's Foes Racing Alpine rowdy enduro 29"er.Banshee drops details on two new models.Banshee has dropped images on three more new models.It leaves that to me… It’s only running an 11-36 with a single 34t at the front, but it’s only my occasional(!) laziness that stops it getting up climbs. The bike rides quite light & seems to get up most trail centre slopes without complaining. A better one will give even more cornering speed in the future. The frame/shock combo would generate more grip with a more chunky rear tyre, the current one is mostly OK but drifts out well before the front. Despite being a fun bike I’ve not had any scary moments or crashes. I’ve mostly ridden whilst teaching bike skills, but lately there have been some quicker riders so I’ve also had the chance to get some speed. As with the demo bike this one climbs well, better than a 160mm bike has any right to.! I suspect that unless things change drastically, other shocks may well struggle not to disappoint once you’ve ridden a Cane Creek that suits your bike. It might be just me but it doesn’t seem to need it, even on the smooth. On some bikes I’m guessing it would be a real help, on this frame I haven’t missed it. The lack of the climb switch on the Cane Creek DB air hasn’t been a worry. They are that good, really plush but also feel properly fast whether it’s rough or smooth. They’re a massive improvement on the Sektors I was running! However, the demo bike was running Pikes & they kind of give you extremely high expectations for anything you ride after! I suspect a set of Pikes will transform any bike that needs an AM type fork. This frame came with a set of TALAS 160 FIT RC2 forks which are solid & perform pretty well. Different forks were required, the Five was running some solid but quite low performance 150mm Sektors. Most of the build came from my previous frame, a rugged & dependable Orange 5, but it’s all vaguely similar in type & quality to the kit on the demo bike. There are other differences concerning the complete build, mostly not that relevant. In terms of reliability, nothing whatsoever has been an issue. In terms of this being a longer term review, although I’ve been riding it for 3 or 4 months it was an ex-demo frame from EDS Bikes so it’s had a reasonable amount of use already. It should be a slow bike on the tarmac, not that you’d be thinking of riding too much road on it! However, I do tend to ride from home to the trails & it’s no slower on the boring smooth stuff than a lot of shorter travel mountain bikes. Both feel just as solid & the differences aren’t huge. It also rolls faster on smoother surfaces. The 650b feels like a slightly smoother ride on rockier surfaces & the 26er feels a touch more nimble, most noticeable is that it manuals slightly easier. Much has been written about the advantages of the different wheel sizes but here’s my opinion. It’s rumoured that the 26er is slightly better, but I reckon they’re both pretty good. – This one has no climb switch on the shock more on that later – The demo was a 650b & this one’s a 26er, the only difference being a different set of dropouts It’s got enough room that I might still go for a shorter stem in the future to improve the steering & chuck-aboutable-ness… This is a large & it fits me well although it’s maybe more like a medium from other brands. ![]() ![]() – the demo was a medium & slightly small for me (although great fun!). This one is concerned with reliability, some differences in the setup between this one & the demo bike I rode & anything else that didn’t occur to me originally. …see the Rune first impressions review for info on the frame.
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