Thanks & no problem. Here’s a very brief collection of thoughts I was rolling around this AM:
I think that the things I love about the Titan would absolutely scale down to the Prime and Phantom.
For example, I never touch the climb switch - open always - but not in the way I don’t touch it on a bike with epic amounts of anti-squat where the bike feels like it has tonnes of chain interference on descents. It feels very open bashing down trails. Actually, if I could choose any bike to try next it would be a Phantom for sure - maybe mulleted with an Angleset.
I’ve really enjoyed playing with the nerd-brand features like going back and forth on the wheelbase. I even resolved my STA concerns prior to mulleting the bike thanks to an SQLab 60X saddle that I didn’t love riding slacker STA bikes (and then really solved it with the ‘tiny’ back wheel).
I have some nitpicks for sure. For example, I still haven’t solved the cable noise that shouldn’t exist on any bike in 2021 (but I’m getting there) and the only dropper post I could run over 150mm is the OneUp due to limited insertion, but that stuff is half the fun of testing bikes.
The only negative experience I’ve had with the bike - like the ‘if this wasn’t covered in my parts I’d light it on fire and walk away’ kind of negative - is the correspondence and sh\*t talk from Banshee’s unimaginative asshole fanboys who can’t read a geo chart or conceive of a bike being used in a different way than they use it (as an aside, I’m running a 50mm stem on a large w/ a 12\* bar). Most vitriolic flack I’ve received since the Lefty Legion read my notes that the Pike out rode the Lefty SuperMax on the Jekyll I tested AND I regularly ride a rigid bike!!! (where’s the SuperMax now - oh, right || keep in mind I owned a 100mm Lefty 2.0 at the time and loved it).
Any ways, \[/rant\] and I’d conclude by saying I think anyone who’s about what Banshee is about (big high quality bearings, durability and longterm performance over gram counting, great suspension performance over simplicity, etc) is going to be happy with these bikes - just choose your desired travel.
Hope that helps! And apologies for the stream of consciousness rant on a Wednesday AM.
Feb. 24, 2021, 7:49 a.m. - Andrew Major
Thanks & no problem. Here’s a very brief collection of thoughts I was rolling around this AM: I think that the things I love about the Titan would absolutely scale down to the Prime and Phantom. For example, I never touch the climb switch - open always - but not in the way I don’t touch it on a bike with epic amounts of anti-squat where the bike feels like it has tonnes of chain interference on descents. It feels very open bashing down trails. Actually, if I could choose any bike to try next it would be a Phantom for sure - maybe mulleted with an Angleset. I’ve really enjoyed playing with the nerd-brand features like going back and forth on the wheelbase. I even resolved my STA concerns prior to mulleting the bike thanks to an SQLab 60X saddle that I didn’t love riding slacker STA bikes (and then really solved it with the ‘tiny’ back wheel). I have some nitpicks for sure. For example, I still haven’t solved the cable noise that shouldn’t exist on any bike in 2021 (but I’m getting there) and the only dropper post I could run over 150mm is the OneUp due to limited insertion, but that stuff is half the fun of testing bikes. The only negative experience I’ve had with the bike - like the ‘if this wasn’t covered in my parts I’d light it on fire and walk away’ kind of negative - is the correspondence and sh\*t talk from Banshee’s unimaginative asshole fanboys who can’t read a geo chart or conceive of a bike being used in a different way than they use it (as an aside, I’m running a 50mm stem on a large w/ a 12\* bar). Most vitriolic flack I’ve received since the Lefty Legion read my notes that the Pike out rode the Lefty SuperMax on the Jekyll I tested AND I regularly ride a rigid bike!!! (where’s the SuperMax now - oh, right || keep in mind I owned a 100mm Lefty 2.0 at the time and loved it). Any ways, \[/rant\] and I’d conclude by saying I think anyone who’s about what Banshee is about (big high quality bearings, durability and longterm performance over gram counting, great suspension performance over simplicity, etc) is going to be happy with these bikes - just choose your desired travel. Hope that helps! And apologies for the stream of consciousness rant on a Wednesday AM.