Yeti ASR 5 carbon vs Santa Cruz Blur LTc

Both seem like great bikes. The Santa Cruz will end up being much more expensive.  Not that I can really afford either.

I'm a strong but aging rider. I love to climb but on technical riding I could use some help.

Thoughts? Any other bikes that I should be considering?

 I'd have expected the Yeti would cost more. 

Are your climbs tech, or is it more of a climb the fireroad, descend the singletrack type of deal? What are you riding now and what do you like/dislike about it? Have you tried either the Yeti or the SC already?

Most of my riding is in Marin County north of San Francisco. And just as you said it tends to be climbing on fire roads and descents on single track. I only ride medium technical stuff and don't really ride mega technical stuff. If you know Marin, Tamarancho is about as intense as I get.

For the last year I've been riding an Air Nine by Niner. It's a hard tail and barely over 20 lbs. It's a fantastic bike and great climber, but I've got a back that is getting beat up by all the pounding. I also have a Santa Cruz Superlight but haven't ridden it since I bought the Niner.

I'm hoping that a full suspension bike will be kinder on my body.

Oh and I was guessing the Yeti would be cheaper but I could be wrong, they don't have pricing on their website.

 I think the bikes geometry is a huge factor in the comfort dept, so make sure you get to test ride a few bikes. For me gemoetry was deal breaker on the Blur LT. The short toptube made it feel like my spine was going to snap in two, but for others, it may be ideal.

I'll just throw a few options out there to go with what you are already looking at.

Specialized Stumpjumper FSR - I think the Brain suspension is well suited to riding where you do. It locks itself out on those long smooth climbs and then turns itself on without you having to remember to flip a switch or anything. I think that Maestro DW or VPP suspension is better, but this is good too, and IMHO it's made with your kind of riding in mind.

Giant TranceX and AnthemX - two great but different bikes.. Maestro suspension is very active, so traction is great, it will feel very un-hardtail at first, so I think it can be disconcerting on a test ride, but I'm very happy with my TX, the AX may be a better bike for your riding, but see which one fits better, the TX has more relaxed geometry while the AX is a race bike.

Intense Tracer VP - awesome bike, same suspension as Blur LTc, but handmade in California and with different geometry. You can spend a fortune on a custom build or you can get a complete with SLX, your call.

Having never ridden either but I have ridden a 575(same suspension and still pretty light) and Santa Cruz Nomad(again the Lts bigger brother) the Nomad had the better feeling suspension with the yeti being a better climber for smooth stuff/standing.

Other bikes you should should look at as follows. I have ridden these all.

Pivot Mach 5 - simply put the best bikes on the market they are pricey but worht it for stiffness and the way the bearings are laid out. they aint carbon, but the frame weight includes the headset, BB, and front derail, so when you see what you think is a heave frame it is not.

Giant Trance X - the best bang for the buck in the bike world today. very much like the pivot but with slightly less stiff frame, with suspension bearing that dont hold up as good. Its is 800 bucks cheaper than the pivot though so that could be the deciding factor.

both the above bike use DW link which has many advantages but to be honest on smooth california singletrack and fireroads they might feel kinda of wallowly especailly if you like to stand and hammer. The progressive rate suspension tends to feel bottomless and has really good small bump complaince.  If you like to climb seated though pic one of the 2 above.

Intense Tracer VP - the main advantages to this bike over the 2 above are this. Its regressive rate VPP suspension tends to create a platform up high in the rear making it climb (smooth) fireroads better for someone who like to stand compared to the other 2. The disadvantage is this - it can tend to bottom out quickly and doesnt have the small bump complaince of the Pivot or Giant. The Blur LT will be closest to this bike and has the same advantage and disadvantages.