[snojcb]

Is a Yeti 575 a good bike for the new Wolf Laurel lift-access park and Sugar mountain?

I've been an XC rider living near Raleigh for 15 years. Last Fall some friends took me to Snowshoe. WOW! I'm hooked! I'm selling my 8 year-old 100mm travel bike and want to buy a 6" travel AM rig.

I'll use the bike 2 or 3 days a week in the Piedmont of NC doing XC. I'll take one or two trips a year to Tsali/Pisgah. I'm pretty sure a 6" travel AM bike (Yeti 575, Spec Enduro, Giant Reign, etc...) would be perfect for all that.

I'll also take the bike to Wolf Laurel and Sugar Mtn. The 6" AM bike should do well there, too, right? I've never riden there, so I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

I'm also assuming that the 575 would NOT do well at Snowshoe. So I'd likely rent a FR or DH bike for those trips.

I don't want this to be a "which bike is best" thread. I've made up my mind to get a Yeti 575, but I want to confirm that it'll do what I want before I fork over the $$$.

Thanks,
J. C.

 

[CLos]

I have never ridden a Yeti 575 and no one has yet officially ridden the 26 West Bike Park near Wolf. I have ridden Snowshoe and Sugar many times though and since you have been to Snowshoe I would say expect the same type of rugged terrain. You probably could pick your way down the MTN on an AM bike but you would have more fun on a FR or DH rig.

 

[JohnBoy]

Yeah like C-Los said, you may be able to pick your way down the mountain, unless your at an x-pert DH level cause, I know guys that would whoop my azz down any mountain on a 5'6" travel bike. Anyway, point being yeah you could ride those places on that bike, but do you want to pick your way down or rip your way down the mountain? Sounds like an easy choice to me.

CLos, 5 days buddy!! Give me a hollar when you fellas head out, hopefully the weather stays how they are showing it now, 3 sunny days!!! Cant wait!

 

[manimal]

i haven't ridden sugar since i switched from a demo to a bottlerocket but i did race massanutten last week and i can tell you this much....a full on FR/DH rig is definitely a lot easier on the big stuff but my BR handled the monster rocks at massanutten with confidence...i just had to be more choosy on my lines.
i switched from the demo for about the same reasons you are upgrading from a XC machine. i didn't need a dedicated DH rig for 80% of the riding i do so i got the BR which is designed for what i do most of the time yet can still get me down the big mountain in one piece. you should be fine on a 6" rig

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

All you need is front drl., single roller chain guide with bash guard, and a long seat post.

I ride an SX-Trail at 6.7in. with that set up. You can ride pretty much anything like that.

 

[brungeman]

I rode my 575 for a season and a half (about 5 trips) with just a heavier set of wheels and DH tires on it. I set my Talus to 140mm slowed up the rebound a tad, and let'r rip!

My 575 was my do-all untill I got my AS-X as a DH/FR bike. Then I got a lighter set of wheels and just use my 575 as my XC bike. Since riding SS on it, there isn't much in our area that I don't feel comfortable riding on it... it climbs like a goat, and feels great on XC and light FR/DH stuff! Heck untill I got my AS-X I didn't know any better and didn't know how much the geometry on a DH bike helps when rippin the DH runs.

the 575 is a great all around bike... I wouldn't get it however if you were going to spend 50% of the time XC riding and 50% DH'n... bite the bullit, save up and buy purpose specific bikes at that point!