[cave dweller]

Sharing a few pictures of my 2013 spitfire build. I am coming off an older Banshee Rune onto this new bike.

No really an apple for apples comparison as I am running a different frame and different suspension (Fox 36 talas air and DHR air on Rune vs Avalanche product on the spitfire).

I am 185cm tall and have the large spitfire. Running a 60mm stem. It feels a little bigger than the older rune which I always felt a bit cramped on. Very happy with the sizing.

Running the frame in the super slack setting with 140mm fork travel. Nice and stable geometry, climbs well but gets a few pedal strikes as the bottom bracket is fairly low. I am used to riding DH bikes so not a big deal for me to modify my style.

I tried the 160mm fork but in the slack setting it was difficult to hold down the front in very steep rocky climbs, may need to run in a steeper frame setting if you want 160mm fork and steep climbing ability. I prefer the 140mm front and rear setting.

Built up with some DH components. No, I dont have a weight of the bike, doesnt matter to me. The bike is all about having fun, picking lines while not having to worry about breaking something or getting flat tires every ride.

The suspension is super subtle and sucks up small stutter bumps and large impacts. Much better than my old rune, probably a combination of the avalanche coil shock and bearings instead of bushings. I am supper happy about this.

The bike climbs in the 24 tooth chainring with much, much less pedal bob than the old rune. If I was not paying attention I would not really be able to detect it. Big improvement which opens up a wider selection of usable gear ratios.

I am running an XT front derailleur (Shimano XT M785 Top Swing 2x10 Front Mech) and have no clearance issues with the frame, it clears the strut by 3-4mm.

The roller on the chain guide fouls with the frame, I had to trim a bit of the back plate away from the E13 so I could get the roller higher. In the slack setting I am expecting a fair bit of chain rub as the chainstay has a large amount of drop in the slack setting. Maybe Banshee should consider a raised drive side stay like on the turners to avoid this problem.

All in all, I am super happy with the bike. This is the bike I wanted a few years ago when I first bought the Rune. I would give it a 9/10.

Big thanks to Jay and the guys at Banshee.

Specs

Frame:- 2013 Banshee Spitfire - size = large
Shock:- Avalanche Chubbie
Fork:- Avalanche AVA fork cartridge with fox 36 talas air outers
Brakes:- XT with 7 inch rotors
Cranks:- SLX with 36/24 combination
Chainguide:- E13 Hemi2
Pedals:- Superstar Nanotech Flats
Handlebar:- Truvativ
Stem:- Easton 60mm
Rear Wheel:- Hope Pro II with Mavic ex721 with stans rim strips
Front wheel:- Hope Pro II with Mavic ex721 with stans rim strips
Tires:- Maxxis UST minion front and rear - DH casing
Seat pole:- Rockshox Reverb
Seat:- SDG belair
Shifter:- XT
Rear Derailleur:- old XTR
Front Derailleur:- XT (Shimano XT M785 Top Swing 2x10 Front Mech clears the frame fine)
Chain:- XT
Cluster:- SLX 11 to 34

**First two pictures are in 140mm fork setting, pictures 3&4 are in 160mm fork setting.

 

[cave dweller]

Few more pics

 

[phat-ant]

sweet ride dude. Hope its what you have been after

 

[bigwookie]

Cave dweller, like you I have a V1 Rune. I am very interested to find out more about the ridding similarities/differences between the old Rune and New Spitty.
One of the things I liked most about my old Rune was how it's anti squat helped with pedaling standing. I could just stand, pull like hell on the bars, and the suspension would almost jackup a bit when I had the power down. It was a great feature when trying to power up techy climbs. Hardly had to worry about pedal strikes at all. How do you find the antisquat on the new Spitty compared to the old Rune?

Thanks for your time,
Chris

 

[bitewerks]

That's great news about using an 140mm fork. That means a Spitfire may be in my future albeit a year or 2 in the future.

 

[skidad]

Cave dweller, like you I have a V1 Rune. I am very interested to find out more about the ridding similarities/differences between the old Rune and New Spitty.
One of the things I liked most about my old Rune was how it's anti squat helped with pedaling standing. I could just stand, pull like hell on the bars, and the suspension would almost jackup a bit when I had the power down. It was a great feature when trying to power up techy climbs. Hardly had to worry about pedal strikes at all. How do you find the antisquat on the new Spitty compared to the old Rune?

Thanks for your time,
Chris

This link might be of some interest. It's for the new Rune but the same can be applied to the Spitty. If you do some digging you can find the older Rune graph charts to compare. It's all translated from Spanish so some wording is very strange but bottom line the new KS link design rocks!!!

Scroll down to the Rune from this link http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Flinkagedesign.blogspot.com%2F2012_08_01_archive.html

 

[skidad]

From those pics it almost looks like you could stuff a 650B wheel in with the 26" drop outs. Banshee seems very generous with clearance. Might be real tight but nothing new to some who have 650 converted 26" bikes now and consider 2 or 3mm's of clearance perfectly fine.

 

[builttoride]

Yeah, I created lots of tire clearance on these bikes, as tire clearance in slopy muddy conditions is a major issue for a lot of riders. If you riding in dry dusty conditions, then you may well be able to run 650B wheels in the 26" dropouts as long as you don't go with a very big tire.

 

[hrdude]

That's awesome. Looks incredibly versatile. Besides the standard 26 & 27.5, hopefully Banshee will offer a variety of dropouts so owners can alter the chainstay lengths. Personally, I'd like to see a 27.5 dropout with a 434mm neutral length.

 

[ryan_daugherty]

Why didn't you run your reverb down the top tube? I'd think it'd be much cleaner + less hose to get caught in the rear tire.

 

[jncarpenter]

Why didn't you run your reverb down the top tube? I'd think it'd be much cleaner + less hose to get caught in the rear tire.

I wondered the same, but assumed the pic was taken before he had a chance to cut the line.

 

[cave dweller]

Why didn't you run your reverb down the top tube? I'd think it'd be much cleaner + less hose to get caught in the rear tire.

I ran in along the top tub to start with but didn't like how the hose went when dropping the post. As the bend is very sharp I found the hose tended to move sideways when dropped (instead of up and down) which was hitting the inside of my leg on DH's. With the larger bend radius when run along the bottom tube it seems to do this less.

Plus I have to carry / pickup my bike by the top tube sometimes, and I always manage to scratch myself with the cut cable guides on the underside of the top tube.