Thanks guys, does dragons back do the false teeth section?

I couldn’t say for sure, as depends how you like your bikes to feel and the type of riding, for more technical trail riding the smaller would perhaps suit you better for more control but for more xc stuff the longer tt will be better for climbing.

You’ve got to try them out to get the answer. Is your mates bike an asr5 or an asr? As these are different.

The asr5 definitely comes up big or perhaps longer is more accurate. Cheers

Thanks all for the comments, cube is looking strong as is a bit cheaper and has the better kit.

Wife likes the colour of both so that doesn’t really help her decide 😉

jpatanio – I’m 5’8″ and on a medium asr5c with 50mm stem.. I find it quite generous for size compared to my previous medium sized trail bikes, a bit longer than my zesty medium.

I would want it any bigger.

I just got back from Morzine and was discussing this scenario with our chalet host, as am considering taking my wife and what will be 2 year old twins next year.

Morzine has a new aquatic centre, with slides and water games etc.. plus there seemed to be plenty going on in the town.

The other recommendation was for Finale Ligure on the Italian Riviera. Medieval town on the beach front. Nice beach with lots for the family to do. I’m really tempted by this one.

Was in Les Arcs a few years back and there was some great stuff to do out of Bourg saint Morice.

All have great riding and bike hire so its win win as far as I can see.

I’m sure there are lots more places….good luck!

I can recommend the Yeti ASR5, quick uphill and down. You can negotiate a good deal on the frame at most dealers, I got £400 off my ASR5C.

I’ve done a similar mix to you and am now looking for something different, morzine/les gets was abit battered this year.

I’m thinking Finale Ligure on the Italian riviera next. Like the idea of long decents to the med, good food and sun!!

Thanks guys, some good points.

The alpine is a beast on the downs, but lacks zip along the trails when I use it on say the Afan trails. I’m thinking that some of these stages have climbs on them and might loose allot of time? That’s what makes me think the yeti might be quickest overall all as is no slouch on the downs.

Would like to take both as have a practice day on the Saturday but am limited on space.

Anyone else ridden these events?

Cwm rhaeadr is worth a look near Llandovery short but well made. Brechfa green/blue are also great fun, do them with my wife.

Elan valley would be worth a look from Llandrindod.

Mbwales has good route info for the above.

Good all round except in the mud. Rolls ok.

As mentioned I loved my 2 zestys, agree with above comments on bb and bearings but didn’t detract from it being a great bike.

I had a 2008 514 and a 2010 714, the 714 was a much better bike, it was abit shorter and had better feeling suspension out back, more plush. I think 2010 had the boost valve shock as well.

Also with the zesty you can fit the off set bushes which will slacken it off and drop bb and make it even more capable on the rough stuff. Read the dirt article for full details….

Depends where you are in the alps.

Just got back from morzine and I would advise a mud tyre up front. I quckly fitted my wetscream after 1 run on plenney.

If wasnt raining while i was riding but the trails in the forest were soooo wet and muddy after all the bad weather leading up to my trip.

Just change it up front. Suppose a minion dhf 2.5 ST will cover most senarios.

Zesty and remedy are both good bikes IMO. I’ve had 2 zestry’s and loved them.

But anyone looking for a new rig should consider the YT industries bikes for value. They had a demo day in Morzine a few weeks back and feedback was great.
The wicked 160 LTD has an amazing spec, and is fantastic value with the current exchange rate. 29lb weight, front and back BOS suspension, X0, reverb, mavic Crossmax….

I find the alpine quite a big hitter for the 160mm of travel it has. Had 180mm froggy before and its just as capable if not more so.

I use it as my big bike on uplift days and in the alps and it seems to cope very well.

I do the odd trail centre loop on it if I really want a workout.

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Here’s mine…weighs about 34lb.

Went from a Fox 36 180 Van (top pic) to a 36 160 float, made a big difference to weight and technical climbing ability. Not quite as plush on the downs, but still very good.

Will never give up the CCDB though 😉

I used these last year: –
https://www.etravelinsure.com/travel_insurance_sports_activities.htm

cost is very reasonable.

Thanks for the feeback guys, not sure if its worth changing?
suppose the bling factor may swing it.

The 2012 Mavic Crossmax ST are supposed to have a quicker engaging pawl system, plus they’ve shed a bit of wieght which brings them inline with what i’m looking for, they also look trick.

Anyone tried these?

Used them twice once in morzine and last year for the mega, off back to morzine next week….can’t wait!

Good food and nice people.

Went to les arcs 3 years ago, used Rob from coolbus for guiding for 1 day. Was very resonably priced as there was only 2 of us riding. That got us enough info to get on with it ourselfs for the rest of the holiday.

Best trails were Double header and La Varda.

Excellent place!!

I would say go for a spicy. I had a froggy, and great as it was on uplift days etc.. its too big for all days rides. I used to pedal it up the road at Cwmcarn DH but after 2 laps my legs were done.

If I wanted one bike to do it all, Spicy would be the one.

As mentioned last months Dirt has a great article on Zesty v Spicy. Basically says spicy can do it all where as Zesty can get out of its depth when the terain gets more demanding. (I’ve had 2 zestys and loved them, but would agree with their comments) They also stated the spicy was only marginally slower uphill.

I rode a spicy in Morzine/Les Gets a few years ago and it felt perfect on all the trails I tried.

I’ve had tech v2’s and r1’s. Hopes are long gone as didn’t like the feel of them. Def a personal preference though.

My r1’s are great for me and the 2nd best brake I’ve used. Top spot goes to XTR trail brakes they were amazing but r1’s doing a great job so can’t justify changing.

as above, 2 different beasts really. Stumpy is more in line with Zesty.

If he is riding more technical or gravity based stuff plus the trial centres the Spicy will cover all bases.

But I would go the the Zesty if its just trail centre bashing and longer epic rides.

Interesting article in dirt compared zesty to spicy, spicy came out on top as could be used for uk trail riding, uplift days and alp holidays. They also stated the spicy was only marginally slower on the climbs.

I’ve owned a carbon zesty and must say it was a awesome bike for me. Quick everywhere, but the 32 fork isn’t enough if you are doing lots dh stuff. I’ve gone for the 2 bike solution which works for me but is expensive etc..

Neve tried a remedy but they seem fantastic bikes. My wife’s fuel ex 8 feels really good on the downs and that’s just 120mm!! Could be the perfect middle ground. Or I see the stumpjumper evo gets top marks in the 150mm sector. So many choices… 🙂

I think its because we don’t have te permenant ski lifts.

When I was there you can see a lot of winter sports infrastructure, suppose this lends itself to mountian biking in the summer just like in the alps.

There is hope though, with blaenau Ffestiniog bike park almost open and he plan to build one at Gethin woods Merthyr.

DH course is the proper job. I hired a DH bike for the day and loved it. Cost was very reasonable.

There’s a few 4x or BMX type courses as well. very smooth.

The freeride area has some crazy drops.

Not sure about singletrack trails as spent all day at the bike park. Well worth a visit.

@weeksy – Yes mostly DH trials, nothing crazy, normally red graded. Its the braking bumps that get you…

Did a few XC loops when there last and the Heckler was perfect. As I live in Wales I ride up hills every day, when I’m in the alps I like you use the lifts 😉

I’m off out there in 2 weeks myself, looking forward to see what new trails have been added since 2008. I’m taking my Orange alpine, thats covers most types of trails and riding.

I’ve always felt you need 160mm+ travel to enjoy the trails out there. Years ago I used Heckler with 140mm forks for 2 days in morzine and felt like my arms were dropping off. Went back to the rental shop and got a spicy with 160mm, made such a difference.

That enduro in the last post is a good one. But if thats over budget go for an older SX trial, bombproof and perfect for the alps.

@KingofBiscuits – thats sounds a great build. Them XT brakes are awesome, they were on my demo bike. Dare I say they felt better than my R1’s!!

I almost went for the turquoise text version…sort of wish I did now.

The reverb routing is the low point of the bike really. My LBS did mine using a cable tie system along the top tube which looks ok but is by no means perfect…but the benefits of the reverb are worth it.

Here’s a pic of mine: –

Fox Float 140’s
Formula R1 brakes
Hope pro 2 hubs on crest rims
Easton Haven bars/Thomson stem
RS Reverb
XT drive train
wieghs in at 26lb

I run a fox float 140 RLC on my ASR5C with a tapered hope headset. When I built it up I got my exisiting 1/18 fork steerer upgraded to tapered with a service at mojo. I can feel the benefit of the tapered fork much more than I expected.

140mm feels perfect on the asr5 to me, slack enough to really push it on the descents and had no issues with climbing at all. As the bike is quite long you have lots of room to move your weight around for steep technical climbs.

They are awesome bikes!!

@kryton57 – Yes a very good point proven, I think we will both agree that they are amazing bikes 🙂

@kryton57 – my comments are certainly my own personal opinion gained from my experiences of the bike in question compared to the others I have owned.

I’m certainly not getting spat off, it’s more to do with choosing and holding lines. I’m just saying it has a very different ride to say a fuel-ex which has less travel but is more plush. The asr5 has a very firm mid stroke, which is totally different from the trek ex or zesty or stumpjumper all of which I have owned. I have found that if you run more sag in the rear shock of the asr5 to make it more plush, the bike does not perform as well for it on climbs or descents and looses that sharp feeling that I feel defines the bike.

For info I run a140mm fork so has a nice slack HA.. It is an awesome bike!

Hope this feedback is helpful…

I’m 5’8″ and ride a medium asr5c, it’s quite big for a medium so would definitely say a small for 5’5″.

Mikewsmith is right in what he says about trying one and other bikes. The asr5 has a very specific ride, it’s not plush, you have to pick your lines well as it’s not forgiving if it goes wrong, you have to be on your game. But if you do have good bike control it is one of the best trail bikes out there.

I absolutely love mine, best bike I’ve had. Dare I say even faster than my carbon zesty I had before it.

W2 is the easier (less climbing) and more of a technical/fun trail.

Skyline is a beast of a ride and gets quite remote with some long fireroad climbs with great views on a clear day.

I love them both.

Also depends what bike you are on. Wouldn’t fancy the skyline on a bigger 160mm bike.

That is the same map I used, the best trail on there was black8 off the funicular lift.

We used a guide for one day who showed us lots of cool trails, of 1hour plus descents. Double header and La Varda spring to mind. That set us up for the rest of the trip.

The guide we used was Rob from coolbus, he’s a really nice guy and super quick!
http://www.thecoolbus.co.uk/contact.html

I loved Les Arcs, the riding is awesome, more natural and much higher elevation than morzine, so has longer trails. Plus less braking bumps!!
Have a great time 🙂

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!!

Thanks all for the feedback. Really can’t wait to try one out now…the demo bike should be ready in 2 weeks. Come on Skyline cycles…
It’s the dirt review that really got me interested. As I’ve been so happy with my zesty I was waiting for something special to come along to replace it and it seems like this could be it.
I’m all for carbon frames though, I had an alloy zesty for 2 years before my carbon one and the difference was more than just the weight it was the chassis stiffness, speed and less trail buzz.
Also the carbon doesn’t mark like alloy, my 714 has been the best wearing frame material I’ve had. Still looks like new (almost)…and could be for sale soon 🙂

Thanks for the valueable feedback guys. This helps a lot. I dont mind a more spirited if harsher ride if it results in more speed.

What size fork are you running? As I’m looking to move the parts from my 714 if i go for it which will be a 140mm fox float 32.

I’m hoping to have a demo ride around my local loop a afan in the next 2 weeks (waiting for demo bike to be built up), so that should give me a good comparison to my zesty.

Brake opinion varys allot. But heres my expierince, I’ve had hope tech v2 and sold them after 6 months, they were felt awful and power wasn’t great for the size.. Had codes, elixir cr and xo, which were good but the only brake I’ve been tottaly happy with is formula r1, amazing brakes!!

I could be tempted to try xtr trail brakes though 🙂

last post is key, “how often will you go to the alps”.

If its just once a year, get a zesty, then hire something bigger in the alps.

Or do you do UK uplift days as well?

I have a zesty 714 for UK trial riding and an Alpine 160 for uplfit days and my alp trips(1-2 a year) Covers me for everything but it is alot of money to spend on bikes.

Good as the Zesty is, on hour long descents in the alps that Fox 32 fork takes some holding onto 😀