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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Orangina
    Posts
    9,172

    Thumbs up Long Winded Review: Yeti 575

    I have now ridden my 575 enough times to give it meaningful review. I bought the bike via Yeti and due to cash flow, chose the enduro package which is their "budget" package. I did upgrade the vanilla to a Float and upgraded to a carbon rear swingarm. The bike came with Sram X0 derailer, X9 in the front. Wheels are Mavic 317's with decent hubs. Tires are Maxis, bars are Raceface carbon. Cranks are Raceface, too, and she has Juicy disc brakes on her. Raceface seatpost with Yeti saddle and Sram shifters gives you a good idea of the build. For reference, my last bike was a Santa Cruz Superlight with Psylo fork.

    First of all, I was shocked at the weight. Given the fact that it was their "basic" package, I was expecting 30+. She weighs in at 28lbs. A new set of wheels and cranks in the next year or so and I'll have her down to 26, no problem, me thinks.

    My first ride on her was interesting in that I hadn't ridden in two years--major shoulder surgery kept me off the trail all of last season. So not only was I hesitant to begin with, a new bike made it worse. Immediately I noticed the first prominent characteristic of the 575--they are extremely quick and nimble. The thing feels like a BMX bike in terms of handling. My first ride was a mellow 10 mile loop with rolling hills and nothing too technical.

    My next series of rides took place in Fruita. Fruita, for those of you who haven't been, is really fun and pretty mellow. Super buff single track with short, sprinty climbs and a few interesting boulders to negotiate periodically. Don't get me wrong--I love Fruita--but it's no place to test a bike. I think a hardtail would do just fine there and you never really go too fast because the downhills are short. Overall, I had a good time on the bike and enjoyed it's quickness through the technical sections.

    Tonight, though, I gave her my first real test. It's a very familiar ride because I've been riding it for years. We basically climb up Baldy from the River Run side in a series of switch backs spanning about 1300 feet or so in elevation, spread over maybe 4 miles or so (guessing here). The trail is super smooth with only a few roots and rocks but it's twisty and undulates quite frequently. The singletrack then spits the rider out on a cat track called Hershey Highway that climbs another 250 feet or so over another mile or two. At this point we turned around, as the northern aspect of the hill is still snow covered. It is worth mentioning that the Yeti climbed like a dream--NO bob at all and shifted smoothly. The only problem I had was that the seat post clamp wasn't clamping hard enough and when I'd lean into a switchback, the seat would turn. Eventually the seat also sank a bit.

    At the top of the ride, with my lungs absolutely burning, we geared up for the downhill. I lowered the seat a bit and our group of eight riders took off down the cat track which had a nice, mud and rock stream running down the middle of it. About 300 yards down I realized my helmet wasn't clipped on so I stopped, allowing everyone to pass me. I clipped it then took off down the loose, gravel cat track. Faster and faster I pedalled, passing people by riding through the mini stream. It should be noted that I'm not an exceptional downhiller--I'm decent, but not super fast. But on the 575, I was on fire, bombing by my friends until the end of the cat track where it became single track. This is where it got super fun. The winding, buffed single track was like a tobogan ride on the 575--it is sooo nimble and fast that I felt like I could do no wrong. Myself and two other guys left the pack way behind, really riding fast. One of the guys was someone I'd never kept up with before on the downhill and I was right on his ass the whole way down, boosting off little rollers and pitching the bike around switchbacks like a toy. Sun Valley is definitely known for its uber fast, twisty single track and this ride was no exception. We were cookin' and groovin', hooting and hollering all the way down. I've been riding that trail for years but have never ridden it nearly that fast.

    Overall, I'd give the 575 a 9.7 out of 10. I can't really imagine what could make it any better but I'm sure there's room for improvement. For those of you who want a trail bike that can slay the downhill, I highly recommend it.

    My ride:
    "All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring."

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    WHEREAS,
    Posts
    12,946
    Nice review mang! After about five rides on my 575 I feel the same way. Though my Manipoo fork is too spongy for my tastes.
    Quote Originally Posted by Roo View Post
    I don't think I've ever seen mental illness so faithfully rendered in html.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    between here and there
    Posts
    6,236
    now that's a great bike review. Sounds like you are having fun enjoying the new steed.
    More fucked up than a cricket in a hubcap

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    95 minutes from Chair 1
    Posts
    939
    Awesome.

    My new (to me) 575 is in the mail tomorrow, should have her by tuesday, i'd hope. yayyyy!

  5. #5
    Squatch Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ANON-505
    Awesome.

    My new (to me) 575 is in the mail tomorrow, should have her by tuesday, i'd hope. yayyyy!
    i'm glad you finally bought a bike.







    over/under on how long 'til you're tired of it and want a new one? buehler?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    North Coast
    Posts
    2,616
    Glad to hear the wing is healing up, too.
    It's idomatic, beatch.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    be here now
    Posts
    5,369
    stoked to hear from you Rev, and glad to hear that you took a ride on the Hersey Highway (har har har).

    sweet rig

    let's ride!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    North Coast
    Posts
    2,616
    If we all had to congratulate the Rev every time he rode the Hershey Highway, we'd all have 7000 posts.
    It's idomatic, beatch.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    gone
    Posts
    1,354
    I owned a Yeti for 12 years, I miss it already. I also saw Roam last night, it had some super-fast Sun Valley footage in it. Looks like fun, I haven't been there for 7 years.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Slummit County, CO
    Posts
    891
    Nice review Rev. That bike is definitely the hottest ride this season (At least in the trail bike category).

    How is the pedal bob on a quick standing sprint? You mentioned no bob on the grind it out uphills, interested in how it does when you have to hammer it for a few hundred yards up the next hill.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    cb, co
    Posts
    5,035
    I've had my 575 for almost 2 years and I won't even bother looking at any other bikes when it's time to get anew one. Now if my TALAS was a bit more plush and trustworthy....

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