Hi,

I am considering buying one 2nd hand 2015/6 age – any opinions / longevity etc, looking at something to offer a difference to my fatty…

Thanks,

Paul

I had a Scout before it was stolen. 2017 model, amazing bike, looked the mutts nuts, so good throwing it down steep loamy tracks….. I follow them on Instagram and if you don’t you should. They’re hugely capable bikes, mine had hope wheels and hubs and I do still miss it but this year’s model was just a bit too expensive for me to stretch to….. My advice, get one haha! Not sure about that year one though

First decide on what travel bike you want!

But this came up ages ago
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/banshee-spitfire-vs-transition-scout

Obviously (as with all bikes) a lot depends on components.

Still got my scout from 2015, can’t see me swapping it any time soon.

Bargain

https://www.merlincycles.com/transition-scout-mountain-bike-2017-106542.html

I had a rune v2 for 2 years before I got my patrol carbon in May. Loved the rune and miss the more thoughtful and better build quality. Bearings were common ones and well sealed to start with. External rooting for all cables apart from seatpost. The patrol annoys me with internal rear brake cable. Bearings are truly awful new (bad seals and no grease). Holes in frame for internal cables, no seal so water gets in. Mainly bad finishing. Lots sorted for 2018 though!

As for riding, both excellent down, I can’t say which is better. I did like the ks link endless feel to suspension, but the patrol I’ve not felt bottom either.
Riding up, the rune wasn’t bad for weight, but the patrol is lighter and makes big days out less tiring. Sprinting is also a little better on the patrol
Not a lot on it really. Preferred the look of the rune, but that’s personal. Too many 4 bar bikes out there making the patrol look too common!

Transition. Seems to be that ones of that vintage are cheap now due to release of the more betterer SBG

In gnarliness they probably go Scout, Spitfire, Patrol, Rune (getting slacker and longer travel).

Buying used, just be aware that the Banshee frames are very stiff and if not perfectly aligned they wear out their shocks. That should always get spotted by the first owner, so ask for photos of the shock stanchion to make sure it isn’t being worn out by side loads.

Love my Spitfire – super versatile, feels way longer travel than it is going downhill but still fun on flatter stuff and good uphill. I really like the adjustable geometry – ride it in neutral most of the time and switch to low/slack for uplift days.

Holes in frame for internal cables, no seal so water gets in.

This is anoying when washing the bike. I pick mine up after and turn it on its side to get the water out.

Snow Paul what size frame you,after? As I’m selling my spitfire as I’m not really able to ride well enough at the min due to tendon issues in my arms/wrists.

I sent for a suppressor over a rune.

I went for the 2016 Scout over the Spitfire as I like bikes with short stays and low BBs. I chose playful over stable as I rarely race enduro and want every ride to be fun, I ride hills more than mountains. The Scout is the most fun MTB I have ever ridden.

Views on Transition scouts / patrols vs Banshee spitfire/rune

think the outcome of this will be you will be happy whichever one you end up with. Only heard good things of the tranny and the spitty is wonderfully versatile.

ps thread needs more pics of choices…!

+1 leggyblonde

My mate is selling a alu patrol frame if there is an interest? Its got a fancy fox x2 shock on it.

I went from a Spitfire to a Patrol.
The Patrol is better at everything and grows you bigger balls.

Love my Spitfire. Far better than the Specialized FSRxc I had before, which is exactly the same as a Patrol 😉

Love my Spitfire. Far better than the Specialized FSRxc I had before, which is exactly the same as a Patrol

?

One of these. Obviously being silly as I’m sure it’s like night and day, but the visual similarity was one of the things that swayed me towards the Spitfire. That and the Spitfire was designed to run 26″ or 27.5″ (was 26″ at the time).

On the plus list for the Patrol was it was a little cheaper (as a frame only) and you can fit a bottle cage in there.

Was running the FSR with a 200x57mm shock and 160mm Lyriks at the time – it was quite capable, really, but QR back end, 1 1/8″ straight head tube etc., and I fancied something new.

I’ve had a Rune which I really liked; it climbed better than it had any right to. It was a lot of bike though, it felt best / happiest on bigger, steeper, nastier terrain which we don’t have an abundance of in the midlands so I sold it for a Ti Stanton.

I’ve now ended up with a 2017 Scout and really really like it. The finishing / quality of mine is fine. It’s a lot of fun to ride and genuinely feels like it had more than 125mm of travel which means it encourages you to chuck it into stuff that a little bike shouldn’t be at hone on. I’ve ditched the Monarch air shock because I thought it was crap and am now running a coil which is loads better. Biggest downside is that it’s not light for its travel. I’d have preferred external cable routing but I hate internal routing. My cables tinged a bit, so they’re now wrapped in the soft part of Velcro and it’s all good.

I swapped from a Five to a Scout and much prefer the Scout. Great for 95% of my riding as don’t really do races anymore, not that I did loads, and mainly ride around the North Yorkshire with the odd uplift. Always felt like my Five was a bit too long and struggled to get over the front and everything swapped straight over to Scout. Same as above too in that I run mine with a coil and find it better suits me. Was looking at the new frames the other day and their all externally routed now, I did the cable heat shrink thing on mine and have had any rattle.

That and the Spitfire was designed to run 26″ or 27.5″ (was 26″ at the time).

why I bought the suppressor.

Last winter – it’s back to a 160mm fork now (was 150 in that pic). And I think it had my skinny 750mm local trails bars on – now I keep the 810s on there all the time.

We’re off to Wind Hill and BPW this weekend – w00T!

Not ridden either of these, but interesting reading as both are on my ‘next bike shortlist’.

Oh and this thread needs more pictures! 😀

Here’s my Scout with its DHC RC4 (just waiting on the Ti spring).

Edit; struggling to post pics on here these days.

Ahhhhh, sussed it.

Take two, here’s my Scout. The shock was brand new and a bargain off eBay (I assume that the seller had bought a few bits from the Mojo stock clearance and was trying to make a few quid). It’s a big improvement over the Monarch but weighs a fair bit more.

No experience with any of the banshee bikes but I was torn between a scout and a patrol. Ended up with a patrol in the end as it wasn’t though the scout would give me a weight advantage and the extra travel of the patrol would come in handy for some of the stuff I ride. Very happy I am with it too 🙂

I’ve no experience of the Banshees, but I suspect they’re very good.

I got a Patrol on the strength of just how much my mate loves his Scout (he doesn’t have to pay for bikes but is tempted to buy his Scout). Both seem to have an element of fun that’s missing from a lot of bikes, they’re really satisfying to ride. Mine’s seen a year of big mountain brutality and the bearings are fine and it’s just SO capable, it’s mad. I’ve stuck a -2 degree headset in it and it lets you get away with murder.

On the strength of the ride of the Patrol I bought a Smuggler for my local trails (the Patrol is a lot of bike – if you’re not riding big stuff, or smooth stuff very very fast, the Scout may be more suitable).

I think it looks pretty good too.

Why can’t I post pictures of my big balls the Patrol has given me?
Using Imgur

I really wanted a Patrol, but couldn’t justify the cost of the frame personally. I suspect on the easy Wednesday night rides it would have been just a bit too much bike to really enjoy it. Went for a Bird Aeris 145 which is ok for that stuff and still flies on the uplift days etc. Also pedals well round the Cwmcarn XC trail stuff.

I guess it comes down to your sort of riding and where you’re going to use the bike. It sounds like the Banshee Spitfire is a good compromise bike out of the options -it’ll take all the stick you can give it, yet isn’t too much bike when you’re not shredding the gnar. Loads of people on here have had really good things to say about the Spitfire.

That said- that green and black Patrol a few posts up just looks amazing ???

Minor thing but no bottle cage in the frame would bug me with banshee bikes

Those friends who have or still do own Banshee Runes have certainly put me off ever owning one

Both had problems with bolts coming loose in the linkage/dropouts (even with correct torquing and threadlocker)

The top hats for the bolts are also way too thin (prone to snapping – again precise torquing needed)

Other mates who own Transition Patrols seem to have few issues. Only negative I can see is the location of the pivot on the seat tube can limit the dropper size you can fit (one mate has a medium frame and can’t run anything larger than 125mm)

The banshee post 2014 has bottle cage mounts under down tube. Not ideal, but get a capped bottle and it works. I didn’t have any probs with my rune. Rock solid it was.

I had a little bit of play in one pivot when the Spitfire was a few months old – a clean and regrease sorted that and it’s been problem free since. Coming round to its 4th birthday, done over 3000 miles.

On its third set of bearings (the latest ones have been packed to bursting with marine grease – will see how long they stay happy!) Regarding the bearings they’re a standard size and with an RRP press it’s a straightforward job swapping them.

In the summer I often ride without a pack and a Fabric cageless bottle under the downtube.

I’ve run it with the long (27.5) and short (26) dropouts. In all thee geometry settings. With 150 and 160mm fork travel. 710, 740, 750, 760, 800 and 810mm bars! Straight headset and -2 deg slackset. All fun, but short back, long fork, huge bars, slackset and neutral or low settings are where I’ve been at for the last year-ish. Trail bike that thinks it’s a DH bike when given the chance!

I’ve had a 2016 rune (geometry changed in 2016, with longer reach and lower BB, same as current model, but without slimmed down hydroformed top tube) for a couple of months and so far and I’m well impressed… pedals and climbs far better than it has any right to, the adjustable geometry and dropouts (ideal for a #26forlife diehard like me) gives it the versatility to shine in the vast majority of situations you’re likely to encounter and it’s burly enough to give my 17st frame the confidence to hit stuff I’d only attack on my DH bike before… that might be down to the wheelbase being longer than any bike I’ve had before (it’s an XL) the added stability means you can go silly fast and still feel in control, whilst giving you more room (and time) to weight correct when you’re drifting.

Did notice one of the pivot bolts was loose when I got it, but loctited and no worries since.

The only decent pic I have (too busy building trails):

And the caption that goes with it:

Just back from maiden voyage on my new (to me) bike, glad to say it’s none too shabby; pedals like an e-bike, descends like a hungry peregrine falcon and drifts like Japan’s finest. Dripping with choice components, highlight is the wheels, with class leading stiffness and acceleration unheard of since 26″ was the norm

Really digging my Spitfire. So capable on the downs for only 140mm.
Only wish it could take a bottle inside the frame.

My Scout, it’s bloody ace, so much fun to ride. It’s been up mountains, round trail centres, raced a couple of Enduro’s, on long days in the hills and takes it all in it’s stride.

The only thing I’d change is the colour, never been keen on the green but looking at getting some over the top graphics/decals/stickers, what ever you want to call them 😀

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Tsnqg5]Up Potato Alley[/url] by Sam Dexter, on Flickr

The only thing I’d change is the colour, never been keen on the green but looking at getting some over the top graphics/decals/stickers, what ever you want to call them

You can remove the green decals with acetone. Quite a few dudes on MTBR have done it.

You can remove the green decals with acetone. Quite a few dudes on MTBR have done it.

I’ve done that with overly decal’d bars – a rare example of a bike maintenance process that’s actually easier than you think it’ll be!

On my second scout, moved up to a nomad after the 1st one and went back to the scout as it’s more fun to ride. Very capable when things get choppy, I smashed a lb carbon rim on my 1st one in the peaks, almost too confidence inspiring…