Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Great Yeti Shootout Results: ASR5 vs 575

Great Yeti Shootout results:

ASR5 Pro's
  • great climber, better than 575 & many xcountry rides
  • 5" travel offers plush ride for most all the trail conditions I engage, can take 2-3ft drops to flat according to Yeti reps. (not that I'm dropping those heights, but every rider needs goals, huh?)
  • 28-30# is plenty light for an trail/AM rig
  • acceleration: instant response from pedal to frame
  • stiff, responsive, carves turns like nobody's business

ASR5 Con's: brakes. The Enduro package Shimano M575 are entry level brakes, have nowhere near the stopping power required to bring this bike to a stop, compared to the Hayes Stroker Trails I'm running now.


Summary: if what goes down must first go up, this is the balanced rig for you. Coming off a xcountry rig, the asr5 offers better climbing and descending both, in one complete package.

575 Pro's:
  • great descender, better than asr5 by virtue of the extra 20mm of travel, little bit more laid back in its posture
  • 5.75" of travel is more than needed for my current level of skill (and daring!)
  • good climber, equal to many xcountry rigs I'm thinking
  • 29-31# is crazy light given the shock travel

575 Con's:
  • brakes again- the Race package came equipped with shimano XT 160mm rotors.  The front howled 90% of the time, seemed to offer no better power than my favorite stroker trails.
  • climbing- the geometry makes for more dabs on the steepest slopes vs the asr5
  • response, handling: just a bit mushy compared to the agility of the asr-5.  Still plenty nimble, however for trail riding.

Summary: think Discovery Channel. You know how they show those cheetahs blasting after their prey, their bodies zigging to the gazelle's zags? My favorite part of that chase is watching the cheetah's head staying dead level with the horizon, eyes tracking the gazelle like lasers. Yeah, the 575 is like that: no matter the roughage, the 575 averages the sine wave, no matter the size. Schweet.

So which rig proves the winner? Depends. On your typical trail riding, style, skill, daring. The ASR5 is a true trail to AM bike, giving equal consideration to the climbing and descending I typically ride. The 575 pushes past trail riding onto solid AM/downhilling with the bigger drops/jumps that go with both.

So given the choice, which would I choose? I was honestly most amazed at the dowhnill capabilities of the 575, but am not willing to sacrifice the climbing ability of the asr5. Man, I still ride all up and over hill and dale, but have not yet dropped anything beyond 2 feet high. I feel the asr5 proves the more balanced mtb shredding machine for my riding. 

To wit, I've placed an order for an asr5, Enduro package, in storm grey slate. Gonna be great!

related posts:
field testing the 575
field testing the ASR5 

EDIT: March 2011- I've cribbed from my comments on the ASR5 here:
 Well one thing that rises to the top for sure- the ASR5 loves to fly. You can feel it on any berm or bump, just give it a lift or pump and you'll catch a bit of air. Pre-load your suspension as you hit, lift and you'll catch BIG air. It has increased my jumping ability 100%. The ASR5 remains very reliable, no shop work to date except work on my 2 year old brakes that I transferred over. I did wrap the chainside swing arm with framewrap, having noticed some chips in the carbon from chainslap.

EDIT: March 2011, I've been riding my beloved ASR5 for 8 months now.  Sitting in Moab as I write this, recovering from an afternoon spent out on Slickrock trail- dam that's a big ride!   have 3 afternoons in Moab on the 5, and can say I continue to be thankful for it's climbing ability and light-footed responsiveness, as all 3 days subjected me to mucho climbing.  As for the downs, Amasa Back proved the biggest test for the suspension, as you are constantly hopping off ledges of all sizes from 6" to 24".  Beyond 24"?  What are you kidding me?  I'm not Batman ya know.

The 5's suspension has performed beyond expectation for the 3 day beatdown.  The 575 might be the no-brainer amidst all the rockiness and ledginess around Moab, but for one incontrovertible fact: you still have to mash to the top to earn your downs.  Rest assured  the 5 remains capable in the rough.

In the last 8 months this bike has taken me  on Salida's Monarch Crest/Rainbow; Sedona's Templeton, Llama, Broken Arrow; Durango's Horse Gulch, Telegraph & Dry Fork, Cortez' Phil's World, now Moab's Slickrock & Amasa Back.  That's what I call a proper field testing!

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