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Yeti SB-66 with a downhill setup?!

4K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  JLF1200 
#1 · (Edited)
Recently, through two years hard work, i bought myself a yeti SB-66. However, also recently, I have been getting more and more into downhill riding. My question is if i could put the Fox 40 Float 26 or the Fox 36 Float 180 for the fork (and yes, i know downhill is not all about travel ;) ) Anyways, would this work out? The yeti SB-66 is an all mountain bike, but can it take the beating of basic to intermediate downhill riding?
 
#3 ·
That SB is plenty of bike for even some pretty aggressive DH, IMO. I was between DH bikes for a few weeks, so I just lowered the seatpole on my SB and took to all my normal spots—and this was with a 150mm travel Fox 34 on it. The only thing I don't do on the SB that I'll attempt on my full downhill bike is bigger jumps. Will your "all mountain" bike wear out faster if you ride downhill on it as well? Tough to say... I think if you're gonna ride your bike on any given day, then you'll ride your bike. If you ride trail or downhill, it's still riding the bike. So it's not like you'll put "extra" or "more" days on it because you'll ride downhill, you're just swapping the riding style.

Note: I wouldn't put a dual crown fork on the SB. I'd run the 180mm travel Fox 36 (or something similar) on there, that'll be plenty. I have a buddy who's dedicated downhill bike is an SB with the 180 Fox 36 up front, and he actually lowered it to 170 because he felt the front end and BB were too high with the taller fork, and it affected the snappiness of the handling.
 
#4 ·
The SB can take quite a beating, but if you're going to ride full DH stuff (Not A Line at Whistler, that's not DH), your bike will have a much shorter life expectancy. It will get you down, sure. But it's just not built with week after week of that in mind.
 
#5 ·
I live in Colorado, so from time to time (meaning about once a week) I will head to local DH trails but I also do AM stuff. I got an email the other day about putting a Fox 36 Talas 180-140 fork on so when i ride DH I can have that 7.1 inches of travel but when I just want to do all mountain stuff (flats and uphill) i will just switch the fork down to 140mm. What do you guys think about this?
 
#6 ·
I live in Golden, so your "local DH trails" are probably similar (or even the same) to mine. I still think the SB will be fine. The TALAS is a solid option, allowing you to switch the travel without switching the fork. 140 is a little short on travel IMO, but the Talas 36 has taller axle-to-crown so the geo should be decent for trail riding.
 
#9 ·
this has been covered before, but it's probably not a good idea to set up a bike like Jared Graves. Did he get away with it in PMB? Sure. But comparing his situation to ours is not that realistic. He's a pro, first of all, and can obviously ride at a level far above most of us. He doesn't ham-fist his way down things. Second, and more importantly, he is sponsored by Yeti. He can get a new frame every race. He doesn't have to worry about a longer fork putting too much stress on a frame. If it weakens the frame, it's no problem because he won't be riding that frame long enough to see it fail prematurely. As long as it holds up for a race or two, it's served his purpose.

Lastly, PMB is not a rough course at all. It's a couple jumps, some smooth high speed stuff, some pedally flats, and a few more jumps. If it were capable as a true DH bike, it would have made an appearance in other races like Val Di Sole.
 
#10 ·
Quite the contrary, IMO.
That bike, equipped with Fox 36 Talas 140-180mm, would be just great ;>
You're right, but... any bike, set burlier than factory did it, but used reasonably, should handle little abuse ;)
BUT, no one will ever tell, whether additional 30mm of travel will kill the frame within 2 months...
One thing is sure, fruitegg, you'll do this on your own risk :D
 
#11 ·
From experience, it is not a good idea. Repeated stress like that will end the SB66's rear triangle very fast (replacement triangles are not that much stronger). For instance, I sheared my rear triangle completely (lower drive side towards the FD) on a small step up. Warranty was fast but must be done via a dealer. Regardless, it is a pain in the butt to take off, warranty, and replace (did it more than once for various issues).

You are better off getting a used DH rig from WP (comes with pass i think).
Or, if you want one bike, sell the yeti then get a TBC Covert with an additional lighter wheelset (non DH stuff) & pull out the spacer from the Lyrik to make it 170mm and acquire a Mission control dampener on the fork for climbing.

Hope this helps. Good luck.
 
#13 ·
From experience, it is not a good idea. Repeated stress like that will end the SB66's rear triangle very fast (replacement triangles are not that much stronger). For instance, I sheared my rear triangle completely (lower drive side towards the FD) on a small step up. Warranty was fast but must be done via a dealer. Regardless, it is a pain in the butt to take off, warranty, and replace (did it more than once for various issues).

You are better off getting a used DH rig from WP (comes with pass i think).
Or, if you want one bike, sell the yeti then get a TBC Covert with an additional lighter wheelset (non DH stuff) & pull out the spacer from the Lyrik to make it 170mm and acquire a Mission control dampener on the fork for climbing.

Hope this helps. Good luck.
A Covert? Sure you don't mean TR250? The Covert is only 0.2 lbs heavier than the SB (manufacturer's claimed weights). I'm sure that doesn't translate into a ton more durability.

And without knowing how the OP rides or how big he is, it's pretty tough to say if he will or won't break his bike riding DH. More than likely, after he gets out a few times, he'll know if he's ready for a bigger bike or not.

And for the OP: I run a Lyrik dual position air on my Enduro, and am pretty happy with the 140/ 160 range of travel.
 
#17 ·
I am in the same situation as the OP. I ride a '66 and it's set up for aggressive trail/AM (Float 34 up front, 1x10 bash-guide, heavy-ish wheels). I absolutely love this bike and even after two seasons it continues to surprise me as it takes pretty much anything you throw at it with style and steadiness. When you love a bike it's just a natural inclination to think "hey, I'll drop a big boy fork on it, get a coil, and boom-- I won't have to leave my beloved ride home when I go to the park."

But is that really wise? It's a pretty complicated, proprietary linkage back there and an expensive frame overall. Used DH bikes are cheap, and crashing is part of riding gravity. I go back and forth like this... But I usually land on the idea that a '66 with a Fox 36, stout wheels and legit DH tires would be a great bike for someone who *occasionally* rides lifts and light DH trails. But if you are a season pass holder or hitting serious DH tracks, it probably makes more sense to have a dedicated big rig.

As such I'll probably go ahead and put a bigger fork on this winter and just see how it goes, with the expectation that if I start riding parks with any frequency it'll be time to pick up something dedicated. It's a transitional purchase. (This is the easiest way to rationalize new toys, I find.)
 
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