2025 Yeti SB160-C2 Mountain Bike [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

For those that climb up to go down, the Yeti SB160 is a killer bike. Our customer recently reviewed their 2025 Yeti SB160 C2. See what they think!!

Overview

I've been very happy with my one quiver SB130 for four years, but I’ve longed to get a longer travel bike ever since my first visit to Snow Summit Bike Park in Big Bear, California.  After reading and watching numerous “expert” reviews on the SB160, I decided to give it a go, and zeroed in on a T2 build that WWC had priced below Yeti’s advertised retail price.  When I reached out to WWC about securing one, Cody messaged me back to tell me that there would be a little bit of a wait to secure a T2 build, but he could also offer me a smokin' hot deal on a C2 build that he could get to me much sooner.  With a price for a complete C2 bike coming in below the price of a Turq frameset, this was too hard to pass up, so I messaged Cody back to get me the bike.

Bike Setup

A few days after making the purchase, Cody asked for my rider details (height, weight, riding style), then I made an appointment with Cody, Trevor, and Jeff to come for a visit and pick up this new sled.  When I arrived, the bike was ready and dialed in, the front and rear sag were dead on,  brake pads were already seated, even the seat post was set to the correct height, and the damper settings were configured for me.  I brought along a set of Crankbrothers Mallet Enduros, so now the bike was ready to ride.  

Initial Ride Impressions

After leaving WWC, I took this SB over to the Rosewood trailhead to test out its climbing abilities (access to Space Mountain is easy from here).  This trailhead is conveniently located near WC headquarters and not as ripped up as Suicide Trail this time of year.  It’s about 1200 ft of hardpack and loose over hardpack climbing, with two sets of downs - a pretty fun and flowy blue trail, with some chunk in a few places.  For this ride, I left everything unlocked (The Grip Damper Open, and the rear shock in the downhill position).  The trail starts off with a moderately steep climb - and from the first pedal strokes, I found that the SB160 is not only a good climber, it doesn’t require that you scoot forward to put the power down - you feel like you’re positioned in front of the bottom bracket, making for a very comfortable climbing position.  While it did feel heavier than my SB130, it also had a better way of grip on the technical obstacles of the climb.  The only notable tradeoff on this first ride was with switchbacks - with the longer wheelbase and slacker headtube angle, I had to go to the far outside edge of the turns to get through the uphill switchbacks to avoid dabbing.  This was not the case with the downs; it just felt so centered and stable, and as my speed increased, so did the grip.  Interestingly, the bike was not plush on the downs, it was smooth.  So, I could feel everything I was going over, but I wasn’t getting beaten up.    

Longer-Term Impressions

Soon after this first ride, I hit several of the local trails in Orange County, CA (the Luge, Santiago Oaks Regional Park, and Aliso Viejo).  Then I took this bike up to Summit Bike Park at Big Bear Lake and hit both the blue and black trails.  With all of these trails, I was within a few seconds of my PRs on all the downs on the first ride - but the climbs were clearly much slower, with my average speed for rides being down by 1 MPH. Then I realized that the chain ring on the SB160 was a 30t - I normally ride a 32t.  So, I switched out the 30 for a 32 and installed a longer X01 chain (they don’t stretch like the GX chains).  On my next ride, my average speed for rides matched that of my SB130 on the same loops, and the climbs seemed smoother.  With this minor modification, I realized that the SB160 could displace my 130 as my daily driver, especially given the improved fun-factor of the downs.  

Final Thoughts

I have zero regrets with this purchase - I had originally planned to get this bike with all the carbon goodies, SRAM 90 transmission, and  Grip X2 damper, but this bike is absolutely great without all of the upgrades.  This bike is so centered, so stable, and so fun.  The only thing it needs is to be ridden - often! This is not to say that I won’t catch upgraditis at some point -  my advice to anyone considering this bike is to not get hung up on kit options when considering this bike.  The C2 build is great, the T2 build that I was pining for is great too, but I just saved enough coin that can be redirected towards accessories and apparel.