Several months later than intended here is my new race bike for 2014. The observant among you will notice that this definitely isn’t the bright yellow S-Works I posted on here a couple of months back. My love affair with that stunning machine lasted up to the point where I hefted her onto the scales. Don’t get me wrong, 1340g is not a heavy frame, but when you consider the equally weighty price tag, you expect a bike like that to be at the cutting edge.
So it is time to welcome a second Yeti into my life. So why the Yeti ARC?
Firstly, yes, she is a bit of a looker, in traditional turquoise Yeti war paint. Secondly, (and you might say I am getting old here) is reliability. Life with my previous S-Works seemed to be a constant cycle of bearing maintenance. Yes, press-fit bearings are lighter, but the longest service I got from any of my bottom bracket bearings was six months and it was frequently a lot less. Equally the headset was forever in need of TLC as the sealing was basically non-existent. Yeti have stuck with a traditional 72mm threaded bottom bracket and metal inserts for the headset. This enables me to fit proper sealed bearings which I hope might actually see me through to next year.
Compared to my current S-Works the head angle is a little slacker and the top tube is longer, stretching the wheelbase. In theory this should produce more stable handling, especially at speed. The chainstays and bottom bracket height are all the same so it should feel quite familiar at the back.
The majority of the components have been moved across from the old bike, but I have chosen some tasty new components to hang on this lovely frame. Gone are the S-Works cranks, which have caused me endless angst over the past three years. They are replaced by some Race Face Next SL cranks, which come in at around 500g including the bottom bracket! Wow! They have a stiff 30mm diameter axle which fits the Yeti’s threaded bottom bracket using Race Faces’s clever oversized BSA30 bearing cups.
Several of the reviews I have read on the Yeti mention it is a firm ride, so I have fitted a Syntace P6 HiFlex seatpost. This post is designed to flex, offering protection from lumps and bumps on the trail. The only other change is a shorter 80mm stem to balance the longer top tub.
The new Rock Shox SID Brain forks have been retained from the yellow S-Works. I’ll run them at the standard 90mm for a while and see how it feels before deciding if it is worth stepping up to the 100mm Yeti designed the frame around.
First ride review to follow early next week.
Fork: Rock Shox SID Brain 90mm
Crankset: Race Face Next SL - 32t
Drivechain: XTR
Wheelset: Light Bicycles Rims / Stans 3.30 hubs
Seatpost: Syntace P6 HiFlex
Stem: Ritchey WCS 80mm
Bars: S-Works 660mm
Brakes: Formula R1
No comments:
Post a Comment