new yeti pics
- Thread starter Smelly
- Start date
I'm speaking for myself here:Ian F said:After 6 years of riding/racing DH, I've learned the bike is about 10% of speed. I've owned and ridden some pretty fast bikes and I'm now past the point of wanting to go any faster than my old Lawwill will take me. I used to want a new DH bike but then I rode Whistler on trails I'd never been on before and didn't have any trouble keeping up with guys on new DH rigs.
I think the bike still is a big part of the equation. Same for the type of terrain you mostly ride. The bike geometry and how it fits is as important, if not more than it's suspension technology. The bike can be the best in the world, but if it just doesn't fit you, or you can't control it (it controls you) then what's the point?
But I agree that riders skills is what it all comes down to. Look at guys like Sanjay that borrows a bike just before a race run - doesn't care of the handlebar tits is right, doesn't care about the wheelbase or headangle - simply ride the mother fuking thing to a podium!!
But others (like me) are not blessed with such skills...so I'll take all the help I can get from the machine 
2nd...Acadian said:I'm speaking for myself here:
I think the bike still is a big part of the equation. Same for the type of terrain you mostly ride. The bike geometry and how it fits is as important, if not more than it's suspension technology. The bike can be the best in the world, but if it just doesn't fit you, or you can't control it (it controls you) then what's the point?
But I agree that riders skills is what it all comes down to. Look at guys like Sanjay that borrows a bike just before a race run - doesn't care of the handlebar tits is right, doesn't care about the wheelbase or headangle - simply ride the mother fuking thing to a podium!!
Are any of the experts (or e-experts) willing to make some more guesses now there are pictures? Apart from durability concerns are the rails actually allowing the designers to do things that just were not possible with pivots and linkages or is this all just more of the same but with rails?
Are those FSA DH/freeride/trail rims on the bike in the foreground?Acadian said:
I shouldsay the one in the lower left corner that say "prototype" on it.
I heard they are working on some rims for OEM applications.
Nope, that bike is just another four-bar and has just as many links/pivots as an Iron-Horse or Specialized. The "unique-ness" is that Yeti decided to use a different bearing approach with roller type bearing on tracks which allow it to have a suspension/coupler curve that I assume you cannot get through a "normal" four-bar bike.Knuckleslammer said:
I guess the only thing we really will have to wait and see is how durable the frame will be.
Yeah, Yeti's have a history of being weak and failing.Inclag said:
Yeah, speaking for mself, the bike is more than 10% of the ride, especially when you're talking about dh. Personally I go more than 10% faster if I'm on a sweet ride that is dialed for me. For me a lot of it is confidence, I just can't feel charged up and ready to rip on the wrong bike. That said, once you're at a certain level of quality the differences are pretty subtle and I agree a lot of us spend a freakish amount of time talking, reading, and writing about differences that are marginal at best...but hey, I'm a bike nut and doing that floats my boat.
As for the yeti, I like to see them taking a different direction and am very curious about the new rig. Maybe it's just marketing hype but it's working...the buzz is there fo' sure.
As for the yeti, I like to see them taking a different direction and am very curious about the new rig. Maybe it's just marketing hype but it's working...the buzz is there fo' sure.
Yeah, there's no way Yeti could possibly introduce an entirely new bike and linkage system, and have problems with it - they have little munchkins working for them who make things perfectly every time...profro said:Yeah, Yeti's have a history of being weak and failing.
Yes, you can do things with rails that are not reasonably feasible or possible with pivots.D_D said:
This bike, from Zedro's rough mapping appears to have a effective pivot far out ahead of the BB. If this is the case, AND that effective pivot is properly placed, you can achieve reduction in chain length, followed by growth... this is basically the VPP principle. I tried to do similar with a single pivot, and there was just no reasonable way to put the pivot where I wanted it, additionally, it would have had nasty kickback toward the end of it's stroke. You can avoid that with the rails with a curved rail that will move the effective pivot closer to the BB late in the travel.
Anyway, my e-pinion and e-prediction, is that this will perform similarly, although slightly more subtely, to a VPP. And it will brake slightly better. It'd be useful to see better pictures, especially from the non-drive side.
It is also my e-pinion, that the benefits aren't worth the trouble... and this is a misguided attempt to get around the VPP patents.
binary visions said:Yeah, there's no way Yeti could possibly introduce an entirely new bike and linkage system, and have problems with it - they have little munchkins working for them who make things perfectly every time...
True that, Yeti has had HUGE problems with their frames being some of the best in the industry. I guess history really doesn't speak for itself.
Oh lord.spoke80 said:True that, Yeti has had HUGE problems with their frames being some of the best in the industry. I guess history really doesn't speak for itself.
I was being facetious. I'm not assuming this Yeti will snap during its inagural run, I was merely pointing out that it's entirely new, therefore unproven and untested, and the potential for problems exists. Heaven forbid someone suggest that something with the Yeti name on it be anything but flawless!
Hmmm, I'm surprised by your lack of interest in new and truely different bike technology. I've seen pics of your protos and think it's great that you try out all kinds of wacky designs. I think it gets old doing the same thing over and over (even if it works pretty well) there might be something else out there better, or just different and you won't know unless you try it. Hell, we could all still be riding rigid beach cruisers DH.bcd said:
I'm stoked to see Yeti try this out. I personally think they will face too many new problems and it will fail, but I still applaud their willingness to plunk down some serious coin on design and a proto.
(Did all of your protos follow the KISS rule?
neaky: )
Why dont companies focus on refining and strenghtening existing bikes, that i dont understand.
I agree with Alex (BCD) and Ohio...
I agree with Alex (BCD) and Ohio...
what i have learned from my bike building experiance it to follow that rule.wirly said:Hmmm, I'm surprised by your lack of interest in new and truely different bike technology. I've seen pics of your protos and think it's great that you try out all kinds of wacky designs. I think it gets old doing the same thing over and over (even if it works pretty well) there might be something else out there better, or just different and you won't know unless you try it. Hell, we could all still be riding rigid beach cruisers DH.
I'm stoked to see Yeti try this out. I personally think they will face too many new problems and it will fail, but I still applaud their willingness to plunk down some serious coin on design and a proto.
(Did all of your protos follow the KISS rule?
it did it the other way too long. i am not saying complex bikes are bad.
i think the best bikes out there are complex gearbox bikes. but putting
that complexton in a pivot it dumb. anyone could have though that up and discounted it, i am suprized thet yeti stuck with it.
could be designer ego or perfection, ..... . . . or gimic.
i love new technology and crazy contraptions, but im with alex on this one, something is telling me that this design might just be too much
maybe too much for curb hucking....ViolentVolante said:
Inclag said:
Durable enough for you these days is a hard tail with 3.0" Nokians and a Showa MX fork :devil:
If KISS was truly the rule, we'd all be riding rigid bikes.
Sometimes complexity is a cost of added performance.
Time will tell if the new yeti is a better mousetrap, or just a different mousetrap, but props to them for pushing things forward. Maybe they suck, maybe won't sell many. Maybe it will go down as one more pointless design exercise in a long line of pointless bike designs. But at the very least, in the future when some bike engineer is stratching his or her head about a new design and somebody says "Hey, what about rails?" there will be a bike that already tried it, and away we go from from there.
Suprising that some of the engineers here are against it, particularly since no one has ridden it yet. Maybe just a little competitive jealousy? Wishing for that kind of R&D budget?
Besides, without revolutionary change, what ammunition would we have for e-speculation?
Sometimes complexity is a cost of added performance.
Time will tell if the new yeti is a better mousetrap, or just a different mousetrap, but props to them for pushing things forward. Maybe they suck, maybe won't sell many. Maybe it will go down as one more pointless design exercise in a long line of pointless bike designs. But at the very least, in the future when some bike engineer is stratching his or her head about a new design and somebody says "Hey, what about rails?" there will be a bike that already tried it, and away we go from from there.
Suprising that some of the engineers here are against it, particularly since no one has ridden it yet. Maybe just a little competitive jealousy? Wishing for that kind of R&D budget?
Besides, without revolutionary change, what ammunition would we have for e-speculation?
this thread is dripping with it....OGRipper said:
its great when any company pushes the boundaries, just aslong as their machine is not released prematurely and all problems aren't recognised through substantial testing and ironed out accordingly.
I am sure in the design process Yeti (more than any other firm) would have durability on their checklist when deciding to do away with the DH9 instead of this. Give them a chance
I am sure in the design process Yeti (more than any other firm) would have durability on their checklist when deciding to do away with the DH9 instead of this. Give them a chance
I don't disagree with anything your saying (except maybe that anyone could have come up with it). When I saw the designs I also discounted it as too compex and problematic (I think most people would have said that about most of your protos), but no one can do anything but speculate about the viability of an idea ... until you build one. Props you both you and Yeti for going the distance.bcd said:
The mistake I think they are making is claiming to be REPLACING the DH-9 (a great bike) with this WAY unproven design. Tha just seems incredibly premature and maybe a bit arrogant. But maybe I'm wrong. I guess we'll all find out together.
In my ideal world i wish Intense would run the M1 ( at a reduced price) alongside the M3. The same would apply to Yeti.
There's nothing wrong with pushing technology further and trying new things, but if a company hopes to survive, that push needs to be consumer driven. That means not building things just because you can, but because there's a benefit that is equal or greater than the cost of creating it. The only way around that is to have good enough marketing and a gullible-enough consumer base that you can CONVINCE people of a benefit that isn't there (see... uh... 90% of the industry).
It's their money... they can spend it any way they want. But until they explain their reasoning and what they hope to accomplish, I'm going to stick to my assumption about what they're hoping to accomplish. If my assumption is correct, than my opinion is that this effort is not worth the money that they put into it.
Given the quality of their existing line and their market credibility, Yeti should have continued to license technologies, IMO. Their expertise is in build quality and superb geometry, not suspension dynamics (unless they hired someone new).
It's their money... they can spend it any way they want. But until they explain their reasoning and what they hope to accomplish, I'm going to stick to my assumption about what they're hoping to accomplish. If my assumption is correct, than my opinion is that this effort is not worth the money that they put into it.
Given the quality of their existing line and their market credibility, Yeti should have continued to license technologies, IMO. Their expertise is in build quality and superb geometry, not suspension dynamics (unless they hired someone new).
I no longer do engineering work. I help companies build sustainable businesses. It bothers me when I see good small companies make bad business decisions. Small companies can't afford to do that very many times.OGRipper said:
That being said, the verdict is obviously not even close to being in yet on this bike... and it IS difficult to speculate about real world performance.
People asked for an opinion, so I gave one based on the information we have thus far.
Haha, tell me about it. BTW that new rim is now being held together with some help from 3 zipties thanks to the 10e freeride trail.Supa8 said:
PS, for you Yeti freaks that jumped on my statement questioning durability, it was more or less aimed toward the never-used-before-in-bicycle-suspension-and-therefore-it-is-a-reasonable-question application of rolling track bearings. Geeezz :nuts:
NICE! i want one
All this E-engeneering aside, I just find it interesting that the swing arm is polished ,As I just stripped all the paint off of my DH9 and droped it of at a local polisher. Should look pretty cool ,It just figures they would do it as soon as I do .
Anyway Mine is an 02 and after stipping it I found NO signs of stress whatsoever. So If your skeptical ,give them a year or two ,I reeeealy doubt that The DH9 you may already own will let you down. I have'nt exactly been easy on mine.
Anyway Mine is an 02 and after stipping it I found NO signs of stress whatsoever. So If your skeptical ,give them a year or two ,I reeeealy doubt that The DH9 you may already own will let you down. I have'nt exactly been easy on mine.
Finally, a handlebar I can get excited about.Acadian said:- doesn't care of the handlebar tits is right
Ya got any pics? :heart:
ohio said:
From mammoth...Fury said:
no my hands are on it...:Thumb: I can't believe I messed up my own joke!!Jeremy R said:
luc ya need a space between the ... and the :Acadian said:no my hands are on it...:Thumb: I can't believe I messed up my own joke!!
I think you misunderstand me. I'm not claiming every company should build cheap volume bikes. Different business models for different skillsets; and obviously Yeti has done a damn good job of remaining profitable in a pretty tough business. They have done this by sticking to their strengths, building great bikes, and maintaining a strong marketing (racing) program.OGRipper said:
If you think being profitable isn't important to the owners, you're on crack. So what I'm saying is that when you're that small, you have to be careful about what projects you dump money into. Obviously their race program isn't cheap for them, but they get a great return (marketing and R&D) on that investment. If they didn't think they'd get a return on that program I guarantee you they would cut it.
And I'm not saying there's not value in research, but unless you're at a university, it MUST be commercially focused.
As for Honda, they had very clear goals and are getting a very tangible benefit from that DH bike. It will help them build better moto bikes, it will encourage MTBers to cross over. If they didn't think their would be an ultimate profit from the project, they never would have given it the go-ahead.
What I don't like to see is engineers wasting money just to try something with no thought of whether or not it will benefit consumers or even make their company money. And believe me, engineers do this a lot. It's very easy to forget about the customer when you're just having fun.
Yeti's been working on this bike for at least 2 years. Does anyone really think that a company like Yeti, with their reputation and heritage, would go to all the trouble to design and manufacture a race bike that did not work, or does not surpass the performance of the model it replaces?
This is not a freeride bike. It's not a beginner racing rig. It's a pro race bike, and at that level, a small amount of performance DOES make a difference.
This is not a freeride bike. It's not a beginner racing rig. It's a pro race bike, and at that level, a small amount of performance DOES make a difference.