OK – its time to sell my Stumpjumper Elite 2008 and I am thinking about a Yeti ASR5. I ride mostly trail centres Llandegla, Coed y Brenin, Marin Trail etc and need something to get me to the top with as little pain as possible and hammer it back down, no big drops. I did think about the Stumpy Evo Comp – LBS offering discount at £2150 but quite tempted by the Yeti. Any thoughts?

Stumpy every time 😉

Thanks – Any reasons for your comments on the stumpy?

need something to get me to the top with as little pain as possible

1 Fitness

hammer it back down

2 Practice

The more you’ve got of 1 the more you can do of 2

Yeah I know all about the fitness bit and admit I could train harder but I guess my question is about finding a good bike that climbs and descends well – hence thoughts on Yeti etc ?

The Evo can handle big hits and rough stuff. Its slacker and has more travel than the normal sj. By your description I would have thought that you’d want the normal sj over the evo. Ive ridden the Evo and SJ and for all round ability i’d go for the normal sj. The evo was something special on the downs but a bit wandery on the climbs. Cant comment on the yeti.

Why not a hardtail if you’re looking for as little pain up, then hammer down?

A 120mm whyte or a piglet would fit the bill nicely.

Thanks for the advice – I will keep an open mind and plan to demo a few options before comitting and good point on the Evo vs regular Stumpy. The reviews for the Yeti ASR5 are looking good but the price is quite high compared to a Stumpy.

I ride mostly trail centres Llandegla, Coed y Brenin, Marin Trail etc and need something to get me to the top with as little pain as possible and hammer it back down, no big drops.

Hey guy, are you selling the stumpy because you want something burlier or do you just want something new? Imo the new stump jumper is a proper weapon. It can climb reasonably well (I’ve had a spin) but I reckon it’s a full on descending weapon. It’s just the old enduro (especially the evo). You say you’re not interested in big drops but I reckon I’d be happy hitting a road gap or two on the stumpy evo knowing if I could dish it out, the bike could take it, and then some . It’s a serious piece of kit.

Why not go for something with similar geo to your current bike? At least it’ll climb great, and still be a great descender, if not quite the dh sled.

The yeti is a very nice bike.
But I bought an evo comp. 🙂
It descends so well. And nothing really needs changing.

The Yeti’s nice, probably nicer than the Stumpy (I’m biased though as I’ve got an ASR-5). As soon as cost and value-for-money comes into the equation though, the Spesh wins hands down.

The ASR-5 is 127mm travel whereas the Stumpy Evo is 150mm. It’s not an even comparison really.

Superficial

The Yeti’s nice expensive, much nicer more expensive than the Stumpy which implies something (I’m biased though as I’ve got an ASR-5). As soon as cost and value-for-money, quality, geometry and warranty support come into the equation though, the Spesh wins hands down.

It’s not an even comparison really.

Booosh.

Thanks for the advice re EVO etc. I thought i would treat myself to something new to spice up my riding a bit, I like my current bike but the geo is just a tad upright as my riding has evolved and I am tackling the descents faster. I never considered the Yeti until I saw one in OPA Llandegla and since then checked out the reviews which look very good. Of course the price is also a consideration!

Between your current bike and the yeti, Im not seeing masses of difference, maybe the head angle on the yeti is a touch slacker, though I think you should be able to get an angle adjust headset for the spesh from works components for one
I think one of the 2009 (same shape) SJers came with 140mm forks, so if you’re wanting the ASR5 for 140mm forks then it may be your 08 SJer will take them too (though youd have to check the handbook isnt 120mm max)

As above the stumpy evo is quite different to an ASR5, more downhilly than a 575 I guess

MuddyFunster – I suspect you realise what I was trying to convey, but I’ll spell it out anyhow: Spending more money on full sus bikes past a certain point results in diminishing returns. Is a £2500 carbon full sus frame twice as fun as a £1200 alu frame from a big manufacturer? No, probably not. But that’s not to say that there isn’t some return on the extra dollars spent.

I would argue that on geometry / quality / warranty the Yeti is better. Twice as good as a spesh? Doubt it, but it’s still nicer.

for the most part, I am just yanking you, as it were. But….

I would argue that on geometry / quality / warranty the Yeti is better.

I would strongly argue the opposite. Given, the geo is different, but i happen to think that the geometry on most specialized is class leading.

but it’s still nicer.

I think this is caused by the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you spend big money on a boutique brand frame. Nothing more.

Maybe. I do agree that’s a big factor and it makes personal recommendations on the internet a bit rubbish. I’ve never seen anyone admit to buying a lemon. Although if the warm fuzzy feeling makes me feel good, what’s wrong with that? 😉

Anyway. I was reading your ‘one bike to rule them all’ thread a few days ago and what you said there was very similar to my sentiments. Essentially, a long travel full sus has a tendency to flatten stuff. A shorter-travel but aggressively-angled bike which requires a bit of body English to ride properly – that was my remit when I was searching for a new frame. I actually wanted a Santa Cruz TRc but couldn’t afford it…

Yeah I know all about the fitness bit and admit I could train harder

Go on then.
Mostly it’s not about the bike. Mostly.

You should have seen the state of the guys I was riding with on Sunday; proper bling bikes and half of them had a stunning inability to ride them due to being lazy stoners.

The excuses came thick & fast.

brianh

FWIW, I have just swapped my Zesty for a Yeti ASR5A and it’s awesome. It climbs better (the Zesty was no slouch uphill) and copes almost as well going back down. The Yeti feels just right for me and I ride the same sort of stuff as you. I have the 140s up front and it seems to take everything I throw at it.

Oh, niche brand?…..absolutely

Demo an ASR5 or even the new SB66 as well as EVO. My LBS Yeti ASR5 owner has ridden an SB66 recently and is raving about it.

You should try a standard Stumpy with the BRAIN shock
With a bit of tweaking you can get it hard tail stiff climbing fire roads etc and have it open up to full plush on the smallest of bumps on the way back down or on a technical climb – it’s very effective and the transition os not noticeable in operation

Spesh warranty and service is fantastic too

Thanks for all the comments – looks like I will be having a demo on the yeti and the new stumpy ASAP and will see where I go from there. Hopefully will make a decision soon!

In my mind this is (forgetting the yuppie jokes) like comparing a Ford Focus RS (The stumpy) with a BMW M3 (the ASR-5)

Both are great machines and you’ll have lots of fun with either. One costs more than the other and is considered “boutique”. At the end of the day it depends which you prefer and your test ride should sort that out. Take some time setting the suspension etc up though so that you are in fact comparing apples with apples if thats possible.

I tested all the leading 120mm bikes in September last year and for me at least the ASR-5 was ahead by a big mile, it just oozes quality – more so when I mananged to score an ex-demo with car park milage for only a little more than you’ll pay for the Evo……

OK Kryton57 I think I might go for the BMW, but then again I always did like the Focus RS

Me too. FWIW my no 2 was a Trek EX8 – although i was looking at 120mm only and very specifically. I just don’t like the way the FSR system moves in the middle of the stroke, which is pretty much opposite to the way the Yeti moves…

Does your Evo have Roval wheels – there are reported issues with the cheaper one’s I think? Worth checking….

You don’t ride an ASR5, you hold on and it takes you for a helluva ride.

I’ve not ridden a full sus Stumpy for years but when I did I was very uninspired. I used to have a Stumpy M2 hardtail and that was good fun though, very ‘safe’ but good and fast.

I have an ’11 stumpy elite. I was a bit skeptical about how it would hold up to punishment coming from a pitch with dh wheels and 160 forks. I was blown away. As previously stated the brain works brilliantly, it’s responsive and there hasn’t been a moment that has phased it or been doing anything other than what I wanted it to be doing. Hard to beleive but I have to say it decends as well as the pitch too – high praise. I’m a big yeti fan but I the finish quality of the Stumpy is superb, the VFM is nearly unbeatable. I looked at the Stumpy evo but the standard SJ is all I can see I will ever need for the UK. Flies up hill and decends perfectly. I’m around cannock most weekends and occasionally at llandegla. If you see me, the bike is black and white, give me a shout and your more than welcome to throw your leg over it.

Kryton57 – Member

In my mind this is (forgetting the yuppie jokes) like comparing a Ford Focus RS (The stumpy) with a BMW M3 (the ASR-5)
.

Oh I have to take a bite at that one. I think a better analogy would be that of a Nissan GTR SV (the Stumpy) and a Bentley Continental GT (the ASR-5).

Sorry to butt in but Superficial, what does body English mean?

… aggressively-angled bike which requires a bit of body English to ride properly”

eyerideit if i may reply on behalf of superficial: Body English – a motion of the body by a rider as if to make an object already propelled go in the desired direction 🙄 Yep welcome to the English language and Car Forum – BTW muddyfunster I still lean towards a Bentley GT vs a Nissan GTR its just a matter of dollars!

Yeah, what Brianh says re: Body English – AKA ‘Body Language’ if you prefer. I ride an ASR-5 but I’d rather have the Nissan GTR.

But my analogy would be something like Lada Riva (Stumpy) vs Veyron (ASR-5). Unlike some of you guys I fully realise these analogies are stupid.

Sorry I don’t understand your analogy. or maybe i do but it’s just terrible. Or maybe it’s deliberately terrible.

I came within at gnats of buying the yeti (plush hills in church stretton= very good deal) but in the end i went for another stumpy.
the service, warrenty and price swung it for me (again)
I went for a s-works frame from bikescene and built with my old bits, and i’ve been very please.
the 1st brain i’ve had 😀 much better than the earlier ones i had tried, grip is the big bonus/surprise.
You won’t be unhappy with the Yeti, but £1400 for the carbon s-works frame (which includes a carbon seat post, Dura ace BB, 1.5 & 1 1/8 in headset) if you are in that sort of market its not a bad deal.

The car thing is all wrong. The RS is really the boutique brand. You can walk in to the BM dealer and put your order down.
You just can’t do that with the RS, at the mo they don’t make one and when they did they would take your deposit and hide in a shed in Borehamwood for two years ubtil they thought you were ready:-)

The standard stumpy is a 4 door 130bhp TDi (insert brand there are many of them) generally speaking its a better car (bike) then most of us are drivers (riders) more than enough for what we need.
the Evo is its 160Bhp big brother, much more than we need a little more expensive to live with but why not:-)

the Yeti is its Italian (build quality excluded) alternative top end of price range, maybe a fewer whisles and bells but hey f*** it you’re a long time dead:-)

OK thanks for all the feedback quick update on decision making – tried to book a Bentley to test ride at Llandegla but they did not know wtf I was talking about 😆 so I have booked a Yeti ASR5 instead.

Test ride is on Sunday and can’t wait to try it out. Will also try 29er and 2012 Stumpy before final decision is made…..