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The Yeti ASR is back for 2024! It’s a fast and light little XC whip with some cool retro styling. We can guarantee it doesn’t ride like an old XC bike, though. It’s at the cutting edge of the category with modern geometry, a great suspension feel, and all the bells and whistles. Stick around to see what it’s all about.
Really quick highlights of the bike before we go ride. The ASR frame only comes in carbon with two different frame options — Turq and Carbon. Interestingly there’s an “Ultimate” build option designed to be wireless only. Essentially, it’s a Turq frame without the cable ports designed to shed even more grams. That means you’ll have to use the wireless drivetrain it comes with. It is impressively light at 3.89lb.
Yeti ASR Geometry
Yeti ASR Ride Review
Uphill
It’s been a few months since I’ve ridden a full-blown XC bike. And man, the acceleration and ease on the climbs is pretty nice. I seem to be getting heavier and slower the more kids I add to the family roster. An XC bike makes up for a few points of that, at least. The ASR pedals just how you’d want for a lightweight XC rig.
I spent quite a bit of time riding the ASR with Zach. If you know Zach, you know that he probably rides a bike more than 94.5% of people on the planet. As a consequence, he’s pretty fit. Don’t hold this against him, but sometimes he even likes to go out and just pedal. Like, even if there isn’t any fun and rowdy downhill involved. Serial killer behavior aside, he’s pretty quick on the climbs. The ASR was the perfect bike for me not to get dropped. In fact this was the first time in my riding career that Zach has had to ask for the water break. My point is proven: the ASR climbs really well.
Let’s chat more about how it does it. The ASR is firm and efficient. Not quite as firm as something like the Orbea Oiz, but a bit more efficient than the Santa Cruz Blur. The lockout lever on the bars was never used if that gives you any sort of idea. It finds a good middle ground between all-out speed and providing even just a moderate amount of traction and comfort. It’s my kind of XC bike on the climbs. It’s one of the few XC bikes I could stand up and mash on the pedals without that back wheel breaking loose. And before you talk about tires, it has the same rear tire that almost every XC bike comes stock with these days.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that this is one of the lightest full-squish bikes I’ve thrown a leg over. My build comes in at 25.1lb. Even with alloy wheels. You could easily get this bad Larry under 25lb. without compromising the ride quality.
The angles are a bit more relaxed on the ASR, but the cockpit is still very XC with a 55mm stem and a set of horizontally challenged 740mm bars. As a consequence, your weight ends up pretty far over the front of this one. It certainly gives it a few climbing points. I can’t help but think I want to try this bike with a trail cockpit just to see what she can do.
To sum up, climbing on the ASR, I’d describe it as a pleasant affair. And this is coming from a guy who really likes chairlifts and tailgate pads. It’s quick, efficient, and snappy without going overboard and riding like a 2×4. It’s comfortable and offers just enough traction to be a good technical climber.
Downhill
I’m not much of a dainty rider and I tend to ride every bike like it has 160mm of travel. That’s a recipe for breaking stuff on an XC bike – which I’ve done my fair share of in the last little bit. I was hellbent on not breaking this one. On my first ride on the ASR, I told myself I was going to ride it like an XC bike and only ride XC things. That lasted all of about 22 seconds before the bike quickly made it apparent that it was too fun and capable to putter around and dodge every single rock. Which caught me a little off guard, to be honest. Also, to my delight, I avoided the awkward email to Yeti saying I broke their cool new toy.
Don’t take any of that the wrong way — the ASR is still very XC. It’s not a trail bike — that’s what the SB120 is made for. Instead, the ASR it’s an XC bike designed for the rigors of modern XC racing. Have you seen a World Cup XC track lately? Most of us jabronis would pucker at some of those features on our 160mm bikes. The ASR is designed to partially cover your butt on head-high drops while you’re maxing out the watts. I found it surprisingly capable and calm through some of the chatter and rough terrain. And I guess that makes sense — it does have a longer wheelbase and slacker head tube angle than most XC bikes.
The suspension quality makes up for some of that capability as well. It’s surprisingly easy to get into the travel on the ASR. A lot of XC bikes are so damn efficient that they can be a little harder to get to open up on the downhill. The ASR is efficient on the climbs, but not so much that it becomes a hardtail on the descents. Sure, there’s not a lot of travel, and the bike isn’t plush, but it’s quite a bit more forgiving than I expected it to be.
Some of that comfort and forgiveness could come from frame compliance. This isn’t the stiffest frame I’ve ever ridden, which can be really nice, especially in this application. Most XC bikes aren’t going to be recklessly pumped into bermed corners in a bike park, so they don’t have to be made extra stiff. Some of that frame flex can take the sting and vibration out of smaller trail chatter. The ASR seems to have a healthy dose of compliance, for lack of a better term. When you’re doing XC things, you’ll appreciate the flex. When you’re being a dummy and trying to peel tires off, you might not like it so much.
The handling on the ASR stays quick and zippy. I wonder how much of this has to do with the bike’s actual angles compared to the stock cockpit setup. The bars are very narrow and very flat.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the ASR’s descending chops. The bike is more versatile and fun than I ever would have thought. Had the brakes been big and stoppy, I would have felt far more comfortable pushing the pace on this thing. Then again, if that was the case, I may have had to send that email to Yeti and ask for a replacement.
Yeti ASR Comparisons
Santa Cruz Blur vs Yeti ASR
The Blur TR is the most similar bike I’ve ridden to the ASR. they have a similar suspension feel, similar geometry, and ride quality. The ASR pedals a bit quicker than the Blur. It seems to have a bit more purpose and drive on the climbs while not giving up too much on the descents. The ASR has slightly more forgiving geometry than the Blur, but overall a bit firmer and has a more supportive suspension feel. They both get the job done for the category. I also can’t help but think that if you put heavier tires, a standard cockpit, and a stiffer fork on either one, it would punch well into the trail category.
Orbea Oiz vs Yeti ASR
The Orbea Oiz is quite a bit more XC than the ASR. It has steeper angles, firmer suspension, and a little less forgiveness. Because of that, I think it’s better suited for pure XC racing but maybe a little less ideal for general trail riding. The ASR is a bit more versatile. It’s more forgiving of mistakes, punches a little more above its weight class, and opens up terrain that most XC bikes don’t want to mess with. While it’s not as fast as the Oiz, it might be better suited for endurance racers and non-racers.
Transition Spur vs Yeti ASR
I included this one as a point of comparison between trail bikes and XC bikes. I spent a weekend riding the Spur and ASR back to back, and the differences between them are pretty drastic. Even with only 5mm less rear travel on the ASR, these two end up riding pretty differently. I think most of it comes down to the build. The fork, tires, and cockpit make up most of that difference. While the Spur is still a short travel bike made to go around and over obstacles rather than through them, by comparison, it feels much more stable and capable than the ASR. The ASR is a few pounds lighter with lower rolling resistance tires. It climbs significantly quicker than the Spur. Where the Spur doesn’t wow with its acceleration, the ASR certainly does.
Who is the Yeti ASR for?
So, who is the ASR for? If it hasn’t been apparent, it’s for the XC rider. Whether you’re racing XC and want to land yourself on the top step of the podium or you are doing endurance events, the ASR is probably a really good option. If you shave your legs and wear lycra but want to start dabbling in fun bikes without curly bars, you’ll like the ASR as well. It’s got the efficiency you crave but enough forgiveness to give you a bit of confidence.
I also think the ASR works for someone who wants a light-duty trail bike (I’ll die before I admit downcountry is a category). This is a bit tricky, though. You’re most likely not going to be too comfortable riding double black diamonds on this thing. So, in terms of trail riding, you’ll want to keep things on the chill-ish and mellow-ish side unless you like laughing in the face of danger. As long as you go into it knowing you’re giving up capability for uphill performance, you won’t be disappointed.
Yeti ASR builds
Thanks for sticking around. We’ll see you next time.
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