thanks, the person running the demo said they were heat affected. it was about 85* here but our sun is very strong. I could go either way on brakes but that was a huge turn-off
he feels the SB5 is more fun and better on the down than the 4.5.
I've ridden the sb5 and the sb4.5 back to back. The sb5 is a slightly better downhiller, if thats your priority. He's right on that. I like the 4.5 on rocky climbs (and others). Then, I like 29ers.
Honestly it sounds a bit weird if all your other choices are 29ers to be suddenly looking at a 27.5. I'd say either re-consider 27.5 as a family, or go back and remind yourself why you picked your original criteria.
I told you that switch infinity system was awesome. .
I'd think that 5.5 is overkill for what you want and the 4.5 would be more up your alley and save you 7-8 lbs.
I'm hoping that the 4.5 2018 will take slightly bigger rear tire. If it could fit a 2.5 or even 2.4 that would be awesome.
Ok Yetis is most likely not going to modify their bikes which just were modified this year.
a 29'r will climb better in general but not better around switchbacks or trying to climb over chunky stuff at slow speeds. A 29'r will take more energy to get it rolling. The SB5 was demonstrably better at this and quicker in the turny stuff today. There's no perfect bike! Maybe I should just wait till the fall.
Quick question; if I go with the 5.5, I will replace the group set with xo1 (including cranks) but was considering going with xt brakes. Can you properly run the Xt Brake Seamlessly with the xo1 shifter?
The Yetis are great bikes, killed for me by the lack of an accessible water bottle mounting option.
Omg you really are a racer.
A bit, certainly, but more just a disliker of packs, and uncertain why they are ever needed for anything less than a three hour ride.
I gave up on water bottles years ago. Probably due to my lack of hand-eye coordination, really. Seemed like too much effort to wrangle the bottle out.
I guess it depends on your risk tolerance ....
You're not supposed to LOOK at the bottle or cage!
And yup, pack use definitely depends on location for me. I'm blessed in that I can do multiple 4 hour rides from my house, and never be out of cell range, PLUS, in the event of mech failure, I can typically coast 90% of the way back home!
Also, I'd likely get picked up by a shuttler that I probably knew personally within 15 minutes.