Landa

These bikes are comparable in price ($3500 vs $3100 for the Speci.). Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to ride either of these bikes; am trying to setup a test ride with my LBS. If anyone owns/ed these bikes and could share some insight as to which of these two bikes they preferred and why, I'd appreciate it.

I am looking to race this bike (Sport this year, Expert next year); I am coming off a hardtail. I am 5'10", 163 lb.

Thanks for looking!

- Peter

The_Convert

Hey Hey....
I have not ridden a FSR but:

I bought a ASR-sl a few months ago and I loveeeee it. When I purchased the Yeti I rode a few other high end, full-sus XC rides such as the Ellsworth Truth and Titus Racer X and the Yeti was the only one that felt 'right'. The guy at the shop said most guys coming off a hardtail tend to prefer the Yeti ( I myself am coming off a Litespeed hardtail).
It climbs great properly set up with practically no bob. I suggest the 5th element as opposed to the Fox. The lockout lever I think was just a way to get out of trying to engineer a better shock. It is very stable and the build quality is excellent.
Anyways, my size large with build kit in my sig weighed in at 25.5 lbs. I could easily knock another one off of that. There was some UK cycling mag that rated it as the best available full suspension race bike.

Landa

I don't think the rear Fox shock has a lockout anymore. It has light-medium-heavy pro pedal settings only.

Do you like the 5th element's Adjustable Platform Damping better than the pro-pedal?

The_Convert

In either case, having to flip a lever while riding hard, ESP. in a race, is totally impractical.

With the 5th element, it is fully active to all bumps while maintaining very little bob....no levers to play with on your ride.

camaddy

Another resounding vote for Yeti here. Don't have any experience with the ASR, but have heard only great things.

Landa

Gotchya. Didn't realize it is fully (auto)active. Thanks for everyone's input!

CranxOC

You can't go wrong here as both are incredible bikes. For me, it came down to the Stumpy FSR 100 and the Yeti 575. While I ultimately ended up on the FSR I had actually settled upon the 575 but Adrenaline couldn't get any more in for several weeks so I built up the frame that I had received from Specialized and wound up loving it so I never got my 575. I'm quite sure however that, had I gone the Yeti route, I would be gushing over that bike as much as I gush over my Stumpy.

Both are great; ride them and decide which one you like better.

lala

Yeti wins on coolness factor, of course. Support smaller businesses!

DjRider04

Comparing Yeti to Spec, what is happening to the world.

CranxOC

**********

Landa

Well, here is an update. I picked up the Yeti last month. The bike rides spectacular and I already had a chance to race last weekends. It climbs wells and descends really fast. I love the Fox shock that came with it. I opted for the XT w/o the carbon chainstay, but plan to upgrade the XT/819 wheelset to either Mavic SL or a Swiss setup. Thanks for everyone's input!