Readers' Rides #3 - Dean Wilkes' Banshee Legend

Hey,
I actually have legend waiting for me at my house (i'm off at school at the moment) and was stoked to see all the positive feedback! I'm setting mine up with a DHX 5.0 and was wondering if you had any setup tips for me? I'm a pretty small rider (140-145lbs) but I ride at Diablo Freeride Park which is mostly rocky as hell so I like my suspension a little on the stiff side. Any and all feedback is appreciated!! Is there anything else I should know about the frame? How often should I anticipate having to change those bushings (the dirt's pretty dry and sandy most of the summer out east….)

I have only ridden my Legend with a Cane Creek Double Barrel which is a great shock, but requires time an patience to set up properly.

With a DHX the set-up should be quite simple. Get the correct spring to give you the proper sag and them make the necessary adjustments.

As far as the frame details, make sure all the zerk set screws are in place and the covers are in place over them as well. Also make sure the pivots on the frame aren't too tight. They should move freely with no wiggle. Once the pivots are adjusted, install the shock.

PM me with any specific questions you might have.

Curious to see how the bushings will hold up over time. I have yet to hear of a bushing doing well in our climate.

I think Devinci abandoned the idea on the Wilson as they seemed to have some problems with them.

Banshee seems to be becoming a player in the boutique market.

I am a believer in the bushing design that Banshee uses. I have a Banshee Rune that uses the same bushing design as the Legend. Because of the tight tolerances, the size and the integration of the bushings, the Banshees have very few issues. The flex that Devinci encountered is non existent on the Banshees.

I rode my Rune hard for a whole year in every conceivable type of weather and only after a year did I need to replace a few of the bushings. The replacement was simple and very inexpensive @ $2.00 a bushing. After the tune up the bike was as tight as ever.

So far with the Legend, I have not needed to replace any bushings at all.

Hey Dean. Is it really a 63 degree head angle. If so that's crazy slack! I really like these bikes. Similar to my Cove Shocker, but I would consider the MK1 as a new frame, just not sure I would like anything slacker than 65 degree head angle.
Nice review too, and the spec is dialed!

I measured the head angle with my Fox 40 forks on the bike and read 63 degrees but you can adjust the angle of the bike by moving the forks up or down in the stanchions. I bet if you measure the angle of your bike it is slacker than you think. 63 or 64 degrees is typical on a DH bike and is a dream to ride down hill at speed.

Looks ALOT like Tyler's new Turner.

There are a lot of bikes that look similar nowadays, but if you look on the Banshee Blog website, you will notice that the design of the Legend has been public for almost 2 years