Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis

Charles — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:52:00 +0000

This comes from one of our favorite customers and frequent flyer, Tom Rice:

I just upgraded my illustrious Yeti with the new SRAM XX components: brakes, shifters, derailleurs, crankset, chain and cassette. So, on Thanksgiving day(the Yeti and I have much to be thankful for), we went for a short, inaugural test ride at Belmont’s Waterdog park. Here are my impressions of SRAM’s efforts.

First. I expected to be very pleased with this setup. Even so, I was surprised how much better SRAM’s Dos Equis is. I think the component set looks glorious and the whole esthetic is simply lean. Plus, as they say in the world of engineering and modern architecture, form should follow function. SRAM seems to have made every effort to maximize function. Then they took the form to the next level. Even the logo is subtly integrated into the shape of the parts. Many of the new cool features are obvious like the single handle bar clamp for shifter and the brake but some of the lesser known improvements are just as sweet. For example, the routing of the tail end of the rear shifter cable is inside the parallelogram of the derailleur so the cable end no longer gets wacked around by close encounters with local foliage – nice.

First ride:

This was a mellow and social ride with a few downhill sections where I neglected to use the brakes much and a couple of climbs where my gearing had me pulling away – this bike is sooo fast, I just can’t help it.

Shifting: XX is smooth and fast, really fast, with the most noticeable improvements up front. The front shifts like a cassette – quick and super positive. This was anticipated but I wasn’t really prepared for the front derailleur to be as quick shifting down as it is shifting up. I’m hoping this will be a real advantage racing next season! … optimal gearing at the optimal time without reservation.

BTW, hard pedaling upshifts at the cassette sound different on XX. Maybe it’s because of the unbelievable CNC work required to carve 8 cogs of the 10 speed cassette out a single piece of steel. No matter what the reason, I will say this: it does have a nice ring to it. (hehe)

Net, net: the shifting at the rear derailleur is just as fast as XO and the front is much faster. All is very positive. Chain alignment is straight up (only two front rings) so none of that chain jumping around when ratcheting for technical trail features.

Brakes: I opted for a compromise – that is, I chose the 140mm rear brake rotor. This means less modulation but lighter weight. So, with the stock metal brake pads, the rear brake is a little grabby. This will be easily solved by running a resin brake pad. Otherwise, the brakes are great. Lever travel is minimal with a nice firm feel once the pads are in contact with the rotor. Plenty of power and good modulation. This works well with my one finger braking skills (or lack thereof).

Gearing: I selected the biggest gearing offered (that is, the biggest available so far. I will say that I’m waiting for the 45-30 chainrings to become available). I did not miss my small chain ring at all. With 42-28 chainrings and a 11-32 10 speed cassette, I had all the gears I needed for the ‘dog. Maybe in places where pedaling speeds reach 42+mph, bigger gears would be nice… but really, in the dirt, how often does that happen? (Okay, the answer to that question is two places: One is the Sea Otter Classic and the other I won’t mention because of a Ranger enforced 15mph speed limit which I’m sure I’ve never exceeded. Sure. Whatever.)

Anyway, here’s what I think. XX is really very nice. It looks great, is lighter in weight and out performs every other groupo available. This is an XC setup so it is light weight. Very light weight… actually the weight is so carefully considered that SRAM even worries about the weight of the tools you might carry on a ride. SRAM worked it out so that the only tool you need to carry is an T-25 Torx “L” key. With this simple tool, you can do everything from a lever position adjustment to a cable tension adjustment to a snugging up of a chainring bolt. One tool fits every useful fastener on the entire component groupo. SRAM has tried to think of everything!

But the best part is I can now say the new name of my Yeti at the same time as I order one of my preferred beverages: Dos Equis por favor!!

"Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis" by Anon

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:46:25 +0000

Tubular! Wow, first I’ve seen for MTB. Heard people were starting to use them here and there, but the fear of them popping off is keeping it from the mainstream. Interesting to see what you think after a year or whatever of using them.

"Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis" by David

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:46:44 +0000

Very nice write up and the setup looks glorious on your yeti. About the brake though I’ve read on a few places that they actually get less grabby after a few days of riding. Hope that helps a little happy trails.

"Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis" by Tom

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:28:50 +0000

I’ve replaced the rear brake pads with organic pads. The modulation is much improved – less skidding and better for the trails!

"Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis" by Charles

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:03:58 +0000

Nice! Thanks for letting Passion have a hand in its build.

Passion Trail Bikes, Belmont, CA - specialists in quality bike service and custom-built mountain bikes: Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis

Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis

"Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis" by Anon

"Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis" by David

"Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis" by Tom

"Yeti ASR-C con Dos Equis" by Charles