[Closed] YETI 575 would you buy one?

from last week

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/yeti-575-v-spesh-enduro-v-orange-5-v-whyte-e5-your-thoughts-please

I wouldnt for one reason only, poor rear clearance for a 2.3, if you use 2.1's then fine

I've never had issues with 2.35s in mine, there's not much room left but it's never been a problem

A mate found his unridable on a truly grim day

Fair enough - it's never happened to me though

from your recent posts gap-jump-gaz your first port of call should be the warranty...

I've got one and love it. No problems with tyre clearance. Only thing I wouldn't buy is one with carbon chainstays. The yetifan forum is full of stories of carbon stays that have broken. OK, Yeti warranty is very good, but that's not much comfort if it breaks 15 miles from home. Other than that they can be built up into almost whatever sort of bike you like. Need min 140 forks.

I would but i have an Orange 5...but my wife bought one and loves it!

2.35" Kenda Nev leaves about 5mm either side though so don't fit that particular tyre! Tyre clearance is very tight given our generally muddy conditions.

I saw a Yeti 575 in my LBS on saturday which has a hole in the chain stay where the wheel was slightly out of true and wore right through the carbon!!! User error though so not really a negative as such.

When it was muddy I always use Trailrakers and the 2.1 size never gave me any issues. I always thought a thinner tyre was better in mud anyway, hence the 2.1 size or even 1.9 for some people. In normal use I ran Nobby Nic/Racing Ralph's in 2.25 size and with ZTR rims they have a very round profile and again, never gave any clearance issues.
I believe the 575 is better suited to fast XC/Enduro stuff and NOT as an AM bike but again it depends on how much of a smash bang wallop rider you are. I've seen a carbon model with worn rear stay but that was caused by the riders heel! But what gets me is he never noticed so it just goes to show how negligent he was really. Yeti to their credit even replaced it.
I'd recommend one any day as they are a very very good bike but there are better out there.

phil chorley cycleys milton keynes less than £1000 in their sale frame only

loved mine, had to sell due to space and cash but a joy to ride !

had a new shape 575 that i bought while in california, thought it was great till i started to riode in the wet and mud, tyre clearance was an issue for me, mud gathered in the rear with anything bigger than a 2.1
looked great but i didnt like the ride, seemed to blow through the travel too quickly

Got one about 6 months ago and is by far the best bike ive ridden. I agree with Hadge that you dont want to be doing massive drop off's with it but if you want that you shouldnt be looking at this frame. I run a few tyres on it including a 2.35, but when its wet i go down to a 2.1 Overall a fantastic bike for what its designed to do.

from an engineering point of view, it's a hatefull bike.

single pivot with a flex-stay? it's got all the disadvantages of a single pivot, all the disadvantages of a multi-pivot, and a self-destructing-flex-stay.

buy a complete boardman for a grand. it's a good design, it's well specced and uses tried/tested geometery.

(having said that, people who own 575's do seem to like them...)

If you're in the market for a new frame then I reckon you can do a lot worse than the Meta 5.5.
Cheap as chips at the moment with 09 stock being sold off for as little as £600.
A bit porky but very versatile. Tyre clearance has never been an issue for me.

Thanks Crag, but I wouldnt touch a Commencal, fullstop. You only have to look at one of those things in the wrong way and a crack appears!!!! I reckon they have to be the worst company for cracked frames at the moment. Seems like there is a good reason for them being cheap as chips?!

Hadge, whats out there thats better than a 575 then?

Having ridden one, I'd buy one.

Old skool 2.35" maxxis are small anyway

Tracer

I tested one when I owned a Mongoose Teocali. I tested 4 bikes that days and the 575 was the one that impressed me least. It felt very similar to the 'goose just a bit taller. I was sat very much on it.

Also check out the warranty - they show them on the website (or did last year) with Fox 36s but they don't like you having fun on them.

I found mine completely rideable on many a grim day......
I've had mine for a year,2 rides per week and the novelty still hasn't worn off. The perfect bike for the Peaks.

I had a Turner 5 Spot (HL) and Intense 5.5 at the same time so it was easy to compare them both. The 5.5 was superb with it's VPP suspension but the bearings were a pain, as in unless they are well maintained they have a huge affect on the way the bike rides. If they dry out the action doesn't work as well so in our weather and conditions it isn't the ideal bike. This is where the Turner came in as it's bearings and suspension will cope with anything our island can throw at it. But for me having two such good bikes and a Merlin Oreas was a bit much and ideally having one 5-6" travel bike was the best solution and I had a very good deal on a 575 offered to me and so hoped after all the good reports on the older 575 that the new one would have the best bits of the other two plus maybe it's own good points. Well it did to some extent and I built mine up way lighter than I could get the others too, basically because the frame was lighter.
But it's suspension was never quite as comfy as the Turner (was coil on that bike though) and the VPP did track better when climbing. Well it appears the new Tracer address the bearing issue of the old 5.5 and is a light frame and has the same geometry as the 575 so I'd definitely give it some serious thought although it is a lot more than what you can get a 575 for at the moment.
Don't get me wrong, the 575 is a great bike. Very well made, amazingly light build are achieveable easily, rides very very well and is now at a bargain price. Would I have another - yes - but I'd like to give the Tracer a real try too.

had one for 8mths. not a bad bike but all ways felt a little perched on top and not sat in it (if that makes sense)tyre clearence was a pain,allways swaping tyres,like people have said it will take a 2.25 but the clearence is tiny,sold the carbon rear end and got the ally one,and i agree with easygirl "seemed to blow through the travel too quickly"with a dhx shock so bought a rp23 for it.all though this helped a lot i never felt happy with it,striped it down and still got £725 for the frame so not a painfull experiance really.

Sadly have to agree on the Commencals - I've sent two 09 frames back (never had a problem with 08s). They are sending a 2010 frame as a replacement which has different welds and tube profiles (and I suspect from a different factory, but that's a guess). Hopefully the 2010s are sorted because they are really nice bikes to ride... Madison and Commencal have both been excellent with regards warranty.

I had an ASR, which although different had a similar rear stay set up. It never really felt right, and needed a fair amount of rebound dialled in to tame it, which made it pack up on the rough stuff. Lovely looking, but I think I sold it after three months - just couldn't get on with it...

...always felt a little perched on top and not sat in it...

Glad it wasn't just me then.

Same as has been said as above I had one, coming from an 04 s-works enduro, I tried my best to get on with it. The rear wasn't as good as 4-bar. The new on I haven't tried but supposed to improve what I didnt like. The new ASR5 will overshadow the 575 from now on and it won't be long before the 575 gets another version, I reckon. (ASR6)

tracer it is then mate 🙂

[i]...always felt a little perched on top and not sat in it...[/i]

I don't - but then I did have a ETS-X before it!

[i]I've had mine for a year,2 rides per week and the novelty still hasn't worn off.[/i]

Had mine over 3 and the novelty hasn't worn off. Perfect bike for everywhere I've been.

[i]self-destructing-flex-stay[/i]

Don't recall ever seeing a broken flex-stay.

EDIT: Hang on, question was, would I buy one. Well, not automatically now. As they don't have the originality (the Yeti knuckle) anymore, I would consider other things.
Would test ride a Lapierre, a Pace, a Turner (too expensive though), a 'Dale Rize.. and a 575 and choose the best for me. S'what I did 4 years ago and its worked out just wonderful 🙂

i wouldn't buy one because :-
*I think they're pretty ugly especially the hole in the top tube.
* I don't trust the carbon knuckle thing on the seatstay.
* Association with the Yeti tribe or whatever it's called.

"...buy a complete boardman for a grand..." madness

IMO

🙂

Tested one in the Lakes earlier in the year. I would not buy one, worst bike I have ridden.
Few months later mate was testing a 5 so had a go, brilliant. Can reckomend Kudu cycles,Hawes.
Currently I ride a `05 Kona Dawg and testing a Blue Pig this weekend.

lobby_dosser - Member
i wouldn't buy one because :-
*I think they're pretty ugly especially the hole in the top tube.
* I don't trust the carbon knuckle thing on the seatstay.
* Association with the Yeti tribe or whatever it's called

They don't have a hole in the top tube anymore.
"Association": wtf are you on about?

Lobby_dosser - the hole in the top-tube is the older frame and NOT the 08 575. As for the Yeti tribe no on has to join and it's basically a group of riders who have a liking to a brand of cycles-end of. In fact riders of other makes also meet up with them and it's only like a regular riding club anyway.
Surprised what trekster said as the worst bike he's ridden. It certainly didn't bob like my S Works FSR did, tracked small bumps better than most bikes I've ridden, except the VPP ones.

joolsburger - Member

Tracer

+1

Surprised what trekster said as the worst bike he's ridden. It certainly didn't bob like my S Works FSR did, tracked small bumps better than most bikes I've ridden, except the VPP ones.

That is what is good about all consumer choices it is the fact we buy what WE like and not be influenced by others.

Mate has one and loves it. Another has a ht after dismissing the fs!! ❗

NO. Never riden one but have followed one up a one hour technical climb and you can see the rear end moving around and causing the wheel to skip sideways and shoot stones around. Horrible. My bike just rode straight up, no problem - an '05 Giant Trance at the time.

The Sizing is wierd on Yeti's if you do get one. A medium has a 24" Top Tube, I think, which, in my book, makes it a large compared with most.

I wouldn't either. A friend's carbon swing arm cracked recently and even after the shop he bought agreed that it was a warranty issue the part was refused for warranty by the import / Yeti.

They claim the tyre sawed through the swing arm, my pal and the shop say it wasn't the case. Whatever happened it was not good and I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole which is a shame as they look fantastic.

I totally agree with you on the build front Trekster. My 575 was built to under 25lb and was something you didn't hammer at rough stuff but it sort of floatedover it. I wouldn't say it was faster, just a different ride. My Turner 5 Spot had a coil DHX shock and coil Vans on the front and that was about 30lb but felt rock solid over rough stuff, like a battering ram lol. Which is why I said earlier there are better out there because if my old Spot and 575 were put side by side and I could have any of them I would pick the Turner even though it weighed more as it was a nicer ride altogether. How the new DW model compares I've no idea as i've not ridden one. I'd like an old HL 5 Spot again but they just don't come up often in medium and so that's why I've just got an old S Works Enduro and so it will be interesting to see how that compares now.

Lobby_dosser - the hole in the top-tube is the older frame and NOT the 08 575. As for the Yeti tribe no on has to join and it's basically a group of riders who have a liking to a brand of cycles-end of. In fact riders of other makes also meet up with them and it's only like a regular riding club anyway

i wouldn't buy one because :-
*
* I don't trust the carbon knuckle thing on the seatstay.
* Association with the Yeti tribe or whatever it's called

I know you don't have to be a member of www.yetifan or go to tribe meetings, but it does put me off them. Same as HOG (Harley Owners Group) puts me off Harley Davidsons

the new one does have a passing resemblance to a nomad.

faaarrrkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

according to this my 575 is a) far too big for me, despite my 20+ years of riding mountain bikes and choosing the right size; b) doesn't climb (always put that down to user error); and c) should spontaneously explode under my 15 1/2 stone

I've just bought one, maybe I'd best just bin it before it goes horribly wrong;)

I don't trust the carbon knuckle thing on the seatstay.

Why? Carbon is perfectly OK as a flex point. Nip into a fishing tackle shop and see what rods are made out of and see how much carbon can be made to bend if necessary, and properly constructed.

I had a 575 for 18 months or so. Lovely bike, superb mega-distance machine (I did the TransWales on it) easy to build up light if that floats your boat. Climbs superbly too. As a do-it all XC/Trail/AM bike I doubt it has a serious rival.

BUT

It's versitilty can be it's undoing: Jack of all trades, master of none. I found the carbon stays too flexy in the end, and yes, you do feel a bit perched on top (Which can be a good or bad thing), and they do blow through the travel easily (Use the Propedal properly and it's not an issue 95% of the time though)

For what I wanted at the time, it was perfect. They are beautifully made and finished, and good VFM in the grand scheme of things. But in the end I couldn't ride it hard enough because of the flexyness.
I flogged it and bought a Pitch, which is a bit more downhill focused, stiffer and burlier. 2/3 of the time the Yeti is 50% better than the Pitch, but for the other 1/3 of the time, the Pitch is 500% better, IMO....
🙂

Re: comments on flexstays breaking, I've never even heard of this happening, never mind seen one.

I ride an ASR, it's good as gold. Fastest bike on the climbs every time and keeps up with 5-6" bikes on the downs, i.e. thrashed silly. Yes I know this is about the 575, just my 2p worth on the suspension design itself.

As for blowing through the travel, you need to get your suspension set up right, +/-2 or 3psi can make all the difference.

Cheers

its well documented if you check on tinternet that the carbon stays are prone to breakage

ive seen a carbon flex pivot snap on a ride and this year in the alps saw a rear end collapse completely under braking (also think someone has the same issue here and posted a photo) and another chalet member fell off, his bike landed on it's side as it did the stay hit a rock in the ground, the force split the stay, think they wanted something in the region of 600 euro's for a replacement which he would get 50% back or something..

...always felt a little perched on top and not sat in it...

buy one... nar never!