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Home | Product Reviews | Freeride Full Suspension | Banshee Bikes Wildcard | ||||
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Submitted by
Daniel
from Alberta
Date Reviewed: 5/9/2008 10:11:46 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | Lightweight frame Great Geometry Loves to jump Easy to trick Stiff and strong Comes with Banshee service |
| Weaknesses: | None |
| Similar Products Tried: | TBC Bottlerocket Rocky Mountain Switch Devinci Ollie |
| Bottom Line: | This bike is amazing for 'slopestyle' type riding, it is easy to jump and rotate, and can take the crashes. What suprised me is how well the wildcard handles trail riding compared to my last bike, it is really good at cornering, and the really prgressive feel to the suspension makes it great for general freeriding. I'm absolutely loving this bike! |
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Submitted by
Sicco
a Weekend Warrior
from Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands
Date Reviewed: 5/8/2008 8:07:22 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Winterberg, Germany |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $1700 |
| Purchased At: | www.freeborn.co.uk |
| Strengths: | Everything you can think of. Look's good, feel's good, pedal's good, handle's good, ride's even better!! Perfect geo, very stiff, strong and light frame. |
| Weaknesses: | Perhaps the one(and only) weakness is the paint on the Team model, which scratches easely, but who care's?! Doesn't make the bike ride worse does it, and that's what matters. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized S-work's Enduro '06 |
| Bike Setup: | Lyric 2 Step, Chris King hub's w/ DT Swiss 6.1D Rim's, X9/ X0 drivetrain, RF Atlas Crank, Hope M4 brake's, LG-1 Guide, Roco TST R Air shock. |
| Bottom Line: | Can't be beaten for the money. Yes the 4 bar may be out of date and over-rated, but it's simple, reliable and effective when proper setup it will bring a smile on your face. Wether your pinning some dirt jumps or slamming it down a tight downhill track, this beast can Do It All and come's back begging for more! |
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Submitted by
Chris Hartshorne
a Weekend Warrior
from England
Date Reviewed: 2/13/2008 1:45:38 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | kinver |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $900 |
| Purchased At: | Freeborn England |
| Strengths: | light but very strong great welding excellent geometry to the frame rides fantastic on single track big jumps drops and downhill looks awsome |
| Weaknesses: | i used to have a scream and several other bikes but i dont need them anymore |
| Similar Products Tried: | banshee scream kona stinky santa cruz jackal |
| Bike Setup: | wild card frame 66 rc2x fork white diablous cranks law pedals 729 rims diety stem bar and saddle hayes brakes |
| Bottom Line: | after riding this bike i relise i didnt really need my banshee scream with monster ts i can do 30 foot gap jumps pretty big drops north shore downhill and anything else you could wish to do on a mountain bike with the wild card it really is so versatile you can just have alot of fun on this bike from just messing about to going big its very strong, stif and fast. i really think it is the ultamate do it all fun bike and you cant beat banshee for price or quality. best bike i ever had WELL DONE BANSHEE !!!!!!!!!!! |
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Submitted by
Alan Hepbrun
a Weekend Warrior
from Adelaide
Date Reviewed: 12/14/2007 6:02:02 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | whistlersss |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | -really really light -the frames geo lets the bike sit nice and low taking cornering and pumping to a whole new level, love it. -short cainstay makes it even more nimble and easyer to throw around in the air and on the ground. -strength -the welds are flawless and bike looks super tidy |
| Weaknesses: | none , this ones a beauty. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Banshee chaparral 06 kona stinky delux 04 |
| Bike Setup: | Wildcard (M) frame, fox 36talas RC2, manitou isx6, dt 5.1 rims on hope pro2 hubs, XT cranks, deity seat/bars, Straitline pedals/stem/leavers, Gamut chain guide, avid juicy 5s |
| Bottom Line: | The ultimate slopestyle bike, meaning it will handle the big hits but is also way light enough to throw around in the air or pump through tight dirt jumps. Another point is the acceleration and speed of the bike, its really does feel like a hardtail when putting the power down but the suspension is still there ready to take the hits. bottom line is i love it, perfect for tricks, perfect for all out shredding. |
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Submitted by
Chris Soininen
a Downhiller
from Adelaide, SA, Australia
Date Reviewed: 12/14/2007 5:12:07 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | ANYTHING BIG |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Strengths: | Everything. Surprises in every corner. Expecting a slopestyle bike i got a lightweight comfortable do it all machine. From riding tight dirt jumps, Crankworx slopestyle, big hits to the 100kms of downhill trails in Whistler BC this bike sucked it all up. I was pleasently surprised to see just how well the short rear end of the frame performed. the 5 to 6.5 inch travel adjustment made it a quick and easy change from dirt jump mode to downhill mode offering a very stiff to very soft travel. Lightweight is its middle name. My bike is built up to 16kg on the mark and my friends 14.4kg which is around the 31 ibs mark with room for improvement which is great for the all day rides pushing bikes up mountains. Being light and having such a short rear end also makes it a lot easier and smoother for your 360 and flip style tricks. The first thought stepping onto this bike was hardtail, but softer. IS ONE TOUGH COOKIE |
| Weaknesses: | Still looking, the frame outlasted my forks, rear shock and wheel set. Is not a downhill bike. |
| Bike Setup: | Banshee Wildcard PROTO, Straitline Pedals, Headstem, Brake Leavers and Gamut Chainguide, Deity bars, XT Cranks, Fox36 Talas forks, Manitou isx6 rear shock, Mtx wheels, NS hubs, Avid Juicy5 brakes, Wtb saddle and Maxxis tyres. |
| Bottom Line: | Honestly nothing like i have ridden before. It is the best bike suited to myslelf. I love punching the downhill trails but spend a lot of my time hitting road gaps and dirt jumps. Considering it is not a downhill bike it was a lot smoother through rock gardens then i expected and far better then some of the downhill range leading company bikes. suit all ages as it is strong but light bike. STRONG + LIGHT = RELIABLE FUN [IMG]http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q215/holedigga/coolpicsupermancrankworx.jpg[/IMG] |
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Submitted by
Travis Vincent
a Downhiller
from North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: 12/14/2007 4:53:51 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Strengths: | Very strong frame very stiff laterally lightweight Looks amazing geometry is spot on very comfortable for jumping and steep DH riding stable at speed, yet nimble in corners low BB low standover beautiful CNC machining Great quality welds 5" and 6,5" travel with self adjusting geometry |
| Weaknesses: | Because this bike is so good at every style of riding, I no longer use my DH bike, as this is just as fast, and more fun to ride. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Transition Bottlerocket Specialised SX Trail |
| Bottom Line: | I took a gamble and sold my bottlerocket to get on the new contender to the slopestyle throne, and I won! The wildcard out preforms the bottlerocket in almost every way. It is much much better at high speed rough sections even in the 5" travel setting. I'm not sure why the suspension feels so much more supple on the small bumps and progressive on the big hits, but the Banshee guys have somehow managed to make a magic bike. It jumps very similary to my bittlerocket, so very well in otherwords, and is jst as easy to 360 etc.. very flickable. I also use the wildcard to ride the north shore trails, and rode it in whistler a lot last summer, it is a great trail bike, and feels very accurate on the tech trails. If you only want to ride one bike ever again, get this bike! I'm not sure I will ever ride another bike!? |
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Submitted by
Pavel Schwarz
a Racer
from Budejovice, Czech Republic
Date Reviewed: 11/29/2007 1:01:23 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Spicak |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $1900 |
| Purchased At: | FRbikes.cz |
| Strengths: | Very light weight, but still strong, sexy design and geometry, low BB and short chainstay, 1.5" head tube, 2 travel setting, 5" and 6.5" for diferent riding styles, full length seatube, progresive suspension also good pedaling,ISCG 05 mounts |
| Weaknesses: | Non at all |
| Similar Products Tried: | Banshee Chaparral, Norco six, Scream, only tested: Demo 7, Kona stinky, Howler |
| Bike Setup: | Wildcard size M, RS Domain U-turn 160-115mm, Race Face Evolve DH cranks, Spank Subrosa rims, novatec hubs, Maxxis minion 2.35, deore LX brakes, Spank and Funn components |
| Bottom Line: | Perfect play bike, for slopestyle and freeriding. You can also have a lot of fun on smoother local DH track. Best choice for bikeparks. With 5 inches travel sting is grate for dirt jumping. Its like jump like hardtail but with much more confidence. Its easy to pull all kind of tricks. Tanks to low BB and center of gravity and short chainstai it rails corner like hell. Longer top tube give you stability on huge airs and give you enough space for x-ups, barspins etc. Pedaling very well, with long seatpost and double chain ring it is no problem to make a all day enduro trip. |
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Submitted by
rob cole
a Weekend Warrior
from London, England
Date Reviewed: 11/6/2007 9:47:07 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | esher shore |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $899 |
| Purchased At: | freeborn bikes esher |
| Strengths: | *awesome strength to weight ratio *nicely hydroformed tubing *1.5" head tube for versatility and strength *light enough for trail riding, burly enough for freeride and slopestyle *sweet geometry *2 travel setting, 5" and 6.5" with very different ride feel *suspension works great with air shock *full length seatube at last.... *sweet graphics and paint *suspension pedals very well..even up hills! *good cable routing *ISCG 05 chain device mounts |
| Weaknesses: | none so far... |
| Similar Products Tried: | Scream, Chaparral, Wraith, Ollie, Johnson, Big Hit |
| Bike Setup: | Lyric 2-Step, Cane Creek Double Xc, Thompson 4X stem, EA-70 31.8mm bar, SRAM X-9, Avid Juicy 7 185mm, Saint cranks, E13 STS, Sun Singletracks on Hope Pro2 hubs, Syncros BHT 2.5" tires, Stan's No-Tubes, Syncros Mental alloy pedals = 35lb |
| Bottom Line: | frickin sick! the bike i have waiting years for Banshee to finally make its light, stupidly quick under power yet tough enough to hammer the cr*p out of whether you are an awesome slopestyle rider, or want a mid-travel playbike light enough for trail riding, climbs and serious abuse this is it! good job banshee |
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