First Look at Banshee Bikes Newly Revamped Spitfire and Rune Trail Bikes

How much travel on the Spitfire?

Spitfire V2 travel is 140mm an increase of 10mm from previous spitfire. It has similar ride charateristics (fast!) but is more active (loads of traction) and slightly more playful.

The Spitfire V2 can be used with any fork from 140-160mm travel.

the Rune V2 can be used with any fork from 150-180mm travel.

Can anyone comment on the country of origin of these bikes?

I’ve heard they are made by Pacific Bikes, and that’s a bit off-putting for me.

Im confussed wrt the headset. Will the Rune take my 1.5″ steerer or does it only fit tapered steerers. Thx

Sorry for typos in previous post, I clicked submit by accident before having a quick read over!

Jan,
The ‘feel’ of the spitfire V2 is very similar to that of the original, although there is 13mm more travel it is just as agile, if not more so. If you jump from the V1 to a V2 you will feel at home … but with better traction so you can ride faster.
We have not had mud build up issues on the protos we have been testing with this design for the last 18 months, it clears without much issue (certainly with Scottish mud I can say there is less mud build up than V1 spitfire).
As the article says, those are early prototypes for both frame and dropouts… both have been refined a lot so production frames will be a big step up in performance and aesthetics.
Frame weight is yet to be confirmed, once we get some production frames through we will weigh them and post weights. But theoretically it will be within about 100g of the current frames for equivalent sizing.

You can speak to your distributor about an upgrade price to a V2 frame if you wish. The distributor is the one who makes the descision on that type of thing.

Thanks,
Keith

“You can speak to your distributor about an upgrade price to a V2 frame if you wish. The distributor is the one who makes the descision on that type of thing.”

So does this statement posted on MTBR still stand?
“Originally Posted by ”Jay @ Banshee”
3] We will be offering some sort of upgrade for all Rune and Spitfire owners when we have new models and we will be selling these through our dealer network with the plan that Banshee makes no profit on them; we’re kicking around numbers under a $1000 since the dealer and distributors still expect something.
Hopefully with fixing the current bikes you guys are riding, AND allowing them to become resalable, while offering a deeply discounted new model with the latest in geo and bike goodness it will help mitigate things.”

Good day folks and followers of banshee! I am a lifetime avid cyclist from the heart of vancouver Island and I am just here to confirm how amazing my Spitfire feels.

I bought this bike http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/6556021/ and custom built it to suite my all mountain riding, although I am very aggressive and even race the occasional DH race on her.

My one buddy who is insanely fast rode my bike once and said it felt better than is SC nomad with Fox 180’s on it, and I just run an RP3 and an older XFusion 160mm fork. I think with a 50mm stem, wide raceface atlas bars and a reverb post is what really makes my spitty feel like a rocket.

I am sad to see my frame outdated but at the same time, if I could there would be a few things I would love to see changed from V.1 that you folks at banshee have addressed, and perhaps a few extras that would really make this bike shine.

1# sealed cartridge bearing. I’m sorry but bushings are what the old school K2s had, so lets leave bushings in the early 90’s. I would have to say v.1 suspension is very hard to activate and sticky, and I go through two sets of bushings every season.

2# the axle path on the v.1 is too far rearward, which is a great thing if im rocking a large chain ring, or on bikes like the canfield jedi, I am a firm believer in suspension moving away from the force, but unfortunately on this bike it feels like my drivetrain and suspension are in a constant strong hold. I imagine the new KS design eliminates this issue.

3# through axle rear end. Almost all bikes have are adapting this, and specifically as a small time frame builder I feel this is a very important trait to include in your line up, but I must say the three position chip system you guys are experimenting with is very ugly. I know looks are not everything but for a small time frame company, you do not want to give anybody an excuse to buy something more sleek.

4# internal dropper post routing. Not a very hard thing to incorporate and it looks so much better and reduces risk of messing the loopy cable, even if RS is the only post offering it right now. As a 10 year + bicycle mechanic, I can easily recommend RS as one of the better posts out there yet, I have yet to check out a thompson post though.

5# 650b wheels? They have taken us by storm while we all slept, and now they are everywhere. I have yet to test them out to say any official yay or nay, but I am not stoked buying a bike that isconfused about what wheel size it is. Most riders will build there bike up for either 26″ or 27.5″, but I highly doubt youll see anybody switching front fork and wheels when riding different terrain or what not. Can’t you guys sit out the 650b trend for a year and maybe make a specific 27.5″ version of the spit fire and rune? Maybe just use a different swing arm design to cut down production costs? This is definitely a turn off, and not because I do not welcome change, but I hate buying ‘confused’ frames that offer too many options. I want a buck knife not a flimsy swiss army knife with a cork screw opener, fork, magnifying glass, toothpick and ect.

6# Shortest chainstays possible.. This is something Canfield brothers, Kona and Speciallized have realized earlier on and I think you need to consider this too. I realize a longer wheel base is the best for stable high speed riding, combined with short chainstays makes for one flickable ride, both in the air and on the corners. Short chainstays coupled with a longer front end to compensate feels amazing. I’m talking 16.5 – 16″ range. With the knew direct mount front derailleur or even running a single front ring this is entirely possible now. Jump on a Kona entourage, Canfield Jedi 1, or a Specialized SX trail. Those bikes feel unreal, largely due to the short hard tail like rear end. You guys are a wee bit shorter but not short enough to give the rider that wow factor.

7# Slack head angles. This is why I love my spitty. 5″ of rear travel and a 66 degree head angle. With all these new front end lowering forks, why not go more slack for the steeps..? Its fun and it helps you rail corners. Good job banshee!

8# The banshee legend is un doubt-ably one of the sickest bikes out there. If only you did it in carbon fiber, and if only it had a rear wheel path like a Jedi 1 (with some kind of idler to stop chain growth). Make the path match the same angle as the fork so when the bike is full compressed the wheel base stays the same, and square edge hits feel like soft little marsh mellows.

And that is my two cents! Thanks for the great products and awesome customer service. You guys are my top three, along with Trek and Canfield. Happy riding and keep the rubber side down!!

@Brandon, sounds like you need to buy a Canfield…

Production costs may slightly go down with a different swingarm design, but the costs of stocking the extra frames (imagine having to buy an entire order of S, M, and L frames), and lower production quantities would increase quantities dramatically.

I would, personally, rather have the adjust-ability in a frame, than have to buy a completely different bike to accommodate 650B. Who cares if the dropouts are “ugly”, they look just fine to me, and all that actually matters is if they function correctly. It’s not a beauty contest, its a bike, not a piano.