Through its focus on its comprehensive and well-received range of trail and enduro bikes, Yeti’s cross-country offering has fallen by the wayside. However, a full decade after it departed from XC, and with the genre getting rowdier, the brand has reincarnated the ASR. To make it competitive in a hotly contested space, the ASR has done away with any redundant carbon and weight while benefitting from a new flex-stay suspension platform. We managed to get a ride on Yeti’s new XC rig ahead of launch – read on for our early verdict.

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Yeti ASR T3 - Technical details

While ‘long, slack and low’ was a tagline found on every new bike’s press release, the new wording is now along the lines of building bikes for ‘the ever more demanding courses on the XC calendar’. This thought process is exhibited on the very latest cross-country bikes, including the recently released Specialized Epic, a bike that gets a geometry similar to the outgoing and traditionally more aggressive Evo version.

The increasing rigours of modern cross-country courses is exactly why Yeti pulled its ASR out of retirement but the brand hasn’t done things by halves. Instead, it embarked upon what it says is its most extensive carbon project to date. The result, through the diligent shaving of unnecessary carbon among other rather cool features, is a frame that weighs as little as 1,448g without a shock.

To get to that figure, Yeti has done several things but the one that the brand is making a lot of noise about is that the frame features zero redundant carbon. To get to where the bike is now, the ASR has gone through 36 unique layups before settling on this final frame that utilises custom ply shapes, special draping methods and smooth transitions between each ply. The result, Yeti says, is an enhanced weight-to-strength ratio.

Yeti has gone so far as to remove any solid carbon at the pivots but, apparently, without sacrificing bearing life and strength. The ASR’s dropouts use less carbon for the same strength too, according to the brand. Then, in a move that sounds a little weird, the pivot points are positioned to employ the bike’s existing tubing walls to form their shame and structure. In layman's, Yeti hasn’t had to build special areas of the frame to house bearings and pivots specifically.

Now part and parcel of any modern XC bike, the ASR uses a flex stay, technology that Yeti pioneered back in 2003. This ditches pivot hardware at the rear for a solid carbon seat stay that flexes. The frame then uses a size-specific layup to keep the ride character similar from size to size, and Yeti has properly pushed the boat out, offering a wireless dedicated frame that reduces weight further by binning cable ports altogether. 

Onto the suspension, Yeti has designed its flex stay driven, 115mm of suspension (with a 120mm fork) with a 10 per cent progression rate which is nearly linear. It’s built to be run at 30 per cent sag and the brand stresses that through its linearity, its travel is 100 per cent useable. The RockShox suspension across the range comes with a compression stack that’s been built in conjunction with Yeti for this bike to boost small bump sensitivity without reducing control deeper in the travel, and there’s a 40mm shock stroke that’s been picked to reduce any harshness at the end of the stroke.

This is all controlled or locked out using the RockShox three-position TwinLoc or RockShox’s latest Flight Attendant tech. And while we’re here, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yeti’s famous Switch Infinity link isn’t present on the ASR because, well, it’s too heavy for XC use.

Finishing off the techy goodness, the ASR features a one-piece 7075 aluminium link with a rear axle that’s been redesigned in the pursuit of weight savings. There’s tyre clearance for up to 2.4in rubber and there’s a custom integrated chainguide. Two bottles can fit in the front triangle and there’s a tonne of frame protection solutions at the downtube, chain- and seat stays. There’s then a UDH mech hanger and a threaded bottom bracket.

Of course, with such a strong XC direction, the ASR rolls on a pair of 29-inch wheels.

As for the ASR’s geometry, it’s very much like a trail bike from a few years ago with a 65.5-degree head angle and a 75.5-degree effective seat tube angle. On the large frame tested, there’s a 465mm reach and a 439mm chainstay.

For a deeper look at the new Yeti ASR cross-country bike, head over to the news article.

Yeti ASR T3 - Componentry

With prices starting at a very reasonable (for Yeti) £5,500, the ASR T3 I sampled would set you back £8,400. For that, Yeti offers its Turq carbon frame with a RockShox SID Ultimate and SIDLuxe shock bolted to it delivering 120 and 115mm of suspension travel respectively.  

As its name suggests, it's driven by SRAM’s XO Transmission drivetrain which is complimented with a pair of SRAM Level TLM two-piston brakes complete with 180 and 160mm Centerline rotors at the front and rear.

The bike then rolls on a set of alloy DT Swiss XM1700 wheels which are wrapped with a Maxxis Rekon 2.4in Exo at the front and a Maxxis Rekon Race 2.35 Exo at the rear. 

Wrapping up the build is a Fox Transfer SL dropper post with 150mm of travel on this large frame (XS-SM get 125mm). There’s a Race Face Next SL handlebar, WTB’s Solano saddle and a Bike Yoke Barkeeper 55mm stem. Yeti also supplies a rather lovely-looking Cane Creek 70 Hellbender Lite headset. Yes, this bike costs what I imagine a kidney might but Yeti is giving you quite a lot in return.

However, with its alloy wheels and crank, this isn’t the lightest build out there, despite Yeti’s monumental efforts in shedding weight. I’m told that this T3 XO model tips the scale at around 12kg which isn’t an awful lot to rave about. Although, this build does pose clear areas in which weight can be saved, namely the wheelset, crank and tyres. On the other hand, it could be said that this bike could be pointed more towards durability without costing a second kidney. 

Yeti ASR T3 - Performance

With so many trail, enduro, and e-MTBs breaking out onto the market, a jaunt on an XC ripper is a real treat and, with modern cross-country bikes heading in the direction they are, the kind of riding that they enable is getting seriously impressive. In the case of the ASR, it’s a bike that departs from the over-starched collar that I and others have associated with XC, and instead offers an approachable, comfortable, and familiar ride, yet one that doesn’t hold back completely on the efficiency front.

Yeti says that the bike’s geometry results in the brand’s fastest climbing position yet with a forward bias but compared to other cross-country bikes I’ve recently tested, such as the Factor Lando HT, it’s much more relaxed and a breath of fresh air, to be honest. It doesn’t contort the rider into strangely stretched or folded positions and its forward bias doesn’t shove all of your weight over the front wheel, although its stack is low, for the racier folk out there, the option is certainly there. As a bike that’s dripping with trail-bike-esque numbers, that’s pretty much how the bike feels – like a trail bike.

That said, the ASR’s reach isn’t quite as long as competing bikes, like the new Epic’s 475mm measurement (on a large) for example. Of course, there’s a trade-off in almost all aspects of a mountain bike’s shape and here, the Yeti has attempted to blend the predictability and stability of a longer reach but without completely wiping out its responsiveness, to great success at that. But, because the bike doesn’t shove all of your weight towards the front through an overly lengthy stem and a more reserved head angle, steering is responsive and fairly point-and-shoot around twisty sections. During my time with the bike, it was never twitchy which makes the ASR a bike you can put a lot of trust into when the going gets tough.

Running as much as 30 per cent sag on a cross-country bike, let alone one with a linear leverage rate, is somewhat unheard of and that whole story sets the ASR apart from other XC bikes. With more sag and on a more linear leverage curve, the rear suspension is fairly active which in the grand scheme of things, I think is fantastic but it does come with its downsides. To put it straight, it does sap some energy, so it’s not the most efficient rear end in the world but it does reward with plenty of grip, which was evident while riding the bike rather confidently in pretty nasty conditions with an almost slick rear tyre. This also rustles up decent traction when smashing into uphill tech, where the rear wheel makes an admirable effort in refusing to break what little traction was available. That is until the limits of the tyre were reached.

Although it may not be the most efficient suspension platform on a cross-country bike, it makes a real argument for its remote lockout. I mean, why not revel in the traction that slightly too squishy (but controlled) suspension provides when there’s a lockout on board to firm everything up for hard efforts on the pedals? If you were to fork out nearly £14k T-Series Ultimate build, you would get RockShox Flight Attendant which, I imagine, would really open up some possibilities by blending the suspension’s three settings for the best traction-to-efficiency ratio on the fly. Plus, it's unlikely anyone will be slamming the ASR up a hill mid-race, without the suspension locked anyway.

On the descents is where the bike’s Jekyll and Hyde character comes out, in that its modern geometry and linear kinematics combine to form a bike that can be pushed pretty hard. It’s calm, poised and composed as the bike gets to work, absorbing impacts and rolling through chunk. Because of the ASR’s more linear kinematic, the shock is freer to move through its travel, and it really does use every millimetre but without facing quite the wall that a more progressive curve can often result in. This enables the rear wheel to make the most of what little travel it has to offer, soaking up impacts, making for that calm ride that begs to be pushed.

The 150mm travelled Fox Transfer SL dropper post also plays a real role in what the ASR is all about as it opens up loads of room over the bike to move around in. It’s an impressively planted bike for a lightweight XC bike, and the opportunity to get the saddle well out of the way ups the capability on offer. It’s a ridiculously smooth dropper, too.

Because of that, the ASR T3 XO is reminiscent of Yeti’s Lunch Ride builds, bikes that receive longer travel forks, and burlier components in pursuit of downhill prowess. Not that this bike gets any of that, save for perhaps the weightier wheels and crank but it’s a bike that’ll appeal to those who are after a bike that’s certainly no slouch up a hill, but one that can also chew up descents with a rewarding but controlled and no-holds-barred manner. The ASR doesn’t compromise as it’s an easy bike to get on with.

Yeti ASR T3 XO - Early verdict

One thing that I’m most surprised about and something I never thought I would say about a Yeti is that the ASR is competitively priced. For a brand that’s known to ask part of its premium for its head badge, its price stacks up to the Specialized Epic 8 in its Pro build which costs £8,000. It’s almost identically specced, save for the Roval's carbon hoops but the Yeti offers that longer dropper post and a plethora of non-own-brand componentry for £400 more. 

After 10 years away from the market, it’s great to see the ASR back in its most modern iteration. It’s nothing short of an up-to-date cross-country bike that’s ready to get its elbows out between the tapes while being pushed through aggressive, mile-munching rides and comfortably at that. It could be lighter but one thing’s for sure, the ASR doesn’t take itself too seriously.

• yeticycles.com

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