Yeti ARC C2 review

The Yeti ARC C2 trail hardtail is the entry point to the legendary brand’s line-up, as the cheapest bike featuring its sought-after riveted-on metal head badge.

The ARC name has been in Yeti’s range almost since the brand’s birth, with the first model bearing that name launching in 1992. In its early years, the likes of Missy Giove and Juli Furtado were seen shredding down hills on them.

It has morphed from a cross-country bike into a downcountry/trail bike in more recent times, with this carbon incarnation coming with 130mm Fox 34 forks and fairly fast-rolling Maxxis tyres.

Yeti has always had a reputation for building great-riding bikes and the ARC is no different. On the trail, it’s reactive and agile, making it a hoot to rally through singletracks.

Its deep carbon tubes and bulky junctions might not lead to a super-supple ride, but broad rubber helps keep teeth-chattering to a minimum.

However, with a high price of £4,199 and a spec list that doesn’t compete in the value stakes, it proved hard to give the C2 model a top score.

Yeti ARC C2 frame details

Yeti’s higher-spec, high-modulus Turq carbon is used to build the frame, rather than the C-Series carbon used on other entry-level spec models (the ‘C’ in the name here denotes a spec level).

The tubes flow seamlessly into each other, with broad junctions merging sharp angles and curves in a beautifully aesthetic manner.

The frame’s generously built belly holds a PF92 bottom bracket shell. This setup requires a press-fit bottom bracket, with ‘wide’ Q-factor cranks.

The BB is surrounded by ISCG05 mounts, for those who want to run a chain guide or bash guard.

Cables run internally, with guided tubes within the frame and bolted guide plates. This ensures routing is easy and the bike remains rattle-free.

Continuing this theme, the chainstay is well-protected from chain slap by a thick rubber protector.

Under the BB, there’s a large protector pad to ward off rock strikes and a door to aid dropper cable routing.

There are bottle boss mounts on the top and bottom sides of the down tube, and none on the seat tube, enabling long-drop droppers posts to be fitted easily.

Yeti ARC C2 geometry

The seat tube is pretty short on my size-Large bike, at 450mm, while the reach is a fairly average 465mm. These are combined with 433mm stays, while I measured the head and seat angles at 67 and 76.6 degrees respectively.

None of these figures stand out as being particularly progressive, however they’re on a par with other snappy and agile-handling trail bikes.

Four sizes, from Small to XL, are available, with the reach figures ranging from 420 to 490mm, and seat tube lengths from 380 to 495mm.

Yeti ARC C2 specifications

From a distance, the bike appears to be a sorted machine, but look a bit closer and you’ll see that the ARC doesn’t stack up that well in the value stakes.

The Fox 34 Performance fork delivers 130mm of travel via the basic GRIP damper, while you get a mechanical SRAM GX drivetrain.

Two-piston SRAM Level TL brakes clamp onto 180mm CenterLine rotors with organic pads.

The finishing kit looks better for the cash, with Crankbrothers’ Synthesis Enduro Alloy wheels and OneUp’s dropper post standing out on the spec list.

The enduro-spec wheels suggest Yeti has rowdy intentions for the bike, and according to Crankbrothers’ claimed weights, there’s less than 200g weight difference for the pair.

The dropper has a great reputation for reliability and overall performance, while Crankbrothers’ wheels come with specific front and rear rims and builds, to balance stiffness and strength at the back with comfort at the front. They’re consistently top performers in BikeRadar testing.

When it comes to the tyres, there’s a fast-rolling Maxxis Rekon at the back and a chunkier Maxxis Minion DHF up front. Both are 2.6 inches wide, and both come with the skinnier, but lighter, EXO casing.

All this combines to give a bike weight of 12.1kg for my size Large.

Yeti ARC C2 ride impressions

I tested the ARC on my usual trail bike test loops, as well as a few more mellow options, as part of a test of short-travel downcountry-style hardtails.

The trails ranged from super-flowy woodland singletracks to rooty and rocky descents in the forest. In addition, I gave the bike a rally around my local trail centre.

Setup

Setting up the ARC posed no real issues – the GRIP-damped fork is a simple item. Only the air spring needs inflating to your preferred sag level, before adjusting the rebound damping to get it to bounce back as fast as you like.

I found the suggested pressures pretty accurate, but ended up slightly over the recommendations for my weight.

With broad rims and tyres, I settled on moderately low tyre pressures, in the low-20s (psi). However, I added one or two pounds per square inch to account for the thin EXO carcass, which can be a little puncture-prone.

What pressure you run will depend on your weight, riding style and location.

Yeti ARC C2 climbing performance

With a stiff carbon frame and the Maxxis Rekon at the back, with its low-profile and closely spaced chevron blocks, the ARC has little issue responding to pedal inputs.

Push down on the pedals and you’re rewarded with instant acceleration, with little in the way of lateral flex trying to rob you of speed.

It feels nice and direct, and encourages you to keep jabbing at the pedals to increase speed.

Although we’ve seen other more aggressive trail hardtails with steeper seat angles recently, the ARC proved to be comfortable and efficient-feeling when sat on the saddle, on steep climbs and long drags alike.

Yeti ARC C2 descending performance

When the trail is in full flow, the ARC is a wonderfully fun bike to ride.

While the geometry figures might not jump out, they all work together well. The mid-length reach and 433mm chainstays give the bike a balanced feel, while the 50mm stem and 780mm bar provide the right balance of control-giving width and snappy handling to ensure when the track dips and ducks between trees, the ARC reacts perfectly.

When it comes to ploughing over chunder, the ARC doesn’t have the same springy and supple feel of a svelte steel frame, but neither is it harsh enough to rattle your teeth.

It hits obstacles with a damped thud, with the broad 2.6in rubber and excellent Synthesis wheels no doubt helping the rather solid frame quell the worst of the impacts.

That said, over consecutive rocks and roots, the ARC doesn’t flow quite as well as the smoothest-riding frames.

However, pick up speed, drop the saddle down low and find the steeps, and all is forgotten.

The tyres complement each other well, with the Rekon giving the bike zip, while the Minion digs in and enables you to commit to turns harder than its competitors, leading to a grin-inducing ride.

Squeeze the rear brake and the Rekon’s low-profile tread breaks traction easily. This allows for a hint of playful and exhilarating rear-wheel steering – just take care when the back end snaps round when the wheel is locked.

Watch out, too, for punctures with the thin EXO rubber when you pick fun lines. Tyre inserts or thicker-casing rubber would be a good addition.

For a relatively budget fork, the Performance 34 does a good job at the front – the damper is impressively smooth and the large dial on the top means the lockout is within easy reach.

There’s support from the air spring, too, although I did run the fork with a little over the recommended pressure to keep the front end propped up on steeper terrain.

My biggest disappointment came from the brakes – the two-piston stoppers with organic pads were overwhelmed quickly, even on relatively mellow test tracks.

They get hot, lose power fast and a bike of this ilk deserves punchier brakes – upgrading the stock pads and upping rotor sizes would help, but I don’t think you should be resorting to that on a bike such as this.

Downcountry hardtails | How we tested

This bike was reviewed as part of a round-up of four do-it-all hardtail mountain bikes.

The bikes all had 120 to 130mm of fork travel, with two internationally known brands – Merida and Yeti – providing carbon machines, while two UK-based brands – Mason and Fairlight – supplied their steel frames with a custom build suited to the job.

Some might now call these downcountry bikes, but the reality is they’re simply bikes built for getting on with the job of crossing off-road ground quickly and efficiently.

As such, they were tested on a broad range of tracks and trails, from trail centres to wooded paths, covered during both short blasts and long laps.

Bikes on test

• Fairlight Holt XT
• Mason Raw Deore XT
• Merida Big.Nine TR 8000
• Yeti ARC C2

Yeti ARC C2 bottom line

The ARC is without doubt one of my favourite hardtails to go out and ride, so long as you’re not looking for an XC racer, or one of the most radically shaped offerings suited to a life on steep tracks only.

It’s hilarious fun, can take on longer rides and still rips on short post-work blasts.

However, to gloss over the value issues would be remiss of me. Hardtails costing more than £4,000 shouldn’t have basic forks, poor brakes and thin tyres, and I’d like to see a higher-spec drivetrain, too, for the money.