Banshee Legend MX - Review
Intro
I first tested the Banshee Legend for Pinkbike back in 2018: I had a batch of all of the latest 29” wheeled downhill bikes when they rocketed to popularity after Minnaar rocketed down a wet Lourdes on a big wheeler into 1st Place. Panic ensued among the racer's and then consumers demanded.
Carbon test machines included a Trek Sesson 9.9, Intense M29 and Norco Aurum HSP, plus an alloy Devinci Wilson, Cube Stereo 215 and Commencal Supreme. This Legend was my third favourite, close behind the Andorran Alloy and Canadian Carbon high pivots.
I first tested the Legend 29 for Pinkbike in 2018. Image courtesy of Pinkbike.
That bike was a beast but demanded hard riding and a clipped-in racing style, but, I just got on better with the higher pivots and reduced forces through my flat pedals. The Legend had a pair of 29” wheels connected to a long and balanced stiff alloy frame, with high anti-squat to pedal and pump against. Since then the world’s gone mullet mad and high pivot crazy: and with good reason.
Mullets just turn better for basically everyone, offer better stiffness/flex feelings for both ends of the bike, descend better and have ass clearance for all. High pivots eat up bumps, and most riders nowadays–especially on flats–love that chainless feel thanks to idlers cutting out kickback.
Rulezman took to the task of converting his favourite downhill destroyer into something even better. Firstly, thanks to the custom link, geometry is maintained with a smaller 27.5” wheel and adds an extra 5mm travel making a round 200mm. Secondly, the new link adjusts the leverage ratio to increase mid-stroke support lost from fitting the ZeroBack Plate.
Custom Link + ZeroBack Plate
The ZeroBack Plate acts like an idler wheel to route the chain into a similar position you would see on a high-pivot bike but aimed to match the virtual location of the KS Link pivot precisely. This idler wheel removes all pedal kickback through the pedals giving that chainless feel and keeping your feet planted in the roughest. The PK is reduced from 18mm of chain growth on the original frame to essentially zero.
The reduced PK means the suspension needs more support as the chain is no longer helping to support the rider's weight and movements. The linkage data shows how the leverage on the shock changes to offer more support early in the stroke, and less towards the end. This gives more mid-stroke support for chassis balance and to push against when generating speed. But you will say “Less progression means more bottom out”? Well, the final bottom-out force value stays the same and moreover, is taken care of by the incredible custom shock, but more on that later.
Frame design is an extremely complicated area of balance between different characteristics. The Legend was spot-on in many ways with a good axle path, anti-rise figure and anti-squat which all stay the same. The ZeroBack Plate allows the forces to be separated from the linkage locations essentially combining the best high-pivot + normal pivot worlds.
The ZeroBack Plate is made in Europe along with the custom link from 7075 alloy and uses hard-anodised 30-micron pulley wheels for improved durability. This custom plate places the pulley wheels in a precise location to remove kickback and also closely guards the chain top and bottom with nowhere for the chain to escape. To finish, a thermoplastic Delrin bash guard slider is used: plastic bash guards are a must as they slide on rocks where alloy guards will grip and try to throw you out of the front door.
Unique suspension comes in the form of a Limited Edition Dorado RRT fork. This numbered LE11 edition comes from Rulezmans’ collector series and will not be reproduced in the same colour again. Gold legs, polished crowns and matching chrome lower decals and finished off with gold Ti bolts: an ode to Showa.
But this fork ain’t just pretty, it’s probably the best-performing MTB fork ever created (read my 3-year review here) and the closest thing to a factory supercross fork you will ever find. The €3300 price tag seems very high, but considering the work that goes in to it, the custom nature of the finish, tune, and aftersale support make it relatively good value.
When it comes to custom tunes, there’s a matching shock which is a uniquely finished Cane Creek Double Barrel shock with custom gold colours and internals that can’t be found anywhere else. Just like the Dorado, Rulezman only sells what he believes is ‘the Best or Nothing’ and has [nearly] exclusively serviced, tuned, built, rode and sold these shocks for two decades.
If there is one thing I have learnt in my time testing bikes is that the tuning is many times more important than the parts used. I see dream builds all the time where a collection of the most expensive parts have been mackled together and I can just see it will be horrible on the trail. This machine starts off with one of the best DH frames and the best suspension chassis available, add to this the tuning by an expert who has dedicated years to putting all of these products together and you’re essentially getting something better than most of the world’s best DH racers have ever experienced. And certainly a guarantee of better performance than anything you could buy oof-the-shelf and put together with any budget.
Geometry
The geometry of this XL bike stays the same as stock with the important DH numbers being a 62.9º HA, 480mm reach, 473mm chainstay, and -25mm BB drop. Ruleman rides this size at 180cm, Toby rides it at 170cm both using the 18mm HCV1 Handlebar Clamp/Stem. I’m slightly taller at 185mm but would still happily ride this with a 30-35mm stem.
Shredding
But how does it ride? I rode a prototype of this bike in Pila for two days this summer (I also collected a couple of hours of GoPro footage for this review but on one of the final runs it detached from my chest plate and went to hide in the woods… for a few years). This proto was being ridden by a pinner called Toby from Zurich and he was kind enough to let me ride it.
The first thing to note was this was the most comfortable I have ever felt on a brand-new bike and was up to full speed by the end of the first run. The balance was perfect between the wheels thanks to the tuned suspension and the generous chainstay length. I could have gotten more out of the machine but didn’t want to change Toby’s settings (10kg heavier than me) but still, it ate everything, refused to bottom out anywhere and wouldn’t even try to get out of shape however fast I rode it at rocks and roots.
All of the original characteristics of the bike tested for PB in 2019 were still there: small bump compliance, massive grip and positive feedback when working the bike. But there were no negatives: this tuned version is easier to ride and much easier to push faster on, is more predictable and easier to keep the feet planted on the pedals. Now you can have a racey or a relaxed style and ride down at any pace and easily keep it under control.
The mullet wheels let it carve better than the original and were more predictable leaning over into Pila’s deep dust: the smaller rear wheel tries to carve a tighter path than the front which forces it to break away first–which is always more welcome than the front starting to push.
The only thing I think that could improve this setup would be to chop off the seat tower and weld it back on in a suitable place for a dropper. This bike still pedals so well that a high saddle and a couple more gears would turn it an burly enduro/freerider of the future.
The ride characteristics of this bike are the equivalent of hitting a nail directly on the head with a sledgehammer. Part of me hopes the winner chooses the cash-prize alternative so I can add this one to my collection!
Win!
A brand new Legend MX frame kit is currently available to win on my competition site. For only £20 per ticket (-25% with the Black Friday offer) you get the frame with the MX kit + ZeroBack Plate, Dorado RRT LE11, TTX25 custom shock, HCV1 handlebar clamp. Head to the Comp page for more details!
You can also learn more about Rulezman’s obsession with the Legend in his Dream Build video, Bike Check Video, and another Dream Build about the all-gold Legend we gave away last year.
