The new 2015 Yeti AS-Rc is a stunner in their signature ‘desert turquoise’ paint scheme.
With less than a week until Eurobike and the official start of trade show season, Yeti has rolled out a new version of their AS-Rc 100mm-travel, single-pivot cross-country carbon mountain bike. Featuring what the company calls an “enduro pedigree,” Yeti spec’d the lightweight XC bike with frame size-specific wheels. Extra-small and small frames are built around 27.5-inch hoops while 29-inch wheels come on the medium, large and extra-large frames.
Although Yeti photographed the new AS-Rc as a frameset, it’s only sold as a complete bike.
Though Yeti has focused primarily on enduro and gravity bikes the last several model years, they say their re-entry into cross-country has been very disciplined and purposeful as well as in-line with their racing pedigree.
“We’ve been out of the cross-country market for several years, so it was important that we nailed the form, fit, and function of the AS-Rc.” said Yeti President and Co-owner Chris Conroy. “The AS-R has been a storied bike in our line and we raced cross-country for nearly twenty years and have produced some greats in the sport.”
With it’s clean lines and single-pivot suspension it looks as if Yeti is trying to keep things light and simple—and at just 4.2-pounds, the AS-Rc’s frame is in range of the lightest dual-suspension frames on the market. Though the top-of-the-line 22.3-pound XX1 build checks-in at a spendy $9,999, the $5,799 XO1 build is less than a pound heavier at 23.1-pounds. A “tweener” XO1 build with Enve M50 carbon wheels costs $8,099 and weighs 22.7-pounds.
Looks good, but there is a massive gap in the sizes between S and M – more than 4cm reach difference. Given that the gaps between every other size is 2cm, it almost looks like they had an in between sized frame, but then dropped it.
AWWWWWwwwwww….I thought I finally found my Holy Grail bike! I don’t know about the rest of the country but here in the North East I ride highly technical, tight, twisty, root-covered, rock-strewn, short but steep hilly nasty stuff. Not long fire roads for me. But I’m tall and need a tall bike but 29ers can’t handle my rides. I want a 27.5 in a large/ extra large. I guess I’ll keep looking.
That bike is absolutely stunning. Too bad I will never be able to afford one.
At 4.2 pounds it almost makes me willing to give up the DW of a Ripley. Who knows, maybe single pivot is the way to go with XC.
No frame only option? Fail.
Once again we are looking at silly pricing. This top end price is almost the cost of new Nissan Micra. So, I wonder, when these bikes are sold around the world, what the average wage is of the Yeti employees. Let’s face it, designing a bike with a hundred components at best or designing a car with thousands of components. Mmmm…..the bike companies charge a fortune and are a tad over priced.
How well is that Nissan Micra gonna handle a steep, rocky singletrack though? Why the heck would I want a Nissan Micra? Whatever that is…
Don,
The Micra is a car. Stephen is right, these bikes do fall apart. I have 2 year Trek Remedy 8 and the chain stay cracked. The first thing the LBS asked was how I ride the bike. I said how Trek advertise it, excluding jumps.
My Reverb seat post was repaired 3 times. After the first on I got five ride in before it broke, two on the second repair and one on the third.
In my opinion, the cost of these bikes is too expensive when you look at the amount being sold around the world.
I love biking but the bike companies are CROOKS plain and simple…there is nothing to a bike,real easy to design and they fall apart real quick….CARS,MOTORCYCLES,ETC DO NOT!!!!!!
You’re absolutely correct. I look at the cost of the bikes and I find it astounding that some recreational rider would drop eight grand on a bike. It’s criminal when you see the quantities that are being pumped from factories in China. Had these bikes been made in the US or Canada, where that labor rates are higher, it might be justified. I am sick of being ripped off.
then again, most cars are not full carbon fiber and most of these bikes are only a few main body pieces which are expensive and hard to make
It’s about time Yeti went 29’r with their traditional single pivot design.
@philly rider why not a Scott Spark 700 series? Scott is obviously crushing the XC 27.5 game with Schurter raking in WC wins, and if it can win on the XC track at MSA I’m sure it can handle any of the tech our northeastern trails can dish out. Giant and GT are making 27.5 XC rigs too.
Many thanks bbbbbbb for the suggestions. I’ll check them out. What I liked about this bike was the light weight full suspensions (paired with the 27.5 wheels). I need something nimble. Nimble and light. I need to be able to climb “the Monster” at Wissahickon park and go down the “rock garden” across the creek from Valley Green.
I’ll stick with my Trek 9800 hard tail 26er for now. But I’ll keep my eyes open for future
Have a go at the Pyga 27.5 and you will be on a permanent high.
A lot of whining about price. Of course there are people who can and will pay ten grand for a bicycle. Just like there are people who buy $1.6M Bugatti Veyron cars. Let’s see… that Bugatti is about 100 times the price of an entry-level Nissan. This Yeti is about 100 times the price of a $80 K-mart bike. Just about right.
I agree that these bike prices are absurd but we live in a world where supply and demand dictates. If you like throwing cash to the wind knock yourself out. I rather not! I’m thrifty……. or is it frugal? Ah what the hell !!! Maybe I’m just cheap. ;-/
Beautiful bike. Its on my list to check out along with the Jet 9 RDO and Turner Czar. This one is the lightest but I wonder if the single pivot is too harsh on the downhill that the HT angle obviously encourages.
At wydaho rendezous teton mountain bike festival’…demos were plentyfull…the single bike that road like a rocket. Was this bike. The rest were all the same……Going to hv one
I had an ASR 5 C and recently upgraded to this. They’re basically the same bike with different wheel sizes and I love them both! #turq4life