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Banshee Prime review

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Banshee Prime review
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flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 11:16 Quote
If you set up the titan with an air shock and mullet it should be pretty playful. when i had the Prime i always found myself thinking “what if i had gotten the titan?”
They climb pretty similarly imo, and as nubbs mentioned frame weight is near identical between them.
flag joelsman
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 11:31 Quote
I like my prime a lot but I often think that I would like the Titan a little more. The prime does great until the chunk and speed are too much. Does great on the roots and medium sized chunder.
I got the prime to help me slow down slightly so i dont hurt myself, It is working, also got a great deal on it. Mine is 33 or so. Wheels are not light though. I have a 160mm lyric so mine is slacked out slightly, 65 is about perfect head angle for me. I had a privateer 161 before this and this is plusher and doesn't stiffen up under braking. Overall pretty happy with my choice. I can still ride all the steep stuff but stay away from most drops as I get older.
flag AlbatrossCafe
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 12:06 Quote
nubbs wrote:
If you're in WA get the Titian. The frames are nearly the same weight... Having owned a prime that was always setup 34.5-35lbs at it's lightest weight, its silly to have only 135mm travel and be so heavy. Bachelor bike park, oakridge, hood river, mt adams, bellingham, silver mtn. I took mine everywhere and it is a great bike. Just too portly for the little
135mm wheel travel.

*For the long stroking shock no there isn't a way to do that on the Prime.

The Titan isn't as easy to be playful on is the only bug for me.

I do have a Giant Glory dedicated downhill bike to take to bike parks. So this is just filling in for all the pedaling trails I do. Is there anything you can do to the Titan to make it more all-mountain and less straight-line enduro? I think having a mullet setup is one step closer. Wondering if I should try to keep 160mm fork instead of doing a 170mm
flag AlbatrossCafe
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 12:09 Quote
newbermuda wrote:
If you set up the titan with an air shock and mullet it should be pretty playful. when i had the Prime i always found myself thinking “what if i had gotten the titan?”
They climb pretty similarly imo, and as nubbs mentioned frame weight is near identical between them.

Oh great, you answered the question I just asked nubbs about how to keep it playful. I too worry about "what if?" haha I don't want to have regrets for a bike I'm gonna keep for the next 5+ years! Looks like the frameset comes with a Fox Float X2 now, a pretty beefy air shock.
flag nubbs
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 13:19 Quote
newbermuda wrote:
If you set up the titan with an air shock and mullet it should be pretty playful. when i had the Prime i always found myself thinking “what if i had gotten the titan?”
They climb pretty similarly imo, and as nubbs mentioned frame weight is near identical between them.

Yeah exactly me haha. Titan with air shock and fast rolling wheelset would be fun.
flag ShawMac
O+ FL
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 13:51 Quote
I guess it all depends on how hard you hammer the trails. I don't do massive drops, so I haven't really found anything around here in Squamish that pushes the Prime past its limit. I have been racing it, so I am not going easy and my line choices leave something to be desired.
I have the DPX2 which I have gotten two full seasons out of and seems to just now be making the "squishy" noise of nitro in the oil. I think the Float X was a good addition.
flag nubbs
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 14:28 Quote
ShawMac wrote:
I guess it all depends on how hard you hammer the trails. I don't do massive drops, so I haven't really found anything around here in Squamish that pushes the Prime past its limit. I have been racing it, so I am not going easy and my line choices leave something to be desired.
I have the DPX2 which I have gotten two full seasons out of and seems to just now be making the "squishy" noise of nitro in the oil. I think the Float X was a good addition.

Good point in the new float x that's coming on the current prime. It's a very nice shock that rides well on a ton of bikes. Definitely better that the ol'dpx2... Get your dpx2 serviced shawmac it'll thank you.
flag AlbatrossCafe
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 15:02 Quote
ShawMac wrote:
I guess it all depends on how hard you hammer the trails. I don't do massive drops, so I haven't really found anything around here in Squamish that pushes the Prime past its limit. I have been racing it, so I am not going easy and my line choices leave something to be desired.

This is about as big as it gets for me. About 4-6 feet drops landing at an angle.

First Drop on Cool Runnings

by AlbatrossCafe
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However, I'll have smaller drops with harder hits because I land on a log, or land nose down, etc. I do find that I need travel to salvage my mistakes more often than I would like. I've had instances on my current bike (before I upgraded suspension) where I bottom out and it causes me to crash which sucks
flag nubbs
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 15:14 Quote
Maybe just get the prime with the new float x it comes with and rock that then. It can handle a lot.
flag ShawMac
O+ FL
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 15:46 Quote
nubbs wrote:

Good point in the new float x that's coming on the current prime. It's a very nice shock that rides well on a ton of bikes. Definitely better that the ol'dpx2... Get your dpx2 serviced shawmac it'll thank you.

The infuriating thing is, the squish noise started the SECOND RIDE after I did an air can service. So that seal kit is basically wasted.
Unfortunately with fuel prices I am not as keen to drive my fox shock an hour to the nearest service centre, but it needs to be done. Considering doing the modification to install a schrader valve so I can service the damper myself.

AlbatrossCafe wrote:

This is about as big as it gets for me. About 4-6 feet drops landing at an angle.


The Prime isn't even going to look twice at that. As for the other hits, don't try to hide it with more travel. Use it as learning experience.
flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 17:49 Quote
nubbs wrote:
Maybe just get the prime with the new float x it comes with and rock that then. It can handle a lot.

yeah i forgot the float X is f*cking sick. Outperforms the x2 imo. The prime is prob enough if thats the stuff youre riding, you could always drop an angleset in there too if you need more slackness
flag cwight
O+ FL
Posted: Jun 21, 2022 at 22:41 Quote
I (5’9) built up a medium prime last summer and it’s quite the versatile bike from composure in the steep and chunky to still being playful on more mellow terrain. I have a lyric 160 up front and a coil in the rear. Had it set up as a mullet from the get go for summer/fall with burly tires and inserts front and rear, but swapped for lighter casing and full 29” this spring with only an insert in the rear. As a mullet with beefy tires it handles jank steeps and drops just fine, never felt any harsh bottom outs to date. As a full 29 with trail casing tires it definitely carries speed through rolling terrain a bit better but I find myself missing the small wheel out back for cornering and moving around a little more on the bike. The trails I mainly ride are all up and all down and pretty rocky/rooty so definitely take a grain of salt with my opinions depending on what terrain ya ride.
flag AlbatrossCafe
O+
Posted: Jun 22, 2022 at 0:02 Quote
Thanks all for the advice. Talked to a local Banshee dealer this afternoon, and to my luck the shop owner personally owns a Spitfire (AKA 27.5" Prime) and is building a Titan. He talked me into the capability of the Prime. Says the 135mm rides like more travel than it should, and the long chainstay really helps with straight-line stability in the steep stuff. Also cool that you can set it up as a mullet with a 160mm front and 135mm rear and somehow it still ends up balanced.

I did a ride immediately after and realized that really maybe 15% of my descents are extra rooty/rocky at high speed. The other 85% of the trail (and 100% of my climbs) are flowy or a slower tech. Seems weird to buy a big bike that is gonna be good for 10% of my riding but not ideal for the other 90% Big Grin . Not to mention, I demo'd a 170mm/160mm bike last weekend and although it was glued to the ground with tons of traction on rough terrain, it was almost too glued and kind of annoying how hard it was for me to bounce around.

I think I'm gonna go back tomorrow and order a Prime V3.2 size XL!
flag ShawMac
O+ FL
Posted: Jun 22, 2022 at 10:11 Quote
AlbatrossCafe wrote:
Thanks all for the advice. Talked to a local Banshee dealer this afternoon, and to my luck the shop owner personally owns a Spitfire (AKA 27.5" Prime) and is building a Titan. He talked me into the capability of the Prime. Says the 135mm rides like more travel than it should, and the long chainstay really helps with straight-line stability in the steep stuff. Also cool that you can set it up as a mullet with a 160mm front and 135mm rear and somehow it still ends up balanced.

I did a ride immediately after and realized that really maybe 15% of my descents are extra rooty/rocky at high speed. The other 85% of the trail (and 100% of my climbs) are flowy or a slower tech. Seems weird to buy a big bike that is gonna be good for 10% of my riding but not ideal for the other 90% Big Grin . Not to mention, I demo'd a 170mm/160mm bike last weekend and although it was glued to the ground with tons of traction on rough terrain, it was almost too glued and kind of annoying how hard it was for me to bounce around.

I think I'm gonna go back tomorrow and order a Prime V3.2 size XL!

You won't regret it. Plus you save $100 on the frame to build into your build parts.
I run the short chainstay option, but have not tried the long.
The Prime pairs nicely with a 160mm fork. The frame is burly enough that the extra fork helps bail you out of trouble.

Just be aware that the only negative to the Banshee frames is the seatpost insertion depth. You may need to size down a dropper compared to other frames.
flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Jun 22, 2022 at 10:57 Quote
ShawMac wrote:
AlbatrossCafe wrote:
Thanks all for the advice. Talked to a local Banshee dealer this afternoon, and to my luck the shop owner personally owns a Spitfire (AKA 27.5" Prime) and is building a Titan. He talked me into the capability of the Prime. Says the 135mm rides like more travel than it should, and the long chainstay really helps with straight-line stability in the steep stuff. Also cool that you can set it up as a mullet with a 160mm front and 135mm rear and somehow it still ends up balanced.

I did a ride immediately after and realized that really maybe 15% of my descents are extra rooty/rocky at high speed. The other 85% of the trail (and 100% of my climbs) are flowy or a slower tech. Seems weird to buy a big bike that is gonna be good for 10% of my riding but not ideal for the other 90% Big Grin . Not to mention, I demo'd a 170mm/160mm bike last weekend and although it was glued to the ground with tons of traction on rough terrain, it was almost too glued and kind of annoying how hard it was for me to bounce around.

I think I'm gonna go back tomorrow and order a Prime V3.2 size XL!

You won't regret it. Plus you save $100 on the frame to build into your build parts.
I run the short chainstay option, but have not tried the long.
The Prime pairs nicely with a 160mm fork. The frame is burly enough that the extra fork helps bail you out of trouble.

Just be aware that the only negative to the Banshee frames is the seatpost insertion depth. You may need to size down a dropper compared to other frames.

on an XL he'll be fine.

 


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