Anyone ride a Banshee Chaparral?

I had a 03 chaparral. I really liked the way that it rode. It was very quick and had great acceleration. It excelled in very tight, technical situations and the thing was super burly and incredibly stiff. I didn't feel any flex in the rear triangle.

Now for the negative stuff. I personally thought it was a little heavy, but that wasn't a dealbreaker by any means. Like everyone says, it rode alot lighter than it's actual weight. The tire clearance I didn't think was so great. I had a Kenda nevegal 2.5 back there and it was tight. It also felt like the rear end extended at times when I would ride over small to medium sized roots at a slow speed. I'm no suspension expert, but my two current rides (turner horst, titus loco-single pivot) don't exhibit this trait. It was not a big deal but it was noticeable.

I had some other nit picky issues with it but that was mainly due to the frame being an XS. I eventually sold it because of that.

Not sure what year you're getting but they've lightened it up since and I think have made some other changes. Hope this helps some.

I've got an 03 Chap which I think is great. Agree it isn't the lightest frame but I chose it wanting a frame that could handle anything when ridden by a big bloke (90 kg+), could handle a big fork (super-t), was designed by riders and I appreciated the 10 year warranty. The tyre clearance isn't great on the 03 but I've just changed to 2.3 Conti tyres, from DH tyres, and it feels good to me, much more lively. There's a great quote in the brilliant Lopes/McCormack book 'Mastering MTB Skills' advocating smaller, lighter tyres; 'To avoid pinch flats, try cleaner lines and smoother riding'.

It's a very lively frame compared to my friends Enduro, feels much more jumpy and fun. Rode great with the Super-T, even uphill, more all-mountain now I've changed to a Z150 although the Super-T is always there waiting for a chance to rock.

I like the 03, the newer models, whilst having better clearance don't have an un-interupted seat tube and I don't think the shock basement forging looks as tidy. I fitted Saint cranks with a bit of filing of the crank arm (thread on here somewhere).

Often browse the web looking for what I'd replace it with but apart from lusting over a BMW I don't think I'd swap it for anything, in fact I think if it ever dies I'll go back to a hard-tail.

Easy now.