Is it as good as the reviews say it is?

Please regale me with your stories, I’m tinkering with the idea of getting one then I can have 3 bikes I don’t use much 😉

I built one up for a pal the other day and had a quick blezz on it.

Main problem is it has suspension at the rear end and is made of carbon, a material with a limited lifespan in MTBing.

😈

Mine lasted 30miles before the swing arm cracked and it didn’t leave the ground, just normal trail riding, I got a refund and bought a Prince Albert 🙂

mate of mine has an ASR5C (full carbon one), I refuse to ride it
it’s SO good I want to buy one, and riding it convinces me I need to buy one
ridden the ally one and it rides lovely too, just not as light or quite as stiff
what I love about it is that it balances plushness and stiffness very well; it cushions and flattens the trail, yet holds its speed and accelerates out of corners – riding it is almost effortless and it conserves speed and momentum like no other bike I’ve ridden

I have an ASR5C and it is fantastic.

Ride is as good as the reviews, suspension feels bottomless, acceleration phenomenal, climbs fantastically, descends with aplomb. Sat on Maxxi Crossmarks.

Cant fault it.

Sounds like a bunch of ASRe to me.

(that’s how I read the thread title 🙂 )

Brilliant! ARS5!

Title should have been ‘show me your ARS5’

Keep the stories coming, I’m checking the back of the sofa for change – hopefully there’s 2K in there.

The cracking bit is a bit unnerving – maybe it’s just a batch fault.

One on ebay was on for £1800 if I could have sold a kidney in time -I’d have bought it.

carbon, a material with a limited lifespan in MTBing

Nope.

I’m saving for one right now, April 2012 I will have enough, then I can have the Kashima coated shock and forks sweet… 😀

Mine was a very early one so it’s possible early batch but put me off, what little I rode of it was nice and looked lovely,

I think the 12mm x142mm maxle option sounds a good one, I like the maxle on my 5 nice and easy to use, stiffens the rear up.

Got a 5C on order, test rode an alloy 5 in the Peaks, deposit down as soon as I got back to the shop! The suspension feels great – stiff enough to accelerate hard and not bob on climbs, even without ProPedal, making it an incredibly fast bike (even with the basic shop demo spec), and to give plenty of feedback but without ever feeling soft/soggy or disconnected from the trail. Rode a demo with 140 Fox forks but going for a 120 on mine as I want it for fast all day riding and a bit of marathon racing…

Waderider Main problem is it has suspension at the rear end and is made of carbon, a material with a limited lifespan in MTBing.

Because Aluminium and Steel last for ever and ever

Fantastic bike, a mate bought the alloy one last year. I rode the demo bike he tried and it was like a rocket ship! Really, really, really nice bike!

love the look of them,, but the tyre clearance in the swing arm looks pitiful… what the max tyre fitment with decent mud clearance?

Is it as good as the reviews say it is?

Probably.

what the max tyre fitment with decent mud clearance?

There’s decent space either side of a 2.25 ardent.

I run a 2.25 Crossmark at the rear on my 5c and there is plenty of clearance for that. TBH if you are wanting to run any bigger than that I would point you towards a 575.

As for the 5c it is a fantastic bike. All the reviews, particularly the comments about it leaving you as a hollowed out shell are spot on. The suspension has a very invisible feel to it, it gets on with its job without you feeling what it is doing. Also, the stiffness to weight ratio of the frame in general is absolutely astonishing. It’s a bike you feel very much “in” as well, possibly because of the lowish BB height. This makes it a very involving ride.

I was intending to use this for racing and faster smoother trails and keep the 575 for the rockier stuff, but since I got the 5c back in Jan I haven’t ridden the 575.

I love mine, it just gets better the more you push yourself. put a rock shox dropper seatpost on it and wouldn’t go back to a standard one.

got 140 fox forks reduced down to 120 then i’ll put them back up for the Alps.

I was thinking of putting a maxxis highroller 2.35 on the back for the trip, anyone know if it’ll fit?

I have one running 140mm Revelations. I loved the demo I tried and decided to buy one on the back of a couple of short rides. Although I will say that I have not found the ideal shock set up on my own yet…

It replaced a Zesty and I dont miss the Lapierre at all. Running a 2.1 Ignitor on the back and there is plenty of room for something wider.

As much as I or anyone else will say its great you need to get demoing to see if it suits/fits etc….

I was thinking of putting a maxxis highroller 2.35 on the back for the trip, anyone know if it’ll fit?

Yes, due to Maxxis’s slightly special sizing a 2.35 high roller is smaller than a 2.25 ardent, so you’ll be fine.

thanks, 2.25 i have on thr front does look a bit big, that’s why i asked.

So eyerideit, are you going to buy one?

I want one but don’t ahve the money yet. FYI one on flea bay as I can’t afford:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yeti-ASR-5C-Carbon-Mountain-Bike-/230621683215?_trksid=p4340.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D150604530267%252B150604530267%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D9214120004769556602

I replaced my Ibis Mojo with a 5c last month.
Have cleaned climbs I’ve nver made before and my tires don’t seem to be as grippy as I used to think- guess I must be going faster than before.
Happy in the air, down drops and just about everything. I did use a fair bit of helicopter tape to prevent any chips in the paintwork. But no need to worry about it being carbon, I’ve had far more problems with steel and aluminium.
I’ve got my Revs at 130mm, 70mm stem slammed down with no spacers, and low rise bars.
Under 24lbs and keeping up with big trail bikes down Afan freeridey section- I’ve happy with that.
On a 2×10 set up I didn’t get down to the inner ring on the same ride round White Level. It’s that quick.

Having test-ridden the 5 and owned a 575, I can say excellent bike and much better carbon construction compared with 575c… Perfect for all around trail riding? Absolutely yes, up there with the best for sure. Personally I stuck with Giant anthem X0 (~23lbs w/F120RLC)I already had for trail riding as IMHO the maestro/Dw/VPP designs are better overall, especially for climbing where the ASR5 does bob noticeably without platform on.
As for the 5c above clearing sections the Mojo couldn’t?? Hmmm. My Mojo HD (and previous SL) climb with incredible traction, one of the advantages the dw link is known for… The SL was built up to ~23lbs but more travel than ASR5.
So for the money (5c especially!) I’d say it’s a superb trail bike but certainly not an alpine bike. IMHO, at that price, there’s some stiff competition which will certainly equal the ASR5 for trail riding performance and weight but have more capability to do light alpine work also. E.g Ibis Mojo SL-R, Santa Cruz Blur LTc, Lapierre Zesty 714…
eyerideit – if u want a short-mid travel bike to fit into your fleet, then seriously consider Giant Anthem X and Trek Ex; not as boutique but much better value and IMHO better all round suspension design.
FTR I’ve been (and still am!) a huge Yeti fan but spent many hours riding different bikes and suspension designs before settling on my favourites so just offering another perspective…
Happy trails either way…!

We had one and I had a few rides on it. I just didn’t see the reason why everyone loves it (although it had a 120mm fork and couldd have done with more). I didn’t find it any faster than a Zesty and certainly not as accomplished downhill. I found a Pornghorn 150 blew it away up and down (albeit with a Fox 160 fork) and a Pivot Mach 5.7 is slacker, plusher downhill and doesn’t bob.

However, I’m in the minority. Everyone likes different things and I sell Yeti so believe me, I want to like them.