Hey everyone! My names Hannah, I just started mountain biking 5 months ago and completely fell in love. I have a Specialized Myka HT right now but I am definitely in need of a good full suspension. The Yeti ASR-5 caught my eye and I fell in love. I am 5’5″ and have noticed that the sizing on these bikes are weird. Could anyone give me some advice?

Thanks =)

Hannah,

Sizing has a lot of factors. Torso to Leg length and arm length.

Best advice is to find one to get onto and see how it feels.

Also for your first full sus I would recommend getting on a few as the ride is important too. Try and get along to some demo days – no idea where you are but people like Biketreks in Ambleside do loads. Trail centres also do a lot. If not your local bike shop may be able to get one in for you to try.

For a quick look try getting the dimensions for the frame and measure how it comes up against your current bike.

But best advice is to go ride some bikes!!

Thankyou! I’m just torn because I found a new 2011 one for $2,000 and I don’t think I will ever find a deal like that again.

According to the Yeti website the Small frame is for riders 5ft3 to 5ft7 so you fall bang in the middle of that range.

I am 5′ 8″ and ride a medium but I have also owned a small Yeti 575 and that fitted as well. Yeti’s tend to come in a bit big so the medium would be too big. I would think a small would be ideal.

I’m 5’8″ and ride a medium asr5c, it’s quite big for a medium so would definitely say a small for 5’5″.

Mikewsmith is right in what he says about trying one and other bikes. The asr5 has a very specific ride, it’s not plush, you have to pick your lines well as it’s not forgiving if it goes wrong, you have to be on your game. But if you do have good bike control it is one of the best trail bikes out there.

I absolutely love mine, best bike I’ve had. Dare I say even faster than my carbon zesty I had before it.

dan45a – Member
The asr5 has a very specific ride, it’s not plush, you have to pick your lines well as it’s not forgiving if it goes wrong.

With the greatest respect, please quote that as your personal opinion / setup not a generalisation of the bike. The ASR-5 can be plush, and is certainly one of the better trail taming / handling bikes I’ve ever ridden.

If your being spat off an ASR-5 somethings wrong somewhere.

The main thing with Yetis is the top tube length. The small is longer than the 17″ Myka so you may need the xs. The seat tube is quite long on the small too. It’s only a bargain if it fits and does what you need

5’6″ and ride a small.

As others say check the top tube length.

ask here

http://www.yetifan.com/

They DO rock.

@kryton57 – my comments are certainly my own personal opinion gained from my experiences of the bike in question compared to the others I have owned.

I’m certainly not getting spat off, it’s more to do with choosing and holding lines. I’m just saying it has a very different ride to say a fuel-ex which has less travel but is more plush. The asr5 has a very firm mid stroke, which is totally different from the trek ex or zesty or stumpjumper all of which I have owned. I have found that if you run more sag in the rear shock of the asr5 to make it more plush, the bike does not perform as well for it on climbs or descents and looses that sharp feeling that I feel defines the bike.

For info I run a140mm fork so has a nice slack HA.. It is an awesome bike!

Hope this feedback is helpful…

dan45a – Member

@kryton57 – my comments are certainly my own personal opinion gained from my experiences of the bike in question compared to the others I have owned.

I’m certainly not getting spat off, it’s more to do with choosing and holding lines. I’m just saying it has a very different ride to say a fuel-ex which has less travel but is more plush. The asr5 has a very firm mid stroke, which is totally different from the trek ex or zesty or stumpjumper all of which I have owned. I have found that if you run more sag in the rear shock of the asr5 to make it more plush, the bike does not perform as well for it on climbs or descents and looses that sharp feeling that I feel defines the bike.

For info I run a140mm fork so has a nice slack HA.. It is an awesome bike!

Hope this feedback is helpful…

Fair enough. Interestingly I rode an EX8 (2011) back to back with an ASR-5, when choosing which bike to buy. The EX8 was top of my list, until I rode the ASR-5, and until luckily an ex demo fell into my price bracket (I couldn’t have bought a full price one). My experience differs slightly as follows:

a) I’d say at the suggested (ie non personnel) setup, the ASR-5 was more plush as the DRCV on the trek changes the feel of the first part of the stroke

b)I agree with you you on the sag. I run mine at 30% to get the plushness, but I like it that way. FWIW I feel the EX8 just felt a bit “dead” on the climbs – sure it was “efficient” and perfectly capable but I didn’t enjoy it

c) I don’t get this firm mid-stroke business, maybe becuase I don’t run my shock very hard, but I can’t tell the difference.

I guess what this shows that there’s a lot to be said for peoples personnal opinion.

@kryton57 – Yes a very good point proven, I think we will both agree that they are amazing bikes 🙂

I would really try to get a short ride on one before buying, the sizing is quite on the large side, at least on the larger frame sizes. I’m over 6’4″ but the L frame suits me fine, the XL must be massive.

It is an amazing bike though!

If your being spat off an ASR-5 somethings wrong somewhere.

I have to say I find the ASR5 seems to magically accelerate through corners, and really fire you out of berms, which my Giant Trance didn’t do, so I would say it could lead you into trouble quite easily when you are new to the bike. I don’t know how it does it, some kind of voodoo…

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IMGP3549 by jh_buchanan, on Flickr[/img]

Stolen from Bristol April 16th. Still really pissed off about it. As above but with Hope Race brakes, Reverb post and Hope hubs / Stans Arch EX wheels.

5ft6 and small fits me fine too

Thanks guys! I appreciate the opinions. =)

Where do you ride as the price you quoted is in dollars? Why do you want a full suss when you’ve been riding such a short time?

Just resurrecting this post, as I’m in an Yeti ASR5 quandary.

I’m female, 5’6″ and recently bought an ASR5 frame in small. It feels like there’s loads of bike between my legs though. I usually ride a small Cotic Soul, which is a fantastically compact frame.

A few of the posters above, the same height as myself, happily ride a Yeti ASR5 size small.

I’m thinking the XS might be a better fit, however. The top tube will be a bit shorter than my Soul (21.7″ rather than 22.7 on the Soul), but the seat post will be of similar length (15.8 on the XS Yeti vs 18.5 on the SM Yeti vs 16″ on the Soul). Also, that triangular bit of the top tube which joins the seattube doesn’t seem to be as large / pronounced in the XS. Here’s a pic of an XS to illustrate what I mean:

So, are there any 5’6″ people out there on a Yeti ASR5 XS? Do you find it a bit squashy? Is the smaller frame a bit more nimble?

Any feedback massively appreciated!

So, are there any 5’6″ people out there on a Yeti ASR5 XS? Do you find it a bit squashy? Is the smaller frame a bit more nimble?

Any feedback massively appreciated!
I’m not 5’6, a woman and I don’t ride a Yeti but…..
Height is only one of the factors at play here you need to consider inside leg/standover and reach. Generally the reach for a man and woman is different (sweeping generalisation)
Throw into that seat post angle which can make a frame seem short or long depending on how high up you are and how the suspension sags when your on it. Sorry if thats a long winded no help here but maybe getting hold of the importer and seeing if there are any around would be good.

Cheers Mike.

The only demo bike available is a size medium, alas.

Agreed about the top tube. I think my main concern is about the top tube being a bit short, and thus the bike feeling squashy.

5’6″ here and have a Small Yeti 5. I used to have a Cotic Soul Small also.

I found both a good fit.

Yeti ASR5c owner here. I was adamant that it was the medium I wanted based on previous bikes geo. The recommended frame size was large for my height 6’1″.

I organised a demo of both bikes. I sat on the medium and instinctively knew it was too small. I span it round the car park to make sure but definitely too small. I rode the large frame. Loved it. Always wanted the ASR5c since it’s release and the demo confirmed I was right so bought one.

Obviously use the Yeti recommended frame size for your height as a guide then source a demo. If not a demo at least a sit one to measure up and confirm.

There are a lot of FS bikes in that price range so it might be worth trying more than one bike/brand. Although you will not be disappointed with an ASR5. Great bike 🙂

Sorry I thought I’d show it off too 🙂

Hannah, I’m 5’5″ and ride a small yeti asr5 alloy, now I wished i’d gone all out, and bought a carbon with all the trimmings.

Its an awesome bike, found the medium way too big.

They do an extra small in the carbon, but that just felt weird. and too small for my frame, might be ok if you have a small torso.

But the bike is alive, energetic, and just balls out fun and grin inducing to ride. not slating the blur and the 5 I test rode on the day, but this was in a different league.

KingofBiscuits nice bike, any idea what it weighs?

My wife is a smidge under 5’5″ and is very happy on a small

We’re in Kent if local and you wanted a try

Thanks all, that was a great help.

God almighty, that’s a beautiful bike KOB!

Cheers Charlie, that’s very sound of you. I’m in Dublin though, so it would be a bit of a trek. 🙂

@toons Sorry I have no idea how much it weighs. All I know is it’s very light for 140mm front/127mm rear trail bike. I should weigh it though, stay tuned.

@xlaire Thanks, it is indeed

@toons – rough bathroom scale weighing = 26.4lbs

Excellent Ta. I’ve got one on the way and can’t wait 🙂

well I really think an XS would be far too small – more suited to up to about 5′ 3″ I think

^^^ what he said

@xlaire – Don’t focus too much on the numbers. I did this thinking that the M would be right. It was too small.

What stem are you running?

I’m running a 70mm stem.

The top tube length was grand actually. It just felt like the frame itself was too big in terms of stand over height and I had to run the seat post quite low – not much scope for using a dropper. The top tube slopes upwards to meet the seat tube and that resulted in even less space between the frame and my important bits. It seems like I wouldn’t have much space to move the frame around as I was riding.

But, having heard the thoughts of others (thanks people!) I’ll build it back up again and actually take it out for a spin this time. It might simply be a case of getting used to the fact that it’s not a Soul. 🙂

Just for a bit of sizing info. 5ft6 on a small frame. I have a reverb (380mm 125mm travel) and it is right down inside the frame with no “extra” seatpost showing. At full extension it luckily fits me perfectly. Not a huge amount of room for a dropper if you are in the hobbit sizing category like me.