2026 Yeti LTe eMTB Long Term

Like many bikes from Yeti, the LTE has been much praised by media and average riders alike. My experiences have been positive as well and this is a dialled eMTB for both having fun and going fast, which often go hand in hand, although not as much on the North Shore. It has handled our square steep corners, rock faces and rooty steps like an old school local as well though, so it’s not just for smooth picturesque Colorado singletrack. It likes to get rowdy as well.*

*Obviously there are gnarly, rocky trails in Colorado but in my experience, there are a a lot more smooth sinewy ribbons of rootless dirt in Yeti’s home state than there are in southwestern B.C.

What Do We Have Here?

If you are wondering about spec. and geometry details, have a look at my first impressions article from September. Here’s a rundown of what we are looking at with the Yeti Lte

• 170mm front, 160mm rear travel
• 64° head angle, 78° seat angle
• Dual 29″ wheels stock but a flip chip preserves geo if you install a 27.5 rear
• T3 and T2 equipped with Bosch gen. 5 Performance CX motor with 100nm/750w max output
• T4 gets the lighter CX-R (race) motor with up to 400% support, race mode, ti axle and extended boost
• Full carbon frame reinforced with Vectran plies
• Sixfinity six-bar suspension platform
• Adjustable leverage rate chips (3 settings)
• 800Wh battery stock
• Compatible with Bosch Powermore range extender
• All models equipped with Schwalbe’s excellent “radial” tires
• All models weigh 51 lb and change
• Bosch Kioxx 400C integrated full colour display

Adjustments

About half way through this test, I tried out the adjustable leverage rate system, which is a simple process. The first step is to remove the lower shock bolt. There you’ll find a trapezoidal insert with two threaded holes to accept the bolt. Depending on the alignment of the insert, and the adjustment you’d like to make, you either just realign the shock with the hole of your choice (rearward for more progressive) or flip the insert if it isn’t aligned with your choice. It’s a pretty simple process – if you have a work stand at least.

My Preferred Setting

I rode the bike for a couple of months in the stock position which is said to be 30% progressive and then moved it to the more progressive rear mount. I was immediately happier with what Yeti describes as the ‘plush then poppy’ 35% setting and haven’t switched back. There are likely situations where I might be happier with the racier and more linear 25% position, like racing in the very rocky terrain of the previous Megavolt in Naramata, but otherwise I’m very happy with 35.

To Mullet or not to Mullet?

It seems that taller riders benefit less from the benefits of the 27.5 rear wheel. This is assuming your crena analis (bum crack) doesn’t get a knob massage from your rear wheel in steep terrain. I haven’t had that problem with the LTe and I was enjoying it as a dual 29er but I figured I should try it for science. I haven’t been swapped for long but I have been enjoying the more enthusiastic turn in to corners and general maneuverability of the mullet, but what really got my attention was a comment from Trevor Hansen, who was riding behind me recently, suggesting I was popping off things more than usual. The smaller rear wheel makes it easier to tip the bike back to get it up in the air, either on a jump or other trail bump or to bunny hop over something. That’s a fun way to ride so if this was my bike I’d probably want to have two rear wheels so I could swap back and forth. What I noticed most however was that I was tipping the bike more deeply on bermy trails and carrying more speed as a result. If I had to choose just one, I’d probably go for the tweener wheel for the North Shore but the 29 for most other spots.

How Does it Ride FFS!

It.Ride.Good. The End.

One thing that amazes me riding the LTe is how much traction I can get in dodgy situations compared to both other bikes and compared to other riders I might be following. Part of this grip is thanks to the excellent Schwalbe radial tires but I’ve mounted other bikes with the same rubber without quite as much bite.

With the alternating monsoon/dry/deluge/fog sort of weather we’ve had recently, I’ve been on the trails in some genuinely crappy conditions, but I keep finding myself able to take inside lines over shiny roots and control speed in rough, steep sections much more effectively than I should be able to. Loose rocky riding is not my thing generally but on the LTe, I find myself more eager to charge into these situations than on any bike I can recall. It feels like I’ll be able to rein it in if I end up riding directly over a softball-sized ball bearing, pitching the front wheel laterally with some violence, which is comforting.

Does it feel a little more stuck to the ground than other bikes? It does a little but I have been able to counteract that by running significant compression damping, using the 35% leverage setting and, more recently, the 27.5 rear wheel. It certainly doesn’t feel dead or unresponsive but it’s not a bunny rabbit either.

That traction translates into confidence and speed on flat and/or loose corners and the balance is so good that I have occasionally found myself two-wheel drifting ever so slightly without the sense that one wheel might abruptly let go.

Obviously much of the credit goes to the six-bar platform but the most recent Fox X2 is also excellent. It performs consistently on long descents, is nicely supportive but still quick to react to repeated impacts. The kinematics of the Sixfinity suspension are part of the success of the rear suspension but it also appears to be very robust and Yeti tells us one hallmark of the system is excellent alignment. This would explain the smooth action of the shock, with extra bars holding it in place.

Getting Steep, etc.

Something I noticed almost immediately was how precise the handling is and how the front end resists torsional forces. This is likely at least in part thanks to the jumbo downtube and it feels great when you’ve got 90% of your combined bike/rider mass on the front wheel while navigating peril. Of course the Fox 38 gets a lot of credit here as well and it has performed without a hiccup. It’s telling that Yeti encourages even longer travel forks and dual crowns for the LTe.

The LTe has also allowed my meagre jumping performance continue to improve and I have been getting quite comfortable on moves I’d never attempted until quite recently. Taking off is one thing but the LTe comes down to earth with impressive composure as well.

Component/Motor Performance

There isn’t much to report here but there were a few niggles. I recently removed the front wheel to bleed the brakes and I discovered that the DT Swiss bearings were no longer running with their usual smooth teutonic precision. There was a little rust on the axle and things weren’t as slick as I would expect after just a few months. The rear wheel was in better shape and has been through the same experience so the shielding might be better. The carbon rims, the first DT Swiss carbon wheels I’ve used, have been perfect.

The Mavens have been great (as usual) and I’ve mentioned the excellent Schwalbes already. The XO drivetrain also gets full marks. The Reverb AXS has felt a little stiff to drop on occasion. Some lube has helped but I haven’t yet checked the pressure. These ship at 600 psi from new (or 335 for 34.9) so I may want a little less for my riding.

The Bosch controller, display and drive unit have been trouble-free and working great. The Gen. 5 motor works incredibly well and the display is a big step up from the colour coded bars that were the only data source previously.

I’m a big fan of the 800Wh battery. I have managed up to 1600 metres of vert on a single charge and I love being able to do massive climbs without range anxiety – and without having to use the Powermore range Extender, which takes up your water bottle mount. I’m also finding the Bosch system to be very efficient compared to others in terms of battery life, which is great for me because I’m a big fan of boost mode.

Suspension Setup/Settings

In the past I called out Yeti for not providing suggested suspension settings. Obviously these are less important to some riders but I appreciate being able to have a predetermined starting point that has been vetted by suspension experts – and many riders struggle with set up. As it turns out, I stayed quite close to those settings after some fiddling. A gripe is that the rebound knobs on the shock are very tricky to turn without removing the shock, and even harder to count, because of the close quarters.

Yeti’s suggestion based on my 172 lbs. Clicks counted from fully closed.

Fork 97 – 103 psi HSC 6 LSC 10-12 HSR 5 LSR 7-9

Shock 191-201 psi HSC 5 LSC 7-9 HSR 8 LSR 11-13

My Settings

Fork 95 psi HSC 3 LSC 16 HSR 7 LSR 10

Shock 195 psi HSC 3 LSC 4 HSR 7 LSR 12

I have to confess that I really like this bike. It has helped me take my riding to another level and I feel like there is more performance for me to squeeze out of it yet. Luckily I am holding on to it a little longer as a test platform for some yet to be released components. It’ll be interesting to see how it performs with some non-stock… stuff.

Of course the tricky bit about many top performing eMTBs in this inflationary age is how much they cost. There is no aluminum version and all three models come with Yeti’s more expensive Turq carbon layup. Whether this bike is worth it or not will be a personal decision. If I had 17k Canuck bucks I needed to launder, this bike would absolutely be on my very short list.

T4 XX TRANSMISSION
14,900 USD / 14,500 EUR / 20,100 CAD T 3 X 0

T3 XO TRANSMISSION
12,900 USD / 12,900 EUR / 17,400 CAD C2 E90

C2 E90 TRANSMISSION
10,300 USD / 9,900 EUR / 13,900 CAD

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