Yeti SB135
Wheel Size: 27.5’’’
Travel: 135 mm rear / 150 or 160 mm front
Geometry highlights:
- Sizes offered: XS, S, M, L, XL
- Headtube angle: 65° / 65.4°
- Seat tube angle: 76.5° / 77°
- Reach: 460 mm (size Medium)
- Chainstay length: 429 mm to 437 mm (2 mm increments per size)
Frame Material: Carbon Fiber
Price:
- Frame w/ Fox Float Factory shock: $4,300
- Complete bikes: $6,400 to $10,300
Intro
Late last year, Yeti overhauled its line of 29ers, unveiling the new SB160, SB140, and SB120. That left them in the slightly confusing position of having two bikes called the SB140 in their lineup — the 27.5’’ wheeled version from a few years ago, and the new 29’’ one (which is a replacement for the SB130 that sat alongside the older SB140 in the Yeti line).
Today that all gets straightened out, as the older 27.5’’ wheeled SB140 gets replaced with the new SB135 — which, despite the current trendiness of mixed-wheel-size configurations, keeps rolling on dual 27.5’’ wheels. And while the SB135 and new 29’’ SB140 have similar travel numbers (and some significant similarities in geometry that we’ll cover in more detail below), Yeti talks about the two quite differently, describing the SB140 as the more speed-oriented, game-on bike of the two, and the SB135 as the more nimble, playful alternative.
So what has Yeti done to differentiate the two beyond just wheel size, and what makes the SB135 stand out? Let’s dive in.
The Frame
In terms of overall design and layout, the SB135 bears a strong family resemblance to the SB120, SB140, and SB160 that Yeti launched last year. The Switch Infinity suspension and overall lines of the frame carry over to the SB135. So do the host of updated features that Yeti rolled out on the new 29ers, including switching back to a threaded bottom bracket shell, and a host of refinements to the linkages, pivot hardware, cable routing, and frame protection. All of the pivot bearings are now pressed into the aluminum linkage parts, which Yeti says makes service easier, saves weight (since there’s less material required in the carbon fiber front and rear triangles to accommodate bearing seats), and means that you’re only likely to damage a smaller, far less expensive linkage part in the event of a botched bearing swap.
The cable routing is still fully internal, but it’s fully guided through both the front and rear triangles, and Yeti’s redesigned their cable ports to lightly clamp the cables at most of the exit points, as well as at the main pivot to help keep things in place and rattle-free. Various versions of those cable ports and guide pieces are included with the SB135 to swap in if you’re running wireless controls and don’t need as many provisions for cable routing (or vice versa, if you swap a cable-actuated drivetrain onto a build that comes with a wireless one) to keep things looking tidy.
The SB135 also gets the revised ribbed chainstay protector and beefed-up downtube guard from the other new bikes in the Yeti line, and the bolt-on downtube guard can be removed, exposing an opening in the bottom of the frame to help sort out routing for the dropper cable. And the SB135 features a SRAM UDH derailleur hanger for compatibility with the new SRAM Transmission, which is offered on some SB135 builds — more on those in a minute.
But where things get a bit unusual with the SB135 is in the frame layout for different sizes. Yeti has adopted size-specific chainstays (accomplished by moving the suspension pivots on the front triangle, rather than size-specific swingarms). That is common enough these days, but Yeti has also taken the uncommon (and quite cool) extra step of completely redesigning the frame layout for the Small and XS sizes to position the shock lower in the frame. That lets Yeti squeeze substantially more standover clearance on the smaller frames than would be possible with the layout on the larger sizes, while maintaining overall similar aesthetics and not requiring a big top tube hump as we’ve seen on some of their older XS bikes, dating back to the SB5.
All of that does mean that the Small and XS frames get their own rear triangle and linkage parts that are different from those used on the bigger sizes, and while that does necessitate very fractionally different suspension kinematics between the two variants, Yeti says that they’re extremely similar. The tweaked frame layout does mean that the Small and XS frames don’t have room for a piggyback rear shock (which the larger sizes can accommodate) but all get space for a water bottle inside the front triangle.
The leverage curve on the SB135 is mostly linear (and overall pretty low leverage) going from about 2.6:1 to 2.25:1, with a slight steepening of the curve toward additional progression very late in the travel. Other kinematic graphs aren’t published.
Mixed-wheel configurations are definitely trendy these days, but Yeti’s case for not going with one on the SB135 is that their goal was to make a bike that’s especially quick-handling and nimble, and that smaller wheels are still the best way to do that. And though they’re not listing a geometry chart for such a setup or offering it directly, Yeti does acknowledge that some folks are likely to put a 29’’ front wheel on the SB135 anyway. That said, a 140mm-travel 29er fork and wheel package is still substantially taller than even the 160mm-travel 27.5’’ fork and wheel spec’d on the LR builds, and Yeti doesn’t recommend a mullet setup.
Fit & Geometry
Yeti offers the SB135 in sizes XS through XL, with a 65.4° headtube angle and 77° effective seat tube angle across the board. The actual seat tube angle gets fractionally steeper with each successively larger size, to compensate for the greater seatpost extension that’s expected from taller folks on bigger bikes — a clearly sensible idea that’s been slow to catch on with many brands. Reach ranges from 400 to 504 mm, with the Medium frame coming in at 460 mm and the Large at 479 mm. Chainstay lengths are also size-specific, with the XS starting at 429 mm and growing by 2 mm per size up to 437 mm on the XL.
Most of those numbers aren’t too wildly different from the new SB140 (the 29’’ one), with the SB135 getting slightly shorter reach numbers in a given size and substantially shorter chainstays, as well as having the size range shifted down a size to XS through XL instead of Small through XXL.
It’s great that Yeti is offering a truly small XS — which they say covers folks down to about 4’11’’ (150 cm) — and as we’ve talked about a whole bunch on here, the reduced stack height that you can achieve with a 27.5’’ front wheel as compared to a 29’’ one makes a lot of sense for shorter riders on smaller sized bikes. But the stack height on the SB135 does start to look notably short on the bigger sizes — by 15 mm as compared to the SB140 in the Large and XL frames, for example.
All of those stated numbers are for the standard builds with a 150mm-travel fork. The Lunch Ride builds slacken things out by 0.4° by way of a 160mm-travel fork, and in doing so lop a few millimeters off the reach and raise the bottom bracket a touch. As compared to the older SB140 (the 27.5’’ one) that the SB135 replaces, the SB135’s reach has actually gotten a touch shorter, the seat tube very fractionally slacker, and the headtube angle has remained identical. The SB135 gets size-specific chainstays whereas the SB140 had the same length across the size range (which, at 433 mm, are the same length as the Medium SB135).
The Builds
Yeti offers the SB135 in a large assortment of builds, including options for “Lunch Ride” (aka, LR) specs, as featured on the SB140, and a number of other Yeti models over the years. The LR builds bump the fork travel up to 160 mm from 150 mm, swap in a Fox Float X shock in place of a Float, substitute a Grip2 fork damper (on the TLR T3 build), get bigger brakes and rotors, and heavier-duty wheels. The inclusion of the piggyback Float X rear shock does mean that the LR builds are only available on sizes Medium and up since the Small and XS frames can only accommodate an inline shock.
And as per usual for Yeti, “C” builds get the more basic carbon layup in the frame, while “T-series” builds get the lighter, fancier Turq one. And as with the SB140, C-series builds can be upgraded to Fox Factory suspension for an upcharge, and T-series ones have an optional upgrade to DT Swiss EXC 1501 carbon wheels. Those upgrades cost $600 and $1,000, respectively.
- Drivetrain: Shimano SLX
- Brakes: Shimano SLX 4-piston w/ 180 mm rotors
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance (150 mm travel)
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Wheels: DT Swiss M1900
- Dropper Post: OneUp (XS–S: 150 mm; M: 180 mm; L–XL: 210 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX
- Brakes: SRAM G2 R w/ 180 mm rotors
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance (150 mm travel)
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Wheels: DT Swiss M1900
- Dropper Post: OneUp (XS–S: 150 mm; M: 180 mm; L–XL: 210 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX
- Brakes: SRAM Code R w/ 200 mm rotors
- Fork: Fox 36 Performance (160 mm travel)
- Shock: Fox Float X Performance
- Wheels: DT Swiss E1900
- Dropper Post: OneUp (XS–S: 150 mm; M: 180 mm; L–XL: 210 mm)
- Drivetrain: Shimano XT
- Brakes: Shimano XT 4-piston w/ 180 mm rotors
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory Fit4 (150 mm travel)
- Shock: Fox Float Factory
- Wheels: DT Swiss XM1700
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer (XS–S: 150 mm; M: 175 mm; L–XL: 210 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM X01
- Brakes: SRAM G2 RSC w/ 180 mm rotors
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory Fit4 (150 mm travel)
- Shock: Fox Float Factory
- Wheels: DT Swiss XM1700
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer (XS–S: 150 mm; M: 175 mm; L–XL: 210 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 Eagle T-Type
- Brakes: SRAM Code RSC w/ 200 mm rotors
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory Grip2 (160 mm travel)
- Shock: Fox Float X Factory
- Wheels: DT Swiss EX1700
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer Factory (M: 175 mm; L–XL: 200 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX T-Type
- Brakes: SRAM G2 Ultimate w/ 180 mm rotors
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory Fit4 (150 mm travel)
- Shock: Fox Float Factory
- Wheels: DT Swiss XM1700
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer Factory (XS–S: 150 mm; M: 175 mm; L–XL: 210 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) On paper, the SB135 looks extremely similar to the older 27.5’’-wheeled SB140 that it replaces. But do they actually ride similarly, or are there significant differences lurking beneath the surface?
(2) What sorts of riders are going to get along best with the SB135, as opposed to the SB140 (or any number of 29’’-wheeled bikes in this mid-travel Trail bike class)?
(3) And how does the SB135 compare to the Pivot Shadowcat, one of the other prominent high-end 27.5’’-wheeled bikes in this travel range?
Bottom Line (For Now)
There aren’t a ton of 27.5’’ Trail bikes out there these days (especially not high-end ones), but as we’ve been arguing for a long time now, 27.5’’ wheels very much still have their place for certain riders. Yeti clearly agrees, and the SB135 looks like a really good option for folks who want a nimble, quick-handling Trail bike that’s still able to keep up on some steeper, burlier trails. We’ve got an SB 135 TLR T3 in for review, so stay tuned for a full review to come. And Blister Members can check out our Flash Review of the SB135 now.
Flash Review
Blister Members can read our Flash Review of the Yeti SB135 for our initial on-trail impressions. Become a Blister Member now to check out this and all of our Flash Reviews, plus get exclusive deals and discounts on gear, and personalized gear recommendations from us.