Same same but different… my Yeti ASR for the Downieville Classic is now my third ASR build in under a year. Why three? Well, I’ve been trying to find the sweet spot between XC bike and trail bike. The stock ASR in its 120mm front / 115mm rear travel setup is definitely capable and awesome for pure XC racing, but for general riding, it sometimes feels a bit undergunned compared to how I like my bikes to ride. On this third build, I finally cracked the code. It sits perfectly in the XC+ category.

While this is my choice for this year’s Downieville Classic All-Mountain race, it’s also my go-to daily ripper. This is hands-down my favorite category of bike to ride. It’s fast and covers a huge range of trails, from backcountry epics to chunky local laps. If I had to ride one style of bike for the rest of my life, it’d be something like this: a fast and efficient ~120mm rear travel bike with a ~130mm fork.

Sure, the all-out fastest setup for Downieville would probably be something closer to a stock ASR with lighter tires, but it’s just not as fun to ride. You’ll see a few unique parts on my build like bigger RockShox suspension with a 130mm Pike and Deluxe rear shock, Maven brakes with thicker rotors, a 180mm OneUp dropper post, and a mix of SRAM T-Type drivetrain paired with a Squirt-waxed chain and CeramicSpeed OSPW pulley wheels and bottom bracket. I aimed to get those fast marginal gains from drivetrain and bearings, while still keeping the feel I want, not just going with the standard XC setup.

I’m not sponsored personally, but working at Worldwide Cyclery means some brands do help me out. That said, I only ride parts I actually want to ride. If the brands that help out happen to align with that, great — but I’m always running what I like. SRAM/RockShox/Zipp/Time, CeramicSpeed, Squirt, Maurten, and of course Trail One Components all support me from time to time.

Last year, my Yeti ASR with Flight Attendant was an amazing XC race bike. For racing, that full SRAM AXS system with Flight Attendant is hands-down the best. But when race season ended, it felt like a lot to ride daily, and it was an expensive setup, so I swapped it out for a more standard ASR. That one had a Fox 34SC, Fox Float rear shock (no remote lockouts), Fox Transfer SL dropper, and a SRAM XX drivetrain. It was way more chill and super fun for daily rides.

Both of these bikes were size Large, which is what Yeti recommends for my height (just over 5’10”). But during the offseason, I started to feel like that Large frame was a bit undergunned — especially for how I ride. I like to push it hard, ride rough trails, hit jumps, gaps, and drops. Yeah, it's an XC bike, but I still want to ride it like I stole it.

That’s when I started tinkering. The Large has a 465mm reach with a 60mm stem — not super long for a size Large in 2025. The XL jumps up to a 490mm reach, which is what some brands use on their Larges. So I ordered an XL ASR and paired it with a 40mm stem. That keeps the bar position only 5mm different. Then, with the 130mm Pike, the reach shortens slightly, getting me around a 485mm effective reach. Basically, I ended up with a slightly longer frame, shorter stem, and a more aggressive stance.

But the real difference is in the wheelbase, the XL with a 130mm fork stretches it out by 40mm compared to the Large. That’s a huge change and super noticeable on the trail. The XL also has 2mm longer chainstays (441mm) and a much taller head tube. To get the bar height where I want it, I installed a Cane Creek Slamset top cap, which let me drop the stem another 5mm, and it's already slammed.

One last frame tweak: the swing link. I learned that T-Series frames come with a machined 7075 alloy link that saves weight but has less material compared to the 6061 link found on C-Series frames. A little birdy told me the 6061 link is technically stiffer, even though it’s heavier. So I swapped to the 6061 link, probably not night-and-day difference, but it adds to the overall stiffness and feel.

Wheels are the Zipp 1Zero HiTop SWs. They’ve been my go-to for a while now. Lightweight, compliant, strong, and relatively affordable. I’ve had zero issues after a year of riding — no re-tensioning, no truing, nothing. That’s the dream. Of course, I’ve got Trail One valve stems on there too. The TyreWiz valves that come with the wheels are neat, but I love not having any batteries on this bike.

This might be the most important section when it comes to riding and racing, in Downieville. That place is brutal on tires. If I were just going for fun, I’d run something burlier, like a Michelin Wild AM2 or even an Assegai/Dissector EXO+ combo. But for racing, the goal flips, you want the fastest and lightest tire possible that won’t flat.

Last year, Maxxis helped me out, so I did a ton of testing with just their tires. I ended up racing on a Rekon 2.4 MaxxTerra up front and an Ikon 2.35 MaxxSpeed out back. The Rekon strikes a solid balance of grip, weight, and predictability. I’ll take a tire that’s consistent over one with tons of grip that suddenly lets go.

This year, I branched out and tested tires from Maxxis, Vittoria, and WTB. I’ve got a whole blog coming that breaks all of this down, but I rode and reviewed setups using the Maxxis Rekon, Rekon Race, Ikon, Vittoria Barzo, Mezcal, Syerra, and WTB’s new Peacekeeper and Macro.

One big thing I wanted to test was moving away from 120 TPI casings. They’re fast, but they flat easier. I’ve flatted Ikons two years in a row. Maybe the pros can pull it off, but apparently I’m not that smooth. In Maxxis world, that meant 60 TPI Rekons were about as fast and durable as I could go, but a full Rekon combo front and rear felt like a bit much. Small differences, but I like to tinker.

Vittoria’s new Barzo Race and Mezcal Race tires in 2.4" casings caught my attention. They’re light (around 750g each), roll fast, and come in 60 TPI. I ran them at 18/20 PSI with Tublolite inserts and got great traction with solid support. They feel fast and confident. I’ll be running this combo for Downieville unless something goes sideways in pre-rides.

I also tested the Vittoria Syerra, which they call their "downcountry" tire. It came in at around 850g and had solid traction with extra sidewall support, but felt slower than the Barzo/Mezcal combo. Still, it’s my backup tire setup in case I shred something before the race.

The WTB Peacekeeper/Macro combo was also really good, but ran into the same 60/120 TPI dilemma. They’re going back on after Downieville, they’re killer for fun and daily riding.

Earlier this year, SRAM launched their mechanical Eagle 90 Transmission, same core architecture as AXS T-Type, but cable-actuated. I’d been waiting for this ever since I saw early prototypes in Germany in 2023. No joke.

With Eagle 90, you still get full-mount rear derailleur performance: perfect shifts under load, no clunks, super robust. But it’s lighter, cheaper, and simpler. It’s basically a GX-level mechanical group, but my setup is a total mix-and-match.

I’m running the Eagle 90 shifter and Eagle 90 derailleur (same weight as XXSL AXS stuff), with an XXSL cassette, XXSL chain, and an old-school XX1 crank in 165mm that I snagged on closeout. I paired that with a Wolf Tooth 34T chainring. The crank is 8-bolt, older logos, probably a mid-run batch, but it’s light, short, and works great.

This combo gives me the lightest SRAM Transmission setup possible, with zero batteries and full performance. I also kept a few high-end bits from my last ASR: a CeramicSpeed bottom bracket and their oversized OSPW pulley system. Is it overkill? Yeah. But it’s smooth, fast, and a nice little flex. CeramicSpeed claims up to 7 watts saved — and at the very least, it feels cool to spin the cranks and see those pulley wheels just coast forever.

For chain lube, I mix it up, Squirt wax for daily rides and CeramicSpeed UFO Drip for race days. Keeps things quiet and snappy.

Bonus: the ASR has a built-in chain guide, the SRAM Transmission has great chain retention and I have ran other bikes without one (my Frameworks Enduro) but its built in and doesnt weight anything, so its on there.

Bikes are so dialed these days that there aren’t a ton of little mods needed anymore. Even SRAM’s direct-mount derailleurs now eliminate some of the old tweaks we used to do.

That said, I still like to set things up for backcountry reliability. I run a Wolf Tooth Morse Cage Ti bottle cage, never lost a bottle with it, and the adjustable mounting slots help squeeze it into tight frames. I Dremel mine slightly and slam it as low as possible to fit a 26oz bottle. The new ASR has two in-frame bottle mounts, which is super handy for big days.

Under the cage, I mount a Dynaplug Carbon Racer plug tool. I don’t always carry it, since I keep a plug kit in my ride wallet, but the mount is there when I want to go light and fast.

I also run a Worldwide Cyclery Occam strap that holds a Tubolito spare tube, tire patch, two CO2s, and some zip ties. The strap is wrapped in a little pouch from my Trail One Rockville stem, repurposed gear FTW.

Some mastic tape around the chainstays and tire zones keeps things quiet and clean. I even have a little custom fork plug tool from my buddy Myles that holds one Dynaplug. That gives me three plugs ready without ever reaching into a pocket.

After building three ASRs, I had a good sense of what I wanted, and this one nails it. The rear shock has just enough compression support to stay active without being too soft. The longer wheelbase and fit from sizing up to XL were totally worth it. I rode it this morning and was once again stoked on how balanced it feels.

Climbing? It’s fast. I usually just leave the shock open, plenty of traction, but I’ll flick it into pedal mode for long fire roads. Lockouts? Rarely use ‘em. The fork is confidence-inspiring. I’d never go back to a fork on this bike without both LSC and HSC adjustments. Sounds picky, but once it’s dialed, it’s a different league from a SID Ultimate or Grip SL-style damper.

On the descents, it stays composed for a 115mm-ish bike. You can push it past its limits, sure, but the flex-stay setup does its job and then some. All the little tweaks, burlier parts, XL frame, shock swap, add up to a bike I genuinely love riding. I’ve even tossed on Michelin Wild AM2 tires and sent this thing down trails it probably had no business being on. And after Downieville, I’ll swap to WTB Peacekeepers and keep shredding it straight through winter.

This is easily the Goldilocks of XC bikes I’ve built. Maybe next year I’ll be raving about something totally different, but for now, nothing’s missing. This bike absolutely rips.