Yeti ASR 5 Alloy Review - BikeRadar

Any words on how it compares to the Trek Fuel EX - I am choosing between those two for my next bike.

thinking of swapping my 575 for the asr 5 but really dont know if its worth the bother, dont think the .75 makes that much diffrence, had a go on one and does ride very similar to the 575 with propedal on, can feel the extra stiffness.

a trek ex? not even in the same postcode. the treks way to lazy and sloppy like riding through mushy peas. yeti all the way.

Basically the question is - 5 or 575? I have decided that I am going to join the full suspension club in style and am after a Yeti, a brand I have long admired. Having always ridden hard tail I decided that 5 inches of travel is more than enough and set off to nearest Yeti retailer to have a look at ASR 5 alloy. The man at the shop put me on my back foot slightly. He suggested I buy a 575 instead as its only .75 inches more travel and can also be built very light and a well reviewed bike so long as you go for the aluminium rear. I left the shop a bit confused and have since formed this opinion. The ASR 5 is less than a year old and obviously the way forward for Yeti. The rear end also differs from the 575 which must sort out the issue of flex. The AS-R7 is also a new model offering even more travel. Where does this leave the 575. Yetis best selling bike. It would appear to me that 575 sits uncomfortably close to the 5 and with reported problems on rear end flex on full carbon rear are yeti going to change the rear end to match 5 or 7 or is it end of the line for 575. Your thoughts please.

Bike looks amazing, perfect trail toy.

Would you go alloy or carbon?

I'm looking for a replacement for my 2010 Trek EX8, which I haven't really gelled with, and demo'd an ASR5 last week. The demo bike I tried was the same weight as my EX and was fitted with similar tyres, but had heavier wheels. It also had a 140mm fork. IME, the ASR5 was in a different league to the EX on climbs (which I have always found very 'dead' feeling on climbs). Don't get me wrong, the Trek is by no means a duffer, and it's a brilliant all-rounder - it's just that the Yeti felt livelier and more entertaining...in a very fast way! (has a similar 'mentalist' speed freak character as my Anthem X)

I did find one rather strange thing on the Yeti though. On one very techy, but not steep ascent, it had a wierd suspension compression in a small hollow and spat me off the back of the bike! I had experimented with the sag on the rear shock, and this odd behaviour was with it at the firmer end of Yetis recommended sag - I think part of this might have been the 140mm fork which did make the front end a bit wandery on ascents (even with a shortish, low rise stem and no spacers). The other thing I noticed was that on anything other than descents, or very rough ground, the bike I tried seemed much happier left in Propedal 1 - it climbed very well with PP off but was very sensitive to weight shifts, much more so than other single pivots I've ridden.

er...so in summary, IMO, it's a much more entertaining ride than a Trek EX, and if I was limited to owning one bike, I'd be very happy with it. (think I'd stick a shorter, or U-turn fork on there though)

Awesome bike. Got to demo it and it felt absolutely better than the MojoSL I rode before it. Huge confidence, great acceleration, great handling, super fast and efficient up climbs. Was hitting 3' drops to flat, but I tore the casing on the tubeless tire so it looked like the wheel was out of true (but it was only the tire) and it cut my demo short. The white paint job looked beautiful. Only downsides are the price and frame weight, but I believe that extra frame weight all goes into the ride feel and none of it is truly excess fat.