They claim that they have never made a lighter full-suspension bike that also brings proper suspension to proper mountain bike racing. Meet the Yeti ASR, one of our top sellers here at Sports Garage. Tried and tested (and trusted) by our very own staff members, this bike can RACE. Uphill, downhill, flats - anything that XC racing throws this bike's way, it eats right up. Keep reading to see what one of Service Leads, August Fackler, has to say about this absolute racing machine, which got him through six brutal days of the Breck Epic a few months ago.
Photo credit: August Fackler
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1000 miles. That’s how much dirt I’ve put under the tires of my personal ASR. Hundreds of workouts, dust, rain, hail, under biked, over biked, six beautifully heinous days and over 40,000 feet of climbing in Breckenridge. I’ve put the bike through just about everything you can put a bike through and I’ve come to tell the tale.
Fit and finish on the ASR is as polished and effective as you’d expect from Yeti. The bike pushes 110 mm of rear travel, courtesy of the flex stay rear triangle which keeps the frame simple and incredibly light. Cable rounding is provided by two chips on either side of the head tube which snug down using a singular 2 1/2 mil allen and allow the hoses to run through the down tube over the bottom bracket and back out the chain stays in a tidy manner. Every frame size will easily fit two bottles, my large frame can fit a particularly large lead bottle; basically anything I could find would fit. The bike also has a standard 31.6 diameter seattube, that has generous insertion depth. This should allow you the option of a good variety of dropper posts (shout out to my completely slammed 170mm AXS post). To top it off we have a nice machined, aluminum yeti head-tube badge, which is a nice touch.
Build highlights:
- Berd Hawk30 Gold Wheels So light at 1000 grams, which admittedly had me nervous at first, but they’re actually surprisingly hardy and comfortable. I would not call myself the kindest rider to wheels, which means I have a tendency to over-spec here, but they’ve been bombproof and held tension pretty well (aside from some very unfortunate choices on my part... but hey that's mountain biking). They also retain accuracy while adding noticeable comfort to the bike. There is the added complexity of the string spokes, but they are no more difficult to true than a regular wheel. If you have the provided tool, any qualified mechanic should have no issue.
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TRP Evo X Brakes This bike was more of a trial for these brakes, as I’m normally a four piston gal, and they’re just a little bit heavy for a two piston brake. That being said, they surprise me with their consistency and power, and actually have a very nice lever feel. They have the added bonus of using the very common “B0” Shimano brake pad standard, which essentially means that any shop in the country will have a good chance of having them, and they’re normally quite cheap. Aside from performance, they are a very good price as far as top end brakes go, and they are a very, very pretty gold.
As an XC bike should, the ASR can fill a lot of roles, from locked out and smashing high-speed fire roads to “let’s do irresponsible things in the high-alpine.” The bike has this capability because of how Yeti chose to tune the suspension cinematic of the frame - it leans more to the side of plush and forgiving with plenty of traction (at least compared to your usual XC race whip). This allows the bike to give you grace and comfort in situations that would normally be a little outside of its berth... i.e. that drop you underestimated. This also allows for pretty considerable rear wheel traction, if maybe more pedal-bob than normal. As a result, this is a bike that benefits from and utilizes lockouts very well.
The bike retains very good traction while adding just the right amount of mid stroke support in the middle settings to make it a rocket up loose, technical climbs. Additionally, in the fully locked-out setting, the light build and pleasantly stiff frame make it an absolutely rapid gravel road crusher for when you need to cover a lot of distance to the trailhead. The bike is still serviceable without remote lockouts (as you might’ve gleaned from my build), but I do think its full potential is realized when you can firm it up as needed. With that in mind, I think this is a prime candidate for the not-pictured, but undoubtedly wonderful, flight attendant system from Rock Shox.
The handling brings all the joys that an XC bike should: manageable in the rough, but responsive and exciting enough to keep any trail fun. This is probably due to Yeti‘s choice to stick with pretty sensible geometry. The rear end isn’t incredibly long (or short for that matter), and the head tube angle sits at 66.5°, just enough to prevent the steering from feeling nervous, but without making it feel dead. The front end is a little bit lower compared to what you’d normally see, but nothing ridiculous for a bike of its use case. It’s enough that if you slam it like I have mine, it feels pretty aggressive, but you can also throw a riser bar on there, keep a couple more spacers, and be very comfortable.
Where do I think it shines??
Nelson Loop - Lyons, CO
- This bike just holds speed so good off the very top descent, and the climbs go by so fast and smooth.
Razzmatazz - Winter Park, CO
- If you know this trail up in Grand County, it is a joy. Flowy, but technical, with lots of nice little poppy jumps, you can really enjoy how easily you can get into the air here. The sharp handling also gets you through all of the trees and obstacles with no issue.
French Pass - Breckenridge, CO
- This one is not for the faint of heart (hence why it was called "The Queen Stage" at Breck Epic), but how could I not include a selection from the big race?? You will appreciate how light the bike is more when you are carrying it up a sheer mountain face at 12,000 feet. This road has jaw dropping views and is a perfect example of the kind of adventure (or trouble) you can get into on the right rig. Plus, the ripping alpine descent off the other side through the bushes and over the creeks is exactly what this bike wants to do.
TLDR;
The bike is forgiving enough to be versatile and exciting enough to be fun, a combination that just makes this a great “do all the things” bike. And, if racing isn’t your thing, you have the Lunch Ride option; the 130 travel fork doesn’t even weigh more than the shorter travel version (just sayin’).
(Also, yes I have the turquoise color way, strongly recommend checking out the “timberline” and “purple haze” options, they look so good in person *chefs kiss*)
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Full Build Specs:
- Frame: Yeti ASR Carbon C Frame (yes the cheaper heavier one)
- Wheels: Berd Hawk30 Gold
- Tires: Continental Dubnital Race Casing Rapid Comppund 2.4 / Continental Trinotal Race Casing Grip Compund 2.4
- Suspension: FOX 34 Step Cast with Grip SL Damper (fork) + Fox Float DPS (shock)
- Bar: Enve M30 31.8mm
- Stem: I9 A 31.8mm
- Brakes: TRP Evo X
- Saddle: SQ Labs 614 150mm
- Seatpost: Rockshox Reverb AXS
- Cranks: 5Dev RGXC Titanium Cranks
- Groupset: SRAM AXS Transmission 1987 Groupset
- Pedals: Crank Brothers Candy 3
