By Simon Hayter 

with Fox Racing Shox and corporate restructuring as well as one of the most comprehensive racing development programs in the US regional and national series means that they have remained at the forefront of frame and suspension technologies … new products and announcements from Yeti get a lot of attention in the bike industry, especially from the manufacturers’ teams they are competing against.

When Yeti first released it’s current DH race machine, the 303, in 2005, with it’s very intricate and slightly intimidating dual rails on which the rear triangle slid in a controlled linear movement, reaction to the design was at first lukewarm with skepticism about the system’s inherent reliability and ease of maintenance. These fears were proven largely without merit and the critics were quickly silenced by the bike’s prowess and performance in race series across North America and on the World Cup circuit.

Yeti design engineer Peter Zawistowski explains the company’s affinity for this unique design feature: “A linear rail essentially has the same mechanical function as an infinitely long link, but is unique in that it comes in an extremely small and stiff package.  This opens the door to new suspension designs as we are able to implement the function of a very long link within the confines of a frame while keeping the system very stiff.”

Yeti also has the advantage of developing their suspension designs with input from the suspension gurus at Fox. “We’re constantly talking back and forth. We’re very tight with those guys which is awesome.” It is a testament to the success and Yeti’s faith in the rail system that it has found it’s way onto several new prototype bikes currently being tested by their factory riders.

Two of those prototype bikes, on display for the public for the first time, were at the 2008 Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California and provide a glimpse of some exciting things to come from Yeti.

  Simon Hayter Photo

The 303-7 is a 7-inch travel, lighter duty downhill race frame that retains one of Yeti’s trademark rails in a position in front of the bike’s seat tube. It also showcases Yeti’s extensive use of leading CNC technology and the machining, which even in its unpolished, prototype finish, is immaculate.

Simon Hayter Photo

Zawistowski, thinks one of the most important aspects of this particular frame design is the quality of the travel. He claims the bike’s rear wheel travels rearward in a linear movement as opposed to an arc which makes the bike smoother over square shaped obstacles. “The entire path of the wheel is rearward. It’s a more efficient transfer of force from a square bump or hard lip.”

  Simon Hayter Photo

Another exciting new frame certain to turn heads is the “Slope Style,” or 303 R-SS. Yeti’s foray into this genre of frame was inevitable with the popularity of slopestyle  park riding and the demand from riders/consumers for a smaller, tighter freeride bike capable of a variety of activities, from hucking to dirt-jumping to trail-riding … essentially a  do-all play-bike, with relaxed geometry, low standover height, 4 to 6 inches of travel, and burly construction. The success of pioneering bikes like the Transition Bottlerocket have seen a variety of manufacturers produce a “slopestyle specific” bike and it was only a matter of time before an industry leader like Yeti jumped on board.

Simon Hayter Photo  
 

The frame utilizes a linear rail in order to control the shock rate for a total of 5.4 inches of travel.  With this particular design the shock does not rotate during its compression resulting in a very efficient system.  Yeti/Fox rider Mikey Haderer had a chance to ride and test the prototype Slope Style bike while training with the Yeti team’s Norcal Racing Development Program earlier this spring and shared his initial impressions.

“What really impressed me was the lateral stiffness of the frame and how active the suspension was while remaining a good pedaling bike. Definitely the most memorable aspect to its ride is it’s solid and stiff rear end. The bike just turns on rails.”

In addition to these two exciting new designs, Yeti is also working on a new economical long travel DH racer, tentatively referred to as the 303-RDH. This bike is not intended to replace the 303 but provide a less expensive alternative with many of the same attributes and benefits.

The new prototypes will be raced by team Yeti throughout the season in order to test and optimize the designs.  “This is huge for us as we are continuously getting feedback from racers at the word cup level,” says Zawistowski.

Yeti has not released any official specs on any of these new bikes but is hoping for a 2009 production release. They have just posted some teaser photos of their own on the Yeti website; http://www.yeticycles.com/#/photo/ .The white-knuckle set waits with baited breath.