Banshee Prime review

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Banshee Prime review
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flag AlbatrossCafe
O+
Posted: Jul 28, 2022 at 13:36 Quote
ZSchnei wrote:
BTW, I love the clean raw and black look on your bike. The details like the silver Lyrik graphics and silver chainring are nice touches. I think I need to get some new graphics on my 36, the orange is getting old.

Thanks! It's almost like that Lyrik was made for the Banshee with that silver graphic. I wanted to keep the expensive/hard to modify parts with the silver black theme. That way I can just change easy stuff (like grips) around if I'm feelin a color change haha
flag caval
FL
Posted: Oct 10, 2022 at 12:10 Quote
Hi guys in two days i’m gonna have my prime! I already order a Cc Db Coil IL! All my gt Sanction Mullet Parts are going to be swapped. So Saint brakes, Lyrik 160mm, RF cockpit and Crankset. I hope not to regret about less travel but i’m very curious about “less is more”
flag ShawMac
O+ FL
Posted: Oct 10, 2022 at 12:24 Quote
You're going to love it.
flag notthatfast
O+
Posted: Dec 19, 2022 at 16:24 Quote
Has anyone tried running a 160mm Fox 38 on their Prime? I've got a 170mm 38 lying around and was toying with the idea of dropping it to 160mm and put it on the Prime but the 38 air springs are pricey. Wondering if it'll be overly stiff or not. The 38 is currently on a Ripmo AF set up as a bigger travel enduro bike but I don't honestly enjoy it that much and find myself riding the Prime a lot more. The Prime is currently running a 150mm Pike and I was thinking to move the 38 over and have it set up as an aggressive downcountry bike or whatever you want to call it as my only bike and get rid of the Ripmo...

Thoughts?

Photos for reference

Banshee Prime

Banshee Prime
flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Dec 19, 2022 at 19:01 Quote
Not a 38 but i had a 160mm Zeb on mine. it worked nicely and i liked riding it a lot but it basically pointed out that the rear end couldnt keep up as much. I was happy with the 160mm 36 before that, but yeah after putting the zeb on there, i really just wanted a titan (and then sold my prime frame and got the titan which was awesome). Not that you'll end up going the same route but if you already arent riding the ripmo much, i think you may feel the single bike titan urge after mounting the 38 on the prime.
flag nubbs
O+
Posted: Dec 19, 2022 at 19:38 Quote
Oh yeah. Ran a few forks when I had the prime.
38 at 150, 160 zeb, and then 34 grip2 150.

The 34 at 150 was the best of all three for me. Super comfortable and good performance. 150 or 160 new 36 would be real nice though I bet..
flag notthatfast
O+
Posted: Dec 19, 2022 at 20:35 Quote
Yeah I rode a Titan for a little while and really liked it, though it's a bit more bike than I'd like to own and find the Prime to be a better balance for me. I've always liked over-forking shorter travel bikes, so maybe I'll give it a try at full travel (a couple of rides can't hurt) and pull the trigger on the cartridge if I like it.
flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Dec 19, 2022 at 22:46 Quote
Yeah the 38 is a bit more plush than the zeb i had so it may not feel as unbalanced as my setup did, another option is pairing the 38 with a coil shock, that helped open up the prime quite a bit while keeping it pretty playful
flag notthatfast
O+
Posted: Dec 19, 2022 at 23:06 Quote
Coil shock is actually something I was considering, have you ridden one? With the air it definitely feels nicely progressive and never bottoms out harshly.
flag ZSchnei
O+
Posted: Dec 20, 2022 at 5:53 Quote
notthatfast wrote:
Has anyone tried running a 160mm Fox 38 on their Prime? I've got a 170mm 38 lying around and was toying with the idea of dropping it to 160mm and put it on the Prime but the 38 air springs are pricey. Wondering if it'll be overly stiff or not. The 38 is currently on a Ripmo AF set up as a bigger travel enduro bike but I don't honestly enjoy it that much and find myself riding the Prime a lot more. The Prime is currently running a 150mm Pike and I was thinking to move the 38 over and have it set up as an aggressive downcountry bike or whatever you want to call it as my only bike and get rid of the Ripmo...

Thoughts?

Photos for reference

Banshee Prime

Banshee Prime

My 2 cents, having owned a Prime and now a Titan.

There is no need for the average rider, or even experienced/advanced rider, to put a 38 or Zeb on a bike unless you're always pushing its limit. Both of those forks add roughly 3/4 lb to just the front of the bike which, IMO, creates an unbalanced feeling. This is more apparent in a shorter travel bike like the Prime, where you're trying to strike a good balance of lightweight yet capable.

I took the 36 Factory from my Prime and put it on my Titan, but increased it to170mm vs.160mm and I couldn't be happier. I'm 190lbs geared up and I ride aggressive, yet never feel under forked.

Again, this is all just my opinion, but I'm not buying into the industry narrative that I need a 38mm stanchion just because I ride an all-mountain or enduro bike.
flag newbermuda
O+
Posted: Dec 20, 2022 at 6:54 Quote
notthatfast wrote:
Coil shock is actually something I was considering, have you ridden one? With the air it definitely feels nicely progressive and never bottoms out harshly.

Yeah i had a dhx2 on the prime for a bit, worked nicely, id recommend it if you want more traction but the stock shock is pretty well dialed in too imo.

While youre at it, id put those reserves on the prime as well, mine felt quite a bit more snappy out of corners set up like that.
flag Thecommoncoy
Posted: Dec 20, 2022 at 8:38 Quote
photo


Here is a pic of my new Prime. The fork is 160mm. Feels neutral and balanced. I typically like to fork up on bikes if I can as well though.
flag notthatfast
O+
Posted: Dec 20, 2022 at 9:51 Quote
Thecommoncoy wrote:
photo


Here is a pic of my new Prime. The fork is 160mm. Feels neutral and balanced. I typically like to fork up on bikes if I can as well though.
Wow, did you get that painted? Looks great.
flag Thecommoncoy
Posted: Dec 20, 2022 at 10:29 Quote
Thanks,

Yeah, it was painted by tecGnar
flag ShawMac
O+ FL
Posted: Dec 20, 2022 at 10:54 Quote
Can you even ride it at this point? Or just stare at it? Its mesmerizing.

 


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