Jared Graves: 12 years and five disciplines of Yeti domination

Jared Graves is parting ways with Yeti Cycles, the iconic Colorado-based mountain bike company for whom he spent 12 years racing. During his tenure in turquoise and yellow, Graves racked up numerous world champion titles in 4X and enduro. The versatile Aussie racer represented his country at world championships in BMX, 4X and downhill and raced to a sixth place finish in BMX at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing.

For months, hints on social media and speculation on YetiFan.com suggested the former Enduro World Series champion may attempt to reclaim the EWS crown aboard a Specialized. Specialized recently confirmed that Graves is joining its ranks. Best of luck to Graves next season. Until then, let’s take a look back at some of his Yeti race machines from years gone by.

Yeti SB6c

Graves SB6c featured one of our favorite component hacks — an XTR shifter used to operate the Thomson dropper seatpost

Graves took the 2014 Enduro World Series overall win aboard Yeti’s SB6c. He worked closely with Yeti to design this enduro race bike. In fact, Yeti designed the fit of the medium SB6c frame around Graves measurements.

“It’s every spec I wanted,” Graves said. “Wheelbase bottom, bracket height, top tube.”

Yeti ARC Carbon

Not even a blown air spring could slow the Aussie down

The Aussie racer might be best known for his 4X and enduro wins, but he’s no slouch on a cross-country course. Last year he used Yeti’s cross-country hardtail, the ARC Carbon, to win the first round of the Australian National Mountain Bike Series. With such a win, Graves showed himself to be one the most well-rounded off-road riders in the world.

Graves’ fork lost air pressure during the race, leaving him with no suspension and a twitchy front end. It didn’t seem to matter much, as he still bested the field.

Yeti 303 WC Carbon

Before enduro burst on the scene, Graves raced aboard Yeti’s 303 WC Carbon

Before Graves became a dedicated enduro racer, he tore up the downhill circuit aboard Yeti’s 303 WC Carbon. The 303 WC Carbon was a rare beast. It sported a carbon front end with an alloy rear triangle. The 303 WC Carbon used Yeti’s rail technology, which was a precursor to the current Switch Infinity suspension system.

Custom touches to Graves’ race bike included a 7-speed drivetrain and titanium spring on the rear shock.

Yeti Super X and the 2008 Olympic Games

Graves got his start racing BMX and 4X

During the 2008 season Graves focused on 4X and BMX leading up to the Beijing Olympics. To aid Graves’ Olympic aspirations, Yeti produced a limited run of alloy BMX frames.