Banshee Throws a Wildcard in the mix - Preview Article
Jay and Keith have been busy over at Banshee Bikes, dotting their i's, and crossing their t's, to bring you guys one of the sickest slopestyle bikes. With adjustable travel from 5", to 6.5", the Wildcard is one of the most versatile bikes I have seen in a while. Utilizing a 27.5" stand over height, the Wildcard is using all its weapons to bring you guys the most versatile, comfortable bike in a long time, and with the option of Coil or Air shock from the factory, they are appealing to all the audiences.
The Wildcard, as a frame is very well pieced together. Coming in Satin Black, with white decals, it's appealing to the eyes, along with the Black linkage plates, the frame is all around clean. The ribbed chain stays add to the sleek lines, while the clean front triangle makes for easy viewing. The sloping top tube drops a lot, right down to 27.5" stand over height at its lowest point, but suits it well as it's marketed as a "slopestyle" bike.
The build kit Banshee Bikes supplied is well thought out and a perfect fit for this style of bike. The supplied fork is a 2008 Manitou Travis TPC 150mm. One part of this fork that stood out right off the bat was the chrome decals they put on them this year. Everything is about the "flash" factor this year, and this fork is definitely flashy, but really clean.
The other parts included in the build were rather suiting of the frame, Funn supplied a set of their Xlrater wheels, which are sick looking wheels. Matched up with a Funn Full Bore bar, and Rippa Stem, both in white, the bike started to take shape.
![photo]()
Gamut hooked up one of their P30 chain guides, as well in white, so the color scheme would all match. A set of Funn Hooka DH cranks, with their integrated but external bearing bottom bracket mated nicely to the Gamut guide.
![photo]()
The one part that really sealed the deal for me was the 20th Anniversary SRAM X.O derailleur, with its fancy gold accents. Nothing accents a huge part of a bike like carbon and gold do. Not only that, but the shifting that X.0 delivers is top notch all the time. The crisp clean feeling of a freshly setup 1:1 ratio derailleur and shifter combo is one of my favorite things. SRAM has dialed this derailleur in, right down to the sealed pulley bearings, and the titanium main spring.
Something new to me on this bike was the rear shock. Banshee chose to supply the Wildcard with an Air shock, which is not out of the ordinary for a bike such as this, however it was one I don't know a lot about. The Manitou Evolver 6 is Manitou's answer to the long travel, enduro, and free ride based bikes. At 492 grams, this shock is definitely light. I was rather confused when I first tried setting up this shock, but after some thought, and some research, I figured out it's not to far off other more common rear shocks for set up, except it doesn't require tools to tune in, no Allen keys, this baby is all dials. With external adjustments for Bottom Out, Rebound, Hi-Speed Compression, and Low-Speed Compression this shock was super easy to set up once I had the air pressure dialed, and with the Wildcard's ability to change from 5", to 6.5", the external adjustments will be super handy come long travel time.
All in all the build is going quite well, and I am super excited to tear the trails when it's complete. Stay tuned at Pinkbike.com for a follow up once it's complete. Props to:
Banshee Bikes
Funn MTB Components
Manitou MTB
Check out all the images of the build components so far in My Wildcard Album.
The Wildcard, as a frame is very well pieced together. Coming in Satin Black, with white decals, it's appealing to the eyes, along with the Black linkage plates, the frame is all around clean. The ribbed chain stays add to the sleek lines, while the clean front triangle makes for easy viewing. The sloping top tube drops a lot, right down to 27.5" stand over height at its lowest point, but suits it well as it's marketed as a "slopestyle" bike.
 |  |  |
The build kit Banshee Bikes supplied is well thought out and a perfect fit for this style of bike. The supplied fork is a 2008 Manitou Travis TPC 150mm. One part of this fork that stood out right off the bat was the chrome decals they put on them this year. Everything is about the "flash" factor this year, and this fork is definitely flashy, but really clean.
 |  |  |
The other parts included in the build were rather suiting of the frame, Funn supplied a set of their Xlrater wheels, which are sick looking wheels. Matched up with a Funn Full Bore bar, and Rippa Stem, both in white, the bike started to take shape.
Wheel Set
 |  |  |
Gamut hooked up one of their P30 chain guides, as well in white, so the color scheme would all match. A set of Funn Hooka DH cranks, with their integrated but external bearing bottom bracket mated nicely to the Gamut guide.
Pedals
The one part that really sealed the deal for me was the 20th Anniversary SRAM X.O derailleur, with its fancy gold accents. Nothing accents a huge part of a bike like carbon and gold do. Not only that, but the shifting that X.0 delivers is top notch all the time. The crisp clean feeling of a freshly setup 1:1 ratio derailleur and shifter combo is one of my favorite things. SRAM has dialed this derailleur in, right down to the sealed pulley bearings, and the titanium main spring.
 |  |
Something new to me on this bike was the rear shock. Banshee chose to supply the Wildcard with an Air shock, which is not out of the ordinary for a bike such as this, however it was one I don't know a lot about. The Manitou Evolver 6 is Manitou's answer to the long travel, enduro, and free ride based bikes. At 492 grams, this shock is definitely light. I was rather confused when I first tried setting up this shock, but after some thought, and some research, I figured out it's not to far off other more common rear shocks for set up, except it doesn't require tools to tune in, no Allen keys, this baby is all dials. With external adjustments for Bottom Out, Rebound, Hi-Speed Compression, and Low-Speed Compression this shock was super easy to set up once I had the air pressure dialed, and with the Wildcard's ability to change from 5", to 6.5", the external adjustments will be super handy come long travel time.
 |  |
All in all the build is going quite well, and I am super excited to tear the trails when it's complete. Stay tuned at Pinkbike.com for a follow up once it's complete. Props to:
Banshee Bikes
Funn MTB Components
Manitou MTB
Check out all the images of the build components so far in My Wildcard Album.
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Some say its all the rider but some bikes can hold a rider back while others can allow the rider to progress at a faster rate cause it is designed for what the rider does. The wildcrad is dam solid and very fun to ride ,its ace.
You try to convince people that you've made slopstyle bike but it is probably great all round bike, what isn't bad for consumer needs.
I hope you know what I mean.
Not that I like the feel of my Kona but it's 41lb and I would def. swap it for Wildcard anyday... if there weren't better options for me.