Yeti Cycles is a high-performance mountain bike manufacturer founded in 1985 by John Parker in California, when mountain biking was gaining in popularity.
Parker was a welder who later became a mountain bike designer and racer. He was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1997, becoming one of the sport’s guardians and founding fathers.
The first mountain bike World Championships took place in Durango, Colorado in 1990 and the next year Parker moved the Yeti Cycles factory from California to Durango to be closer to the action. Thanks to a combination of a legendary race team and forward-thinking design, the brand gained a die-hard following.
Fast-forward roughly three decades—while much has changed, Yeti's crew is still obsessively focused on building champion worthy bikes for greats such as Juli Furtado, John Tomac, and Missy Giove, and being represented by a number of athletes and ambassadors throughout the world.
Women specific bikes were introduced in 2015, under the moniker Yeti Beti. Its innovative design caters to women with smaller sized frames and lower stand over height..
To Yeti, building amazing bikes takes equal parts creative thinking, flawless execution, and rigorous development. Racing has been a key part of the development formula from the early days, when Juli Furtado, Missy Giove, and John Tomac were besting the competition on turquoise ARCs, to the present, with Jared Graves and Richie Rude, landing the SB6 on Enduro World Series podiums.
But there's more to product development than winning races. Without a pioneering spirit, Yeti wouldn't have been chosen as Easton's partner in developing high-end aluminum bicycle tubing in the ‘80s. The same could be said for the amazing C-26, which brought carbon fiber bicycles to professional-level racing in 1990.
BRAND FEATURES/CATEGORY
The Switch Infinity is a new suspension platform. This technology is the result of the collaboration between the WorldCup DH proven 303 rail technology and Switch Link. Taking from the best of both technologies. it has become the platform for Yeti's rightly named Super Bikes, the SB5 trail bike, and SB6 enduro bike.
The ARC cross-country hardtail simplifies their product line with lightweight carbon construction, paired with legendary handling.
For riders who need a bit of squish in your XC-racer, the ASR adds 100mm of race-tuned suspension travel to the ARC formula. And if you prefer simplicity and reliability, there’s the no nonsense 575 - aluminum trail bike.
CORE VALUES
Whichever Yeti best fits your need, you can ride with confidence knowing that your new bike or frame is a perfectly built product of passion, and a descendant of one of mountain biking's most influential brands.
Next time you see a Yeti at the trailhead, ask the owner about it. Chances are, it's not their first Yeti, and there's more to that brand loyalty, something more than nostalgia.