Richie Rude’s Yeti SB6
Richie Rude’s go to bike for the EWS is the Yeti SB6.
Richie Rude is the two-time reigning Enduro World Series champion. At the penultimate EWS round in Whistler, Mtbr had the opportunity to catch up with the young American. This season, his bike of choice has been the SB6c. It’s Yeti’s longer travel 27.5 platform with 6” of rear travel. Rude has dabbled with 29ers, most notably at the EWS round in Aspen, but he prefers the SB6 for most events.
Rude and teammate Cody Kelley run relatively narrow bars. Both use a Renthal 31.8mm Fatbar Lite that are 740mm wide. The Ergon grips add a little more width.
Chris King headset. The team is also running a OneUp EDC toolset in lieu of a headset cap.
With all the rain the EWS has received this year, it’s no surprise both the dropper post and shifter levers have grip tape.
Rude runs a (mostly) XTR drivetrain and Saint brakes.
Rude runs his fork on the stiff side, with plenty of spacers to help him hulk smash through rocks.
To prepare for the rough stages in B.C., Rude set his bike as supportive and DH-like as possible. On the suspension front, he runs the bike on the stiffer side. While Yeti recommends riders set sag around the 30% mark, Rude is closer to 20% front and rear.
While he’s not currently #1 in the standings, as the reigning champ, he still owns that #1 plate.
Rude’s Fox 36 is stacked full of spacers (five total), while he runs the X2 out back relatively stock.
Many riders have taken to calling the Enduro World Series the Enduro Wet Series due to heavy rains at nearly every round.
Rude’s saddle bears signs of being campaigned in the mud.
EWS colors for the champ.
For storage, the entire Yeti team uses the OneUp EDC tool and Backcountry racer straps. The EDC tool allows riders to store a multi tool, tire lever, chain tool, and more inside the frame’s headtube. With the strap, the team can mount a spare tube and C02 inside the frame. Rude carries additional spares, plus food and water in his bibs.
In addition to the EDC tool, Rude is running a OneUp 34T chainring and svelte top guide.
For this race, Rude ran Maxxis Minion DHF WT 2.5 tires front and rear with a DD DH casing.
Rude runs alloy DT Swiss wheels with Maxxis WT tires. What you can’t see is the Cush Core inserts, front and rear. This is a recent addition to his program and helps reduce flats.
DT Swiss has a number of carbon offerings, but Rude prefers aluminum hoops.
He’s never run carbon wheels because you can dent aluminum runs, but you can’t dent carbon. In a race situation, a broken carbon rim means your day is over. With aluminum, you can at least limp your way to the finish.
Rude runs ENVE valve caps. They’re pretty damn trick.
Rude runs an XTR drivetrain mated to an XT cassette.
Rude is sponsored by Shimano and is running XTR pedals, cranks, derailleur, and shifter.
The XT cassette has a wider range than the XTR, so it’s become a favorite of EWS racers.
Before the start of a race, several of the components are stickered by the EWS race organizations. These components cannot be swapped out during the race.
Hello, beautiful.
To learn more about this bike, head over to www.yeticycles.com. What do you think of Rude’s setup? Is there something you’d change or is it perfect as it is?
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