a fair bit.
The big girl was feeling neglected, so a full strip and rebuild was in order.
Picked my shock up from TBSM (warranty job) and a few nice bits too...
New Renthal carbon bars
New Prologo saddle in custom blue
New Raceface grips
Rode the bike for the first time in over a month, feels like an armchair compared to the Fuji! Going from 420mn bars back to 750mm bars and twice the overall weight was weird, but good weird. Hoping to put some km on it this weekend after work.
Picked my shock up from TBSM (warranty job) and a few nice bits too...
New Renthal carbon bars
New Prologo saddle in custom blue
New Raceface grips
Rode the bike for the first time in over a month, feels like an armchair compared to the Fuji! Going from 420mn bars back to 750mm bars and twice the overall weight was weird, but good weird. Hoping to put some km on it this weekend after work.
ChopSticks
Banned
Glad you're back!!!!
I thought I lost you to those Lycra wearing roadies
bikes looking really good and I love that saddle!!!
Stromlo ride again soon ?!?!?!?!!!!!
I thought I lost you to those Lycra wearing roadies
bikes looking really good and I love that saddle!!!
Stromlo ride again soon ?!?!?!?!!!!!
This is my other new toy:
2013 Fuji SST 1.1 I picked it up at a steal as it's 'last years model'
So far I've put just under 1000km on it in a couple of months and it's still feeling pretty awesome. I don't think my legs have ever felt this strong on the MTB before (which is really the only reason why I bought it) and has really helped my overall fitness very quickly.
2013 Fuji SST 1.1 I picked it up at a steal as it's 'last years model'
So far I've put just under 1000km on it in a couple of months and it's still feeling pretty awesome. I don't think my legs have ever felt this strong on the MTB before (which is really the only reason why I bought it) and has really helped my overall fitness very quickly.