Why No Yeti Love on the Shore?

Why no local love for the SB66 and SB66c (and other Yeti offerings). I never seem to see these bikes anywhere local and there are few, if any, active dealers in the Van to Whistler corridor. Any thoughts (apart from the obvious sightings being rare because of price)? They sure look good and, by the numbers, intrigue me for a Shore / Squamish bike.

Why no local love for the SB66 and SB66c (and other Yeti offerings). I never seems to see these bikes anywhere local and there are few, if any, active dealers in the Van to Whistler corridor. Any thoughts (apart from the obvious sightings being rare because of price)? They sure look good and, by the numbers, intrigue me for a Shore / Squamish bike.

If it doesn't come in through the main vendor channels, it's going to be exotic.

Lynn Valley and Kinetik…..

I've got a sb66c. Great bike.

Right now i believe kinetik in coquitlam is the only dealer in the lower mainland.

Edit: Good to see lynn Valley added to the list.

The SB66 was on my list before, but got crossed off due to availability / serviceability locally

The SB66 was on my list before, but got crossed off due to availability / serviceability locally

I figured that's part of the issue. Having owned two pre-OGC Intense bikes, quick parts availability and service are always considerations for me now. I wonder what kind of warranty and service track record Yeti has built north of the border.

I had an SB66 and rode it pretty hard for a year. I really liked the bike but went through 2 sets of main pivot bearings (expensive to replace) and had some other issues with it. Yeti ended up replacing the whole frame under warranty. That frame now has a new owner.

While Yeti was screwing around with warranty issues I picked up a Nomad carbon. I really liked the frame but the design and quality issues have left a bad taste in my mouth after dealing with Yeti. I also got treated very poorly by them after getting a brand new 575 frame that was assembled incorrectly and had a wrecked swingarm from a very poorly installed, cocked, bearing so I'm staying away from Yeti.

lots of reports of bad bearings

Why do bike mfrs continue to cheap out on bearings when it's so damn easy to spend a few $$ more on quality bearing sets … and bad bearings have such a huge effect on perceived brand quality?

I mean, seriously, is it that hard for the mfr to spend an extra $50 (or less) on quality that will last for more than 1/2 a season?

/rant

Kn.

I've rode the Shore on an SB66 alu for a year, replaced the bearings once ( which is pretty reasonable for surviving a north shore winter)

Maybe my bearings held up longer since I don't hose my bike down after every ride and expect flawless bearing performance and longevity. I find letting the crud dry and then brushing the pivots and seals clean before every ride the best way to clean a bike.

I had no issues otherwise, which is pretty damn good for the kind of abuse I put it through, including lots of Shore mileage and a few Whistler days.

I'm on the 66 Carbon now and it's unreal. The Carbon comes stock with Enduro bearings. They ride amazingly well. Super stiff and agile on the downs and climb like a goat. I seriously can't say enough about how awesome the SB's are for the Shore… pretty much my perfect bike.

Why do bike mfrs continue to cheap out on bearings when it's so damn easy to spend a few $$ more on quality bearing sets … and bad bearings have such a huge effect on perceived brand quality?

I mean, seriously, is it that hard for the mfr to spend an extra $50 (or less) on quality that will last for more than 1/2 a season?

/rant

Kn.

Because the public are gullible? Why do manufacturers slap on an XT rear derailleur on a Deore equipped bike, yet use shitty headsets, BBs and hubs? Ohhhh shiny things!!
The market dictates that people want the lightest, blingest frames possible for the least amount of money. You can't see decent (or otherwise) bearings but you can see anodized pivot hardware. Bearings don't make any difference to stupid scale shots, and anyway, pull the shock off any bike and the rear end normally feels like garbage, and the rider never even knows until the chainstays snap in half! The public gets what they want.

/rant :lol:

[QUOTE=ol' dirty;2713163]I've rode the Shore on an SB66 alu for a year, replaced the bearings once ( which is pretty reasonable for surviving a north shore winter)

Maybe my bearings held up longer since I don't hose my bike down after every ride and expect flawless bearing performance and longevity. I find letting the crud dry and then brushing the pivots and seals clean before every ride the best way to clean a bike.

I had no issues otherwise, which is pretty damn good for the kind of abuse I put it through, including lots of Shore mileage and a few Whistler days.

I'm on the 66 Carbon now and it's unreal. The Carbon comes stock with Enduro bearings. They ride amazingly well. Super stiff and agile on the downs and climb like a goat. I seriously can't say enough about how awesome the SB's are for the Shore… pretty much my perfect bike.

I don't hose my bikes down either but the space around the bearings and swingarm is so tight that grit just grinds its way in (after it takes the paint off first).

My frame had the first batch of incorrect bearings and even though Yeti put out a bulletin to email them for free replacements I still had to battle with them because they didn't want to send any out. Even after agreeing to send me the bearings it took almost 3 months to get them in my hands. I ended up buying them from Enduro just to get my SB66 back on the trail. 2 1/2 years on my Tallboy C with probably 4X more riding time than my SB66 and I have replaced the bearings once.
Anyways, the bearing issue was not why they replaced the frame.

Because the public are gullible? Why do manufacturers slap on an XT rear derailleur on a Deore equipped bike, yet use shitty headsets, BBs and hubs? Ohhhh shiny things!!
The market dictates that people want the lightest, blingest frames possible for the least amount of money. You can't see decent (or otherwise) bearings but you can see anodized pivot hardware. Bearings don't make any difference to stupid scale shots, and anyway, pull the shock off any bike and the rear end normally feels like garbage, and the rider never even knows until the chainstays snap in half! The public gets what they want.

/rant :lol:

yup, that's about it really? the old "rear derailleur showroom shopping" mentality of product managers - the guys at the bike companies who specify the parts to a strict budget

always thought they had this ass-backwards really? you want a quality gear shifter i.e. SRAM X-9 or Shimano XT(its gonna last a long time and makes the shifting feel slick) and then a cheap rear derailleur i.e. SRAM X-7 or Shimano Deore (its gonna get smashed at some point!)

something we (mechanics) have really noticed in the past few seasons is ever decreasing quality (cheaping out) of 'hidden' parts like you mentioned.

not a problem until the bottom bracket is creaking by the first free service (4-6 weeks), the headset on your 2 month old mountain or road bike seizes solid, or the wheel hubs are shot after 4 short months. or full suspension bearings shot after a few rides..

shops have to pick up the slack of sorting out these "warranty" issues as far as the consumer is concerned (its a new bike..) and clawing back this money from the distributor or manufacturer

While Yeti was screwing around with warranty issues I picked up a Nomad carbon.

With all the talk of not hosing your bike down after a ride, I feel as though I should mention that I've been hosing my Nomad down after every ride for the past 2 seasons with absolutely no ill effects to the bearings. The locking collets seem to do a really great job at keeping crud out and Santa Cruz uses quality bearings in all the pivots so there's been no issues.