Submitted by
frederik huard
a Downhiller
from montreal,QC canada
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2008
Strengths: rear shock have amazing adjust harder and rebond very impressive work like a 5th element.the frame work very well
Weaknesses: prototype desing,frame are easy to bend or crak.Only one kind of hub can be fit on this bike.PAINT
Bottom Line:
This bike work good but seem built very cheap, easy to broke but it will bring you out of the trail very fast.DONT BROKE YOUR REAR SHOCK is an special made from rock shock
Strengths: its a yeti lawwill, what more could you ask for!
Weaknesses: my frame cracked on the main frame pivot on the top weld where no stress occurs, and scott damen of yeti said its not under warrenty, thats bull sh*t a good bike company would warrenty that ie trek, gary fisher..........so i give the bike a good review but poor customer relations.
Bottom Line:
the bike could kick anyones a**, yeti rules!!! CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS THE BIG D THANK FOR NOTHING SCOTT
Strengths: 2000 model, like mine.Looks awesome. Very desirable. Seems plush enough, the back brake design is still active over bumps. Shok (Rockshox pro deluxe pull shock) is very adjustable, frame is nearly all sealed bearings. looks very strong. Cant wait to ride it again.
Weaknesses: Black paint gets wrecked in mud, but thats what its for right? If only we had ski lifts in the UK!
Bottom Line:
I have always admired the Lawwill design and now I finally have one its not dissapointed yet. The bike is way braver and much more skilled than I am at the moment. Feels like I though a world cup type bike would. Tracks very well and rides so smooth over everything. Seems to be robust and very well made by Yeti. as you would expect really. Off to France in July and if its so good I will probably stay there just to ride my Lawwill ! Included in the high price are (in UK) Chain Device,(very good) rear hub and axle,and rear disc brake. So this makes the Frame quite good value.
Similar Products Used: Kona Stinky, but this is my first proper DH bike.
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Shiver, Race face, Mavic DH rims, Hayes rear, Hope 4 pot brakes. Splined B/B. You name it its got it.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
King Pin
a Downhiller
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: November 28, 2000
Strengths: Rails turns (assuming you have the BB set low). Progressive shock/linkage, makes it hard to bottom.
Weaknesses: Not as plush as a Disco V or an Intense, but its plush enough if you know how to ride it.
Bottom Line:
Its a good all around bike, Dubs as a free ride bike, and handles average DH courses well. Not as plush as a Karpiel Armeg... but it performes better at high speeds (20+). I like it, a lot, for now.
Similar Products Used: Elsworth Dare, Intense, DV Karpiel
Bike Setup: Mr Dirt Fork, Race Face / SRAM Drive train, 321 on Intense tires. Hayes Brakes, Hope hubs (customized to fit Hayes brake) 2" riser with a Planet X 40 stem. upgraded Rock Shock pull to Pro Delux (limited quanities on team version)
Strengths: The Straight Six's stiff arse, the fact that the wheelbase remains constant so braking is dramatically improved
Weaknesses: It broke, being so strongly built almost everywhere
Bottom Line:
The bike rocks, its much more stable than others, rails corners, predictable in difts, very solid (apart form swingarm/shock mount), pedals better than the best of them
the linkage cracks in two places. on top of the bar and underneath it. I've seen 10 of these racing and 9 of them are cracked. THeres to much pressure on the linkage. You can avoid this by setting you commpression super soft. It sucks to ride like that but it won't crack.
Strengths: Tunability, sealed bearings, big tire clearance,
Weaknesses: RS Super Deluxe seals
Bottom Line:
Great bike! Suspension is very smooth and very tunable. The adjustable bb height is real helpful when using 24 wheels. The bike rails through rough corners. The handleing is best when rider weight is kept forward and on the pedals. You can take the feet off and slide the rear end predictably though. The center of gravity is low and really lets you throw it back and forth in tight sections. I blew out the seals in the rear shock after about a month but the bike rides so nice that I still have to give it 5 chilies.
Strengths: Bottomless travel, no friction, sealed bearings at all pivots, 3.0 tire clearance.
Weaknesses: Pedaling uphill. Not that its pedal induced but any motion is translated to suspension movement. You can run more compression damping to compensate. Comes with a 48 tooth ring - kind of big for technical trails.
Bottom Line:
I need more saddle time to really evaluate properly but this thing is incredible. It is laterally stiff, unbelievable responsive, and fully adjustable. I have maybe 10 runs so far and am way faster than I was on my old ride. This bike is almost perfect right from the store. I changed the tires (came with Wild Gripped DH Muds), the seat, and shifter and it was ready.
Submitted by
Jonas Hjerpe
a Downhiller
from London
Date Reviewed: June 7, 1999
Strengths: Excellent engineering, super plush 8 travel, floating rear disc mount, it's rad, no lock out during brakeing, it tracks over everything! Takes everything in it's stride ...... so far!
Weaknesses: Took six months to arrive! It's complicated, hope it's realiable. The black paint is lovely, however one muddy race and it looks old!
Bottom Line:
Awsome bike, does everything it claims. Hope it's realiable .... and is it took 6 months to ship, I'll give it 4 chillies for now, it does desrve five .... but.....
Strengths: We can't tell you yet, looks rad though
Weaknesses: Crap, if you live outta the states, why? cos you can place an order & be told you'll take delivery in 2Mths great.....that was 5months ago. I don't know when the race season starts in sunny so cal or colorado but we are in full swing right now (04/99). It seems that the manu's like to release bikes in sept' can't deliver until six months later then release the following years bike 3 months later. This leaves us riding old bikes & shops with bikes they can't sell. If you're trying to be like MX release them & let us get our hands on the stuff before the race season starts. I have friends who are pulling their hair out cos they've paid for Yeti's, GT lobos & others & haven't got them yet, sort it out. Last gripe how comes you can buy 1 1/2 KX 250's for the price of of a full on DH rig, just can't get my head around it, one's a push bike the other a monster crosser, oh well
Bottom Line:
You bloody septics ( septic tanks, yanks) need to look at the big picture, there are people outta the states who want high end bikes, don't tease us any more, get you acts together & give us the shit we want. More sales = higher turnover & BIGGER PROFITS (are ya listening SCHWINN & GT?)You only get 1 star we will reserve judgment, the one star is for poor service.
What an amazing bike! Mert Lawwill must be onto something with that swingarm seeing as Johhny T himself uses almost the exact same thing. The three lucky people who get to ride these on the NORBA DH pro circuit are Marla Streb, Joe Lawwill, and Colind Bailey. They all do pretty good! Marla Streb uses one of those new shimano airlines derailers, there are only a few of those out there. The boxxer pro's are sweet, but the rock shox provided rear probably wasn't the best choice. But on the other hand, when you have a team of technicians working on your bike before every race, no shock could blow out too easily. This has to be one of the best bike's on the circuit. the only possibly better bike i can think of is Cheri Elliot's intense. 5 flaming chillys from me.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ian
a downhiller
from Philadelphia, Pa
Date Reviewed: November 22, 1998
Bottom Line:
This is actually a review for last year's 6 model as this is the first time a catagory has been available for it.I love this bike! I just finished building it last night and rode it today. I have it set up as an XC bike with a front derailleur and an XTR 24/34/46 crankset. The rest of the bike is as it comes from Yeti: Boxxer fork, Hope brakes & hubs, etc. The bike is heavy, probably somewhere in the mid 30's, but it climbs well - traction is never a problem, and hopping over stuff isn't too hard. And when you get to the top, you get to decend!!! Decending on this bike is how you expect a World Cup winning bike to perform. It tracks great, can be flicked over or around stuuf at will, and will hold whatever line you chose to take. Jumping is amazing. My old FS bike is a Foes Weasel and while I like that bike, it doesn't have the refinement of the Lawwill design. I plan to race this bike as much as I can this coming year and can't wait to see what it can really do in truely nasty stuff. The Lawwill 8 has to be great. With 6, this bike is awesome, with 8 it would rule. Maybe next year...
