The nicest 29er I’ve ever seen… looks to good to actually be one!

http://fcdn.mtbr.com/attachments/banshee-bikes/885025d1397372725-lets-speculate-about-new-banshee-29er-phantom-2.jpg

Like all banshee’s it will ride with the feel of endless travel so I’d say it does qualify..if I was looking for a 29er this would be it

Banshee phantom…..

This is when I first built it up its now got back wheels, dropper and 35mm stem

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If this is gonna be your only bike go for the rune. If you have access to a dh bike go for the spitfire. I rode my spitfire at falkland bike park which has some big drops and gaps and although it handled it I did wish I was riding my dh bike. I’ve ridden my spitfire at innerliethen and its coped well again there were times when I wished I was on my dh bike but for most of it the spififre felt good.
So what I saying is you know what kind of trails you want to be riding, if there going to be big dh trails with jumps drops etc and you have no dh bike go rune, if they are mellower small jumps nd drops or you have a big bike go spitfire. If your ever at glentress or inners when you come to Edinburgh you can try my spitfire if you want.

Slow down rebound and take your time practicing jumps on your new bike. Spend an hour on the jumps at glentress and you should adapt quickly enough, that is if you could jump properly to start with!

Like I said on paper it may appear to be heavy compared to other options but at the end of the day we’re talking about 4lbs here.. take a big shit before you ride and stay of the cake at the end of the ride and the 4lb will disappear. If I told someone my bike weighed 28lb and they rode it I really doubt they would be able to tell it weighed 32lb. It really pedals very well, mine is built with old van 36 coils and a ccdb air and a chainguide and dropper post. On mtbr most builds seem to be sub 30lb.

Thanks for the offer but 150mm 26 pikes lower the bike to much, I rode mine with some sektors, when my 36s we’re getting serviced and it felt to low. The 150 650b pikes have the same a2c as the van 36’s.

BB is threaded.
Mine is a burly build don’t know the exact weight but I’d say its about 32lb based on other builds with the same spec, however, I wouldn’t worry to much about the weight because when riding it, it pedals so well. Everybody seems to get so concerned with the weight of a bike, I think its more about how it rides rather than how heavy it is on paper, plus a few years ago 32lb was considered light. I find it funny when I read about people who say they wouldn’t want to pedal a 32lb full sus bike around all day, what are their legs made of twigs?
The spitfire is marketed as a downhillers trail bike and as such is a solid frame that can be ridden hard, for the riding I do I’m not sure i’d want it much lighter, I could save 1lb with a new fork and maybe 1/2lb if I loose the chain guide.

I’m gonna change my fork soon and probably go for a 150mm 650b pike. I will continue to use 26 wheels and but may change in time as you can squeeze a 650b in with the 26 dropouts as long as you don’t use massive volume tires.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-Jack-Fogelquist-Back-Home-at-Banshee-2014.html

The start of this video shows you what the spitfire can handle…..

I have been riding a spitfire v2 for over a year now and love it I wouldn’t really say that there is a lot between both the rune and the spitfire it really depends on how you choose to build them up. Obviously the rune can withstand some bigger hits, however I have built my spitfire with fox van 36 and ccdb and it is a solid bike. At your weight I’d say go for the spitfire because you’ll get the climbing benefits and it will still hold up to some serious downhill. I weigh 14 st and have had no issues jumping the bike you just have to make sure you don’t case the landings (this applies to most trail frames though). I only have the ccdb and if I’m climbing for prolonged periods I add 2 clicks of both low speed rebound and compression which is essentially what the climb switch is doing and this creates a firmer pedalling platform.

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Ignore my jumping face!

I bought an audio pro all room managed to get it with 30% off so it was a good deal. All you need is a phone, iPad or computer to stream music and the sound is amazing, what hifi gave it 5 stars.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/audio-pro-allroom-air-one

http://www.audiopro.com/products/allroom-air-one

I don’t think any banshee fits into the bracket of a noodle. Im 14st and been riding a spitfire v2 for a year now with no noticeable flex, i ride my bike hard on drops jumps etc the only time it feels out of its depth is full on dh trails.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cotic-Bfe-19-mountainbike-/121301324518

I use an x tools one and it solid, can hold my dh bike no problem. Clamps are very good and easy to adjust.
Chain reaction selling it for £70

I’ve also got a slackline and I seem to spend more time on it than my spitfire v2…both are incredibly good fun to ride though!

The 4x can only take a single up front don’t know about hammerschmidt. I rode 1×9 and you get used to climbing like that pretty quick, you build strong legs fast. I rode my 09 with a crack like that either side of the shock mount and I was riding the bike hard. The crack only developed into the first three beads of weld and there was about 20 either side. I spoke to someone about getting it fixed and he said it could be done. It depends how heavy you are and how hard your gonna ride it.

There is 2 on pink bike now a black and green one and it has the same crack as the one I had, I stripped the paint back and it was the weld that cracked but it was only on the 1st bead. Then there is 2012 blue one you can see the difference in the welds.

If you go for a 4x make sure it’s after 2010. I had a 2007 which cracked and was replaced with a 2009 which cracked and was replaced with 2011 which was solid.. Luckily all under warranty! After the problems in 2009 they changed manufacturers and the difference was really noticeable the welds were a lot stronger and the swingarm was reinforced. The 2 earlier frames cracked at the shock mount but the new 2011frame had a lot more weld round the mount.

I did decide to ride my 09 for a year after I noticed the cracks and they never really developed into anything worse, I was using the frame for jumps drops and dh so it was getting ridden hard. I chanced the warranty and got lucky as it was outside the period.

I just sold the frame in December for £500 and it was in excellent condition I figured I got lucky with the warranty and had had a good time riding these frames so was happy for someone to get a bargain. If you going for one stay away from pre 2010

Commencal hip hop… I had a meta 4x and it was a brilliant frame as long as your not over 6ft you’ll fit one and they climb really well. This hip hop looks like brilliant frame if I hadn’t bought a banshee spitfire v2 I’d have gone for this, also look at gt distortion.

5’8 and ride a medium with a 35mm stem, I used to ride with a 50mm stem but swapped to the 35mm and prefer it. I have had a year on this frame and very happy with the medium. Check out mtbr banshee forum loads of info. There’s a guy on there user name nostyle he was getting a frame the same time as I was and he was about 5’10 and went with a medium but has swapped the frame for a large.. Would be worth messaging him for advice.

http://forums.mtbr.com/banshee-bikes/2013-spitfire-802889-49.html

I live 2 mins from this pub, pass it everyday on the way home, still finding the whole thing pretty surreal, my thoughts go out to all involved. I hear the helicopters most nights but last night I heard what I can only describe as a really low flying aircraft but thought nothing more about it till I got a phone call from my mum asking if we were safe….. The Clutha is a tiny pub but its always rammed shoulder to shoulder, I can’t believe how it fell out the sky on top of it, it is the most concentrated volume of people in such a small area. There are flats and hotels near by but that pub would have been mobbed. There is a massive car park almost across the road , there is the river right next to it, glasgow green 100 yards away and even outside the pub there is a big box junction. It’s insane it hit the pub with all the people and not one of the more open spaces right next to it!

I have had this frame since jan and it is a lot of fun, I have built it fairly strong and it can handle most trails apart from full on dh. The cane creek is easy to set up I have 2 setting one for climbing and one for descending, if I was to buy again I would get the new DBair cs, as the cs switch adds some low speed rebound and compression which is essentially what I do when I want to climb. This bike climbs really nicely given the fox van 36 and the DBair, and it descends like my dh bike with less travel. It feels really stable at speed, however the short chainstays allow it to retain a lively nimble feel.
I was worried that it would be too long as I was used to a small meta 4x, though after 1 ride I knew this bike was gonna be fun. It jumps well and is balanced in the air, it took me a few rides to sort out my weight but once I found its sweet spot I couldn’t believe how much speed it could carry through corners…

I don’t think you would go wrong with any of the current offerings on the market today, I think I will be keeping this one for a good few years ( 650b option is also good I might try it next year to see what all the fuss is about).

If your interested email Keith the designer he is really helpful and responds to emails quickly with impartial advice.

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The rebound was 70 and the firm spring was 40… but that was a few years ago!

Speak to loco he will supply all the bits and tell you how to do it. I followed the online lower leg service instructions and it was easy enough to do. Once the lower legs are off you undo a circlip and the rebound cartridge pops out and just put the new one in and reinstall the circlip job done. You need to transfer the small spring over to the new rebound aswell.

I have a set of sektors used them on my meta 4x and now with a stanton slackline for pretty much the same riding you describe. I swapped the rebound for the dual flow from a set of revelations and it transformed them. Also got a heavier spring as they used to sit to far in their travel. These are 2 really easy mods now I basically have a coil revelation and its a real good fork! The upgrade is simple email loco before you sell them he’ll tell you how to do it.

I went from a small Meta 4x top tube 559mm to a medium banshee spitfire top tube 595mm. I used a 50mm on the 4x and have just swapped at 50mm stem to a 35mm on the spitfire.
I was worried about jumping and moving the bike around after being used to such a small frame, but after a few rides you adapt to the different geometry. I ride all the same trails and jumps as I did on the 4x except I ride them faster on the spitfire. The only place it wouldn’t be as good would be a bmx track!

I would give it a go….making delicious bread from just flour, water, salt and a starter you’ve made yourself is really satisfying!

Some rye, wholemeal, plain flour mix.

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Aye always wrapped up never feel cold… I think I need to get a lot more miles in on my bike, I’m definitely not bike fit at the moment but I tend to ride like I am. I’m gonna take the training serious over the winter and get ready for Scottish enduro series next year.

That’s sounds about right had a lot of time off the bike this summer and then just been riding as normal…. Need to start training.

Wtb i23 tubeless

Ha I can build a wooden shed on the back for 200quid, it would probably fall down within a day though… I’m gonna go speak to others on the street and see what they’ve spent. I know nothing about this kind of thing I’m way out my comfort zone here…. Me and DIY are not friends! I’m a baker to trade and have no previous experience of any kind of building work!

Thanks for the answers, I don’t own the house. It has easy access down one side and is located in Glasgow. I understand there we loads of variables, was just looking for a rough estimate to see if I could afford to buy and extend the house at the same time. I’m gonna speak to some other people on the street cause they all seem to have either built up in to the loft or extended out the back or both.

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Just built this up for the winter…. Homade chainguide has been replaced as it only lasted 1 ride!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/my-new-bike-19

I use a 1 1/8th steerer in a tapered headtube with a reducer headset no problems so far.

I wouldn’t judge a book by its cover with reference to the spitfire v2, I demoed a lot of bikes including the bandit, bandit 29, covert, five, blood, pivot 5.7, pivot firebird. For my riding I wanted 140mm rear and the ability to use 160mm forks cause I had some old parts I wanted to use. The spitfire is long, slack but has short chainstays so it feels stable at speed but is playful and nimble. It really depends what you are looking for if you ride loads of dh and don’t have a dh bike go for covert or rune. If you want something for trail riding that can handle a beating I would go spitfire every time. Yesterday I rode the inners uplift on my spitfire and it felt pretty good, obviously its not as quick or strong as my dh bike, however it didn’t feel out of its depth!
Of course I am totally blinkered and biased by my bike and every other bike is rubbish…..

Banshee spitfire v2

Commencal supreme mini dh…perfect for that riding and it pedals really well..heavy frame though but strong!

I built this frame with a van 36 but I tried it with some rockshox sektor 150mm to see what it rode like… They felt fine but it lowers the front end I would recommend an external lower headset cup if you are going to use a 150mm fork with this frame as it will raise the front end a bit and help with the pedal strikes… I definitely prefer it with a 160 fork suits my riding style more. If the new pike wasn’t so ridiculously over priced I would like to swap my old heavy 36 for one!