Yeti SB165 T3 Bike w/DT Swiss EXC 1501 Wheelset

The Yeti SB165 is where Yeti's lineup stops asking for compromise. As the brand's longest-travel mountain bike — 165mm rear, 170mm front — the Yeti SB165 T3 Bike with DT Swiss EXC 1501 Wheelset is built for riders who want full enduro capability without giving up the ability to pedal hard to get there. The TURQ Series carbon frame, top-tier T3 build spec, and a carbon wheel upgrade over the standard build arrive at $10,200 fully assembled and ready for the kind of terrain that ends bike park days early for everything else. The mullet configuration — 29" front, 27.5" rear — combines rollover confidence and front-end stability with a shorter rear wheel that pivots faster through corners and opens up tire clearance for chunkier lines at the back.

The Switch Infinity linkage is the defining characteristic of every Yeti, and the SB165's reworked V2 mechanism is the most refined expression of it yet. The system uses a lower pivot that translates vertically through the suspension stroke — an adaptive four-bar linkage that produces a high, flat anti-squat curve in the pedaling zone, then deliberately reverses direction deep in the travel to drop anti-squat and allow the suspension full freedom to track square-edged hits. The result is a bike that pedals efficiently on climbs without a lockout, then opens up completely when the terrain demands it. The SB165's kinematics are tuned specifically for a coil shock — and the Fox DHX2 Factory (230x65mm) is the right pairing. Progression runs 22%, tracking linearly through the first 120mm of travel before ramping sharply in the final 45mm for bottom-out resistance that stays composed rather than spiking. On steep, rocky terrain, that calibration is what separates a confident run from an anxious one.

The Fox Float 38 Factory with Grip2 damper and Kashima-coated lowers manages 170mm of front travel through a 44mm offset chassis tuned for descending precision. The drivetrain is SRAM X0 Eagle T-Type Transmission — 12-speed wireless, 10-52T cassette, 30T chainring, and a OneUp upper slider chainguide to keep the chain in place when the trail gets rough. SRAM Code RSC 4-piston brakes run 220mm CenterLine rotors up front and 200mm at the rear. The DT Swiss EXC 1501 Spline One carbon wheelset — the upgrade that separates this SKU from the base T3 build — brings hookless carbon rims with 30mm internal width and 25mm depth, DT 240 hubs with Ratchet EXP engagement (36 points of engagement), and a total wheelset weight of 1,701g. Maxxis Assegai 29x2.5" 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ runs up front; Maxxis Minion DHR II 27.5x2.4" 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ handles the rear.

Design Benefits

1. Switch Infinity V2 — coil-tuned kinematics: The translating lower pivot produces an anti-squat curve that's high and flat through the pedaling zone, then reverses direction late in the travel to drop anti-squat entirely and let the suspension track the terrain without interference from chain forces. It's a system that makes a coil shock work like a coil shock should — active and sensitive — while still letting you pedal efficiently with the shock wide open.
2. Fox DHX2 Factory coil shock: The SB165 is designed around coil suspension, not tolerant of it. The DHX2 Factory's coil spring delivers more sensitivity in the initial stroke and more consistent performance across repeated hits than an air shock at equivalent travel — and the SB165's 22% progression with a pronounced late-stroke ramp is calibrated specifically to make that coil feel controlled at the limit rather than unpredictable.
3. TURQ Series carbon, size-specific layup: TURQ is Yeti's premium carbon grade — a step above the C-series in fiber quality and layup refinement. Each frame size receives a unique carbon layup to maintain consistent torsional stiffness across the size run, so the large doesn't feel vague and the small doesn't feel harsh. The frame weight of 3,769g reflects where Yeti has prioritized material quality over spec-sheet minimalism.
4. DT Swiss EXC 1501 Spline One carbon wheels: The EXC 1501 upgrade over the base alloy EX1700 is meaningful in a way that's easy to feel on trail. At 1,701g per pair, hookless carbon rims with 30mm internal width, and DT 240 hubs with Ratchet EXP engagement, the wheels are stiffer through side loads and more responsive through direction changes. That's what carbon wheels do at this rim width — reduce the lag between input and output.
5. Mullet configuration — 29" front / 27.5" rear: The 29" front wheel rolls over rough terrain with more confidence and pairs with the Fox 38's 44mm offset and the frame's 63.5° head angle to produce a stable, planted front end at speed. The 27.5" rear reduces the moment of inertia through corners, provides more tire clearance for aggressive rubber choices, and keeps the bike pivoting with a snappiness that a full 29" rear at this travel tends to lose.

Final Take

The Yeti SB165 T3 with DT Swiss EXC 1501 wheels is for riders who are done questioning whether their bike can handle the terrain. At 165mm/170mm with a factory coil shock, Switch Infinity V2 kinematics, and carbon wheels out of the box, it sits at the top of what a production enduro bike delivers without going custom. If your trails are steep, your corners are fast, and you want a bike that climbs well enough to earn the descents without locking the shock, the SB165 is the answer.