CABLE MANAGEMENT.
Secure closures at frame entry and exit eliminate rattles and rub. External brake routing from bar to head tube for ease of travel, plus there’s no aero advantage to hiding them anyway.
A DECADE AGO WE PEACED OUT OF THE LYCRA GAME. WHILE WE WERE BUSY GETTING DOWN, XC GOT A LOT MORE X, CALLING FOR THE COMEBACK OF A LEGEND, THE ASR HELPS TODAY’S RACERS BE FASTER WHERE THEY HAVE TO BE. ON FIRST BLUSH IT MAY APPEAR TO HAVE PEERS, BUT DON’T GET IT TWISTED. THE REINCARNATED ASR IS A LOT LIKE NOTHING ELSE.
Custom ply shapes, critical material choice, intelligent draping methods, and smooth transitions between every carbon ply have eliminated redundant carbon, giving radical strength for super lightweight. Such a boundary pushing schedule driven from in-depth carbon analysis tools marks a Yeti first.
We wanted to kill carbon redundancy everywhere, not just where it was easy. Our 20+ years of carbon-only experience told us we could remove solid volume at pivots and still exceed the demands of XC, with no downside on performance or bearing life.
Another goal for the ASR was to engineer each frame for the same ride characteristics to give every rider the same feel, regardless of size. Since theASR uses single-ply carbon layups to eliminate redundant carbon, each sheet had to be precision cut. Tedious? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Doing so allowed for size-specific tuning at a much more sensitive level, and accurately matching torsional stiffness and chassis-flex profiles too.
The year was 2003 – our flex stay design was a decade’s ahead approach to XC full suspension. Today, the incarnated ASR considers the relationships between leverage rate, link size, material properties of the carbon layup and modern short stroke shocks to deliver responsive, efficient, and astonishingly light XC-specific suspension.
In contrast to conventional pivot-placement methodology for longer travel applications, the ASR’s pivot points are positioned so that existing tubing walls make up a significant portion of their shape and structure. To further reduce redundant carbon, and save weight.
The ASR features a near-linear progression curve to deliver the ultimate balance of efficiency in the mid stroke of the suspension – where XC racers spend most of their time. But with 20% sag, it offers small bump sensitivity typically found on longer travel bikes. Plus, the last ¼ of travel is designed to ramp up, so bigger hits and aggressive race lines don’t kick the bike off line.
Secure closures at frame entry and exit eliminate rattles and rub. External brake routing from bar to head tube for ease of travel, plus there’s no aero advantage to hiding them anyway.
On the muddiest race days, the integrated rear fender keeps debris from impeding suspension movement. Weighing next to nothing. It’s a frame feature you’ll only notice how big of a difference it makes if it’s gone.
Hangerless Interface creates the strongest and most precise shifting by allowing Eagle Transmission derailleurs to mount directly to the wheel axle and grip both sides of the frame. But Hangerless Interface is also perfect for legacy drivetrains, thanks to the included Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH).
Jess Connell
Once we achieved our desired kinematics, we looked at how to shed weight with our rocker link. This quest turned the one-piece billet 7075 aluminum alloy link into a structurally rigid exoskeleton frame, as functional as it is sculptural.
Modern XC racing is more extreme, requiring the kind of room to attack descents that only “proper-droppers”can provide. ASR’s uninterrupted and shorter seat tube allows room for longer, full-stroke dropper posts. Most riders can run 150mm dropper posts on small frames*, 175mm on medium frames* and 200mm+ dropper posts on L-XL frames*.
*Dependent on actual seat height on specific bike size.
The ASR is back to win at today’s world cup level. Super light and radically responsive with all the pedaling efficiency? Check. But that’s just XC table stakes. The bike for modern XC needs modern geometry that’s just as stable tipping it over at 45 km/h as it excels on chest high drops and hugging the inside line on the steepest switchback climb.
OUR FASTEST CLIMBING POSITION
Puts riders in a power position to efficiently spin, evenly weight the wheels for traction, and transition more smoothly from saddle to full-throttle sprinting.
MORE RESPONSIVE, NO TWITCH
Modern XC rewards brilliant passing, which takes brilliant cornering. The ASR’s forward-bias geometry delivers responsive steering and predictable characteristics to slash fast.
“JUST RIGHT” BB HEIGHT
A bottom-bracket positioned high enough to pedal through rock gardens, but low enough to sit below the axles for rail-like cornering thanks to that coveted, “in bike” feel.