First Impressions: Yeti ARC Hardtail

As a brand, Yeti has its finger on the pulse: Its entire lineup of bikes have definitively modern geometries. So when I was looking at the numbers of the ARC, I was a bit surprised it wasn’t longer, lower, steeper, slacker, or, in less vague words, trendier. After talking to the folks over at Yeti, however, they were clear that the numbers they chose were very deliberate. Yeti chose a more neutral geometry for the ARC because it’s a hardtail, and thus wanted its ride characteristics to be more balanced, and, in turn, or at least in theory, make it very predictable over all types of terrain. 

Before I delve into how the Yeti ARC performed for me, I’d like to note just how good I think this bike looks: It’s a work of art that lets its lines speak for itself, unadulterated by garish logos. Seriously, by looks alone, this bike is a winner. 

Ok, that bit of vanity out of the way, on to the ride:

Climbing on the ARC is a pleasure all around. On fireroads, with the ARC’s up-friendly seat-angle (76-degrees), hardtail efficiency, and reasonably light 25ish-pound (with pedals) weight, it is an almost involuntary reaction to put power down to the cranks and test the capacity of my lungs. And when the ascent turns tech-y and trials-esque, the ARC’s stable stance makes balance easy, and the voluminous Maxxis Rekon dredge up traction on even the slickest, stair-steppiest roots and rocks.  

The bottom-bracket height of the ARC is quite low, at 310 millimeters, so pedaling through rock gardens requires a bit of care to minimize crank strikes. I’d definitely opt for crank end protectors if this was my full-time rig.

On smooth, swooping ‘flow’ trails, the ARC is an unstoppable force. The harder and faster the Yeti is flogged on these types of trails, the more comfortable it seems. It clings to corners and powers out of them with absolute authority. There were a few times in high-speed flat or off-camber corners that I felt like the front tire would push out a bit, but I think this is because I’ve gotten used to the longer-reach, forward-weighted bias of modern full-suspension rigs. I’m also still getting used to some of the ride characteristics of the Yeti ARC, and still dialing it in a bit. I have a strong hunch that dropping the stem down a spacer would remedy this feeling for me, but haven’t had a chance to test this yet. 

While smoother trails are the ARC’s bread-and-butter, the bike is no slouch when the trail turns turbulent. The aforementioned more-neutral geo numbers indeed makes it easy to keep an even front-to-back balance on the bike, which, in turn, helps prevent the rear wheel from getting bucked off line in burlier sections of trail. It is still a hardtail, so line choice and fluidity in nastier sections of trail is still going to be a key to success, but this bike can certainly hold its own in terrain a lot gnarlier than the 130-millimeter fork suggests that it should.

Sure, a lot of the ARC’s well-rounded prowess comes from its geometry, but that’s not the whole story here: The parts that Yeti chose to hang on the frame are equally important. The burly 2.6-inch tires find traction in every condition I can throw at them—from sugary-soft sand to wet, slimy roots—and the 50-millimeter long stem and reasonably wide (760 millimeter) bars matched the purpose of the bike as well. On paper, I thought I’d want to see a bit of a burlier fork, but in reality the Fox 34 never really felt under-gunned, and matched the overall attitude and aptitude of the bike well. The water bottle placement, something I rarely think about, is placed really far down the downtube—this helps keep the bikes center of gravity low, which theoretically helps with the overall ride quality of the ARC, but definitely takes a bit of extra reaching to grab a bottle on the fly.

Another thing I quite liked about the ARC is just how quiet it is. There is virtually no cable rattle thanks to secure fittings for the internal cable routing, and the bumpy chainstay guards absolutely mute chain slap. It’s a singlespeed level of quiet, without having to ride a singlespeed.   

The ARC does come with a bit of sticker shock. Though it's not quite the limited-edition Anniversary build, the T2 Turq build I’m riding will set you back $5,700, which is, well, a lot of money for a hardtail. But it’s a really nice-riding hardtail, and the parts hanging from it are top-notch, so taking that into account, it’s really not too out-there. The Turq-series frames weigh in a hair under 3 pounds (claimed), and is impressively stout feeling. And if you’re looking to buy a carbon hardtail, you probably know you want a hardtail, it’s probably going to be a primary bike, and you’re probably expecting to drop some coin.

Even though I’m still in the early honeymoon phase of riding the ARC, I can confidently say that it is the most well-rounded hardtail I’ve had the pleasure of swinging a leg over. It can easily go toe-to-toe with most full-suspension trail or “down-country” bikes on the market on ups, downs, or flats. And if a hardtail is your thing, the ARC, from my initial impressions, is a sure thing.

Check out the rest of the ARC lineup at yeticycles.com/arc