No longer will you needTosacrifice speed for versatility;The ASR 5 Pro XTR bike offersTheTight, fasthandling of an XC race bike withThe plushness and versatility of an allmountain rig. AtThe heart ofThe bike is an Active Suspension (AS)frame design, soaking upThe rough stuff andTransferring power fromThepedalsToThe rear wheel without a loss of energy.The frame is constructed of high modulus, hand laid-up carbon fiber, giving it a stunningappearance while adding strength and stiffness at a very l
Submitted by
Digzruschiks
a Cross Country Rider
from Everett, WA USA
Date Reviewed: March 4, 2012
Strengths: Excellent cross country bike! Nimble and easy to manuever due to the light weight carbon frame. It is a huge improvement over my last bike, a Kona Dawg-Deluxe. The best thing about this bike is hill climbing. You will find yourself able to make climbs that you may previously have had to hike-a-bike.
Weaknesses: The swing arm that originally came on my 2010 Yeti ASR-5 Carbon bike cracked after only 10 rides!!! The only places that I rode the bike were: Pilchuck Tree Farm, Woodinville (outside the Red Hook Brewery) and Tolt MacDonald Park: Hardly the kind of places where you encounter serious technical riding!!! The swing arm cracked 2 weeks ago and I contacted Big Tree Bikes in Seattle about it and they did a magnificent job of contacting Yeti and getting me a replacement swing arm in less than a week's time. I was really dismayed that my swing arm cracked so easily and can't help but wonder why Yeti didn't manufacture a better product, especially considering the fact that they are a high end bike company. Also, I could have broken my neck on that bike if I hadn't noticed the crack before it became a problem. The only reason I saw it is because I clean my bike really well after each ride. Kudos to the guys at Big Tree Bikes, they are a great bike company to deal with and very knowledgeable about mountain biking.
Bottom Line:
An excellent bike to ride, if you don't have a problem with the swingarm!!!!
Submitted by
ddprocter
a Cross Country Rider
from San Carlos
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2012
Strengths: Amazingly stiff climber that stays rock solid until you start downhill and hit the rough. Not what you'd call a plush ride. But, softens up significantly and handles the big hits well. Perfect Bay Area bike, stiff for those steep firetrail climbs, then magically transforms to a trail bike for big rocky rutted nasty stuff. Go fast to make it loosen up. Head angle is on the slack side, but felt fine in the tight slow corners (fork was 140mm)
Weaknesses: No horst link or virtual pivot means brake jack. Relatively standard single pivot arc means it doesn't have that lively 'holy cow this thing is glued to the trail' feel. But, takes the big hits well and keeps the tire on the ground.
Submitted by
Salt Yeti
a Weekend Warrior
from SLC UT
Date Reviewed: December 21, 2011
Strengths: Great suspension, traction while climbing, and light weight.
Weaknesses: None yet.
Bottom Line:
The 575 was too soft and heavy. The ASR5C is the perfect balance of weight and suspension for me. I was able to stay on the bike in spots where I used to get off and push my Gary Fisher uphill. I haven't had it for very long but so far I'm very satisfied.
Similar Products Used: Gary Fisher Sugar 3, Yeti 575
Bike Setup: X0 components, Mavic Crossmax ST wheels, Fox float 140, and Fox RP23.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
antstep
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2011
Strengths: Great ride. Stiff, responsive, pedals like the wind, skips over the rough stuff. It's a sporty ride not a plow machine. I really enjoy riding this bike. I truely love the thing, but...
Weaknesses: In 18 months the frame has failed 3 times. I get wind of early problems with Carbon and layup, but I have failed a "2nd gen" swingarm now also. 18 months owned, 6 months no bike due to brakeages. This is simply 100% BS. I ride flat fairly untechnical trails in Australia, and I make sure I don't send it due to fragile nature. I don't crash. It is not the rider. This will be my first and last Yeti. Massive disappointment. Thanks for the broken wallet wasted weekends away and heartache Yeti.
Bottom Line:
Yeti has no idea how to find a Taiwanese manufacture of Carbon clearly, or just blame their subcontractors for poor engineering.
Weaknesses: gotta hold your line, no forgiveness, tight suspension
Bottom Line:
Like the responsive nature of bike, very quick and light. Suspension is built for XC not downhills as much. Rode for 1 year, trails like Kokepelli - Fruita to Moab. Took it down a ramped drop of 6 feet into a gully. I left the ramp about two feet before bottom, took header. Broke nose, broke helmet, broke frame at Stem and bottom tube. Wheel and fork were fine..............go figure. Not sure if Yeti will replace frame due to a defect in design but it should not have broken.
Bike Setup: 2010 ASR5C Fox 120,RP23,Schwabe 2.3 tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mtbmike83
a Cross Country Rider
from ACT
Date Reviewed: November 30, 2010
Strengths: So stiff, very light, confidence inspiring handling, looks, did I mention its light?
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
I was a little hesitant upgrading from my Giant Trance (which I loved) to the ASR5C, I thought it would just feel like another 5in travel trail bike... how wrong I was! This bike leaves the trance for dead! It's got a fairly slack (for XC anyway) 68deg head angle which makes it stable on the fast stuff but still switchback friendly and nimble on the up's. Very balanced suspension front and back with fox f32 120 up front. It's so incredibly stiff laterally front and back (tapered head tube front and massive rear stays with 142x12 rear axle, even with standard 135 QR hub its stiff) that it's just so easy to flick the bike around corners, over jumps etc, combined with how light you can build this bike it makes it an absolute weapon for trail riding! It pedals very efficiently with pro pedal engaged (even on setting 1, slight bob without it engaged but nothing that'll waste your forward momentum) and is very supple on the descents with the shock fully open (thats how I like to ride mine). Frame details are amazing, it looks amazing in the sun with the raw carbon finish! Yeti call this the 'cheater bike' cause you can hang with the short travel XC bikes going up and hang with the longer travel bikes on the way down. In my experience this is very true... very versatile and hugely capable. It would make an extremely capable XC race bike (easy sub 10kg bike with 5in travel! overkill for XC racing?), makes an outstanding trail bike, great marathon/ 24hr bike, I'd stop short for using it for the really big rough stuff as thats what the 575 is for., it's alot of money but its worth every cent. A bike for those who love going fast uphill but don't want the compromise of a XC bike going down. All my riding buddies now hate me cause I have a Yeti :) :) :)
Bike Setup: Full XTR, Crossmax ST's, Forumla R1's, light weight bits and pieces = 10.2kg :)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Logan21
a Racer
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2010
Strengths: Climbs like a Mountain Goat, Descends very well, stiff, super light
Weaknesses: DT Swiss wheels arnt brilliant.
Bottom Line:
I love this bike, its climbs so well and descends like a 6 inch travel bike. Mine currently weighs in at about 11kg's and this could easily be less with some better wheels and few other bits and pieces. Rode a 110k Enduro on it last week and was getting plenty of looks from people. As the other reviewer said, the DT Swiss wheelset is pretty average and I will be upgrading that over Xmas as my present to myself.
Genuinly struggling to find a weakness with the bike.
Strengths: Very stiff frame. Flickable geometry. Light weight but solid. 15mm tapered front fork and 12mm rear axle are extremely stiff.
Weaknesses: The wheels are entry level. Setup takes some time and experimentation. Oh yeah, did I mention that the wheels are junk?
Bottom Line:
Well, I absolutely love this bike. Once you get the correct air pressure in the shocks, it is a freaking blast to ride. I have mine set on Pro Pedal 1 all the time, and this seems to be the best compromise for climbing, rolling singletrack, and still soft enough for descents.
The DT Swiss 1800 wheels are trash though. For this kind of dough I expected better. Had to true the rear wheel after 100 miles of mostly fire road riding. Both the front and rear squeak despite all attempts to clean/lube/adjust etc... My son's 1500 specialized hubs spin more freely. As soon as I can scrape up some more $$$ I'm going to upgrade these beasts. Not a lot of choices yet for the 12x142 but there should be some good options next year. Still for this price I really shouldn't have to be looking to upgrade. For that I'm knocking two chilis off the value rating. With a good set of wheels this bike should scream, so overall I'm giving it a five chili rating.
