Yeti Cycles
IndustrySports equipment
Founded1985 (1985)
FounderJohn Parker
FateAcquired by Schwinn in 1995; then by Volant (1999), Chris Conroy and Steve Hoogendoorn (2001)
Headquarters
Golden, CO
,
United States
ProductsBicycles
BrandsZeroLoss Technology (patented); Switch Technology (patented)
Websiteyeticycles.com

Yeti Cycles is an American bicycle manufacturer[1][2][3] located in Golden, Colorado.[4]

Early history

Yeti Cycles was founded in 1985 by John Parker in California, when mountain biking was gaining in popularity.[5] Parker was a welder who built movie sets in Hollywood and later became a mountain bike designer and racer. Becoming one of the sport’s guardians, he was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1997,[6] and a trustee of NORBA Board of Directors for five years.

The first mountain bike World Championships took place in Durango, Colorado in 1990 and the next year Parker moved the Yeti Cycles factory from California to Durango to be closer to the action. The company made a range of mountain bikes, but were best known at the time for their iconic turquoise colored FRO (For Racing Only) models.[7]

Early sponsored riders included John Tomac, and Juli Furtado.

In 1995, Schwinn bought Yeti Cycles company and later sold it to ski company Volant in 1999 (now part of Amer Sports).

Revival

Paul Rowney riding for Yeti in 2010

In 2001, two Yeti employees, Steve Hoogendoorn and Chris Conroy, bought the company.[8][9] Conroy is currently the president and Hoogendoorn the vice president of Yeti Cycles. The company headquarters is now located in Golden, Colorado.

Yeti Cycles competed in downhill mountain bike racing with the successful Lawwill DH-9 full-suspension downhill bike, developed by former motorcycle champion, Mert Lawwill.[10] Yeti has a patented suspension system that they call ZeroLoss Technology or linear guide technology. The suspension system consists of two gliding pivots. The wheel path follows the direction of the impact so it transfers directly into the mountain bike suspension system and goes into the shock rather than flexing the frame.

More recently, Yeti has patented a new suspension design called Switch Technology, which is basically a dual-link design that utilizes an eccentric mechanism that switches direction as the bike moves through its travel. This type of suspension is found on their 2012-2014 era mountain bikes, the SB-66, SB-75 and the SB-95.

In 2014, Yeti introduced a refinement to the Switch Technology, dubbed Switch Infinity. This patented design was developed along with Fox Racing Shox and involves a 'translating pivot' which is said to improve the bike's rearward axle path.[11] This rear suspension design change has been used on Yeti dual-suspension models, including the SB5, SB4.5, SB6, SB5.5, SB100, SB115, SB130, SB140, SB150 SB160, SB160e and SB165.

Women specific bikes were introduced in 2015. Yeti Beti caters to women with smaller sized frames and lower standover height.[12] These models have since been discontinued after the 2019 season.[13]

Current Yeti/FOX Factory riders include Richie Rude, Bex Baraona, and Slawek Lukasik. Current Yeti/Shimano riders include Mick (Sick Mick) Hannah and Ryan (Hoon) Gilchrist. Yeti is also represented by a number of athletes and ambassadors throughout the world. [14][15]

References

  1. ↑ Blevins, Jason (November 12, 2001). "Riders Set Out to Rescue Golden, Colo.-Based Yeti Cycles". The Denver Post. pp. E–01. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2012. The purchase of Yeti calms industrywide fears that one of the nation's most storied top-shelf bike makers was heading toward collapse. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Yeti Cycles announce Big Mountain Enduro Series". Boulder Weekly. March 9, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  3. ↑ Pacoch, Matt (March 30, 2012). "Inside Yeti Cycles – Massive photo gallery". BikeRadar.com. Golden, Colorado: Future plc. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Yeti Cycles / Company". yeticycles.com. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  5. ↑ "John Parker Founder of Yeti Bikes", September 2012, i-mtb.com
  6. ↑ "Category 1997 | Marin Museum of Bicycling and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame". mmbhof.org. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
  7. ↑ "THAT Was a Bike: 1988 Yeti FRO", Mar 4, 2014, Richard Cunningham, pinkbike.com
  8. ↑ Blevins, Jason (10 Jun 2012). "Golden's Yeti Cycles pedaling, peddling in high gear". Denver Post. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "From The Top: Yeti Cycles' President Chris Conroy", May 2014, Mike Kazimer, pinkbike.com
  10. ↑ Heller, Peter (2002). Outside Magazine's Urban Adventure, Denver/Boulder. ISBN 9780393322842. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Kazimer, Mike (16 Jul 2014). "Yeti SB5c - Review". PinkBike.com. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Yeti launches two women's bike models". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  13. ↑ "Yeti Replaces the SB5 with the New SB140 27.5" Trail Bike, Discontinues the Beti Bike Line". 29 July 2019.
  14. ↑ Brooks, Nancy Rivera (December 6, 1989). "Customized Bikes on High-Tech Roll". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 26, 2012. (subscription required)
  15. ↑ "the history of yeti". yetifan.com. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
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