Sea Otter Report: Banshee Bikes
Originally posted on April 29, 2013 at 12:13 pmBy Eric McKeegan
Banshee Bikes is known for B.C. bred big hit bikes, so I was surprised to see this prototype hanging out in the booth. Dubbed the Phantom (at least for now), this bike is still a ways off. Banshee is calling this a 2015 prototype.
What we’ve got here is a short-travel 29-inch trail bike. This prototype is running 100mm of rear travel, but expect to see that go up to the 110-115mm range. The Flip Chip rear end offers 3 geometry adjustments
The headtube is 56mm tapered, for Zero Stack headsets, keeping the front low, as the Phantom is readty for forks up to 140mm.
The KS-Link suspension design is for efficient pedaling and minimal bushing at the shock for increased small bump plushness. Those little bushings can get sticky, swinging a link trough a long arc to activate the shock has to overcome this force too. A straight shot like this keeps things easy an smooooth.
Banshee already has a 140mm 29er in its line-up, the Prime. The Phantom looks to slot in nicely for riders looking to go longer, not bigger.