Starting at £9,499, it's not cheap, but perhaps within the budget of a serious racer
Yeti’s new electric race bike is here, the LTe. Taking inspiration from the MTe and 160e, it uses 160/170mm travel and is designed around the brand’s Sixfinity linkage design. It’s a full-fat bike designed for enduro racing, with prices starting at £9,499. Labelled a racer’s bike but not just for those who race, it seems like a pretty capable all-round full-fat e-bike. But how will it compare to the 160e?
Turquoise, orange or raw carbon? What would you go for?
Yeti LTe need to know:
- Uses Yeti’s Sixfinity linkage
- 160mm rear travel and 170mm front
- 64 degree head tube angle
- 29in or MX wheel setup
- Bosch CX and CX-R motors
- Three builds, with prices between £9,499 – £12,999
Yeti’s popular Sixfinity linkage system makes it onto the new LTe
To Sixfinity and beyond
Yeti’s famed Sixfinity six-bar linkage design has been passed onto the LTe. But what makes it so special? You can tune the Sixfinity progression rate to your ride style, and change your shock with a flip chip. There are three settings to choose from: racy and consistent with a progression rate of 25%, balanced at 30% or plush then poppy at 35%.
Then you’ve got your anti-squat, which Yeti scales lower than any of their other e-bikes because of the full-fat drive units. When the Switch link moves up, pedaling support increases, and as the link moves down, anti-squat drops off.
Yeti has also tuned the anti-rise, resulting in a more linear curve throughout the suspension travel. This, Yeti says, is what strikes the “ideal balance” between geometry preservation under braking and active suspension.
The LTe comes with Yeti’s carbon riser bar for a more upright position, ideal for tackling steeps
Geometry
The LTe works with both a full 29in wheel setup or MX, and uses what Yeti describes as a “modern geometry.” This means an increased stack height thanks to a longer head tube. Why? To allow for a more upright riding position which is better for steeper terrain.
This is also complemented by the Yeti carbon handlebar, which features a 35mm rise, 9 degree backsweep and 5 degree upsweep.
The reach has also been increased compared to the 160e, by 5mm per size. And a slackened head angle more closely emulates the World Cup winning SB160.
The LTe is designed to be raced and ridden in E-EDR World Cups, so it’s taken inspiration from bikes that have already won on the world stage, and kept the same shock linkage design.
Using floating collet axles, this helps to smooth the action without using oversized bearings. In theory, the Sixfinity platform allows for improved bearing life and thus less servicing requirements for the rider, or their mechanic.
The top-end Race model uses the CX-R motor, and the other two builds get the CX
The frame
The LTe uses a carbon fiber layup that includes Vectran plies, which is a material similar to Kevlar. This extra protection has been added to areas like the chainstays, top tube, down tube and chainstays.
At MBR we love a good mudguard, maybe because 1/4 of us are based in the north east where there’s always a puddle waiting to give you a mud facial. So it’s a good sign when bike brands put things like integrated mudguards into their designs – and especially ones that are designed specifically not to interfere with suspension movement.
Yeti has also added downtube guards, which also work as an access door to the battery and internal cables. You’ll also find rubber guards on the chainstay and seatsays.
Yeti’s also included grommets and clamp closures at frame entry which gives you the option to run either mechanical or electronic drivetrains.
The Kiox 400C is the screen of choice for the LTe
The LTe builds
For the LTe, Yeti’s gone guns blazing with the latest full-fat Bosch offerings. In the UK, there are three models of LTe on offer – the C2 Factory, the T3 and the T4 Race.
The T4 Race is, as you’d expect, equipped with Bosch’s CX-R race motor. This tops out at 100Nm of torque and 750W max power in Race Mode. You get Fox Factory suspension, SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission, and Maven Ultimate brakes with this build, at £12,999.
The mid-level option is the T3, which uses SRAM’s X0 Transmission and Bosch’s Gen 5 CX motor. You get Maven Silver brakes and an 800Wh battery with this build, at £10,999.
The most entry-level (and we say that lightly), is the C2 Factory model at £9,499. UK riders get better Fox Factory spec suspension compared to other markets which only get Podium. This build runs off the Bosch CX motor and 800Wh battery, with a SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission and Maven Bronze brakes.