Yeti SB165 T3 Bike

The Yeti SB165 T3 is Yeti's do-everything gravity weapon — a 165mm coil-sprung enduro machine built for riders who refuse to choose between park-capable and epic-capable. This is the bike that earned Loam Wolf's Bike of the Year for 2024, and the T3 build puts that proven platform in its most accessible form without compromising what makes the SB165 exceptional: a TURQ-Series carbon frame, proprietary Switch Infinity suspension, and a mullet wheel configuration tuned to balance pedaling efficiency with aggressive downhill performance.

At the center of the SB165 is Yeti's Switch Infinity — a translating-pivot suspension design where the main pivot moves through its range of travel rather than locking in place. The result is a suspension curve that stays active under braking and pedaling forces while remaining deeply sensitive to small trail features. For the SB165, Yeti tuned the kinematics specifically for a coil shock. The Fox Factory DHX2 drops into a chassis engineered around it, with 22% progressivity built into the leverage rate — the most progressive curve in Yeti's lineup. That calibration maintains mid-stroke composure through high-speed corners while delivering proper bottom-out support when the trail turns consequential. The Fox Factory 38 GRIP2 fork runs 170mm up front to match.

The TURQ-Series carbon frame is built using the highest-grade fiber in Yeti's material hierarchy, and the engineering detail that separates it from typical carbon enduro bikes is the per-size layup schedule: every frame size gets its own carbon layup to maintain consistent torsional stiffness across the range. A small and an XL feel identical — laterally connected, with matching resistance to flex at the suspension pivots. On a bike this aggressive, chassis flex translates directly into reduced small-bump sensitivity and accelerated bearing wear. The SB165 avoids both. Bearings throughout use standard sizing seated with precision-machined floating collet axles — replaceable anywhere with off-the-shelf parts rather than proprietary hardware that requires a dealer visit.

The mullet wheel setup — 29-inch front, 27.5-inch rear — runs on custom DT Swiss EX1700 wheels built to a 30mm internal width, shod with a Maxxis Assegai 29x2.5" up front and Maxxis Minion DHR II 27.5x2.4" out back. The geometry is designed around this mix: a 63.5-degree head angle provides stability on steep, rough terrain, while a 44mm fork offset reduces wheel flop when you're pedaling back up. Shorter chainstays (433–439mm, adjusted by size) keep the rear axle close to the rider and bias rear-wheel traction on climbs. Reach numbers run 430mm in a small through 505mm in an XL, giving taller riders legitimate room to work with.

Design Benefits

1. Switch Infinity with coil-specific kinematics: Yeti's translating-pivot suspension is calibrated with 22% progressivity — the most progressive rate in the lineup — tuned specifically for the Fox DHX2 coil shock. Small bumps disappear; big hits are absorbed with support rather than harsh rebound. The suspension stays active under braking, loading, and pedaling forces.
2. Per-size TURQ carbon layup: Each frame size has its own carbon schedule to maintain identical torsional stiffness across the range. Every rider gets the same frame feel regardless of size — no flex compromising suspension sensitivity or accelerating pivot wear at the extremes of the size run.
3. Standard bearings, floating collet axles: All pivot bearings are standard-sized and pressed into the linkage assembly rather than the swingarm or front triangle. Replaceable with off-the-shelf parts anywhere in the world — no proprietary hardware, no dealer-only service.
4. Mullet geometry dialed for mixed wheels: 29-inch front and 27.5-inch rear with a 63.5° head angle, 44mm fork offset, and tight chainstays combine rolling confidence up front with quick, responsive handling out back. The geometry is designed to exploit the mixed-wheel dynamic rather than compromise between two wheel sizes.
5. SRAM X0 AXS Eagle Transmission: Wireless shifting across a 10–52T cassette range covers the climbs without giving up drivetrain performance or efficiency on the descent. The Transmission system moves the derailleur to a protected position and eliminates the outer cage — less exposure, cleaner shifts under load.
6. Patented two-piece shock wishbone: Moves the coil shock forward in the frame, lowering standover height, expanding shock compatibility, increasing water bottle clearance, and making shock removal straightforward without compromising leverage rate or frame geometry.

Final Take

The Yeti SB165 T3 is for the rider who wants a coil-sprung enduro bike with the suspension engineering and frame intelligence to back up the ambition. Park laps, backcountry objectives, consequential local trails — the SB165 was designed to say yes to all of it, and the T3 spec delivers that capability without meaningful concessions to the platform.