Yeti Cycles

SB5+ Turq X01 Eagle Complete Mountain Bike - 2017

The 2017 Yeti Cycles SB5+ Turq X01 Eagle Complete Mountain Bike hits the sweet spot at the convergence of trail, cross-country, and enduro, blending speed and agility to fly over rolling climbs and dicey root lattices with five inches of plush travel and beefy plus-sized tires to handle burly drops and screaming descents. Yeti kits this build out with SRAM's next level, 12-speed X01 Eagle drivetrain, powerful Guide RS brakes, and smooth rolling DT Swiss wheels—not the brand's blingiest build kit but certainly more capable than anything we were riding as recently as three years ago.

This bike's geometry closely mirrors its SB5 sibling with slight tweaks to embrace three-inch tires for smooth, stable traction across loose terrain. Of particular note is the SB5+'s elevated chainstays, which curve upward from the shock and create a sharply pointed triangle that increased stiffness and opens up tire clearance. This curved design keeps the chainstays at a svelte 17.2in for snappy, confident handling when whipping through switchbacks and rocketing over dusty trails.

The frameset carries Yeti's new Turq designation, which it says represents the most advanced frames it can create at any given time. For the SB5+ Turq, that means a more precise carbon layup, molded to reinforce key stress points along the frame without adding bulk. Yeti claims it reduces weight by almost 300g from the regular version. This process results in strength where you need it and weight reduction where you don’t.

The SB5+ Turq features a 67.1-degree head tube angle that can’t wait to bomb its way aggressively through steep, loose rock gardens that leave little room for indecision while the short, snappy rear triangle tracks lines like a hound dog after a fox trail. Furthering this bike's handling prowess, Boost rear spacing allows for those stubby, quick-thinking chainstays that take successive bumps in stride while finessing a tough line.

Yeti’s Switch Infinity suspension is the lynchpin of the SB5+'s versatile capability. Its linear travel hits the sweet spot of anti-squat to keep pedaling sharp across rocky climbs, and it also erases the momentary harshness that its predecessor, the Switch Link design, would display when pushed to the absolute limit. Riding with the shock open won’t condemn you to bottomless squish when you have to transition quickly into a short climb on the other side of a long descent; the bike will still claw up anything without leaving you wide-eyed and white-knuckled when you fly down a deep rollover on the other side.

Other than those changes, long term Yeti fans will be relieved to learn that the suspension systems are fairly similar. Like the Switch Link, the Switch Infinity slider travels upward under the first phase of compression, when the SB5+ is settling into its sag point. As the rear end compresses deeper, the direction changes, and the DH-inspired slider travels down toward the bottom bracket shell to maintain a steady pedaling platform. This change of direction is smoother, without the above-mentioned dead space, but the effect is the same. Deep in the stroke, it works in conjunction with the upper pivot to produce a vertical wheel path that flattens big hits. On the trail, you'll be tempting faster lines across the loose and chunky stuff as the SB5+ tidies up sloppy, questionable lines and sweeps rider errors under the rug.