Yeti 575 Review

When I first grabbed the bars of the Yeti 575 I noticed a few things that I thought I wouldn’t be able to adapt to, the high seat height caused by the high bottom bracket, and the wide bars. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to get used to either. I was very wrong. The seat doesn’t feel high as soon as you start going, and the wide bars offer good hand placement for control and leverage for climbing. Riding the 575 is an awesome experience. The rear suspension is super plush, while not being too soft to pedal. The particular bike I rode had the Fox RP23, and with ProPedal engaged the bike accelerated and climbed even better.
Riding this bike did a few things for me. It initially made me want to hit every single root, rock, jump, and drop I could find. As someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy flying down hills, jumping, and drops, the 575 gave me the confidence to go a bit faster, and let the wheels leave the ground a bit more. Climbing was efficient whether ProPedal was on or not, but the suspension will bob if you’re standing and torquing as opposed to spinning an easier gear. The other thing this bike did is make me want to be a better rider. The bike provides the platform for a skill set above mine, and the more I rode the bike, the more I wanted to elevate my skills to the level of the bike.
The first time I rode this bike I was limited to a short ride by only being able to carry one water bottle. And the cage location is right below the shock, which makes taking the bottle out, and flipping the ProPedal lever a bit of a chore. Not that that is a big deal, especially since many people have gone to the backpack hydration packs, but for those of us still in the hydration dark ages it would have been nice to have space for multiple cages, and also to have them in more convenient locations.
Overall, the 575 is a solid bike, an awesome climber, confident on the descents, and despite the large look to the frame, it is very lightweight. The bike is very stable both at speed and when picking and choosing a line.