Yeti ASR-5

The Yeti ASR-5 is another smaller sibling that's aiming to punch above its weight

Price: £1749 frame only. (Around £3,600 as tested)

Weight: 26.75lbs

Persona: Kowalski

Yeti is a company whose products run the whole gamut from XC racy carbon to full- on mental downhill machines, yet each of its bikes seems to have a clear and defined purpose in mind. Why have an all rounder, when you can have several single-minded bikes?

The purpose of the ASR-5 seems to be to turn the rider into an exhausted, happy pool of drool on the floor. While there is a family resemblance with the more all-mountain 575, the ASR-5 seems to have a more forward-leaning stance and sense of potential trail speed. But enough conjecture, what’s it like?

The Detail.

The ASR-5 features Yeti’s well established combo of an aluminium, hydroformed front end and a carbon fibre rear triangle that drives a swing-linked rear shock. The headtube flares to take a tapered fork and gives way to a swooping top tube and straight downtube. The lines of the bike give it a compact look. There are no pivots to be seen at the back as the bike uses the flex of the carbon instead. There are no cables to be seen as the rear mech cable runs neatly through the chainstay.

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