Yeti has a long history of supporting women cyclists. Yeti's race teams have included some of the best women in the sport— among them, Julie Furtado, Marla Streb, Tara Llanes, Jill Kitner, and Rosara Joseph. They have also been long time supporters of the Yeti Beti race team, which was instrumental in creating the Beti Bike Bash, the first women’s-only mountain bike race in Colorado. This year, Yeti became the title sponsor of the VIDA MTB Series, a women’s skills clinic run by Yeti ambassadors Sarah Rawley and Elena Forchielli. Their introduction of the Yeti Beti line recognizes the important role women have played in their company.

Colorado has a disproportionate amount of hard-charging mountain athletes. Head into the Colorado backcountry and you’ll find women skiing steep lines in the winter and completing epic rides in the summer. They’re drawn to Yeti for many of the same reasons men are -- performance, technology and their commitment to the mountain bike community.

With the help of the Yeti Betis, Yeti have identified several components that would improve the ride experience for women. All “touch-points” on the bike were an obvious place to start, so they chose a WTB Diva saddle, smaller diameter grips, and narrower handlebars (though, in the spectrum of handlebar widths, they are still relatively wide at 720mm). This gives greater comfort and control. They also reduced the crank length from 175mm to 170mm. The benefit here is twofold: One, smaller cranks are easier to spin. Two, the smaller cranks give added clearance in technical sections. Less smashing the pedals on rocks.

Yeti's patented new Switch Infinity design allows their engineers to control suspension kinematics to a new level. The end result is unprecedented pedaling efficiency and small bump sensitivity when climbing paired with plush, controlled travel when descending. The Switch Infinity technology was created in partnership with FOX and features Kashima coated stanchions and FOX’s renowned build quality. It has endured Yeti and FOX's rigorous testing protocol and over three years of on-trail testing. The system is simple, lightweight and low-maintenance.

Utilising the new patented Switch Infinity Translating Pivot that ‘switches’ direction as the bike moves through its travel Yeti are able to control the bikes 5” of suspension perfectly throughout its entire suspension stroke. This results in confidence inspiring performance and amazing trail feel. As the bike starts to cycle through its travel the main pivot translates upwards along two Kashima coated shafts to create a rearward axle path. This movement gives excellent anti-squat and optimum pedalling performance while maintaining a crisp pedal stroke. Housed on a sliding carrier the pivot then ‘Switches’ direction as the bike continues through its travel and the Switch Infinity link translates downwards to give a bottomless feel and stop any chain force adversely affecting the suspension performance out on the trail.

The evolution of Yeti’s Switch Link Technology is a relatively simple one as Switch Infinity offers a lighter, stronger system engineered by FOX from proven suspension components designed and tested to withstand the worst riding conditions. Kashima coated stanchions offer low friction and durability while the seals and bushings are borrowed from FOX’s off-road racing division. After months of trail and dyno testing in all conditions the system has been found to be worthy enough to be “Enabled by FOX” sealing its high performance and quality.