Yeti Cycles has been creating a bit of a buzz recently on the Shore, especially with all of the Flowriders - led by the notorious Dangerous Dan - now straddling Yetis.

We here at nsmb thought we would give Yeti's new AS-X freeride bike a test run to see how handles (when it's not being hucked off ridiculously high skinnies).

We still need to put the AS-X through its paces at Sun Peaks and Nelson, but the first couple of rides on the Shore have given a strong first impression of the bike.

Old-school riders may remember Yeti as one of the premiere names of early cross-country mountain biking, with a ton of wins to its credit.

After a couple of ownership changes, the company is back in Colorado and now has a serious freeride bike in the AS-X.

Sporting 6- or 7" of travel in the rear courtesy of a Progressive Fifth Element shock and a 6" Manitou Sherman Breakout up front, the 2003 model has enough travel to be considered Shore worthy.

While the design may look similar to other single-pivot bikes such as the Santa Cruz Bullit, the addition of an extra link at the rear shock is claimed to increase lateral stiffness and make the spring rate more progressive.

One other particularly interesting feature on the new ride is the OnePointFive Standard headtube that can also be fitted with an 1 1/8" steerer.