[BEJA]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post, hope you can help me...
I ride aggressive xc, trail and all-mountain on my IronHorse MK III EXPERT 2005.
I wish to replace my frame to the banshee pyre or the ventana x-5.
Which one would you recommend?

 

[rzozaya1969]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post, hope you can help me...
I ride aggressive xc, trail and all-mountain on my IronHorse MK III EXPERT 2005.
I wish to replace my frame to the banshee pyre or the ventana x-5.
Which one would you recommend?

Well, I haven't ridden any of them, but since I like to poke everywhere, here's my .01...

I think that there is a price difference between both frames, so that's important. I think that Ventana quality is better than Banshee (I have a Banshee Viento and I think that Banshee makes some very good bikes, but I just think that Ventana tops it).

I dont know about the Pyre, but the X-5 should be very stiff laterarily, which is very good, specially for trail ride.

But the price difference might mean a nicer fork, better wheelset, or more money in your wallet, so make your pick. Let's hope someone with more background on any of this bikes helps!

 

[warton]

x-5

i have an x-5 and am very satisfied with the bike....after a year of very hard xc riding the pivots and bearings are still showing no signs of any play....i have the quad bearing option which puts double the bearings in the pivots...its very lateraly stiff and has taken a beating and come outwith just some scratches and a few small dents but no slop in any of the pivots.......what i really like about the handleing is how the bike seems to correct itself if you go into a corner too hot and start to slide the front wheel.....where my old bikes would wash out the front wheel and dump you this bike seems to allow you to power slide the front wheel and back off a little and regain your control....the rear susp soaks up small bumps as well as large and the pivot is in the right spot....big or middle ring gives you a complient more plush rear susp where the small ring stiffens it up...also the geometry seems to work better the faster you go...especially on rocky desents...if you got the cojones just point in downhill and hang on....i haven;t done much jumping or drops but i believe the frame is more than capable of handling anything you could throw at it....

 

[Huvis]

Pyre

I am from canada and ride the shore and should be biased for the pyre. but after riding one for a afternoon and having riden at least 10 diffrent good bikes, I can honestly say this is the worst pedalling bike I have ridden. it sucks the power out of you up hills and has no feeling in the trails. thats only my opinion

 

[AL29er]

X-5 all the way :thumbsup:

I haven't owned a Banshee, but have seen a few out on the trail. The quality is not in the same league as Ventana. It is like comparing a cookie cutter taiwan frame to a hand crafted custom rig.

My X-5 is the only frame I have ever owned that I have absolutely zero complaints on. That is saying something because over the last 5 years I have gone through about 20 other manufacturers and frame designs.

 

[BEJA]

well...

I took a test ride on the X-5. it's weight was 33 lbs. it didn't feel heavy at all. the ride was great!!! it was a '17 frame with a 68.8 head angle but gave a lot of confidence in steep descents.
I must say that the pyre felt great too (around the shop - didn't take a test ride). great build and welding, very very very stiff rear triangle.

anybody knows what's the X-5 frame weight?

another thing: in the ventana website (the owner section) it seems that there are two kinds of x-5 frames with diffrent geo (pics attached).
am I right or hallucinatting?...

 

[cbchess]

I took a test ride on the X-5. it's weight was 33 lbs. it didn't feel heavy at all. the ride was great!!! it was a '17 frame with a 68.8 head angle but gave a lot of confidence in steep descents.
I must say that the pyre felt great too (around the shop - didn't take a test ride). great build and welding, very very very stiff rear triangle.

anybody knows what's the X-5 frame weight?

another thing: in the ventana website (the owner section) it seems that there are two kinds of x-5 frames with diffrent geo (pics attached).
am I right or hallucinatting?...

Looks like a large frame and a XS (extra small) frame

 

[toe-knee]

besides the difference in the sizes,the XS X5 is a pre 2005 model based on the rocker pivot location on the seat tube. in 2005 and up this pivot and the geometry was slightly tweek'd. i own a 2005 version and love the geometry for me.

 

[CharacterZero]

yeah, hta was changed in 2005 too. with the new geo, you don't see that horizontal looking top tube.

 

[marcus_dukakis]

X5

No contest - X5 all the way. Haven't ridden the Banshee, but have owned an X5 for nearly 2 years. Best bike I've ever owned or ridden. Have spent time on SC Heckler, Spec Enduro, Intense Tracer, Intense 6.6, Intense 5.5 and the X5 is the best all round. Definitely go the quad bearing option for increased rigidity and extended bearing life. Awesome customer service and beatifully finished frames. Also have a look at the new El Ciclon if you want similar travel in a lighter weight package...

 

[Shuteye]

Go to the Ventana forum on this website. That should help convince you. Ventana owners and the company are a tribe of sorts. Check the other forums, I don't think you will find anything quite like it. My X5 weighs 31.5 lb with Hadley/Mavic 819 wheels and 29 lb with DT/ZTR355 wheels (weighed on my bathroom scale, so a bit imprecise). I love the bike and swap wheels according to the ride.

 

[Hack On Wheels]

How can any of you say the Pyre's quality is not very high? How many of you have actually seen one in person?

Banshee is very proud of its quality, and furthermore, Taiwan has some very respected factories which have great facilities and expertise for frame building. And anyone who knows much about Banshee will know that they put a lot of importance in reliability and stiffness, the Pyre being no exception. I believe they use needle bearings in the pivots and have a super rigid rear triangle. If you haven't guessed I am biased to the Banshees, but I have been impressed with mine, and never disappointed.

Also, the to guy who rode a Pyre: That is hilarious! I had a completely opposite experience, the bike had amazing pedalling, when I went to lay down the power the bike accelerated like crazy with no noticeable bob. I rode the Pyre with the Propedal turned right off as it made no difference in efficiency except to make the bike less responsive to little bumps. The rear suspension worked seamlessly on the trail, no odd traits or anything at all to notice, it just worked perfectly and so I forgot all about it...
However, as with any bike that isn't a hardtail or locked out, the suspension will bob and be mushy to some extent if you are standing up and do not have an efficient pedal stroke (aka if you are mashing around like mad on the pedals).

 

[Huvis]

Pyre pedaling

Thanks dude.

I think maybe you havent riden a Cove Huster. kona Dawg, RM Slayer old or new. norco six, or fluid2, specailized enduro expert, cannodale prophet or gemini. all pedal and react better in the bush. again my opinion

 

[Shuteye]

If all other things are equal, I love the low stand over height of the X5. It is great for getting a desperate foot down when you blow a technical manuever and find yourself falling sideways to the downhill side.

 

[ronny]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post, hope you can help me...
I ride aggressive xc, trail and all-mountain on my IronHorse MK III EXPERT 2005.
I wish to replace my frame to the banshee pyre or the ventana x-5.
Which one would you recommend?

For Versatility, the X-5 is the ticket. The X-5 can be customized twenty different ways from Sunday. Quad bearings, heavy duty swingarm, 5-6" adjustable travel, 5 or 6" of set travel. Custom frame sizing and colors as well as a multitude of different shock options. Air or coil. The X-5 offers unmatched standover clearance from any competitor.

Banshee told me that the Pyre is meant for an air only shock. Not such a bad thing, but it is nice to have the options. The Pyre has a good suspension design and from all accounts that I have heard, it pedals great.

If money is not a concern, the X-5 is the one I would go with hands down.

 

[11 Bravo]

.........another thing: in the ventana website (the owner section) it seems that there are two kinds of x-5 frames with diffrent geo (pics attached).
am I right or hallucinatting?...

I don't know for sure why the top tube angles are so different. Ventana does any combination of custom and semi-custom builds that you can imagine. Tell Sherwood what you want and he will build it. Maybe that is part of it, but I think it is just the size of the frames that make them so different.The X-5 frame that is currently shown on the Ventana web page has the top tube like the white bike pictured.

The orange bike is my 17 inch '04 model, the blue one is my wife's 13 inch '07 model. Neither of these bikes has any custom geometry. It is really nice the way they moved the rocker pivot location forward on the new bikes to make more room for the new shocks with the larger air chambers.

The X-5 is my favorite bike. I haven't ridden everything that is out there, but I like my X-5 better than any other full suspension I have tried. My wife and I own 5 Ventanas and I am very happy with every one of them. The quality is first rate and they are a great company to deal with.

 

[shirk]

Thanks dude.

I think maybe you havent riden a Cove Huster. kona Dawg, RM Slayer old or new. norco six, or fluid2, specailized enduro expert, cannodale prophet or gemini. all pedal and react better in the bush. again my opinion

Did you take it on an extended ride or just around the parking lot? Adjust the shock to your weight?

I rode the test mule Pyre thats floating around North Van up Fromme and felt that it was a great climber. Rode it on several of my fav trails and felt it was good. Would change a few parts to suit my personal taste (2.5 sticky Nevigals, short stem, bash ring).

Currently I own a first gen Fluid (pre six), owned a Giant AC and single pivot Santa Cruz knock off and would say the pedaling of the Pyre was damn good for an all mountain rig.

but we all have our opinions.

 

[Hack On Wheels]

Thanks dude.

I think maybe you havent riden a Cove Huster. kona Dawg, RM Slayer old or new. norco six, or fluid2, specailized enduro expert, cannodale prophet or gemini. all pedal and react better in the bush. again my opinion

Just to be clear, I was not insinuating that your opinion is not valid or any such thing. Perhaps "weird" or "odd" would have been better word choices than "hilarious"? I simply found it funny that a bike which I was and still am raving about could be thought of in such a different way.

And no, I have not ridden a Cove Hustler, RM Slayer, Norco Six, or Fluid, or Spec. Enduro, or Prophet, or Gemini. However, I do believe I have enough experience riding and climbing full suspension and hardtail bicycles to form a good opinion of what rides well, pedals well and smoothes out bumps well. Heck, it did a better job of smoothing out trail chatter than most, if not all, bikes which I have ridden, including long travel downhill and freeride rigs.