Banshee bikes

i'm confused about the dealer network of Banshee and despite some great designs and features (the adjustable drop outs has huge appeal to me on paper) i almost never see them around. as a BC brand they seem to have fallen off the radar or something. their dealer finder tool is way outdated showing bike shops that aren't even in business. what happened to these guys, or is it my imagination? are they more common on the mainland? a Spitfire with TA fork seems like a great all round bike more so than many out there.

crickets eh? too bad, maybe it's worse than i even thought. seem like such unique bikes.

I love my Prime, best bike I have ever owned…3 years of abuse with not one issue…just fucking awesome.

Fire them off a message on their site. I have found them to be super helpful and have answered my inane questions over the years….here is the link:
http://www.bansheebikes.com/mountain-bikes-for-sale-contact-us/

Picked up a '14 Legend this spring. Haven't been able to get the suspension dialed after a handful of days at the park, but i love the frame. Corners like a dam and jumps pretty good for a plow sled. I've heard only good things about Spitfire and Rune talking to owners. Darkside looks like a fun park bike too. I was under the impression it was primarily out of the UK now?

Banshee had a North American distributor that was based out of North Vancouver up until a year ago. Banshee have decided to go Dealer Direct (sell directly to the bike shops), which should help their pricing become a little more competitive.

Banshee are now in the process of setting up their own North American offices, there was a small gap in availability, but you should start seeing Banshee again soon in your local bike shops.

I love my Banshee Spitfire; solid, stiff, durable and versatile. Although I hardly ride my big bike, the Darkside is amazing, I always feel at home when I get on it.

Hope that was helpful.

The Banshee Bikes sub forum on mtbr might yield more info

I talked to Banshee a couple weeks back, they are trying to get in place their website to order from. Not sure what the time line is supposed to be. But I told them they better get their shit together since everyone I know that wants one ends up getting something else because they can't even find a Banshee anywhere in BC.

For some reason their network for South America/England is better than here… go figure.

Banshee had a North American distributor that was based out of North Vancouver up until a year ago. Banshee have decided to go Dealer Direct (sell directly to the bike shops), which should help their pricing become a little more competitive.

Banshee are now in the process of setting up their own North American offices, there was a small gap in availability, but you should start seeing Banshee again soon in your local bike shops.

Having seen, dealt and heard things very candidly from an owner of a local shop that used to sell Banshees, I will never be purchasing another Banshee unless things dramatically change with their customer service department. I doubt that a lot of shops will either; which is a pitty, as I've owned 3 Banshees: an original Spitfire which I absolutely loved, same for a Legend MKII, and currently have an Amp.

The same shop believes that the bikes are good and really like Keith.

I have a feeling that Banshee will start directly selling bikes online to customers.

Love my Rune V2. Solid, versatile, reliable.

I bought it directly through Trident before they ceased distribution of the brand.

I think a direct to consumer/online store would work well for Banshee.

Having seen, dealt and heard things very candidly from an owner of a local shop that used to sell Banshees, I will never be purchasing another Banshee unless things dramatically change with their customer service department. I doubt that a lot of shops will either; which is a pitty, as I've owned 3 Banshees: an original Spitfire which I absolutely loved, same for a Legend MKII, and currently have an Amp.

The same shop believes that the bikes are good and really like Keith.

I have a feeling that Banshee will start directly selling bikes online to customers.

I think they burned a LOT of bridges when they left a lot of customers high and dry with the old generation bikes and their bushing issues. When it's widely acknowledged that the frames were poorly made, offering those affected a "crash replacement" at ~$2k cost will not win you any favours.

Shame. The latest models do seem like solid bikes, even if they have been left a bit behind by the "carbon everything" trend of late.

I think they burned a LOT of bridges when they left a lot of customers high and dry with the old generation bikes and their bushing issues. When it's widely acknowledged that the frames were poorly made, offering those affected a "crash replacement" at ~$2k cost will not win you any favours.

I don't want to start a big argument over this point, but the "crash replacement cost" was about $1k for the frames. If Banshee had just gone ahead and replaced all the frames (as I think you are saying), they would have gone out of business. Banshee did the "crash replacement" because they knew there was an issue with premature wear on the bushings/axles, but it did not make the frames un-ridable, they just needed super frequent servicing.

In the end, it was a pretty fair way of doing things, they could have done nothing and let people replace bushings and axles every 6 months, which would have left nobody happy.

Spitfire v2 with lyric u turn here on 26.
No reason to change bikes last 3-4 years. It rips.
Still original bearings.
$1000 was reasonable replacement cost going from my v1 rune.
I've got the 650b drop outs, but need a fork and wheels.
How is the bike at 27.5 compared to 26?

Built up my Darkside about 6 months back. The thing rips :)

Built up my Darkside about 6 months back. The thing rips :)

Question, do you pedal your Darkside around the shore or do you mostly park ride it? and if you do pedal, is it a brute or not bad at all?