Banshee Bikes - Sizing and General Opinions

[RBWebb]

This last year alone I demoed/rode numerous bikes and suspension designs (Rip9, Hightower, Bronson, Stumpy 29, etc) in places like the Hogs in Sedona, The Whole Enchilada, Mag 7, and all over Southern/Southwestern Montana and Northern Wyoming. All that being said, I STILL prefer my Phantom. But that’s just my opinion, and opinions are just like assholes.....

Every bike mentioned here kicks ass. Quite frankly, I don’t think ANYONE makes junk anymore. All the shitty companies and bikes have been pretty much weeded out. Buy a bike that fits you and you’re passionate about and THAT will get you in the general ballpark. Then technique and style adapts around your new bike.

if you end up getting a smokin’ deal, that’s just a bonus.......��

[Dantheman]

As one bike, wouldn’t you prefer a patrol?

Patrol seems like it would be too much bike. There was a "Sentinel vs. Patrol" thread a while back where several folks commented that the Scout was way more capable in steep rowdy stuff than they expected. With the geo and the 36 up front I think it will still own the Reign going down despite the modest reduction in travel, but be more fun on mellower stuff than a Patrol/Rune/etc.

[bagtagley]

Good call on the Scout. Stoked for you!

[Dantheman]

Just got to find one I can afford now, and/or save more money. I've got time to do both considering it's January and I'm now looking at 4-6 weeks in a wrist brace [/containing rage]

[grinch]

Patrol seems like it would be too much bike. There was a "Sentinel vs. Patrol" thread a while back where several folks commented that the Scout was way more capable in steep rowdy stuff than they expected. With the geo and the 36 up front I think it will still own the Reign going down despite the modest reduction in travel, but be more fun on mellower stuff than a Patrol/Rune/etc.

Love my scout but it won’t keep up with a reign on the steep gnar. Only said patrol because you were a bit focused on the rune and the rune is in the same ball park as a patrol. Rune is a little more biased toward plow where the patrol will plow but likes to pop. That’s the nice thing about the scout too. It loves to pop off and over stuff but lift the front and the rear will plow through stuff just not as much as a 160 bike. Little more pep in the pedals rather than dh capability

[Dantheman]

The old reign is 150 mm and more like the current trance than the current reign.

[grinch]

The old reign is 150 mm and more like the current trance than the current reign.

Oh ok. I thought a new reign was one of the considerations. Geo on the scout May give it the upper hand over the older reign. Old reign can be a reign sx with a simple shock change(same frame). Reign is 7.875x2 and sx is 7.875x2.25 but old geo is old.
I preferred my scout over the rune most places. Very playful bike. Rune eats it up on the steep gnar though

[grinch]

Just in case your feet get cold

[Dantheman]

That's hilarious.

I was looking hard at the Rune over the Spitfire, because 1) Rune was $400 less; and 2) Geo on the Rune looks better. "Too much bike" was definitely a concern on the Rune, though. The Scout has the Rune's HTA, but with an even lower BB, shorter WB/CS, steeper STA, lower standover and shorter seat tube--all good things IMO. Any one of those individually could be ignored, but not collectively.

[grinch]

Great point. I hadn’t compared the new geo on them . I wouldn’t give the rune any consideration in that case. Spitfire Geo addresses all the things I would’ve changed on my rune. Spitfire actual had/has a similar rep as a scout to a degree. A trail bike that’s built to last but can be thrown into dh situations or bigger jumps. Travel doesn’t eat as much trail up but the durability and angles are more than capable.
Still have to consider steeper sa or is it ok and is banshee bikes a risk. Jensen have a good rep though. Maybe they can answer warrantee questions , if for atleast piece of mind.
Someone started another thread as well “scout vs spitfire”. All the rage it seems
I think I still like Horst link bikes better. New jeffsy or new canyon strive don’t cost much more. More travel the Capra, torque and clash are amazing bikes
Megatrail covers both categories

[s_squatch]

I rode a spitfire for a little less than a year. Was super stoked on how well it pedaled and how fun and poppy it was. Great all around trail bike that could definitely hold its own in some rowdier situations. Until it broke. I'd bought the frame second hand so unfortunately no warranty love from banshee.

[grinch]

I rode a spitfire for a little less than a year. Was super stoked on how well it pedaled and how fun and poppy it was. Great all around trail bike that could definitely hold its own in some rowdier situations. Until it broke. I'd bought the frame second hand so unfortunately no warranty love from banshee.

That should buff right out......

You might want to check with them on crash replacement. They were great with me on a v1 rune that I bought 2nd hand. Told them about a worn pivot concerned I might have had one of those original ones with the misaligned pivots . Turned out it was all good on the alignment but he sent the new improved pivots(complete set) free of charge regardless. The reason I bought the new v2. They’ve gone thru some changes but they may have something laying around. I emailed them. Jon I think was who I dealt with. Aussie dude in warranty when they were in Vancouver

[Dantheman]

I rode a spitfire for a little less than a year. Was super stoked on how well it pedaled and how fun and poppy it was. Great all around trail bike that could definitely hold its own in some rowdier situations. Until it broke. I'd bought the frame second hand so unfortunately no warranty love from banshee.

Yikes!

[RootSkier]

I'm kinda kicking myself for not buying a Release 3 last year before they watered down the build and raised the price. Oh well.

I am having a hard time keeping track of the 2018 v. 2019 DB bikes but you can get the 4c on expertvoice for $2612 right now...

[grinch]

Added fuel to the fire. Dang!! Great price too

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtSGwtsD...=1y2h80yn73uyw

[bagtagley]

Ha, I forgot the big release was today. That's some cheap carbon. I hope they keep making aluminum too, though.

Edit: AL bikes are no-more on the site. Probably a good time to contact them and see if they'll cut a deal on an AL frame.

[bagtagley]

Just now digging into the new stuff from GG. USA made carbon bikes for AL prices is pretty damn impressive. I'm going on the assumption that they ride as well or better than the AL bikes. If that's the case, the shared front triangle and Seatstay Kits are inspired. It's hard not to like those guys.

[grinch]

Yes very nice. I’d be getting it with both stays and two shocks I think. That’s a lot of bike. Great numbers on it regardless of all that

[Glen1978]

Hey man what did you decide on that Jenson Spitfire? Can get 3% cash back thru Active Junky on it at the moment. Im in the same boat as you are. Exact same boat. The parts list on the Spitfire is impressive for the money but the company itself doesnt give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I keep going back to the Scout or GG Shred / MegaT. GG is localish to me so I dont worry about anything with them. Ive had a Transition before so feel good about their bikes. Cant find a bad thing about the Scout. Evo has a 2017 Scout GX build that I would have bought but red turns me WAYYYY off in the color department.

[Dantheman]

I've decided against it for now for a few reasons:

1. Cruising through the Banshee forum on MTBR there's enough broken frames to make me a bit worried regarding both long-term warranty support and my own personal safety. I'm probably making a bigger deal out of this than I should, but I do jump a lot, ride on the faster side of things, and I did crack the original frame on my Reign.

2. Jenson never responded to some questions I emailed them regarding sizing, returns, and warranty support. Just too many unknowns buying something that I couldn't sit on beforehand.

3. My typical rides usually involve long and often steep climbs. I think I would really like a steeper 76+ STA when I'm grunting up Puke Hill, the P-Gulch road at Snowbird, Solitude Summit road, Grizzly Peak, etc.

I think that basically leaves me choosing between Transition and GG, at least for now. If I rode more rolling-type trails and was less concerned about breakage I might have bought one already. I did meet with One (+) Sentence down at Go Ride last Friday and parking lot tested a Mach 6. It felt pretty nice and was damn tempting for the price they're offering it for, but it's a 74* effective STA and their geo chart doesn't list the actual STA.

All that said, Jenson's inventory status doesn't seem to have changed since I started this thread. If spring rolls around and the deal is still going, who knows, maybe.

[Glen1978]

My thoughts pretty much exactly. I can pick up a Transition Scout NX build 2018 SBG new geo for $2400 shipped. Evo has a 2017 Scout old geo GX build for $2800 but I hate red. Im kinda between there and picking up a Megatrail/Shred Dogg frame and building it up. Looking at around $3100 but I will have EVERYTHING I want. Plus the initial sting of $2500 will drop to $1500 then piece it together a few hundo at a time.

[bagtagley]

Jensons online contact form is fucked. If they reply, it’s weeks later saying their system is fucked. Been like that for several months so doesn’t seem like they’re too concerned about fixing it.

[grinch]

I see that gg has a refundable deposit to secure your place in line for a frame as well. Can’t remember how much that was $250 or $450 not sure

[Glen1978]

I still havent pulled the trigger on anything. Looked at a couple of used bikes but spending $2-2500 or so I just want a new one. I cant afford a new GG so they are out. Ill just keep looking for the right deal. So far still nothing new is competing with the Jenson bike spec wise.

[grinch]

I still havent pulled the trigger on anything. Looked at a couple of used bikes but spending $2-2500 or so I just want a new one. I cant afford a new GG so they are out. Ill just keep looking for the right deal. So far still nothing new is competing with the Jenson bike spec wise.

Did you try yt or Commencal or maybe fezari. Should be something in your price range with similar spec