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Honestly if I had to guess I'd guess it's a Revel. The angled lower link seems more like most CBF implementations than DW-Link, and the styling has fewer curves than Evil's (current) language. Either way, I'm disappointed in the lack of any in- or even on-frame storage, but it could just be a prototype given the CNC'd links.
I doubt its a CBF; the upper link will rise up a little and then "switch" directions, headed back down for the last half (at least) of travel. Thats classic DW movement.
Can I speculate about the shocks tune on this frame? I kid, I kid :-)
nifty idea but I'd shy away because it would be an additional exposed component that needs cleaned and is susceptible to a stick getting in there and putting me over the bars, I have enough trouble with my drivetrain as-is. a cover could help convince me to try it but at that point we're just getting back closer to a traditional freehub?
that or the gambler, I'd gamble
I like the idea of it being an Evil, just because I feel like they haven't done anything interesting in ages. They could use a bit of a shake up.
New yeti. Same internal routing ports I think.
I see the yeti vibe, I don’t see the same internal routing ports but the seat tube are looks similar to the current gen bikes.
it also could be evil. if they were to move away from delta it would probably be to something else crafty from DW.
Seattube makes me think dh bike.
Looks like an interesting upper link... is there another link something pulling it from the back? Dual link variation of delta?
Edit:
Also looks like two bolts in the top of the swingarm connector link? Maybe the pull link doesn't pivot at the swingarm but pulls at the rocker?
L shaped upper link driving the shock via a yoke is what I'd say.
Yep, seeing that Yoke now
The cable ports have the same style to them, a bolt in plastic chip with a neck/stem to guide the cable out. The linkage hardware looks similar too. Dimensions are close. It has a flip chip which I think you cannot do with the switch infinity link if Im not mistaken.
I also think its a Yeti because I could see them wanting to get away from the switch infinity linkage. My view is that if you want to make your bikes less expensive, getting sram/rockshox on oem is an advantage. But I could definitely see Rockshox not wanting to be on a bike that requires a Fox branded piece of hardware to function.
Two additional thoughts:
It doesn’t really look like a yeti tubeset. Everything is more angular (with an overall evil look-especially in the headtube) and this also looks close to production ready- which is would be a pretty quick move away from the new models for yeti.
Could it be a variation of CBF ?
my guess is if yeti really wanted to go away from the switch-infinity link they would change to their already existing sixfinity system from the ebike and DH-proto. seems to work really well and doesn‘t need a fox branded part.
Shock placement plus top tube shape looks Commencal to me. But the lower link is behind the seat tube whereas the new Meta V5 is infront. Plus not sure the carbon route is for them.
if you want to kill the brand sure, changing the most fun suspension system in the market would be such a wrong move, plus, might not be interesting on paper but hell if you try one you'll realize how interesting they are, more than cable tourism bikes or wireless only or bikes with a trunk in the frame
Maybe they want to move to a design that is less prone to downtube failures. Delta link has a bad reputation in this regard, no idea how many fail as a percentage of overall production, but I've seen a few.
I think it has nothing to do with it,
The loads of a bottom out can spread on the Dow tube, yes, same as the specialized enduro, on Trek it goes on the seat tube area, every design has one
I still fail to see “all this failures” both as an owner and as a friend of a reseller that keeps me updated on stuff like that
I've seen the new internal shock Gambler being ridden about Morzine a bunch, looks pretty ready.
Bike shop owner here also told me they had the new Phoenix on order for their rental fleet and they were meant to be ready this year, but will be pushed to next. Not sure how true that is though.
Downtube failures, seat tube failures, seatstay failures... I'm on OG Evil guy, I miss my Imperial, and have enjoyed my Chamois Hagar, but based on the failure rate of folks I know and the steady stream of dead frames I see online... I am in no hurry to buy another evil mountain bike. No one is out there posting 'my frame didn't break today' on Facebook, but I'm a big nerd and on groups for a lot of brands I like, and the pace of broken frame posts is alarming - I think they're just built too light, Evil is at it's core a design company, not an engineering company.
i'd guess not a yeti. contours in the headtube area don't look like theirs. plus yeti is pretty well in bed with fox/shimano, as are their riders.
I live down the road from Yeti HQ and their employees seem to enjoy RS suspension based on personal bikes I've seen. Their recent releases also have RS options (thinking SB120 Lunch Ride).
Combine that with the fact that the links, rear chainstay and upper shock mount scream Yeti, my money is on them. I'd have to go back and check but there's a decent chance this photo was taken in their HQ parking lot.
This looks like an updated SB140 IMO... or maybe they are reintroducing an "SB150", which could make sense given the SB140 is still rocking a ~65 head angle. I love my 140 but the geo is a bit conservative compared to rivals (SJ Evo, Ripmo). I know a Yeti engineer that preferred a 160/170 Zeb on his SB140 as well.
Thats true. I imagine though, for a model that does not have a motor and needs to climb, this may be the lighter and better alternative.
It also could be a CBF frame. Maybe? No idea what qualifies that patent.
agree on the tubeset. plus the head tube is flared on the bottom, something none of yeti's current models have. as far as I can tell, all of Yeti's current models also have internal routing ports near the head tube on both sides of the frame, with the rear brake hose routed through the non-drive side. this doesn't appear to have the routing port on the non-drive side by the head tube.
edit to note: yeti's 6finity DH bike only has the internal routing ports on the non-drive said, whereas this only appears to have them on the drive side.
the head tube flare looks familiar, but I just can't put my finger on it right now.
How about a new weareone arrival?
could make sense since it looks kinda dw-linkish. but thought they would concentrate on wheels for the foreseeable future.
Yeti: Yeti was what I thought it was at first glance. Same link size/shape/cable ports. DW-Link is no longer under patent so a lot of brands playing with it. DW-Link is probably the closest 'design' in terms of kinematics/solid rear triangle to Switch Infinity. Probably pretty easy to make a frame that rides very similarly. Also, Yeti's "SB" frame design is heavy (all the carbon associated with Switch Infinity area makes it one of the heaviest on the market per travel bracket) and expensive (the Switch Infinity doo-dad/hardware). Moving to a new frame design would cut their production costs per frame and drop weight. I don't think it's a guarantee Yeti will do the 6-bar on their trail/enduro bikes because of the complexity ($) and weight associated with it. If they do, they will be looking for a way to simplify it as much as possible for both weight and cost. It would ride great though.
Evil: They're in such financial tightness I doubt they're investing in $1mil in molds for a new frame design that will 'obsolete' their DELTA frames--meaning they would need to update all of their bikes in the next year-ish. Which would be $5mil+ in frame tooling costs. *I also don't know that Yeti has this kind of cash either. Also, as has been said above, I do think that the DELTA system does offer one of the most (if not the most) unique 'feels' to a suspension system on the market. Moreso than the Yeti Switch Inifity system. Going away from DELTA would really make it 'just another brand'. That said, with Delta they are unable to do frame storage, which is becoming a requirement on MTBs.
Lines are crazy reminiscent of the Arc for some reason. Yeti is pretty dated and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them introduce some new ID to shake things up. Comments about needing some SRAM/RS clout/margins are valid and in line with the yeti rider I know switching to that side of the components game.
I'm kind of surprised no one mentioned new Firebird.
Yeah it has sharper edges and a different headtube style than the current Pivots, but the flip chip on the swingarm is almost identical to the current firebird. Plus the overall suspension layout is really similar to the previous firebird.
Also, the current Pivot shock layout is a bit limiting for ebikes, hence the angled shock on the Shuttle LT. This layout leaves tons of space for motors and batteries.