XC Yeti ARC Carbon 9.16kg - Cracked another frame...

[k3n!f]

Hey fellow Farkers, here is my new bike.

Firstly a bit of background. I love riding hardtails, always have, always will. I have fun on full suspension bikes because of the speed but I don't get the same sense of satisfaction of trying to ride rough stuff smoothly and flowing through tricky bits. My previous bike, a Yeti ARC, has faithfully served me for 6 years and 20,000km. The only original parts left on it are the fork, shifter and stem, everything else has cracked or worn out (including a frame). It will now be ridden in retirement by my girlfriend.

The goals for this build were:
1. Reliability, if its not going to last, its not worth the trouble
2. Comfort, I'm getting too old to ride an alloy hardtail in endurance events
3. Weight, I want a bike that is as heavy as it needs to be and no heavier

Given I keep my bikes a long time, ride them heaps and only have one bike, budget was not really an issue for consideration. It helps that my girlfriend bought the frame for me as part of a prior arrangement regarding me buying her an engagement ring....

I figured out exactly what I wanted and was very pleased to find almost all of it was the off the shelf XTR build kit from Yeti Oz. The only changes I made were the cranks, seatpost and grips.












Here is the spec list for anyone who is interested. I was pleasantly surprised by the weight, despite having wheels and tyres that were in total 400g heavier than the 26er ARC, the bike still came in 200g lighter. If I was to change to non Snake Skin tyres I would be down to 9.3kg with a very reliable build.


The only issues I had with the build were the XT rotors the bike came with were boat anchors so I put on some Ashima rotors. The internal cables were actually really easy to do, as was the Shimano brake hose shortening. Whilst the rear brake calliper looks great tucked in between the seat stays and the chain stays, its a bit of a pain in the bum to access one the bolts for alignment.

The Yeti fork decals came from Slik Graphics:
http://www.slikgraphics.com/collections/fork-decals-fox/products/fox-yeti-edition-decal-kit

Special thanks to Cyclingo, the best bike shop in Hobart for ordering everything for me. Also special thanks to Yeti Oz for tolerating my excited/impatient emails during the waiting time!


Here is a quick pic of the much loved but now retired Yeti ARC.

 

[k3n!f]

Ride Report 20/2/14

Alright, the new bike has 250km of fun on the speedo and I have a ride report for those who are interested.

Spec
Very impressed with the new XTR stuff, especially the brakes. I thought my Formula R1's were the best thing since sliced bread so finding the the XTRs have slightly more power and better modulation was actually a very pleasant surprise. On top of that they have significantly more pad clearance so there is no rubbing like that on the R1's, and I am happy to report the Ashima rotors are almost silent and very powerful. The rest of the XTR stuff is almost flawless, I say almost because the tighter 10 speed cassette seems a bit more temperamental to maintain perfect shifting. I am hoping that this is just related to the new cables stretching, but I've had to adjust things a couple of times already. Not sure if I can really tell the difference with the Shadow Plus derailleur, chain slap wasn't really an issue on the last bike and I don't really notice any difference whether it is on or off, maybe its more important on a dually.

The fork is noticeably stiffer with the 15mm axle, even with the increased length. I set the fork pressure as per the book and have found to trail mode to be a little bit firm for me, even on the softest setting. Maybe it will smooth up with some more break in time, or maybe I'll run it in descend mode with more PSI/trail mode with less PSI. The wheels are also much stiffer than the 1380g wheelset on the old bike, not sure if that is the wider rim or stiff spokes talking.

Cockpit wise the EC70 feels great with the bigger wheels, I thought at 720mm wide it was going to be too big but I might leave it at this stage. The WTB saddle I'm not sold on yet, but I've spent the last 6 years on a Fizik Gobi so I'm going to give it a chance for a bit longer and see if I get used to it. The Syntace P6 seatpost is fantastic, no creaking but slight flex when hitting rocks whilst sitting, very impressive.

Ride
Farkin fast! Once those big wheels get up to speed they just want to keep going over everything. The bike feels significantly smoother over the rough stuff (big wheels, carbon frame, P6 seatpost) but is still very stiff laterally in the corners. I feel like the bike is begging you to get out of the saddle and really punch out power, with no frame flex noticed at all. Handling wise the slightly slacker head angle and longer cockpit compared with the ARC certainly make it more confident on the downhills, and I feel like the tyres just keep gripping when leaning the bike in the twisty bits.

The only thing that I am not thrilled with is the acceleration of the 29er. Some of this is probably because I am not very fit right now, but it certainly takes a while to get up to speed, although once at full speed it holds it fantastically. I presume this is mostly related to the wheels/tyres which are 400g heavier than those on the ARC and have a larger radius. In uphill switchbacks I used to be able to rely on a few quick pedal strokes to get back up to speed, but the 29er wheels mean I have to downshift before I can do this. I will be very interested to try some standard Racing Ralphs which would drop nearly 200g off the outside of the wheels, and perhaps some carbon rims.

Overall
Fantastic bike, really pleased with how it has worked out.

Plans for the future
Ride lots
Maybe a lighter wheel set in a year or two

Excuse the crappy phone picture

 

[Pastavore]

I can't see those pictures, and I would like to see those pictures.

 

[agentninety3]

Pics don't seem to be working...

 

[k3n!f]

Hmmm are they working now? Dunno what I've done wrong...


Edit *Pics were supposed to load in order in the text, I think they are now just showing up at the end of the post*

 

[99_FGT]

Pics take a while to load - but come up
That is a whole lot of seatpost... Where - out of interest - did your last ARC crack?

As for the brake bolt issue - perhaps replace with a small 7 - 10mm head bolt - then you will be able to access it with a small spanner. Or get an old 5mm hex and shorten the head - given you don't adjust them on the trail normally.
Say hi to John for me - he's a top bloke.
Al..

 

[redline316]

bike porn right there

 

[k3n!f]

Pics take a while to load - but come up
That is a whole lot of seatpost... Where - out of interest - did your last ARC crack?

As for the brake bolt issue - perhaps replace with a small 7 - 10mm head bolt - then you will be able to access it with a small spanner. Or get an old 5mm hex and shorten the head - given you don't adjust them on the trail normally.
Say hi to John for me - he's a top bloke.
Al..

The old ARC cracked at the junction of the bottom bracket and the chain stay on the non-driveside. Bit of an odd spot to crack, but was happy with a brand new one on warranty!

Thats a good idea about the old 5mm allen key, the issue is the distance to the 90 degree bend on mine meant the seat stay was in the way.

 

[mitchy_]

i found the long ball head allen keys work on in the scenario of the brake caliper on the chain stay too.

 

[No Skid Marks]

Rad, looks fast as.

 

[ClintC]

Looks like a rocket ship. Interested to hear a ride report.

 

[bowtajzane]

mate, looks fast just standing still
I'd all most forgotten yetti did hard tails

 

[forest_ninja]

thats superb mate well done

 

[Ky1e]

Sensational build mate! Now hurry up and post pics of it covered in mud!

 

[Ackland]

You'll thank yourself for grabbing that P6 post! More comfy than my Titanium one!

 

[k3n!f]

Holy crap this thing is fast! Full ride report to come a bit later, but a couple of quick issues.

Firstly the Race Face extractor cap fell out on its first road ride, lucky I noticed.


The second issue is more concerning. The Jetblack (Ashima actually make them) rotors I bought are supposed to be 160mm, however the rotor isn't big enough for the positioning of the brake pads with the Shimano XTR calipers. There is no adjustment possible as front and rear are post mount so I have to assume its the rotors at fault.

Has anyone else had this issue with these rotors?

 

[pistonbroke]

I had a similar issue fitting Kettle carbon rotors to XT brakes on and Anthem. The front was ok but the rear caliper sat about 1.5mm too high. I ended up filing down the post.
I think it a Shimano thing. I suspect Shimano rotors are a couple of mm bigger than everyone else's, but I've never actually measured them.
I know you're trying to save weight but ditch the jetblack rotors and put some ice tech rotors on. Breaking will be 1000% better.

 

[Mitch243]

I know you're trying to save weight but ditch the jetblack rotors and put some ice tech rotors on. Breaking will be 1000% better.

I never really noticed any difference in braking performance between ice-tech rotors or any other standard size rotor with decent meat on the braking surface (yet still ventilated, of course).

If you persue the avenue of new rotors it might be worth while to look into the Formula rotors. 'Standard meat' rotor that saves weight by removing metal from the bolt reinforcement, rather than trimming the brake surface. Significantly lighter than Avid G3s although I doubt its competitive against those rotors.

 

[k3n!f]

I had a similar issue fitting Kettle carbon rotors to XT brakes on and Anthem. The front was ok but the rear caliper sat about 1.5mm too high. I ended up filing down the post.
I think it a Shimano thing. I suspect Shimano rotors are a couple of mm bigger than everyone else's, but I've never actually measured them.
I know you're trying to save weight but ditch the jetblack rotors and put some ice tech rotors on. Breaking will be 1000% better.

Interesting, I don't think I'm game to touch the post mounts!

The brakes are supposed to come with XTR Ice Tech but they don't make them in 6 bolt. Unfortunately the bike came with standard XT rotors (non Ice Tech) which were boat anchors at 140g each. If I'm running steel rotors they may as well be light steel rotors!

I have used Ashima rotors before and have actually found them to be better than most "proper" branded rotors. They were perfectly true out of the box, cheap, light, quiet, look good and the braking power is equal (may be actually better) with the Formula R1 and XTR rotors I had on the old bike.

They test them pretty well too, doubt living in Canberra and weighing 66kg I'll ever get them glowing at 750°C:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8ySl7rp8k8

Out of interest how are the Kettle carbon rotors?

 

[pistonbroke]

They are very light but not worth the trouble. They took 8 months to get here and are very picky with what pads you use. Genuine Shimano organic pads were useless. No power at all. Now I'm using EBC Green organic the power us acceptable but still not as good as steel rotors.
They do make their own pads for carbon rotors but I'm not going to order some because of customer service concerns.