Thoughts on Trail/AM 29ers

I really love Banshee and am this close to pulling the trigger on a Prime…I just want to make sure I am picking the right bike and I really appreciate everyones input.

bhowell, have you ridden other 29ers and if so how did they compare to the Prime? Thanks for the offer too…lol…I would want a new one. :)

I think at 260lbs the stiffness of the very burly Banshee Prime frame will be fantastic for you.
The Prime is a great bike. Short stays, great angles, good value, great looks. It's only downside for most trail riders might be the heft. But that shouldn't be too bad, as it is probably a pretty durable frame.

If you like banshee anyway, that's a bonus. Whenever I talked to the banshee guys at Eurobike etc. they are really cool, down to earth. Worth keeping them employed.

Compared to some of the Spesh folk I've had to deal with…

Hopefully Yeti hasn't used the same pivot bearings on the SB95 that they did on the SB66. The design and bearing choice was so bad that I couldn't possibly keep mine even though I really liked the bike. The main pivot bearing sizes are absolutely ridiculous and seize up at the sight of any water.

I think they did. I haven't had much experience with the Yeti's, but if what your saying is true, I would agree.

I really love Banshee and am this close to pulling the trigger on a Prime…I just want to make sure I am picking the right bike and I really appreciate everyones input.

bhowell, have you ridden other 29ers and if so how did they compare to the Prime? Thanks for the offer too…lol…I would want a new one. :)

I've ridden several, including the epic, tallboy, and others. They all felt like long-legged XC bikes to me. I bought the pre-production Prime without throwing a leg over it first b/c it checked all the boxes for me. Not once have I regretted my decision.

I haven't rode the LTC, but that's pretty much my experience with reg tallboy vs any other 29er

+1 to this.

Every ride my Tallboy C blows my freaking mind with how awesome it is. Fast, great suspension feel, fun, flickable, and again, fast. With a dropper post I can ride it way more aggressively than I ever thought I could do on an XC bike. I haven't tried the LT because I'm afraid I'd fall in love with it and have to sell and organ to fund the purchase.

I'm in Victoria as well and find this to be an amazing bike for our trails.

…man I wish I could demo a Tallboy LT and a Prime…

Have you talked to Oak Bay? They may have a TB LT you could ride.

i've had a 2011 Shinobi for a couple years. love it. it's a heavy beast with big rubber and a dropper post, nearly 33 lbs. at a lanky 6'5" i find it plenty playful, easy to manual, etc. i don't know what a really light sub 30lb bike is even like, though i did start serious mtn biking with a 2008 Stumpy fsr 29er, the first year (30lbs). the Shinobi is way stiffer slacker and more descend oriented, and 3 pounds heavier.

anyways…

as the typical male mtn bike gearhead i'm always wondering about the next superbike. the TB LTC holds my fascination given it's rep. the other bike on the short list is the Banshee Prime. the main appeal of the Prime is conceptually the ability to run it "steep" (which is still bloody slack) with light tires as a rip snorting but every day trail bike, change rubber and flip chips for a weekend of shuttle or even park riding (no, of course you couldn't do the extreme DH trails, but i don't anyways). i'm in Vancouver as i type visiting friends and went to Lynn Valley Bikes which have a built up Prime in size Large in stock and wow, WOW, the drool factor was intense. they let me ride it around the streets and it was impressive but really, one can't tell much other than it confirms i would prefer the XL. it was in the mid setting and it did feel very slack, whoa. seems a number of people with experience on the bike (and some that i hold in high esteem) claim the Prime feels too burly and lacks playfulness, but i really have to take it all with a grain of salt, until i get a proper trail demo if possible. i'm taking vacation to Outerbike this fall to answer a lot of my questions first hand. playfulness is entirely qualitative and feel based. there is no question at all, even with a lot of money spent on build, the Prime will never bee light but it just may be a bike that can do dual duty at different styles of riding. the question is (for me), does it do both sufficiently well, or is it too much of a compromise in each realm. i'm moving towards the one bike club, and getting rid of the Reign X (size xl, any takers? it's got a Totem and angleset, VERY aggressive bike), and if i can get a bike that rides up and general trails like my Shinobi, but goes down the steepest trails with greater poise and confidence, then i'm all over it. which bike, do tell, which bike???

a big factor in this equation IMO (correct me if i'm off base) is a travel adjust fork. whatever new bike, will surely have the Pike 35 150 fork. i may even get it for the Shinobi as it's underforked and will remain in the stable for at least a year. if a Prime, or a TB had this fork and can be ridden up and across in the dropped mode, then a trailbike is born. i know a guy with a Spitfire and he routinely rides in reduced mode until he hits the down and let's it go.

i don't care about wheel size debates and bollocks, but for me, i just can't see a reason not to carry on with 29, i love the feel and the ride, for all terrain.

+1 to this.

Every ride my Tallboy C blows my freaking mind with how awesome it is. Fast, great suspension feel, fun, flickable, and again, fast. With a dropper post I can ride it way more aggressively than I ever thought I could do on an XC bike. I haven't tried the LT because I'm afraid I'd fall in love with it and have to sell and organ to fund the purchase.

I'm in Victoria as well and find this to be an amazing bike for our trails.

Agreed! I've had a whole bunch of bikes over the years and normally roll through them pretty quickly but I'm hanging onto my TBc. It certainly isn't the same sort of bike as the Prime but it puts a huge smile on my face every time I ride it. I always run a dropper post now and with 2 sets of wheels I can quickly set it up for fast XC riding or steeper, nastier riding. I'm scared to demo a TB LTc because i would probably "need" one.

I really love Banshee and am this close to pulling the trigger on a Prime…I just want to make sure I am picking the right bike and I really appreciate everyones input.

650b spitfire XL?

I really enjoyed my Prime, and would love to have an XC-slanted 29er, but for having only one bike for island terrain the Spitfire ticks a lot of boxes.

Another SC Tallboy LTc fanboy, I haven't ridden any other LT 29ers so have nothing to compare it to but it is a freakin' fun bike.

I'm a SC fan as I've as the LTc is the 5th SC bike own I've owned, I like VPP bikes and was waiting for them to release a Tallboy with more travel.

I ordered it soon after they were released based on the initial reviews and confidence in the company that they knew what they were doing.

Honestly, it climbs as well as my Blur and descends as well as my old VP-Free. The only difference is how high of a drop I'll do on the LTc vs. the Free which comes down my confidence in the double crown 888 vs the single crown Fox 34.

Even if you can't demo one, I think you would be happy. If you do demo one, I think you'll be buying one.

If you have any doubts about the frame and your mass, check with Scott @ SC. He is great to deal with.

@craig and cunningstunts:I've just read your posts, after typing my monster post, didn't reload the page before. I totally agree with what you say. A Tallboy LTC is the best candidate as my next bike. I don't think a travel adjust fork is necessary though. I've always had them on my 26ers, but my 29er climbs worlds better than them, with the fork at full height…

Took another ride on my 2011 Stumpjumper FSR 29er today. This thing is just a really fun ride.
I am astonished every time how fast and efficient it rolls. Yet when I drop into a steep muddy or sandy line, it still just grips. And that's with some pinner tires with comparably high pressure.

After reading all the fuss with short chainstays and all the moaning because of the new Enduro 29. I really have to say that I think it doesn't matter all that much.

My FSR has around 450mm stays and it is an XL. It is true, the front wheel takes some muscle to lift. But it is manageable and it climbs like crazy. Drops are easy. If there's a hindrance to throwing that bike around it is the lousy mid stroke support of the frankenbiked RP23 or the linkage curve on this particular design.
For my taste it is too linear and really blows through mid stroke.
A shock revalve (it's a boost valve shock, they seem to be notorious for this stuff) might solve that issue though,

For really thight stuff the 125mm travel of my REVERB are not enough. I'd love a 150mm post.
Complaining about tiny niggles. Which leads me to believe, my bike is pretty dialed right now,

Just for shits and giggles I took some 2013 bikes for a spin at the LBS I used to work. 29er carbon hardtail with 430mm stays. (Like the Enduro)
Stumpjumper evo with 26" and 420mm stays. And a couple of AM 26ers.

I entertained the thought to change back to 26" for flickability and more fun on the trail. Mostly because of reading too much mtbr and bike magazines through winter, when I was snowed in and only able to ride my rigid beater commuting bike.

In reality, the 29ers felt a lot better to me. Lifting the front wheel on a 430mm 29er is still harder than on the 26ers, but its doable. The difference to my 450mm bike is there. But it's not night and day. Either you can wheelie, manual and hop. Or you can't.

It's nuts. At my size 6ft, 93cm inseam and long arms, the fit a 29er, even a racing HT, gives me because of bar height feels just more natural.
In the past I've ridden medium and large 26ers. My 2003 Heckler felt incredibly flickable and fun on certain trails. At the same time it wandered a lot through climbs, didn't roll good with proper tires and made my back ache on long climbs. Still love that rig, for all the good times I got out of it.

Riding the 26ers now, after riding a 29er, they just feel really strange. I am sure, I'd get used to them again. Especially if they'd be long travel, slack. But in the 140mm travel range they just don't make much sense for tall people (IMHO) .

What really awes me with the 29ers is the extended rang you get. Want to take a long gravel, pave epic ride. Climb endless mountains, spend a day at the lifts. Do it.

Of course there are better niche bikes (park especially), but the versatility is most of the fun in biking for me.

In August I'll be on a Specialized Camp, riding the enduros 29+26 and the Stumpjumper evos in both wheel sizes extensively in the Alps, also I'll head over to Italy, to test a Santa Cruz Tallboy LTC. Really curious what will feel best…

Greetings Znarf

Hey znarf was your sj originally spec'd with a brain-dampened shock?

So I sell alot of trailbikes, and cannot remember the last time one went out the door that wasn't a 29er. The shop owner and myself just bought new Rocky Mountain Instincts (67.5* headangle / 130mm of travel), one mechanic is on a bandit 29 and has a covert 29 on order. Our main sales guy and 29er prophet rides a Stumpy Evo 29 carbon and won't shut up about it. Ive sold countless Tallboy LTs, Stumpy 29s, Bandits, etc.

The main push I have on them is that they handle the rough shit as well as a 6 or 7 inch 26er with none of the poor climbing characteristics associated with a big mountain bike. Now that 29er tires are available for real men I have no qualms throwing my "trail bike" at any trail I'd hit on my old Uzzi.

More than one of our employees is selling their DH bike because they'd rather pedal up Burke, Sumas, Bear, Fromme, Ledgeview and make big epic loops instead of shuttling or hike a bike. I blame Strava. But for what it's worth I've watched my bud send it on his carbon stumpy and he's not a small dude at 6'2" /230lbs

The Instinct 950 I just picked up is a really under hyped bike. The ride 9 geometry allows for a really slack and low set up, plenty of clearance for big tires (I'm running conti TrailKing 2.4) and comes with an X.9 type 2 derailleur for $3099

Hi boomforeal,

No, it came with a regular Fox Triad (regular, except it has the tedious special proprietary Specialized shock mount).
I then buggered the hell out of Spesh to sell me a fitting RP23 out of a Stumpjumper EVO when my Triad failed.

I shimmed that down a bit, to keep the seat tube from being hit by the brace of the seat stays.
Then I got back the warranty Triad.

Do you need one? Got it kicking around in my dust bin. Fresh from the factory…

The RP23 works ok. Just wallows a bit.
The Triad feels different in the rebound. Has better pro pedal and lockout though.

Toss.