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Banshee Titan LT 29er 2020

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#843 ·
Craig had all the necessary parts to build the shock up for me, he added his custom tune/ parts. From what I understood at the time, he didn't stock the shock, but had the stock Zocchi parts to build the chassis & add his pieces for Avy tune.
 
#844 · (Edited)
I just have to say how good this bike is. Returning from a trip to Pamporovo, Bulgaria where the last IXS Downhill series was held and this bike handled everything like a beast. I am 180 cm and ride a size L, with a 160 fork. Unfortunately I forgot to switch to the longer dropouts. This bike with the longer setup and a 180 fork will totally destroy a pure dh track except world cup level courses.
1944318
 
#847 ·
Yes, Dirt Wizard 29 x 3.0 front with 27.5 x 2.8" DHR rear. Rode briefly with a 29 x 2.8 Vigilante rear the day before, but that tire is a slow/ heavy beast. Might try a 29 x 2.8 Recon in the future, but for now prefer the mullet setup.
 
#850 ·
jncarpenter said:
Craig had all the necessary parts to build the shock up for me, he added his custom tune/ parts. From what I understood at the time, he didn't stock the shock, but had the stock Zocchi parts to build the chassis & add his pieces for Avy tune.
Click to expand...
Hopefully he comes up with something for the new DHX at some point. Since it's a monotube similar to the bomber but with a climb switch ect.
 
#851 ·
Anyone running an offset headset, angleset, etc. ? I have a 180 air shaft for the zeb and an CC angleset set. not sure if I should try the angleset with the 170 first. OR do both the 180 and the anglest, OR if I should get one of those wolf tooth headsets because they are supposed to not add to stack height and then the 180mm??

Outside up and down the street once, I've only rode the titan as a mullet and never measured the frame angles I'm at. I should probably do that first...? :) AND I guess I should probably try full 29 before doing anything with the front too... for sure I'm gonna try adding a token or 2 to the fork. Back end is great though...

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#852 ·
Yeah watch the stack height as it's definitely on the high end to start with, but it's made me rethink a lot of my other bikes positioning now because of how good it feels, but I feel like 170 front with the mullet rear that I'm on is probably the limit before things start changing for the worse. I've seen a lot of other Titan owners go 160 front with full 29 and love it. Experimenting is fun so report back what you do and how it feels. Cheers!
 
#853 ·
I’ve ridden mine with a 36 at 160 and a Zeb at 170 and 180. A2C on the Zeb is longer than the 36 for a given travel. The Zeb was a huge improvement in all ways: performance and geometry.

I didn’t really mind the 180, and there are some trails I’d prefer it, but not for the bulk of my riding. 170 does feel a little better balanced.
 
#854 ·
stiingya said:
Anyone running an offset headset, angleset, etc. ? I have a 180 air shaft for the zeb and an CC angleset set. not sure if I should try the angleset with the 170 first. OR do both the 180 and the anglest, OR if I should get one of those wolf tooth headsets because they are supposed to not add to stack height and then the 180mm??

Outside up and down the street once, I've only rode the titan as a mullet and never measured the frame angles I'm at. I should probably do that first...? :) AND I guess I should probably try full 29 before doing anything with the front too... for sure I'm gonna try adding a token or 2 to the fork. Back end is great though...
Click to expand...
I just installed a Wolf Tooth GeoShift headset myself, the appeal being that the slacker head angle will actually lower the BB a little bit. I'm rocking a 170mm Ohlins RXF36 m.2, which has a taller stack than the comparable Fox/Rockshox offerings...not totally sure about the Zeb though. I don't have any ride time on it just yet, but will be in Whistler this weekend so should be able to give a good shakedown.
 
#855 ·
I checked out a geo calculator and my mullet set up with the 170 zeb I should have about a 63.4HTA already. And I lost about 13mm of reach which explains why I ended up with a 50mm stem!

The lower cup I have for the aheadset looks to add about 10mm under the HT which only really knocks off a half a degree and doesn't regain as much reach. So not sure about trying it yet. I have a -1.5 lower cup too, but gonna keep working with the geo calculator and then go measure some angles and see if it's telling me the truth before I do anything else! :()
 
#856 ·
Thought I would also put a short review here. Been riding the Titan for a few months now, with 2 different forks and 3 different shocks. This included a week in Finale Ligure and three recent weeks of dry, steep and rocky/rooty trails in the western alps.
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:poop:
Slight mud in Finale

I switched over almost everything from my size M GG Smash (alu), but needed a new shock of course. This was a bit of a saga, but a DVO Jade was found for a really good deal and a friend also had a 300lbs light steel spring lying around so that is how I started out. The MRP Ribbon is running a medium spring at 160mm. Shortly tried the soft, which would be recommended for my weight (about 70kg plus backpack with water) but it was way too soft.
Traction with the coil is great and the basetune works well. Sag seems to work, but I want to try a 325/350 spring as well. Too bad a Sprindex doesn't exist in that stroke length/weight.
The dials have a ton of positions, so I would need to go and count clicks. But compression ist probably pretty wide open and I can not discern notable differences when closing HSC/LSC a few clicks. Only problem is that the pretty fat reservoir rubs ever so slightly in berms.

So I went to look for air shocks and got a cheap Suntour TriAir. Unfortunately one of the previous owner had really abused the shock, so I had to rebuilt it with a new shaft and main piston.
Rode it for one ride, but have to test it further.

Got a good deal on a Mezzer and a Mara Pro and switched to full Manitou just before the 3 weeks trip. Had to get a shorter reservoir for the Mara Pro, but works pretty well as it sits now.
I feel like there is quite some beginning stroke harshness, but that might be due to the shock design which gives a rather low sag. Compression is open and RBD almost. Currently running the Kingcan with max volume, with the progressivity of the frame I seem to find bottom very rarely.
Fork is great (running it at 160 atm) but I will need to speed ub the RBD, running it fully open and still too slow.

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What amazes me the most is the awesome climbing traction, this thing literally goes up everywhere my legs let me. Also really stable in corners, switchbacks are fine as well with some nosepicking.
 

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#857 ·
stiingya said:
I checked out a geo calculator and my mullet set up with the 170 zeb I should have about a 63.4HTA already. And I lost about 13mm of reach which explains why I ended up with a 50mm stem!

The lower cup I have for the aheadset looks to add about 10mm under the HT which only really knocks off a half a degree and doesn't regain as much reach. So not sure about trying it yet. I have a -1.5 lower cup too, but gonna keep working with the geo calculator and then go measure some angles and see if it's telling me the truth before I do anything else! :()
Click to expand...
I have a Works -1.0 Angleset in my XL titan, full 29 setup in low position, 160mm Zeb (the a-c length is around what the titan was designed for so stuck with 160). I didn't dislike the titan at it's stock setting, i felt it was very capable and versatile, but man, putting the slacker headset in made it perfect. Ive been riding it this way since mid-may and i feel like ive put enough time on it to give feedback...

Watching the pb field-test video the other day, i remember them saying that the geo of the transition combined with the suspension of the WAO would be an unreal bike. In my opinion, the titan with an angleset is very close to that, you could maybe go slacker to -1.5 but as is i've measured the head angle at 63.6 degrees, wheelbase is around 1310mm, and as many of us know, the rear suspension works very well on these. It still feels versatile and fun on less demanding terrain when you have to, but if you're on your game, it'll haul at some hairy speeds. I do feel like it is not as fast on certain trails where you can't open up corners quite as much as something with a shorter wheelbase, but those tend to be on trails with less demanding terrain anyways, where i'm more likely to ride my phantom. I was initially unsure that the titan even needed an angleset, but i would suggest this upgrade to anyone who has a titan and anyone looking to buy one.
 
#859 ·
Just finished reading through all this bike gold of a thread, trying to process which direction to go. I’m 6-2” and on an old (2012) Niner rip 9, any bike is going to be a HUGE upgrade for me pretty much… excited to get to Sea otter this year and hopefully look and feel some Ba she’s in person. I’m thinking a L for me. Has anybody had experience from ordering a frame from recycledmountainracing.com? They seem to have some frames in stock for now.. I’ve never heard them brought up much as a reseller. I’m familiar with Dirt Merchant but they are out of stock… loving all the tech info and knowledge from you all! Thank you for contributing!
Alex
 
#860 ·
I've posted above, but I'm 6'3" riding a large. I'm on the cusp between sizes, but I generally feel more comfortable on a large due to having short legs for my height and preference for an upright position. My previous frame was an XL and I never bonded with that bike. Whether it was too large to be comfortable, whether it was some personal headspace issues that kept me from finding the joy in riding, or if it was just that the 5.5c wasn't that great a bike, I'm not sure. Maybe a bit of all of that. Other than that frame, most of my previous bikes have been larges, although those dimensions have changed over the years.

I added a little length to the cockpit with a 50mm stem, and it feels great to me. I don't think I'd want the XL. It's still the longest wheelbase I've ridden, so it's very stable without being a handful. This is the current configuration, with a Zeb at 170mm and the regular chainstays in the slack position. I have a 200mm PNW dropper.

I had a couple park days when I might have appreciated a 180mm fork, but for the most part I think 170 is the best choice for my use.

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