Submitted by
Emery
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountain Brook, AL
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2005
Strengths: Great handling, eats downhills, looks cool, Made in the USA, workmaship
Weaknesses: stock RS shock, rear derailleur slaps on chainstay
Bottom Line:
I started riding this bike again when my Blur's 5th Element shock was being repaired, again. It honestly rides better on downhills, just as good on flats and a bit slower on climbs. The Risse shock really seems to cover any "Bob" issues well, the active fork Bobs in long travel settings. This bike still rocks and I find myself having so much fun on it that I started popping wheelies down the trail and occasionally while climbing, fun bike.
Bike Setup: Orang/BLK lg frame, Titus stem/post/bar, Hayes discs, 2000 XTR drivetrain, Risse Astro 5 shock modified for extra stroke, RockShox Psylo XC with firm kit, Mavic UST HighRollers
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Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Golden
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2002
Strengths: Looks cool
Weaknesses: Heavy
Bottom Line:
This frame is heavy and bobs too much on uphill rides. The rear hanger ended up breaking off this year. I contacted Yeti and they said the frame was no longer under warranty so their was nothing that they could do. My original plan had been to replace the AS-3 with a new AS-R, but after that customer service experience I went with a Titus Racer-X. Life has been great since then. I won't ever buy a Yeti product after this experience
Bike Setup: 98 Judy Xl, Time ATAC, XT and XTR components, Hayes Disc
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Submitted by
Francois
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2002
Strengths: Well build, look strong and fast
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
I really love this bike. I've got the frame from Performance at a really good price. It's a nice climber, it grip very well to the ground, but it's really good in going fast in singletrack. Once you get use to pedal with a fully active suspension design, you can go really fast.
Bike Setup: Syncros stem, seatpost, bar, headset, crankset XTR brakes, rear and front derailleur, 858 Pedals, SRAM Plasma shifters Judy Race, SID rear shock, Hutchinson tires, Mavic 517/XT wheelset
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Submitted by
John Turner
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2002
Strengths: Excellent damping in the Rockshox SID; comfortable geometry
Weaknesses: Rockshox SID "eyelet/post" design for the rear shock makes it almost impossible to replace. 22mm rear brake mount.
Bottom Line:
I love this bike! It sucks up the bumps much better than my DBR V-Link 3.1 and Balance AL-550 hardtail. It is a terrific bike to build to your specs. At 29.48 lbs it is a little on the heavy side, but the weight is not apparent in the climbing capabilities of this bike. I'd buy another Yeti frame in a heartbeat. The only shortfalls of this discontinued Yeti design are the lack of replacement rear shocks and the increasingly difficult to find 22mm rear hydraulic brake (I found mine at Cambria Bike Outfitters on closeout). My advice is to buy the frameset and spec it the way you want it. If you don't you have nothing to complain about and no one to blame but yourself and should probably stick with a department store Huffy or Pacific. You will not be disappointed in this bike if you build it yourself.
Similar Products Used: -Schwinn Rocket 88 Disc -Specialized FSR
Bike Setup: XTR crankset, bb, front/rear derailleurs, 11-34 cogset, shifter pods; Hayes disc brakes; Chris King headset; Easton Monkeylite bars; Easton MG-60 stem; Easton EA-70 seatpost; WTB SST saddle; Rockshox Psylo SL fork; Rockshox SID rear shock w/ remote dialout, Mavic X317 disc rims built with Chris King Disc hubs; WTB Velociraptor tires; SPD-M747 pedals; Sachs 89 chain...and of course, Yeti grips
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Submitted by
Jay Jay
a Cross Country Rider
from Raleigh
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2001
Strengths: Components
Weaknesses: Paint Scheme; Decals
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike as new "old stock" from performance. It is a '98. It tracks well, climbs well and descends well. This is a very confident bike and a steal for what I bought it for. It is the first full-suspension bike I've ridden where I can't feel flex in the rear while I'm riding. The Judy SL is bomb-proof and handles my 190 lbs with aplomb. My freinds ride SIDs and all they do is complain. The paint is bomb-proof (powder coated) although the graphics are silly. Component group is top of the line. Yeti apparently does not use shortcuts (i.e. Avid, Icon, Bontrager) like the bigger bike manufacturers. If you can find one of these at this absurd price, buy it!
Similar Products Used: Scwinn S-40; Scwinn Rocket 88
Bike Setup: Full XT; Easton Bars; Cane Creek Headset; Fizzio Seat; Thompson Stem; RS SL Front; RS Coupe DLuxe Rear; Thompson Seat post and Stem; Time Atac
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Submitted by
Scott Barrett
a Cross Country Rider
from Littleton, Co, USA
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2001
Strengths: Great design, offers decent rear travel and doesn't eat up *too much* pedal power. Fairly lightweight with some key upgrades.
Weaknesses: Rear shock is not my top choice, and since it's not an eye-to-eye design, finding a new one these days is awfully difficult.
Bottom Line:
I've got the '98 model and it is a great frame just in general. Light, but not too thin (like some Giant bikes I know). Effiecient, but knows when to hold to the ground over technical terrain. With some key upgrades, like the wheels (came with Mavic 221 with Deore LX hubs), the fork (was 1998 Judy SL) and the rear shock (good luck with this one) it's a real sick ride. I'd suggest it for anyone who wants a bike that will perform as well as you'd normally pay for it (I got a great deal working at a bike shop), and that you can really fall in love with. Plus it's fun to show off. ;)
Bike Setup: Full XT, Manitou Mars C, Crossmax UST wheelset, syncros stem and seatpost, Easton CT2 handlebars, Time Alium pedals.
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Submitted by
Chris Hutchison
a Cross Country Rider
from Allen Park, MI USA
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2001
Strengths: Very fast, corners like a dream, great looking ride
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
I bought the frame and built the bike up to my own specs based on weight and performance. I've only been able to ride it on street (I finally finished in November, and November in Michigan is a rough place to be) a few times but loved it. The setup that I'm running works like a dream, and I haven't had any problems whatsoever. This thing corners like it's on rails! I've never ridden a bike that accelerates as fast as this one, either. It took awhile to get the air pressure settings in the front and the rear coordinated, but once those were dialed in the ride was very plush. I recommend this bike to anyone that wants a beautifully styled, great handling, MADE IN THE USA bike. I really don't know why anyone would want to rag on it. The only suggestion that I do have is to buy the frame and build it from the wheels up. That way you have both a custom bike and the satisfaction of doing it yourself.
Bike Setup: Sid front and rear suspension, cane creek headset, mavic wheels with xt hubs, xt front drlr, xtr rear drlr, raceface next cranks, phil wood bb
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Submitted by
Tom E.
a Cross Country Rider
from Bavaria, Germany
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2000
Strengths: Nice machining. Clean welds. Powdercoating. Hayes rear mounts.
I own the 98 frame with complete custom setup. I initially ordered the frame at the Eurobike Expo back in September 96. Finally got it in summer '97. The Rock Sucks rearshock soon leaked. In '98 I got the main triangle, the lower swingarm and the rearshock replaced for free, although I didn't have any trouble so far save the rearshock. Last year I changed the setup by changing the fork and swapping the flat for a riser bar. What a transformation. Now it's a point and shoot bike, simply instilles much more confidence. I also highly recommend replacing the rock sucks rear with an Risse Astro-5. Saves 1/2 a pound and performs really nice after breaking in and holds the pressure. I've ridden the bike all year round, even below 20°F through dust, mud and snow and haven't experienced any problems with the bushings and bearings. I'm 165 lb at 5'11 and ride an 19" frame. Who should buy this bike? I wonder if you can still get it, since Volant (the new owner of Yeti) just came up with a new xc-full suspension design. Sure, there are now newer, better rear suspension designs which offer more travel w/o bobbing or pogoing, but when I first got it, it was more than just fine. I don't regret it.
Strengths: Attention to fine details, CNC'ing head tube and BB mounts Materials top of the line
Weaknesses: Rear shock Set up
Bottom Line:
I have not had any problems with my YETI. I don't plan on it either. I regularly maintain the bearings and pivots. This does prevent them from crapping out on you. This bike climbs very well. It decends like a rocket, if you have it set up right. I have no frets with it other than the rear shock set up. I have to order a special shock to fit this frame. That sucks. But other than that I'd buy another.
Submitted by
Carl Cruz
a Racer
from Alameda, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: February 28, 2000
Strengths: Hayes hydraulic brakes
Weaknesses: Weight, main pivots, rear shock
Bottom Line:
I have the '98 AS-3 All-Mountain. I race it XC, but it's a bit heavy and I'm contemplating building a light-weight hardtail. I used to race it DH with X-Vert R's, riser bars, platform pedals, and Kujo DH tires, but it didn't have enough travel, so I got a Kona Stab instead for DH racing. I have already replaced the main pivots twice and snapped the chainstay within a year. It's not very strong for it's weight. I also have problems with chainsuck which broke two chains. I blew out the rebound dampening in the RockShox rear. It descends well, but you can give most of the credit to the forks and brakes. Climbing isn't bad, but not great. Basically, it's too frail for a free-ride bike, and too heavy for a serious XC bike. Bottom line: wish I bought something else and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Similar Products Used: Klein Mantra, Specialized FSR XC
Bike Setup: Manitou X-Vert, SRAM 9.0sl, KORE, Hayes Hydraulic Disks, RaceFace Cranks/Rings, Mavic X317 Disc Wheels
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Submitted by
Rick Buchanan
a Cross Country Rider
from Hamilton, MT USA
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2000
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: Everything
Bottom Line:
Had the bike for two years, not only did the front triangle break at the shock connection after three months of riding the next year and a half the rear chain stays cracked three times. Had horrible chain suck problem due to wrong bottom bracket installed at factory. Ended up walking 16 miles once due to a broken chain stay. Had a frustrating time dealing with Schwinn initially. After Yeti was sold to Volante Sports I gave them an ultimatium of a new bike or my money back, these guys were really cool they traded me straight across for a Yeti Arch. No questions asked, I think the guy who would rather ride a Huffy than the AS3 is the smarter one. I've been riding for 15 years this bike blows, just like the guys at Schwinn. Keep up the good work Valante, they want to please their customers.
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Statesville, NC
Date Reviewed: January 19, 2000
Strengths: Great geometry=Great feel Plush, active suspension
Weaknesses: Maybe a bit heavy
Bottom Line:
This bike is amazing. Pedal induced suspension flex is minimal for an active suspension design. My rig is at 28lbs right now with a Z2 and maguras. The added weight doesn't bother me because the bike allows me to ride technical trails faster than when I was on my hardtail. Climbing is not effected either thanks to the extruded bb. I love riding this bike, and I am faster because of it. Riders who bash this bike obviously have not ridden it...
Bike Setup: Yeti AS-3 XTR/XT, Magura Racelines, Z2 Bomber
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Submitted by
Brian Miller
a Cross-Country Rider
from MOunds View, MN
Date Reviewed: May 22, 1999
Bottom Line:
Bought the bike...put all the crap LX stuff on another bike and upgraded to XTR or eqivilant rides awsome...could be a little lighter but what the hell Handles great, supsension works good..No loose pivots let...hopefully won't have to deal with that...
I bought the AS-3 in March 1998 from Supergo. It was a great price @$1,500. I upgraded it to XTR wheelset, shifters, crank, cogset, and Chris King HS. Weight is 25 to 25.5 (depending on scale!). Total invest is around $2,500. I threw all the XT that came w/ it on another frame. I ride 3-4 times a week and have done two races on it. The bike handles great uphill, downhill and jeeproads. I have compared and the wheel base is a little long. This could hurt on tight single track. I am upgrading the Judy XC LT (3.8lbs) to a Judy SL w/ Air Englund kit. This should take at least .8lb off. Total now $2,900. So for my intial investment it has been a great deal. If I had paid $2,500 + (other reviews) today I would not be happy. You could probably spend that much on a lighter full suspension frame. But then it may not be as stiff. I have had no flex problems! (I am 180lbs). My freinds on Trek Ys all have bushing problems and flex after each season. My only problem is after 1 yr of HARD riding the bushings are squeaking (but no flex). They are sending me two new sets. Have fun.
I have a 97 AS-3 which I feel was a great bike in 1997. @ 26 lb. and the mac-strut suspension I feel it is a little heavy and out of date for 99. IE biopacing. It handles well and has been very reliable. I have not had any problems with pivots. I weigh 185 and ride hard in very muddy conditions. The XT gruppo works. Nothing more to say about that. Today, I would check out the competition but I have been happy with my decision.
