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New model for 2010 - the Yeti 5
This is arguably one of the most exciting bikes to come out for 2010. Well we think it's exciting anyway.
Why would you buy one of these?
Well, the 5 is perhaps the perfect UK riding bike. By this we mean that for the majority of the rides people do in this fair island then 120mm suspension may be the sweet spot.
The trend recently has been for trail bikes with 140mm but for the majority of riders this may be a tad too much. If you ride hard and do the drops and launches and steep rocky chutes then you need the 140mm to keep your speed up and take the hits.
If you like going up, along and then down and then up again and shy away from the bigger stuff then this might be the right bike. The head angle (thats the angle of the forks in relation to the trail) is set slacker than most XC bikes. This equates to a more stable feeling bike when you are going fast and will also give you a confident feeling when you take on the steep downs.
It's not as slack as to stop you climbing efficiently though. You will be able to move your weight around the bike and get traction where you need it.
In terms of suspension feel and performance well there is not much to worry about there. Fox has been chosen (as always) to supply the rear shock. It features the new boost valve technology to give a more 'plush' feel at all parts of the suspension range. However, this bike has been tuned to offer a more firm feel than say the 575. This is because the emphasis is on speed - Yeti make the analogy of a race tuned car... this makes sense. You feel everyting but you still have some isolation from it. So you get traction, feel and control basically. All the things you want.
Other stand out features that set this bike apart from the rest are the tapered head tube and the bolt through carbon rear end.
To our knowledge these have not been done before on a 120mm bike. if we are wrong then let us know.
The tapered head tube is interesting from an engineering point of view and is a good and valid fearure. It allows a stiffer headtube area and therefore a larger weld contact area for the down tube. These are good things - as you drive the bike forward you rely on stiffness and tracking to make sure you can feel what the fork and wheel is doing, this helps that happen. It looks cool to which you have to admit counts for a lot as well!
The bolt through rear end allows for a stiff and responsive rear triangle also. To get the most output for your input you need to make sure the power is getting on the ground. Not only this but the stiffness will be noticeable when cornering. You will be able to push this bike harder than perhaps you are comfortable with.
It can be built up a number of ways - you are the boss so get thinking about how you want yours to look!
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Customer Reviews
Average rating:  | Sneak preview, 15th Dec 2009 | Reviewer: Mark Downie | Right then - firstly, pics are here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129263&id=579452522&l=eb773037e2
Stuart from Evolution kindly saw fit to take me out on a new 5 today.
Albeit the 2nd attempt as he got some weird disease last time and i have the lurgy this week too, we still got out and did it.
The weather was frankly pants/as you would expect from the Borders in Scotland in December. It was wet, cold and generally a tad unpleasant.
Not to worry though - it's always sunny when it's bike riding time.
So... the idea was we would go for a gentle spin to see what the bike was like. We picked Glentress as the venue for a couple of obvious reasons.
1. It has the best cafe in the area.
2. We know the trails very well seeing as we ride there - lots.
We set off up the normal climb route and the route was decided as we went. Up the red climb to the black boundary trail, round the road to the blue bit and then back down to the car park.
Climbing:
It climbs. Not much more to say than that. It grips well, corners uphill corners very well. The riding position is very well judged allowing you to get your weight over the front and move to the back when required.
I was climbing in much more 'xc' gears than normal - not using the granny ring was a nice touch. The rear end is nice and responsive but firm - we both commented at one point in the day that it kinda feels like a hardtail when you want it too and then a bigger full suss bike when it requires that too.
Any effort on the pedals is rewarded with an immediate acceleration feel - you can find yourself attacking little lumps and rises more than you might normally.
All in all, you just kind of had to pedal. The bike just moved where you pointed it.
My comment to Stu was that it felt 'like a bike'. On the face of it this comment may sound negative but it's actually a compliment. It just goes and does what you ask it to. No fuss no drama etc.
Going down the way:
What a laugh! Even wi |
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