Yeti Cycles SB115 Turq Mountain Bike Frame Anthracite, XL

The SB115 ticks all the boxes for a privateer race bike, giving us the option to build it up as a cross-country speed demon, a lightweight trail bike, or somewhere in between. Designed with stage racing in mind, the SB115 is light and efficient enough to cover serious miles without zapping all our energy, and offers a confident, planted feel on the downhills that makes it feel like there's way more than four and a half inches of travel. The SB115 shares the same front and rear triangles as the SB100 but uses a revised Switch Infinity link and a longer-stroke rear shock to gain its extra travel. This means the geometry is almost identical to the SB100, with the head angle slackening ever so slightly from 67. 8 to 67. 6-degrees. The reach is a modest 450mm on a size large, with a 74-degree seat tube angle. On paper, these numbers might look a bit conservative, but that's right in line with the goal of this bike--to keep things lively and agile, encouraging quick accelerations and responsive handling on tight, technical racecourses. After all, when you're trying to cover ground as quickly as possible, a long, slacked-out trail bike is probably not the best tool for the job. Like their other bikes, the SB115 uses Yeti's patented Switch Infinity suspension design. The Switch Link acts as a translating pivot, providing higher anti-squat in the initial travel for class-leading pedaling performance, then moving to a suppler feel as you get deeper into the travel for excellent bump absorption and traction. This particular bike takes advantage of Yeti's TURQ carbon fiber layup, using the highest quality materials to ensure the perfect balance of stiffness and compliance, as well as a 225g weight savings over Yeti's C-series carbon. For good measure, the frame is backed by a lifetime warranty so you can charge the trails with absolute confidence.

Price: $2200.00 from Backcountry