REVIEWED
Yeti 575
WORDS Mike Kazimer
PHOTOS Colin Meagher
Yeti's 575 has been a mainstay in the Colorado based company's lineup for nearly a decade, undergoing various revisions over the years to keep up with changing standards. When it was first released it was something of an anomaly, a bike with nearly six inches of travel that was intended more for trail usage rather than freeriding or downhilling. Yeti was clearly ahead of the curve, anticipating the desire for a bike of this nature well before the trail and all-mountain categories grew to what they are today.
For 2014 the aluminum framed 575 bumps up to the 27.5” wheel size, along with getting a PressFit 30 bottom bracket and ISCG 05 tabs. Yeti offers the 575 in five different sizes, from XS to XL, and with four different build kit options. Prices start at $3500 USD, and our test bike, outfitted with Yeti's Race build kit and a Thomson dropper post, retails for $5000.
Yeti 575 Details
• Purpose: trail
• Rear-wheel travel: 146mm
• Wheel size: 27.5"
• Press fit BB
• 12 x 142mm rear axle
• ISCG 05 tabs
• Weight: 30.07 lbs (size M, without pedals)
• Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
• MSRP: $5000 USD
Frame DetailsThe 575's frame is constructed from hydroformed 7005 series aluminum, and features a redesigned rear triangle for 2014 in order to accommodate the larger wheel size. A tapered head tube, 12x142 rear end, ISCG 05 tabs – these features have become standard fare on trail and all-mountain bikes, and the 575 is no exception. There's a spot at the base of the seat tube for the housing of a stealth dropper post to exit, and internal routing in the down tube for the same housing. The rest of the cable routing is external, and located on the underside of the downtube. Yeti's interchangeable dropout design allows either a 135mm QR or 142x12 thru axle to be used.
Since Shimano doesn't make a PF30 crankset, Yeti uses a Praxis Works' conversion bottom bracket that works with the XT crankset's spindle dimensions. With this clever design one cup presses into the non-drive side, and the other threads in from the drive side. The cup threads into an expanding collet that applies uniform pressure to the bottom bracket shell, locking the entire assembly into place, and reducing the likelihood of the creaking that can sometimes go along with PressFit bottom brackets.
Suspension DesignThe 575 uses a modified single pivot design, with an aluminum rocker mounted on a brace between the top tube and seat tube driving the rear shock. Double row sealed cartridge bearings are in place for the main pivot, and an expanding collet system is used to keep the main pivot bolt secure. Where many bikes using this style of suspension design have a pivot on the rear triangle, Yeti relies on the shaping and custom butting of the seat stays to provide enough compliance as the rear shock goes through its travel.
Specifications
|
Price
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$5000 |
|
Travel |
140mm |
|
Rear Shock |
Fox Float CTD Adjust K+ |
|
Fork |
Fox 34 150mm |
|
Headset |
Cane Creek |
|
Cassette |
Shimano 10spd |
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Crankarms |
Shimano XT (24-38) |
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Rear Derailleur |
Shimano XT 10spd |
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Front Derailleur |
Shimano XT |
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Shifter Pods |
Shimano XT 10spd |
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Handlebar |
Easton Havoc Carbon |
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Stem |
Thomson X4 |
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Grips |
Yeti Lock-On |
|
Brakes |
Shimano XT |
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Hubs |
DT Swiss 350xm |
|
Tires |
Maxxis High Roller II |
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Seat |
Yeti Custom |
|
Seatpost |
Thomson Elite Dropper |
|
| |
We ran Yeti's 575 through the full gamut of trail styles, everything from smooth and fast singletrack to steep, rocky, technical descents.Initial Setup / ClimbingAs far as the overall fit goes, Yeti's bikes tend to have slightly longer top tube lengths, and the 575 is no exception, with a top tube length of 604mm and a reach of 414mm on a medium size frame. The size medium is spec'd with a 70mm Thomson stem, which isn't an outrageous length, but it would still be nice to see the bike equipped with something in the 50-60mm range, a length we'd imagine many riders will end up swapping to anyways. Even set up with a shorter stem there's still enough room at the front of the bike to find a comfortable position on long, drawn out slogs up steep climbs.
With a weight of 30 pounds without pedals, the 575 isn't lightest trail bike around, but it turned out to be a solid performer when it came to slower speed, technical climbs, scrambling and clawing its way up the most chopped up features we pointed it at. We spent time clambering up the sandstone rocks in Sedona, as well as grinding through mud and slippery roots in the Pacific Northwest, and in each setting the 575 held its own. The Shimano 2x10 drivetrain may deserve a bit of credit here, offering a slightly lower gear than you'd get with a 1x11 setup, and making it easier to find a low enough gear to keep the pedals spinning through the rough stuff. On smoother, more sustained and less committing uphills the yellow steed did feel a little sluggish, lacking the pep that encourages out of the saddle sprinting. Switching the rear shock into Trail mode and finding a comfortable cadence proved to be the ticket – the 575 rewards more of a relaxed, seated pedalling style.
Technical Terrain / DescendingThe 27.5” wheeled version of the 575 has a head angle that's a degree slacker than the previous 26” version (67° vs. 68°), a geometry tweak that runs contrary to what we're used to seeing. Typically, the geometry trend has been that head angles get slightly steeper as wheel size increases, which is intended to counteract the slower steering that comes with a larger diameter wheel. The 575's slacker head angle came in handy on the steep rock faces we rolled the bike into, and the relaxed geometry combined with Shimano's powerful XT brakes made it possible to creep down moves in complete control, avoiding the pointy rocks and plants that inevitably lined the runouts.
One of our test loops in Sedona had a high speed, rocky section of singletrack that twisted and turned its way through a narrow canyon, the perfect spot to see how a bike handled technical bits of trail at full pace. Despite its longish wheelbase and chain stays, the 575 didn't have the stability we were looking for at these higher speeds. We experimented with different rear shock pressures, and eventually settled on running slightly more air pressure to achieve 20% sag, a change which helped keep the rear end from going through its travel too quickly, one of the reasons the bike seemed to be struggling in the rough. The rear suspension has a very linear feel, and although it never bottomed out harshly, it seemed more eager to go through its travel than we would have liked. Running less sag did help improve the bike's performance, but high speed, chunky trails still aren't exactly the 575's strong suit. When the speeds dropped the 575's manners improved, with very neutral handling that didn't require anything out of the ordinary to navigate it along the tight, root strewn trails that we took it on back in the Pacific Northwest.
The 575 did prove to be an adept jumper, and on nearly any size hit there wasn't any trouble getting airborne, and the bike's handling was very predictable, eliminating any surprises when taking off or landing, as long as there was a decent transition. On these smoother, jump filled trails (
we're not huge fans of the term 'flow trail', but that's probably the most accurate description in this instance) the 575 capably dispatched whatever berms and features were tossed its way.
Component Check• Thomson Elite Post – We had a positive experience with out initial test of Thomson's Elite Dropper post, and were glad to see that Yeti had added one to our 575's build kit. Unfortunately, the post arrived in need of service - it seemed to have lost some of its internal pressure, making it unable to rise or lower quickly enough to be useable. The Elite Dropper isn't user serviceable, so this is an issue that would require sending the post back to Thomson.
• Shimano XT drivetrain – We're still anxiously awaiting Shimano's answer to SRAM's 1x11 drivetrain. Until then, front derailleurs and two or three front chainrings are the name of the game with Shimano's offerings. The XT gruppo worked without any issues, and our only complaint is that the noise of the chain rattling against the front derailleur is even more noticeable now that we're becoming accustomed to running narrow-wide chainrings without a chain guide. Fingers crossed Shimano has something up their sleeves – it would be nice to see front derailleurs go the way of the Dodo.
• Shimano XT brakes – Shimano's XT stoppers are still our favorite brakes on the market right now. Excellent ergonomics, plenty of power, and easy to bleed, they're an ideal choice for just about any bike out there.
Pinkbike's take: | Perhaps we've been spoiled by our time aboard Yeti's Super Bike series - the all-round performance of both the SB95 and SB66 left us seriously impressed after our time on them - but the 575 didn't win us over in the same way. We could see the 575 being popular with riders who are looking for a trail bike with a little extra travel to take the edge off the occasional bigger hit, but this wouldn't be our bike of choice for more technical, rough terrain. Although it's $300-$500 less expensive than a bike from the SB series, we would be tempted to find a way to scrounge up those extra dollars (a few weeks of Ramen noodles might be the ticket) and go for a Super Bike rather than springing for the 575. - Mike Kazimer |
www.yeticycles.com
I've had the 575, SB66 and SB95 (Still have the last 2) and the aggressive ride characteristics of the SB are now planets ahead.
You need to get a short stem, a volume spacer for the shock, go ride the damn thing and not give a crap about an online review. I am just happy they didn't say the chain stays were too long, which was my only concern. Shock tune, I can fix; chain stay length, not so much.
If you want to take Haighway's opinion as a personal insult, that's your issue.
Fact is people tried to explain their stance to you and got bullshit and flak in return. If they can't deal with you by being polite and giving their opinions, by being tactful and objectively explaining shit to you, or by trying to make light jokes about how inept you are, how would you suggest people deal with you? If you don't like being called names and being talked down to, don't start off on the offensive foot.
Also by god you have a potty mouth on the news articles. Never seen you act out this poorly on the forum before. I think you'd be removed from threads pretty bloody fast if you were to act the same, though.
You know it's bad when the PB review specifically advises buying something else.
Look at all these bikes for under $5k, all spec'ed better than this, and most frames will probably perform better
www.jensonusa.com/Mountain-Bikes?c=C0000GQU
I remember remarking to the Yeti guy that the 575 felt a lot like my Heckler in both form, springy-ness and just overall ride quality.
Daisycutter, I think you hit the nail straight on the head when you said it's Yeti's version of the Heckler. It's a simple single pivot, it is a very burly trail bike and in comparison with it's big brother (Heckler-Nomad, 575-sb66), it's a little cheaper.
www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/us/bronson-carbon
You're numbers are not accurate.
The build you quoted and linked to is a half pound lighter and I don't think that it has the dropper on it. Which would add a pound and make it heavier than the Yeti in an apples to apples comparison.
Still though, the Santa Cruz is going to kill that 575 in handling. This is an overpriced, pointless bike. I realize 90% of people won't pay MSRP for this bike, but you can find SB-66s for under $3k with decent builds.
Wow. And YOU think that yeti just makes run of the mill bikes because of all the other bling bling carbon plastic bikes that cost damn near 10k getting hyped it seems...
Which marketing dept is getting the attention of their target audience, huh?
And 140 travel sounds lame? HA!
Second, I don't even know what other companies you are referring to... are you talking about Intense and Santa Cruz? Anyway, I ride an aluminum banshee so ya, they really got me. Especially since I clearly stated that I believe that Yeti makes run of the mill bikes and that the "bling bling carbon" bike makers are what I prefer.
And third, I said a 30 lb 140mm bike sounds lame, not that 140mm of travel is lame. Big difference. The point being that most $5k+ 140mm bikes are generally lighter, which I think we can all agree on.
So you just completely fabricated 3 bullshit things to try to burn me on, all because why? Did you feel that threatened that I was accusing you of being a sucker for believing in someone's marketing? I wasn't even doing that I was just making a joke... there's no shame in being affected by marketing. Marketing is not some scam that only suckers go for, it's just how a company presents itself and controls its reputation. But insecurity struck, you panicked, and you attempted to counter me with a frantic storm of dumbass extrapolations.
I'm tall in the torso & that long to tube is heavenly for me. I've always believed the down tube measurement was vital to a bike's performance but to this day the industry ignores this measurement. Everyone is so obsessed with chainstay lengths that they overlook cockpit measurements. A longer top/down tube gives you better sprinting power & allows you to run a shorter stem for better finesse & control.
The SB frames in alloy weigh 7+ lbs, this frame weighs in at six. My asr5 weighed in at 5.3 lbs, and is very stiff front to back when I hit rocky areas. Six pounds sounds like a lot, but my frame has a traditional headset, carbon rear end. My bike with flows and xtr 1x setup weigh in at 26 lbs. you can keep your $10k carbon wonder bike, I will keep my alloy bike that's "outdated".
Since I tossed in the spacer, I finally found the balance between small bump compliance and not bottoming out on bigger rocks (I live in central Texas, not a lot of drops bigger than 2-3 feet). Totally transformed the bike to the way I wanted it to feel
A friend of mine was climbing behind me and said, "wow, you're shock isn't moving at all." That, combined with incredible dh ability! I'm convinced every issue/problem with the 66 is shock-based.
But yes, it's soft and saggy in the climbs, and it's time for me to move on to more of an "enduro" bike that can handle chunder but not weigh me down so much on the long, grinding climbs that Colorado riding demands. I hate to say this, because I love Yeti, but it doesn't sound like the 575 has changed very much. If you want one, buy a used one and play to your heart's content. It's super fun to ride and takes a beating, but is not the greatest all-rounder.
I'm sure there are a lot of bikes that do some things better, but the 575 has proven to be a fun and reliable mountain bike.
Keep the same build kit just make it a 1x10 with 32T up front and Shimano's 11-36 in the back and 19 of 20 riders would be happy. Save some build cost by skipping front mech & shifter etc and let riders tweak as they want. Not sure why more companies don't do this.?. Rode the 2012 575, Yeti make fun bikes.
www.pinkbike.com/u/mattwragg/blog/yeti-sb75-review.html
18" reach w/24.5-24.9 tt, 17 and under cs, and threaded bb (especially al bikes)
Thanks
So the aluminum seatstays flex in lieu of a pivot near the wheel. Hmm... what could go wrong?! A bold design move. Be interesting to see how this turns out.
4.54 L in a gallon too
www.metric4us.com ... everything's base 10. Pretty easy.
www.freedom2measure.org ...'cause Washington would've wanted it that way and complete with flags.
This 575 is completely modern.
And you only really need one kidney.