Banshee Bikes has been hard at work redesigning and testing three new bikes for trail and all mountain use. The press release shows the design team taking the prototypes to far away places such as Iraq and Scotland. What have they been hiding in plain sight? Let’s check out the Prime V3, the Spitfire V3 and the Phantom V3.
Prime V3
- 29 inch wheels
- 135mm rear travel
- For All Mountain riding
- KS2 linkage with custom tuned Fox DPX2 Performance Elite 185x55mm metric trunnion shock
- Progressive linkage with low 2.45:1 leverage ratio
- 65.5° – 66.0° Head angle 76.7° – 77.2° Effective seat angle
- Adjustable geometry via modular dropouts (also enables optional 27.5+ and 29+ setups)
- Mullet compatible (27.5” rear / 29” front)
- 140-160mm fork travel
- Ability to run bottle cage inside front triangle
- Internal cable routing (also works with moto-style)
- Frame Weight: 3.7kg (8.2lbs) – size medium black with Fox DPX2 shock, dropouts, rear axle, and seat clamp)
Spitfire V3
- 27.5 inch wheels
- 135mm rear travel
- For trail riding
- KS2 linkage with custom tuned Fox DPX2 Performance Elite 185x55mm metric trunnion shock
- Progressive linkage with low 2.45:1 leverage ratio
- 65.0° – 65.5° Head angle 76.5° – 77.0° Effective seat angle
- Adjustable geometry via modular dropouts (also enables optional 26” setups if so inclined)
- Mullet compatible (26” rear / 27.5” front, or 27.45 rear and 29” front)
- 140-160mm fork travel (130-140mm if running 29” front wheel)
- Ability to run bottle cage inside front triangle
- Internal cable routing (also works with moto-style)
- Frame Weight: 3.55kg (7.8lbs) – size medium black with Fox DPX2 shock, dropouts, rear axle, and seat clamp)
Co-owner and Engineer Keith Scott tested an early prototype Spitfire in Scotland (fake decals applied to throw people off the prototype scent)
Phantom V3
- 29 inch wheels
- 115mm rear travel
- For trail riding
- KS2 linkage with custom tuned Fox DPX2 Performance Elite 185x50mm metric trunnion shock
- Progressive linkage with very low 2.3:1 leverage ratio
- 66.0° – 66.5° Head angle 76.7° – 77.2° Effective seat angle
- Adjustable geometry via modular dropouts (and enables optional 27.5+ and 29+ setups)
- Mullet compatible (27.5” rear / 29” front)
- 120-140mm fork travel
- Ability to run bottle cage inside front triangle
- Internal cable routing (also works with moto-style)
- Frame Weight: 3.55kg (7.8lbs) size medium, black with FOX DPX2 shock, dropouts, rear axle, and seat clamp
All three models will be the same price: USD $2,199 or €2,199. UK buyers are advised to contact Banshee directly for pricing and sourcing, as they’re in the process of moving to a dealer direct sales model in the UK and at the same time are monitoring prices while Brexit shizzle happens.
Prime looks fantastic. Reach figs a bit short, but plenty scope to size up as the STs are relatively short.
We have another new wheel size standard. 27.45″ on the Spitfire.
For those times when 27.5 is just a tiny bit too big ?