Yeti's Switch Infinity

Overview

Yeti's Switch Infinity Linkage:

This system uses a lower pivot which slides up and down on a pair of vertical shafts, along with an upper link which rotates clockwise (if viewed from the driveside) as the suspension compresses.

The lower pivot acts like the rear pivot on the lower link of a traditional twin-link design, except that this pivot moves vertically in a straight line rather than a curving arc centred on the forward pivot point.

Imagine you could make the lower link of a traditional twin-link bike infinitely long and horizontal. Then its rear pivot location would move up and down in a straight, vertical line with no curvature to its path at all. This is essentially what Yeti has simulated with its linear sliders (hence the name).

What’s the point of all that? Well, Yeti claims this allows them to get the kinematics to behave how it wants all the way through the travel.

On paper, at least, there’s nothing drastically different about Yeti’s suspension kinematics compared to some regular twin-link designs, although it's managed to weight the anti-squat towards the sag point where it’s needed most, while minimizing pedal-kickback elsewhere in the travel.

External links

• The ultimate guide to mountain bike rear suspension systems