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Banshee Tests 650B Downhill & Other Mountain Bikes, Developing 100mm “Trail” 29er

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2014-Banshee-Phantom-100mm-29er-trail-mountain-bike

Banshee is playing around with 650B wheels on a lot of their bikes and developing some entirely new models for the trail and the park.

Above, the Phantom is a new, possibly 2015, 100mm 29er trail bike. Yes, 100mm is short for a trail bike these days, but Banshee’s designer Keith Scott says it gives the suspension you want while still being quick and snappy, feeling as low and lively as their 140mm Spitfire.

So what makes it a trail bike? It has a 67.5° to 68.5° head angle depending on setting, and they may go a bit slacker. That, plus a longish top tube (24.2″ ETT for a large), shortish 17.3″ chainstays and a lowish bottom bracket (13″ to 13.5″) give it a planted, stable feel that’s also easy to pick up and throw around.

2014-Banshee-Phantom-100mm-29er-trail-mountain-bike

2014-Banshee-Phantom-100mm-29er-trail-mountain-bike

2014-Banshee-Darkside-180mm-park-mountain-bike

New Darkside is a 180mm park bike designed to be “playful and fun” going downhill. It’s pedal neutral, which Scott explains to mean it can pedal uphill but it’s really designed to go down.

2014-Banshee-Darkside-180mm-park-mountain-bike

Integrated ODI bar end plugs serve as fork bump stops, so you can color coordinate with their grips.

2014-Banshee-Darkside-180mm-park-mountain-bike

It’s planned around a 8.75″ shock (2.75″ stroke) but you could drop it down to 8.5″ x 2.5″ to lower the whole thing a bit. The pivot axles are oversized, so even though they look narrow they say they’re very stiff for the intended use.

2014-Banshee-Darkside-180mm-park-mountain-bike

All of their bikes use their modular dropout system that lets them easy test different wheel sizes, but also lets anyone swap in 27.5″ wheels onto any of their 26″ bikes right now. The design also has three positions on them to quickly change geometry and height, plus having dropouts for any axle standard. A fresh set of dropouts is about $120 with axle.

The Darkside is in testing now, planned for Spring 2014, but they may do a small run over the winter.

2014-Banshee-Spitfire-mountain-bike

The Spitfire gets refined to drop a bit of weight. It has new forgings on the rear triangle at the yoke, with each side now being a one piece part, and dropouts.

2014-Banshee-Spitfire-mountain-bike

Scott says the one-piece design makes it stiffer, too, and it’s shared on a couple other models.

2014-Banshee-Legend-650B-DH-mountain-bike

They’re also testing 27.5″ wheels on their Legend DH bike.

All models will get a stealth option using a polished black logo over a matte black ano finish, as shown on the Phantom at top of post.

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11 Comments
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JimmyZ
JimmyZ
10 years ago

so do they call it a spitfire v3 now? I want to know because I want one.

Bryan H.
Bryan H.
10 years ago

Sick, sick bikes! I have a Banshee Prime, and my poor Jet 9 hardly sees any love. I’m really lusting after that Darkside, and would like to throw a leg over the Phantom too.

BT
BT
10 years ago

I’m loving my v2 Spitfire…I wonder how much weight is saved with the new bits on the ‘v3’?

Trey R
Trey R
10 years ago

Spitty 650b is where it’s at! Bryan, you need to downsize and have some real fun. :^P

Bryan H.
Bryan H.
10 years ago

@ Trey, you might be right, but I’m not sure the wife will go for it. Let’s plan a Pisgah trip and swap bikes!

Matt
Matt
10 years ago

really like the idea of a 100mm trail 29er. Might be a worthy competitor to the 5″ 26er for big days in the mountains.

Ant'ney
Ant'ney
10 years ago

Am I the only one who remembers the Spooky bikes Darkside??????
I like Banshee, but those Spooky bikes were the shizzle.

Trey R
Trey R
10 years ago

@ Bryan…… I’ll actually be there in 2 hours! 8^O…..

ccolagio
ccolagio
10 years ago

NO other brand has transformed their entire line like banshee has in the past 6 years

F YEAH BANSHEE!

Kristian
Kristian
10 years ago

Will the weight savings also apply for the Rune?

Ripcord
Ripcord
10 years ago

I totally remember the Spooky Darkside. that was a cool bike!

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