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A sweet freeride sled that doesn't come cheap |
Words by Stefan Merchant
I have never ridden a bike that has aroused so much interest as the Yeti AS-X. Apparently, the Yeti name still carries weight in the mountain biking world as everywhere I went with the bike, people wanted to know about it. Yeti Cycles' sponsorship of the Flowshow and the fact that the Canadian distributor - Trident - is located in North Van has allowed Yeti to storm onto the freeride market. The good folks at Trident were kind enough to lend nsmb.com an AS-X to see how the bike holds up to the Shore.
The AS-X frame is a modified single pivot design made of Easton RAD tubing. The bike tracked straight and true when riding with no hands, indicating that alignment was spot on. The suspension design differs from a true single pivot with the addition of a link between the toptube and the point where the shock meets the swingarm. This additional linkage allows the suspension to be changed from 6" of travel to 7".
The 6"-travel setting is slightly stiffer and the spring rate feels quite linear, while the 7" setting feels plusher, with a progressive spring rate; I used the 7"-travel setting for most of the test. The additional linkage means extra bushings to worry about but it also allows the suspension designers to tune the progressiveness of the spring and supposedly stiffens up the rear end. The frame sports a 1.5" headtube that allows for more weld area in the head tube area and a stronger headtube. Recognizing that there is a limited selection of 1.5" forks on the market, Yeti offers an adaptor that lets you to run a 1 1/8" fork. According to the distributor, the bike will take the stresses dished out by a double |
 Linkage on the ASX - 6" or 7" of rear travel Photo: Stephan Merchant |
Another nice feature is the straight seattube that makes it possible to run a full-length seatpost. For those of us that still ride up the hill, this is a blessing.
The frame is covered in little details that set it apart from any other bike on the market. Every bolt has the Yeti name stamped into it, the derailleur hanger has a picture of a Yeti engraved on it, and there is a nice metal badge with the old Colorado Rockies logo on the back of the seattube.
The suspension duties are handled up front by a Manitou Sherman Breakout and in the rear by a 5th Element shock. The Manitou fork can be set at either 5" or 6" of travel, and has adjustable compression damping. The 5th Element shock has a multitude of adjustments, the most important being compression damping and air pressure.
Photo: Stephan Merchant
Other component choices included 8" Hayes HFX-9 brakes, Truvativ Holzfeller cranks, an FSA bar/stem/headset combo, a Yeti house brand wheelset (the rims are manufactured by Alex), a Race Face Prodigy seatpost, a Yeti-badged WTB saddle, and a mixed Deore LX/XT/SRAM 7.0 drivetrain. The bike I tested weighed just under 40 pounds, but it feels way lighter on the trail and could be made lighter still by using standard tubes instead of downhill tubes.
The total package adds up to a great handling bike on the trail. This particular Sherman felt better than other ones I have tried (underscoring the need to get any fork set up properly for your weight and riding style), and it is the best single crown fork I have ridden. While it does not have the stiffness of a double crown, it is much lighter and the 6" of travel work well in any situation.
The light weight allows you to easily pull the front end up over obstacles makes it simple to manoeuvre through the really tight stuff. The only time the fork showed any weakness was going fast in the rough stuff, when a heavier fork with more stiffness would track better.
The 5th Element shock is such an improvement over the Fox Vanilla R on my own ride that I immediately became a huge 5th Element fan. I hear that many riders have problems setting them up, but when set up properly they work like a dream. The back end felt plush and controlled, and the shock did its job in not allowing pedal forces to be transmitted to the rear suspension. The rear suspension is laterally stiff and tracks very well at all speeds.
The Yeti brochure lists the head angle as 68°, and while choosing angles is a bit of guessing game on any full suspension bike, they felt perfect on the Yeti. The moderate head angle allows for good control in the tight stuff and makes skinnies a breeze. You don't get that feeling of the front wheel flopping over as you do on some downhill bikes.
 The ASX gets a workout on Pink Starfish Photo: Stefano Piccone |
At the same time, the head angle was slack enough that I felt confident in the steeps and never worried about getting pitched over the bars. The Yeti is the most balanced freerider I have swung a leg over. The only place I would hesitate to recommend the bike would be for downhill or big drops. Slapping a Dorado on this bike might change that, however. There a few minor gripes about the AS-X and one major one. In terms of the way the bike is spec'd, I would like to see Lock-on grips as opposed to the stock Yeti grips. The test bike came with a Cane Creek 1.5 inch headset instead of the standard FSA unit. I highly recommend getting the Cane Creek as it performed flawlessly on the bike and also worked great on the Rocky Mountain Switch reviewed earlier this year. The Hayes HFX-9 brakes are Shore worthy, but better options are available. |
The major problem with this bike is the price. With a suggested list price of CDN$5500 and a street price of about $5300, this bike is competing with some pretty serious pieces of machinery. While the parts spec is very good, there is nothing ultra high-end that would justify the price and a frame that's built in Taiwan.
The high price concerns me because I think this is a great bike and deserves to sell well, and that bottom line will be an obstacle. For CDN$5000, you can usually get a full-on downhill bike or build up something similar to the AS-X with lots of stuff that says XTR or Chris King on it. (editor's note - the frame price for an AS-X for 2004 will be CDN$2149 which puts it more in line other frames in this category)
That said, I love this bike. It draws attention wherever it goes, and works great on the trail. It pedals, does steeps, launches, jumps, kicks ass on the skinnies, and is light enough that you don't mind pedaling up the hill. I would go so far to say that this is the best all-around freeride bike I have ridden.
It will never replace your downhill bike in the steeps or when you want to go at mach speed, but it will handle those chores adequately while doing many things better. Unfortunately, price is going to keep it out of the hands of a lot of riders.
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