Yeti MTe
Wheel Sizes: 29’’ front and rear (mixed wheel compatible)
Suspension Travel:
- Frame: 145 mm
- Fork: 160 mm
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: SM, MD, LG, XL
- Headtube angle: 64º
- Reach (size Large): 480 mm
- Chainstay length (all sizes): 449 mm
Drive System Highlights:
- Motor: TQ HPR60
- Torque: 60 Nm
- Power: 350 W
- Battery: TQ 580 or 290 Wh
- Display: TQ HPR In-Frame Color Display
- Remote: TQ HPR Remote
Frame Material: Carbon fiber
Price: Complete bikes from $9,800 to $14,300 USD
Intro
It’s been almost four years since Yeti launched their first eMTB, the 160E, but today, the new MTe joins their electrified lineup. Designed as a light-assist eMTB that prioritizes a low weight and an intuitive ride over all-out power, Yeti is positioning the MTe as a Trail eMTB that’s meant to ride well first and foremost. But this bike is also the first one on the market with TQ’s new HPR60 drive system, so let’s get into all the details.
The Frame
Yeti opted for their “Sixfinity” design on the new MTe, which we first saw on their 160E. This is a 6-bar layout driving a vertically mounted rear shock, providing 145 mm of rear suspension travel. While Yeti’s unpowered bikes (except for the ASR) feature their signature “Switch Infinity” suspension design, a motor occupies the valuable real estate where the sliding Switch Infinity assembly is typically mounted, and Yeti has designed Sixfinity specifically for use on their electrified mountain bikes. Similarly to Switch Infinity, the lower “Switch Link” on the MTe moves upward during the first half of the travel, then back downward for the second half. While the MTe frame and suspension layout looks quite similar to the 160E, the suspension kinematics have been tuned specifically for the MTe chassis.
Yeti aimed for a more linear leverage curve with the MTe, with the goal of creating a consistent feel throughout the MTe’s available rear travel. The MTe comes with two pairs of swappable and reversible chips that dictate the position of the lower shock mount, creating four different leverage rates. The most linear setting provides 12% progression, then the next position results in 14%, then 23%, and the most progressive position puts you at 25%. The MTe comes with the chips positioned in the 14% progression setting on builds with the Fox Float X, and the slightly lower 12% position with the T4 build that uses the inline Fox Float.
Because the MTe is a light-assist eMTB, Yeti tuned the suspension to provide more anti-squat than their full-power 160E. As the Switch Link moves up on the MTe, inside the “pedaling zone” of about 25-65 mm of rear travel, the MTe has higher anti-squat numbers to provide better pedaling support. Then, as the Switch Link moves down for the deepest portion of the MTe’s travel, the anti-squat greatly reduces to mitigate things that negatively affect downhill performance, such as pedal kickback.
Consistency and predictability are Yeti’s stated aims for the MTe’s anti-rise. With a very flat anti-rise curve (a bit over 60%), Yeti designed the MTe’s suspension to feel similar throughout its entire travel under braking forces, with the goal of preserving the MTe’s geometry while still providing adequate traction.
The MTe is only available in their high-modulus carbon fiber, which they refer to as “Turq.” This carbon is reinforced with a material called Vectran, a high-performance multifilament like Kevlar, to offer more impact resistance, stiffness, and overall strength. The MTe also has an integrated downtube guard that doubles as an access door for the battery, allowing the battery to be accessed and removed without the need to also remove the motor. There’s also a fender above the lower Switch Link that keeps debris out of this area with lots of moving parts.
An integrated chainguide is also featured, very similar to the one we first saw on the ASR. The MTe uses a ZS44/56 headtube standard to allow for aftermarket headset cups, with headtube alignment notches to ensure proper headset cup positioning. Finally, new for Yeti is a pair of bosses under the top tube of the MTe, designed as an accessory mount to accommodate things like tools or a tube.
Drive System
Yeti partnered with TQ to launch their new HPR60 motor system on the new MTe. Still using the same harmonic pin drive system as the exceptionally quiet HPR50, the HPR60 is designed to retain the quiet and natural feeling of the HPR50 while also offering some improvements in a few key areas.
As the name suggests, the HPR60 has 60 Nm of torque, paired with a max output of 350 watts. In short, this system was designed to improve power delivery and heat-shedding, with cooling fins aiding in the latter. Additionally, HPR60 also comes with an integrated top tube display, with color this time. The HPR60 is controlled via a familiar remote on the left side of the handlebars. TQ makes a range extender for their drive systems that adds 160 watt-hours of battery life and mounts to standard water bottle bosses.
Fit & Geometry
The MTe is available in four sizes, Small through Extra Large, recommended for riders ranging from 5’1” to 6’7”. Looking at the geometry chart, the MTe seems fully modern with a couple of twists. The Large MTe has a pretty middle-ground reach number of 480 mm, paired with a slack-yet-reasonable headtube angle of 64º. The MTe has an effective seat tube angle of 77º, which might be slightly more slack than Yeti’s similar but unpowered SB140, but given that riders will likely spend more time on flatter roads to access singletrack aboard the MTe, this makes sense.
One measurement that stands out is the 449 mm chainstays on all sizes of the MTe. Certainly on the longer side for just about any mountain bike, these long chainstays seem to be an indicator that stability is a priority for the MTe. The stack height of the MTe is at 645 mm for the size Large, which is pretty typical for bikes in this class with 160 mm forks, though if anything, the MTe’s stack is on the slightly higher end of the spectrum, and the long 449 mm chainstays might balance this out a bit by biasing the rider’s weight a bit more forward on the MTe.
It’s also worth mentioning that while the MTe is only available as a full 29er, it can be run as a mixed-wheel setup, too. There are a pair of flip chips that Yeti prefers to call “wheel chips,” where the seat stays meet the upper rocker link. Switching the orientation of these chips allows you to run a 27.5” wheel out back without changing the geometry of the MTe apart from a small change in chainstay length.
The full geometry for the MTe is below:
The Builds
Yeti is offering three build kits for the MTe, with the cheaper of the two featuring some pretty burly componentry for the Trail category and TQ’s larger 580 Wh battery. Weight is more of a concern with the top-end T4 XX Transmission build, with Yeti opting to put some lighter components on this build as well as TQ’s lighter 290 Wh battery, with claimed weight savings of about 3 lbs (~1.4 kg) coming from this battery swap alone. Both sizes of the battery will be available aftermarket, and can be swapped on and off the MTe, and there’s also a neat little spot to discreetly mount an Apple AirTag or Tile Tracker on the top of this battery.
All of the builds get SRAM brakes and shifting, with the base C2 build featuring SRAM’s new Transmission 90 drivetrain. Braking power certainly seems to be a priority here, with SRAM Maven brakes coming on the heavier two build kits, and the slightly lighter SRAM Motive brakes coming on the top-end T4 build.
The C2 and T3 builds of the MTe both get Fox’s Float X rear shock, while the lighter T4 build is specced with the inline Fox Float rear shock. All builds see Fox’s new 36 fork, with the Yeti opting to use the Grip X damper in the T4’s fork for weight-saving purposes instead of the Grip X2 damper that the T3 gets.
The C2 and T3 builds also come with Schwalbe’s new radial ultra-soft (front) and soft (rear) tires, with maximizing traction being a big goal here. The lighter T4 build saves some grams with Maxxis EXO-casing tires instead. Every build comes in under 45 lbs, with the heaviest C2 build weighing a claimed 44.3 lbs / 20.09 kg, the T3 coming in at a stated 43.3 lbs / 19.64 kg, and the top-end T4 build sitting at a significantly lighter 38.6 lbs / 17.5 kg. Additionally, all build kits get RockShox’s new Reverb AXS B1 dropper post, in pretty long drop lengths relative to each size, too. It’s also worth mentioning that every build kit comes with Yeti’s new Carbon E-Routing handlebars, which were specifically designed to internally route the thin cable that connects TQ’s HPR remote to its drive system, resulting in a sleek look in the cockpit.
The full build details are as follows:
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Bronze (200 mm Centerline rotors)
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance
- Wheels: DT Swiss E1900 Alloy 30 mm
- Dropper post: RockShox Reverb AXS B1 (SM:150 mm, MD:175 mm, LG/XL:200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM XO Eagle AXS Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Maven Silver (200 mm HS2 rotors)
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory Grip X2 (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float X Factory
- Wheels: DT Swiss EXC1700 Carbon 30 mm
- Dropper post: RockShox Reverb AXS B1 (SM:150 mm, MD:175 mm, LG/XL:200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Motive Ultimate (200 mm front / 180 mm rear HS2 rotors)
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory Grip X (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float Factory
- Wheels: DT Swiss EXC 1501 Carbon 30 mm
- Dropper post: RockShox Reverb AXS B1 (SM:150 mm, MD:175 mm, LG/XL:200 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) We have lots of experience with TQ’s HPR50 system, so how will this new HPR60 compare, and how will the HPR60 compare to other systems like Fazua Ride 60 and Bosch Performance SX?
(2) The C2 & T3 MTe’s stated weights fall somewhat between light-assist, smaller-battery eMTBs like the Pivot Shuttle SL and full-power, bigger-battery ones like the Yeti 160E. Will it ride more like one class than the other on the way down?
(3) With a suspension layout different from Yeti’s unpowered MTBs that we’ve tested, will the MTe have a similar sporty feel, or will it ride differently? Also, how much of a tangible difference will the two shock mounting positions make in terms of ride feel?
Bottom Line (For Now)
The new MTe is Yeti’s first foray into the light-assist eMTB class, but they certainly haven’t made a cut-and-paste version of a lightweight eMTB here. With a bigger battery and burly spec on the heaviest two builds, Yeti certainly isn’t afraid of adding a little extra mass to this bike in order to provide better downhill performance, while they do have an impressively lightweight offering for those looking for a very nimble eMTB, too. We’ve been testing the MTe in the T3 build for the past few weeks, and you can check out our initial on-dirt takeaways below.
Flash Review: Our Initial On-Trail Impressions
BLISTER+ members and those who purchase our Digital Access Pass can check out the Flash Review below to read our initial on-trail impressions. Get our Digital Access Pass to view all our Flash Reviews and Deep Dives, or become a BLISTER+ member today to get access to that and a LOT more, including the best worldwide Outdoor Injury Insurance, exclusive deals and discounts on skis, personalized gear recommendations from us, and much more.
Flash Review: Yeti MTe
We’ve been spending time on Yeti’s brand-new MTe, a mid-travel, light-assist eMTB that includes TQ’s new HPR60 drive system. Check out our initial impressions.
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