Got a demo on a yeti tomorrow and wondered how the ASR 5 will compare to my Zesty 314. Any Yeti owners here that can tell me about the ASR 5?

Thanks

It will win.

Why will it win?

Not telling you. You will find it out on your own.

both ace.

Yetis more ace.

It will win snap.

Do they snap????

A friend of mine had the carbon rear end break twice on his – same place both times, where it’s designed to flex at the bottom of the seat stay. After the second replacement he flogged it and got a Five. I’m sure there’s lot’s of happy owners who would disagree, but it seems like a weak point in the design to me.

Let us know your thoughts after the demo Recycler, cheers.

Mine hasn’t snapped yet but it’s only one month / eight rides old. It handles the rough stuff better than I thought it would. I might even keep this one.

Haven’t managed to snap mine yet either, and that many many rides old now. I’m een learning to jump on it and everyfin’

Mate snapped his on Friday. Less than 6 months old. It’s only since then I’ve noticed how many tales there are of broken yeti frames.

My mates also snapped, I had a 575 and it put me off riding it, the amount of frame failures played at the back of my mind when I was riding it so I sold it. But if you buy new you have warranty and my mate got his replaced free of charge. Another but and another mate cracked his zesty near the bottom bracket but also got a free replacement.

How many people go on the Internet (or indeed any other media) and shout “Hey! My frame *hasn’t* snapped!”.
Not too many I wager. You mostly only ever read about the bad as people are quick to complain.

When mine does snap, I know I’ll be registering my disgust on an Internet forum and demanding a refund 😛

My ASR-5 hasn’t snapped, yet 🙂

The yeti should indeed win, it’s a nicer bike to ride. Both were part of a dozen bikes I recently tested. Overall the Scott spark was IMHO the best.

Apparently (and this is only apparently), Yeti have fixed the issue on later bikes.

The carbon Yeti’s crack on the seat stay, and the Zesty’s bottom bracket shells fail. Win win situation.

Anyone know where you can demo an ASR5 with 140 forks on it?

If you’re local to Southampton, you’re welcome to have a sit/ride around the car park.

Owned both a Zesty and now an ASR5 (both from TBC if your looking for a good shop…)

Have read loads about both frames failing in various ways but never actually met anyone in ‘real life’ who had broken either.

The Zesty was great, a really good climber IMO and great going down. Rear suss worked well-It was a set up and forget job for me-just used the sag indicator and never had to change settings at all no matter where I was riding. I ended up upgrading the headset and BB almost right away tho! Was set up with 150mm fork and handled well.

ASR5 better for covering longer distances. Initially I noticed lots more flex at the back so I upgraded to the 12mm rear kit which has helped. I have also spent a lot more time trying to get the best rear suspension set up but think I’m almost there now. Running it with a 140mm fork so angle wise and style its set up quite similar to the zesty.

What sort of riding do you do?

It’s only since then I’ve noticed how many tales there are

Apparently (and this is only apparently),

sums it up I think!

I’ll let you know if mine snaps 😉

Hi all

Thought I’d give a quick update following my demo ride on Sunday. Thanks to JD cycles of Ilkley for organising what seemed to be a great afternoon for all who came along.

I thought that up close the ASR5 ooozed class and fortunately was specced exactly as I would want it to be – Fox float 140mm up front with a predominantly XT groupset and Thomson seatpost and stem. So, no excuses regarding inferior kit.

The ride is very, very good indeed. The bike was light in weight, but not flimsy and climbed very well. I felt I could have stayed in the saddle all day as the levels of comfort were brilliant.

On the twisty singletrack descent, the Yeti was very steady and controlled (wasn’t too gnarley)but did lack the hooligan feeling I always get from the Zesty. Having said that, I didn’t miss it either – perhaps that is my age coming into play.

In summary, it’s an excellent bike (pricey) that covers all the bases in terms ofall day comfort, mountain goat climber and confident descender. Everything I now want in a bike.

My 575 hasn’t missed a beat in the nearly 2 years I’ve had it.
Rear stays have remained happily in place despite giving it plenty on the downs..

So recycler did you buy one yet or have you other bikes your going to try too?

I’m awaiting a quote for the frame and fork, but am at the Cotic Rocket demo next weekend in the Peaks.

I think it may be over bike for me, but I already have a Soul and am a fan of the brand. Steel FS is probably going to feel a bit strange after the alloy and carbon of the Yeti.

Cheers for sharing you thoughts on the ASR5. It sounds good

Recycler, Thought I post this thread reply as it basically covers what I went through going from my carbon zesty to the yeti as5c with 140mm fork.

My Zesty 714 is gone after 2 years and I now have a Yeti ASR5C which I have been riding for just over a month doing loops of cwmcarn, afan and brechfa red.

Yeti weighs in at 26lbs with a reverb fitted so is super light. That’s a shade under the carbon zesty which was 26.5lbs.

Climbing the Zesty was really good, but the Yeti is rapid, enough said really.

The yeti is longer and quite a big size for a medium. I’m 5’8″ and wouldnt want it any bigger.

The Yeti is not a plush as the Zesty and possibly not quite a good looking. If you are looking a big hitting machine the yeti is not it.

However, the yeti is insanely quick downhill. It seems to just accelerate all on its own. At speed it is stable and comfortable but you can feel like you are on the edge as it encourages you to push it, but I really like this feeling. The yeti also pumps better, probably due to being a single pivot design. Zesty is defintly a safer ride that complements the rider, yeti will catch you out if youre not on your game.

I would not say the yeti is in a different league to the Zesty, but just slightly better and a bit more special.

Both awesome bikes, but loving the yeti!! Hope this helps anyone who’s tempted to make a simular change!!

i’m hopefully going to build up my yeti asr5 (alloy) this weekend.

i bought it last weekend as an ex-demo bike and have been busy selling the bits i don’t like and adding the bits i do like. the end spec reads as follows:-

2011 ASR5 (alloy) frame – large
Fox RLC 120 FIT 15mm fork
2012 Truativ AKA 60mm stem
2012 Raceface Turbine riser bars
2012 RS Reberb 125mm seatpost
2011 WTB Silverado saddle
2012 Salsa seatpost clamp (non QR)
2012 Superstar grips
2012 Hope Pro II evo on Stans Arch EX rims with DT Comp spokes (regular pull)
2012 Schwalbe Evo Pacestar Ro/Ro & RR 2.25″ tyres with Stans valves
2011 Formula RX brakeset
2012 Alligator Windcutter 180/160 rotors
2011 Shimano XT chainset & front mech
2011 Shimano SLX shifters
2011 Shimano XTR Shadow rear mech
2011 Shimano 540SPD’s
A few bits of additional blue anodised bling (KCNC chainring bolts etc)

I’m quite looking forward to having it finished… will post up pics when it’s done.

Everything with 2012 on it means that it is brand new this week. The total cost to me (after I sold some of the old parts) comes in at less than £2k… I’m quite happy with that.

They will feel different.

I had this same decision to make two years ago. Only went for the zesty because I didn’t like the owner of the shop who had a yeti dealership at the time. He basic told me how awfull all other manufactures are apart from what he sold so although I really wanted the yeti I couldn’t hand over my savings to him.
I’m happy I went for the zesty and i still got it.