Thinking of building a full sus. I ride hardtail at the mo so looking for something a little different… Was wanting to buy a frame only because I like to tinker and build 🙂 Has anyone got either of the bikes banshee knolly? How do you rate them? Always open to other suggestions I’ve look at the Mondraker dune but with a lot of bikes there isn’t always loads of info out there so always helpful to turn to the singletrack massive 🙂

I’ve just built up a Spitfire and have come from riding a Cove Stiffee prior to that and it’s a great bike. It’s like my Stiffee was in that it puts a grin on my face every time ride it. It’s Not too heavy, is playful and the CCDB shock is the best rear shock I’ve ever had on a bike. It climbs well and the KS link suspension works brilliantly, you do get bob when pedalling even with the climb switch on but it doesn’t sap your energy like some designs can where you get pedal bob.

Check out the mtbr forums as there are 60 odd pages on the Spitfire there if you want to know how good it is 😀

Thanks ultimateweevil I do like the look of the spitfire I’m coming from a hardtail and don’t want to loose anything on the climb but want to gain the fun on descents. Out of curiosity how tall are you and what size did you go for?. I was thinking of upgrading to the crane creek shock. Bit cheeky but could you post pics?

I’m 5’10” and went for the medium and it’s perfect for me with a 50mm stem and 760mm wide bars. Coming from the Stiffee and the Meta 55 it has a longer TT than both but not too long as it feels like I’m over stretched.

I’ll get a couple of pics up later this week once I’m back home.

The CCDB is worth it if your thinking about upgrading from the Fox as it’s by far and away the best rear shock I’ve had on a bike.

Thanks for all the info ultimateweevil going to look for a demo bike 🙂

I’ve had mine since early Feb. Loving it! The worrying thing is that it seems to climb at least as well as my trusty hardtail, which is leaving the latter feeling rather redundant as the Spitfire slaughters it downhill.

It’s 1×10 with a Works 34t thick-thin, SLX double & bash cranks, KMC X10L chain, XT 11-36 cassette, Saint shifter, Zee mech (I run the exact same drivetrain parts on my Soul).
Pike 160mm 27.5 forks, CCDBair-CS shock. Flow EX 27.5 rims on Pro 2 Evo hubs. Tech 3 E4 brakes, 183/160 floating rotors. Gravity Dropper Turbo LP. Scoop saddle. Renthal 50mm stem, Haven Carbon 711mm bars (I’d run wider if my local woods weren’t so tight and twisty). Magic Mary 2.35 SG Trailstar up front, Trail King 2.2 Protection out back.

It might seem a motley collection of parts but they were chosen to be strong enough, light enough, tough/reliable enough and not horribly expensive to keep running – and the relatively high gearing gets me up the climbs quicker. Pikes and CCDBa are brilliant together, so effective and so well matched.

Tiny tabletop!

It’s a medium and I’m 5’10.5″ tall with a 6’2″ armspan (part gibbon!)

Cheers chiefgrooveguru lots of good info nice build. Sounds like a good bike, I’ve been riding a BFe really enjoy it but fancy a change and want something a little different from what my riding buddies have. 🙂

I’ve got an endorphin. See here for commentary:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-did-you-demo-what-did-you-buy/page/2

Thanks ndg I’ll take a look 🙂

Thanks ndg I’ll take a look at your link….

ndg, I wonder what you’d have made of the Spitfire with the 27.5 wheels? I haven’t ridden mine with 26s but a couple of mates have SB66s and my Spitfire feels more unstoppable downhill. Knolly does look cool though!

Can’t say on the 650b side of things, of course Knolly now do the 650b Warden, so there’s another option 😉

Yes I was thinking of going 650b if I build a new bike. Thinking it’s always worth trying something different.