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Hey, I know there is already a handful of threads on this, but there really isn't a lot of information on this bike which is weird considering it seems to tick a lot of boxes for me and the people that have tried it do seem to like it a lot. I'm at the point where I've really narrowed down my choices to 3 bikes although I have a loose ranking in my head. I'm thinking Banshee Prime>Knolly Fugitive>Ripmo AF. For the most part my idea is high quality and well specced alu bike that isn't a pig and pedals well, but can handle chunky descents. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to demo these bikes really, but if anyone is near Massachusetts and wants to let me throw a leg over theirs, let me know.
I'm going to go into to detail, but I can provide a summary at the end of this post.
I've been riding mountain bikes only for about a year, but I ride enough and am into it enough where I think I can justify this kind of bike. I currently have an aggressive hardtail (20 ragley blue pig) that I like a lot but beats me up on my favorite trails and an older Enduro bike (17 commencal meta am) which feels small in a medium but is also way more travel than I need and does not pedal well for what I'm looking for. I got it cheap and will probably sell it once I get a different full suspension bike.
I live in Massachusetts so I want a bike that can pedal well, handle a good amount of chunk, be taken to the bike park maybe once a month as a beginner who is just learning to jump and probably won't be abusing it, but still needs something that won't hurt as bad after as the hardtail (which I've still done). Most of the trails around me are pretty rolling, even the ones that have a good amount of descending, there's still climbs thrown in. For my preferences that means I really really want a bike that can climb well without me having to lock the shock out. Also most of the trails around here have lots of fairly low speed/technical bits. That is the one concern I have with the prime. The large has an extremely long wheelbase and long chainstays, so I'm unsure how this will feel. The long chainstays certainly interest me and I like the philosophy of balancing weight towards the center of the bike. However, the HTA, STA, Reach, Stack, and ETT are all literally exactly what I would have chosen if you told me to write down my preferences for a new bike. To a tee and moreso than any of the other bikes I've been looking at. Obviously on paper is different than IRL but worth mentioning.
My main reason for starting this thread is that a LOT of the people I see saying how much they love their banshee bikes are a lot taller and larger than I am, and I also have somewhat unusual proportions so fit can be weird for me. I'm 5'9.5 or 176cm and I weigh just about 155 lbs with gear on. I have a 33 inch inseam. In my experience, mediums often feel either definitely too small on reach and ett or like I could go longer and probably get some benefit. Almost all medium bikes I have ridden feel really short in the stack because of my long legs so It's usually difficult to get a good balance with riser bars and spacers. Also, long legs mean my torso is shorter than most people on a Large, but my wingspan is also longer than my height by a good 2 inches or so which evens me back out. The Banshee seems perfect in all of these ways which is why I'm leaning towards it minus the sheer length of the thing. I've ridden a few of the current bikes with the super steep seat angles in mediums and I love the feeling overall, but the bars just feel way way too close to me seated and I end up touching knee to bar in tight uphill switchbacks. The large ripmo I sat on felt within the range of roominess I prefer. Also, Banshees honesty with seat angles is especially appealing to me because my seat angle can be quite a bit slacker because of the long legs.
Anyway, that's just context. To sum it up:
anyone have more ride reports including the kinds of trails you ride? Any fellow Northeast US people have a Prime and can tell me what you think? What about people who around 5'9ish or lighter folks and riding a large?
Is there anything you wish you knew about the bike before you bought it?
Have you ridden both the prime and a fugitive or ripmo af and care to compare the two?
Also, any input on fork travel if I do go for it? I'm leaning 150mm and run it in the slack position because I'm aiming for around a 65.5 hta. Might even try to get a helm if I can keep it in budget so I can easily adjust travel to experiment. Wondering if the 160 fork is worth it or if it makes it a little too much of a beast for the flatter or more climby stuff.
Thanks in advance and sorry for the novel. I just get really really into bike shopping. I've already done a lot of digging but still want to hear more of what people have to say.
I'm going to go into to detail, but I can provide a summary at the end of this post.
I've been riding mountain bikes only for about a year, but I ride enough and am into it enough where I think I can justify this kind of bike. I currently have an aggressive hardtail (20 ragley blue pig) that I like a lot but beats me up on my favorite trails and an older Enduro bike (17 commencal meta am) which feels small in a medium but is also way more travel than I need and does not pedal well for what I'm looking for. I got it cheap and will probably sell it once I get a different full suspension bike.
I live in Massachusetts so I want a bike that can pedal well, handle a good amount of chunk, be taken to the bike park maybe once a month as a beginner who is just learning to jump and probably won't be abusing it, but still needs something that won't hurt as bad after as the hardtail (which I've still done). Most of the trails around me are pretty rolling, even the ones that have a good amount of descending, there's still climbs thrown in. For my preferences that means I really really want a bike that can climb well without me having to lock the shock out. Also most of the trails around here have lots of fairly low speed/technical bits. That is the one concern I have with the prime. The large has an extremely long wheelbase and long chainstays, so I'm unsure how this will feel. The long chainstays certainly interest me and I like the philosophy of balancing weight towards the center of the bike. However, the HTA, STA, Reach, Stack, and ETT are all literally exactly what I would have chosen if you told me to write down my preferences for a new bike. To a tee and moreso than any of the other bikes I've been looking at. Obviously on paper is different than IRL but worth mentioning.
My main reason for starting this thread is that a LOT of the people I see saying how much they love their banshee bikes are a lot taller and larger than I am, and I also have somewhat unusual proportions so fit can be weird for me. I'm 5'9.5 or 176cm and I weigh just about 155 lbs with gear on. I have a 33 inch inseam. In my experience, mediums often feel either definitely too small on reach and ett or like I could go longer and probably get some benefit. Almost all medium bikes I have ridden feel really short in the stack because of my long legs so It's usually difficult to get a good balance with riser bars and spacers. Also, long legs mean my torso is shorter than most people on a Large, but my wingspan is also longer than my height by a good 2 inches or so which evens me back out. The Banshee seems perfect in all of these ways which is why I'm leaning towards it minus the sheer length of the thing. I've ridden a few of the current bikes with the super steep seat angles in mediums and I love the feeling overall, but the bars just feel way way too close to me seated and I end up touching knee to bar in tight uphill switchbacks. The large ripmo I sat on felt within the range of roominess I prefer. Also, Banshees honesty with seat angles is especially appealing to me because my seat angle can be quite a bit slacker because of the long legs.
Anyway, that's just context. To sum it up:
anyone have more ride reports including the kinds of trails you ride? Any fellow Northeast US people have a Prime and can tell me what you think? What about people who around 5'9ish or lighter folks and riding a large?
Is there anything you wish you knew about the bike before you bought it?
Have you ridden both the prime and a fugitive or ripmo af and care to compare the two?
Also, any input on fork travel if I do go for it? I'm leaning 150mm and run it in the slack position because I'm aiming for around a 65.5 hta. Might even try to get a helm if I can keep it in budget so I can easily adjust travel to experiment. Wondering if the 160 fork is worth it or if it makes it a little too much of a beast for the flatter or more climby stuff.
Thanks in advance and sorry for the novel. I just get really really into bike shopping. I've already done a lot of digging but still want to hear more of what people have to say.