First Look: Yeti SB6c 30th Anniversary Edition
To celebrate it’s 30th anniversary, Yeti has produced this stunning limited-edition SB6c bike that blends the company’s storied legacy with one of the most capable (and progressive) bikes we’ve tried.
Yeti Cycles has history that few mountain bike brands can match. Founded in Southern California by John Parker (who previously worked on special effects for movie studios, and had traded his Indian motorcycle for a bike brand then called Sweetheart Cycles), Yeti’s early history is dotted with technologically notable innovations (like Easton aluminum tubing), some spectacular failures (like the Penske suspension fork), a whole lot of racing, and plenty of swagger.
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The company moved to Durango, Colorado, the mountain bike hotspot in the early '90s, and evolved like a company run by people with a whole lot of passion—but not a lot of business acumen. Then Schwinn bought the company and treated it like a less-favored stepchild before selling it to the owners of Volant Skis. The company moved up to the Front Range and, as Volant Skis went through its own troubles in the early 2000s, was acquired by a group including Chris Conroy and Steve Hoogendorn, who continue to serve as president and vice president today. Thanks to those two (and many others), Yeti is as healthy and stable as it has ever been, and the company has one of the coolest lines of mountain bikes in the industry.
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Throughout their history, Yeti has had strong ties to bike racing, particularly gravity events (though their first UCI world championship was a cross-country title won by Juli Furtado), and the company has always built bikes that love to go downhill fast. So it makes sense that when Yeti turns 30 next year, the team is marking the occasion—and celebrating that they’ve made it this far—with a special edition of its (currently) longest-travel and most gravity-oriented bike: the SB6c.
The SB6c is a hell of an enduro bike. It has been ridden to great success in races around the world, and helped factory racer Jared Graves take the world champ title in the in the Enduro World Series. It’s also a fun ride on any trail, and it climbs better than a bike that goes downhill so well should—part of the reason why we gave it an Editors’ Choice award in 2015.
The 30th-anniversary edition gets a special paint scheme in Yeti’s heritage yellow-and-turquoise livery, anniversary graphics, and some turquoise anodized bits and bobs. There are also some color-matched parts, like the FOX 36 fork and Float X DPS EVOL shock, Chris King InSet, DT-Swiss wheels, WTB SL8 saddle, Race Face chainring, and grips. Only 250 bikes (spread across five sizes) will be made available for sale, starting September 15, for the low, low price of $9,000.
All SB6c models, including this one, will receive a few running changes. The rear end gets Boost 148 rear spacing, which creates a stiffer wheel. Like the recently introduced SB4.5c, housing and hoses are now routed internally: Previously, they ran on top of the downtube. Yeti also made some changes at the factory to help speed up delivery, so even if you can’t score an anniversary edition, you should be able to pick up a regular SB6c with little trouble.
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