Yeti ASR
Wheel Size: 29”
Travel: 115 mm rear / 120 mm front
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes Offered: XS, SM, MD, LG, XL
- Headtube Angle: 66.5°
- Reach: 445 mm (Size Medium)
- Chainstay Length: 437 (Size Medium)
Frame Material: Carbon fiber
Price: Complete bikes starting at $5,600 USD
Intro
Yeti has deep roots in Cross-Country mountain bike racing, but their lineup has been void of a true World Cup Cross-Country race rig for several years now. That all changes today with the reintroduction of the ASR, more than two decades after the ASR name first graced Yeti’s lineup.
Yeti has mostly been focusing on the Trail, Enduro, and Freeride categories this decade, but as they stood on the proverbial sidelines, World Cup Cross-Country racing has become more technical and dynamic. So, Yeti has decided to re-enter the lycra game by pairing what they’ve learned by developing their current lineup with their roots in XC racing, and the result is something quite interesting that we haven’t yet seen from Yeti — read on to dig deeper into the revived ASR:
The Frame
The Yeti ASR has existed in a variety of forms throughout its on-and-off existence, though it has maintained a familiar silhouette featuring a full suspension frame with a linkage-driven shock. While this new ASR isn’t an entirely radical step in its evolution, Yeti did mix it up a bit with the resurrected ASR by bringing back a flex stay suspension design and also bumping up the rear travel to 115 mm, up from 100 mm that the previous ASR featured 7 years ago.
But, the suspension layout isn’t all that’s noteworthy with the frame. Yeti also claims that this is the lightest full-suspension bike they’ve ever made, with their Turq carbon frame coming in at a featherweight 1552 grams without a shock (stated, size Medium).
Yeti claims to have been able to achieve this lightweight frame by focusing on reducing the amount of redundant carbon on the frame, making sure that every gram has a purpose for structure and stiffness. They also prioritized reducing solid carbon volume around the pivot points of the frame, instead relying on existing tubing walls for increased structure around these high-force areas. And like the rest of Yeti’s lineup, the ASR is only available in carbon fiber, though Yeti does offer their standard “C” carbon and high-modulus “Turq” carbon options, where the Turq frames are slightly lighter. Yeti also fine-tuned the stiffness for each individual frame size with the goal of keeping ride qualities the same across the size range.
Suspension-wise, the ASR utilizes a mostly linear leverage curve with only 10% progression, with the intention of complimenting short-stroke, low-volume inline rear shocks to achieve the desired suspension feel. This curve starts at just under 3:1, climbs to just over 3:1, then begins to drop around 20% sag, continuing past the recommended 30% sag all the way down to around 2.7:1 at full travel utilization. Anti-squat numbers are pretty significant, ranging from 110-150% at the top of the travel and ending at ~85-105% at the bottom of the travel with a 32t chainring. Anti-rise starts at a cool ~105% with no suspension load, and ends at ~85% at the full 115 mm of travel.
It’s also worth mentioning that Yeti is optionally offering a dedicated “wireless” frame that does not support the cable routing required for wired drivetrain systems, but instead opts to save just over 100 grams (size Medium, Turq frame) by foregoing cable ports. Thirsty pedalers will also rejoice at the fact that every size of the new ASR can accommodate two water bottles inside the front triangle, though that’s limited to a 21 oz bottle on the seat tube, and the XS size can only fit a 15 oz water bottle on the down tube. The new ASR also features an integrated chain guide, SRAM UDH compatibility, and a threaded bottom bracket.
Fit & Geometry
The revitalized ASR also comes with fresh, modern geometry that you’d come to expect from a brand that has played a significant part in the mountain bike geometry revolution that occurred over the past decade. Like their other bikes, Yeti opted to keep a single geometry setting on this, leaving flip chips out of the picture. That geometry leaves us with a 66.5º head tube angle, a 75.5º effective seat tube angle, and modern reach sizes on each size frame including a 445 mm reach for the Medium size.
Yeti is doing something a bit unique for a World Cup XC race bike by using different chainstay lengths for each size of the new ASR, where the XS size starts with 433 mm chainstays, and each larger size grows by 2 mm, ending with 441 mm chainstays on the XL ASR. Stack height is pretty conventional at 600 mm for the Medium size, and Yeti emphasizes that this bike’s geometry is designed to put riders in a powerful climbing position, both for seated and out-of-the-saddle efforts.
The Build
Yeti offers the new ASR in a pretty wide assortment of builds, as well as in two different carbon frame layups. The ASR’s build kits are cohesive and weight-conscious, with details like a 180 mm rotor up front and a 160 mm rotor out back showcasing Yeti’s dedication to keeping the grams low on this bike.
Interestingly, Yeti opted for RockShox suspension on the ASR, relegating longtime suspension partner Fox to just dropper post duties on this bike. “C-series” builds have an optional $600 upgrade for RockShox Ultimate level suspension and TwistLoc 3-position remote suspension lockout, while all but the priciest “Turq series” build kits have an optional $2,000 upgrade for DT Swiss’s new XRC 1200 carbon wheelset, with the top-level T5 build kit coming standard with these wheels.
Highlights from the available builds are as follows:
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle
- Brakes: SRAM Level TL 2-piston (180 mm front rotor, 160 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: RockShox SID Select (120 mm), 3 position adjustment
- Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe Select+, 3 position adjustment
- Wheels: DT Swiss M1900 30 mm
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer SL Performance Elite (XS-SM: 125 mm; MD-XL: 150 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle AXS Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Level TL 2-piston (180 mm front rotor, 160 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: RockShox SID Select (120 mm), 3 position adjustment
- Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe Select+, 3 position adjustment
- Wheels: DT Swiss M1900 30 mm
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer SL Performance Elite (XS-SM: 125 mm; MD-XL: 150 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM XO1 Eagle
- Brakes: SRAM Level TLM 2-piston (180 mm front rotor, 160 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: RockShox SID Ultimate (120 mm), 3 position adjustment and TwistLoc remote
- Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate, 3 position adjustment and TwistLoc remote
- Wheels: DT Swiss XM1700 30 mm
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer SL Performance Elite (XS-SM: 125 mm; MD-XL: 150 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX1 Eagle
- Brakes: SRAM Level TLM 2-piston (180 mm front rotor, 160 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: RockShox SID Ultimate (120 mm), 3 position adjustment and TwistLoc remote
- Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate, 3 position adjustment and TwistLoc remote
- Wheels: DT Swiss XM1700 30 mm
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer SL Performance Elite (XS-SM: 125 mm; MD-XL: 150 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 Eagle AXS Transmission
- Brakes: SRAM Level TLM 2-piston (180 mm front rotor, 160 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: RockShox SID Ultimate (120 mm), 3 position adjustment and TwistLoc remote
- Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate, 3 position adjustment and TwistLoc remote
- Wheels: DT Swiss XM1700 30 mm
- Dropper Post: Fox Transfer SL Factory (XS-SM: 125 mm; MD-XL: 150 mm)
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission, w/ Power Meter crankset
- Brakes: SRAM Level Ultimate (180 mm front rotor, 160 mm rear rotor)
- Fork: RockShox SID Ultimate Flight Attendant (120 mm), 3 position adjustment
- Shock: RockShox SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant, 3 position adjustment
- Wheels: DT Swiss XRC 1200
- Dropper Post: SRAM Reverb AXS (XS-SM: 125 mm; MD-XL: 150 mm)
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) With such a light frame and clear XC-oriented build kits mixed with relatively generous travel and modern geometry, how will the ASR balance uphill versus downhill performance?
(2) Will the ASR demand a similar game-on approach as many of Yeti’s longer-travel Trail bikes, or will it be more tolerant of mistakes and less aggressive riding?
(3) With the SB120 not too dissimilar in terms of suspension travel and geometry, how similar will these two bikes feel out on the trail?
Bottom Line (For Now)
The new ASR showcases clear dedication from Yeti to take their re-entry into World Cup Cross-Country racing seriously. With frames and build kits that focus on efficiency and keeping grams to a minimum paired with relatively aggressive and downhill-minded geometry for an XC race bike, we’re quite curious as to how this new bike will perform out on the trail and between the tape. We’ll be spending time on this bike within the next month, keep an eye out for updates.
C3 with a wheel credit would be a ripper! My one season with a Twist-loc was no fun.
But I do wish they’d baked in a bit more anti-squat. For an xc bike, I want it to firm up and jump when I hit the pedals. For a trail bike, I want less, for smooth pedaling in chunk.