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I have been lucky enough to get my hands on a Pre-Production Phantom to test and give feedback and compare to my Prime.
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So that things were fair and I could have a honest comparison of the two, all I did was swap the parts off my Prime pre-production frame onto the Phantom frame - wheels w/ tyres, cranks w/ rings, seatpost w/ saddle, bar. The only real difference is I went for the Large Phantom as compared to XL in the Prime, as the REACH on the Large Phantom is 450mm, 2mm longer than the REACH on the XL Paradox which I quite liked. I'm running the Phantom with a 75mm stem instead of 65mm I ran on the XL Prime with 472mm Reach, the cockpit, how I measure it is right smack bang within my acceptable range of 35.5"+/-and it feels comfortable.
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So thoughts....Frame is most definitely much lighter than my pre-production Prime, don't have a scale, so don't know how much, but do know they dropped 1.5lbs going to the production Prime and the tubeset on the Phantom is much smaller, along with much smaller gussets. At first it looked kind of anemic to me after having been on the Prime for over 2 years, I really kind of questioned whether it would deliver on the Banshee norm of super stiff - happily those worries were null and void, it's stiff. When I in fact took a closer look at the Phantom side by side with a new V2 Paradox I also just got, I realised that in fact they look to share the same tube-set (at least size wise) and it was just the fact I'd been looking at the TANK PP Prime for so long, I had just become accustomed to seeing it.
To go with having a lighter bike overall, I ditched the saddlebag and packed the extra tube, patch kit and multi-tool into my hydration pack, another 1.5-2lbs or so lost. While they say you only feel a heavier bike when you're lifting it, unfortunately, down here we have quite a few places you just have to heft your bike and climb and on these little climbs the probably 3.5-4lbs that was lost in the frame/bag swap was very noticeable.
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I'm running an X-Fusion 02 RCX shock on my Phantom and so far it has been fantastic, love the 4 position adjust-ability, really works well to change the shocks "stiffness" depending on the type of trail or road you're on, or how heavily you're kitted out without having to mess with air pressure.
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Now, onto the ride and feel/handling of the bike.....This bike is just plain fun, it fits myself and my trails perfectly. The shorter WB, lighter weight, slightly different geo to the Prime all add up to produce a bike that feels like an XC bike, but has the plushness and stiffness to ride bigger and harder, a plushness that you only ever really notice when you look at the o-ring on the shock and realise you've used pretty much all of your travel and never felt like it did.
I'm riding my Phantom in the High geo setting, which means that it has the most BB clearance, steepest angles and shortest stays, all of which make for a very nimble bike that's easy to pop into the air, easy to toss about and make sudden travel direction corrections. I've taken it all over my trails, everywhere I've ridden the Prime and I can honestly say, I've not felt like I'm missing the extra 20mm of travel, but am appreciating the more efficient suspension that still feels plush, yet more connected to the trail.
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Comparing my Pre-Production Prime to the Phantom may not be an entirely fair comparison, since there were quite a few minor tweaks done for production on the Prime, most noticeably with the suspension and frame weight, as other testers who now own production Prime's have attested to. That being said, I cannot see the improvements being that huge from my PP Prime to production and will compare and say that the Phantom delivers in both the weight and overall pedaling and especially climbing department, while still delivering on the downs.
When I got the Phantom, I also picked up a V2 XL Paradox to replace the XL V1 I had sold with intent ro replace with a V2, so I built the Paradox up shortly after the Phantom, using the same X-Fusion TRACE set @ 120mm. I took the Paradox on a very XC type ride to give it a bit of a shake down and make sure everything was installed and adjusted properly, nothing technical, just along the cliffs rocks, somewhere I'd ridden the V1 Paradox countless times before I got the Prime. While I had the Prime I had resurrected the Paradox a couple times and really appreciated the difference in weight and efficiency climbing and while noticing the much harsher ride, was willing to accept it for the lighter more efficientness of it. So now fast forward to the V2 Paradox running 2.4" tyres on WTB i25 ST rimmed wheels (huge volume), I've already had a few short rides on the Phantom, enough to get a feel for it and all I'm thinking to myself is, "WHY?" Why would I have a HT when the Phantom delivers a much smoother ride with what feels like no loss in efficiency, why take the beating. So for me, although I had planned to have the V2 Paradox there as a 2nd ride to "spice" things up every so often, now I just can't see the reason as to why I'd do it, there is just no benefit to my beat up and battered old bones.
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I really don't know what else to say, except that I think I have my ideal bike, it is better in every way for me compared to my Pre-Production Prime - lighter, climbs better, descends with a more connected feel, is super plush without feeling you're using the travel - and will not be looking for another for at least another 3-5 years when some super, marvelogical new technology comes along that I "Have to have".
Geometry chart to help you decide which size is right for you
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Of course there needs to just be some photos that speak for themselves, so here they are, the rest can be found here.
![]()
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So that things were fair and I could have a honest comparison of the two, all I did was swap the parts off my Prime pre-production frame onto the Phantom frame - wheels w/ tyres, cranks w/ rings, seatpost w/ saddle, bar. The only real difference is I went for the Large Phantom as compared to XL in the Prime, as the REACH on the Large Phantom is 450mm, 2mm longer than the REACH on the XL Paradox which I quite liked. I'm running the Phantom with a 75mm stem instead of 65mm I ran on the XL Prime with 472mm Reach, the cockpit, how I measure it is right smack bang within my acceptable range of 35.5"+/-and it feels comfortable.
So thoughts....Frame is most definitely much lighter than my pre-production Prime, don't have a scale, so don't know how much, but do know they dropped 1.5lbs going to the production Prime and the tubeset on the Phantom is much smaller, along with much smaller gussets. At first it looked kind of anemic to me after having been on the Prime for over 2 years, I really kind of questioned whether it would deliver on the Banshee norm of super stiff - happily those worries were null and void, it's stiff. When I in fact took a closer look at the Phantom side by side with a new V2 Paradox I also just got, I realised that in fact they look to share the same tube-set (at least size wise) and it was just the fact I'd been looking at the TANK PP Prime for so long, I had just become accustomed to seeing it.
To go with having a lighter bike overall, I ditched the saddlebag and packed the extra tube, patch kit and multi-tool into my hydration pack, another 1.5-2lbs or so lost. While they say you only feel a heavier bike when you're lifting it, unfortunately, down here we have quite a few places you just have to heft your bike and climb and on these little climbs the probably 3.5-4lbs that was lost in the frame/bag swap was very noticeable.
I'm running an X-Fusion 02 RCX shock on my Phantom and so far it has been fantastic, love the 4 position adjust-ability, really works well to change the shocks "stiffness" depending on the type of trail or road you're on, or how heavily you're kitted out without having to mess with air pressure.
Now, onto the ride and feel/handling of the bike.....This bike is just plain fun, it fits myself and my trails perfectly. The shorter WB, lighter weight, slightly different geo to the Prime all add up to produce a bike that feels like an XC bike, but has the plushness and stiffness to ride bigger and harder, a plushness that you only ever really notice when you look at the o-ring on the shock and realise you've used pretty much all of your travel and never felt like it did.
I'm riding my Phantom in the High geo setting, which means that it has the most BB clearance, steepest angles and shortest stays, all of which make for a very nimble bike that's easy to pop into the air, easy to toss about and make sudden travel direction corrections. I've taken it all over my trails, everywhere I've ridden the Prime and I can honestly say, I've not felt like I'm missing the extra 20mm of travel, but am appreciating the more efficient suspension that still feels plush, yet more connected to the trail.
Comparing my Pre-Production Prime to the Phantom may not be an entirely fair comparison, since there were quite a few minor tweaks done for production on the Prime, most noticeably with the suspension and frame weight, as other testers who now own production Prime's have attested to. That being said, I cannot see the improvements being that huge from my PP Prime to production and will compare and say that the Phantom delivers in both the weight and overall pedaling and especially climbing department, while still delivering on the downs.
When I got the Phantom, I also picked up a V2 XL Paradox to replace the XL V1 I had sold with intent ro replace with a V2, so I built the Paradox up shortly after the Phantom, using the same X-Fusion TRACE set @ 120mm. I took the Paradox on a very XC type ride to give it a bit of a shake down and make sure everything was installed and adjusted properly, nothing technical, just along the cliffs rocks, somewhere I'd ridden the V1 Paradox countless times before I got the Prime. While I had the Prime I had resurrected the Paradox a couple times and really appreciated the difference in weight and efficiency climbing and while noticing the much harsher ride, was willing to accept it for the lighter more efficientness of it. So now fast forward to the V2 Paradox running 2.4" tyres on WTB i25 ST rimmed wheels (huge volume), I've already had a few short rides on the Phantom, enough to get a feel for it and all I'm thinking to myself is, "WHY?" Why would I have a HT when the Phantom delivers a much smoother ride with what feels like no loss in efficiency, why take the beating. So for me, although I had planned to have the V2 Paradox there as a 2nd ride to "spice" things up every so often, now I just can't see the reason as to why I'd do it, there is just no benefit to my beat up and battered old bones.
I really don't know what else to say, except that I think I have my ideal bike, it is better in every way for me compared to my Pre-Production Prime - lighter, climbs better, descends with a more connected feel, is super plush without feeling you're using the travel - and will not be looking for another for at least another 3-5 years when some super, marvelogical new technology comes along that I "Have to have".
Geometry chart to help you decide which size is right for you
Of course there needs to just be some photos that speak for themselves, so here they are, the rest can be found here.
