A new Banshee?

kiwiinmelb

Likes Dirt
Yup, it certainly is. It's more than I've seen a SC Chameleon frame for at retail.

I've opened my mind to an aggro hardtail over winter to save the maintenance on the FS bikes. It'll also sharpen up my riding too.
I’ve noticed there seems to be an increase of people riding aggressive hard tails in places like Lysterfield, they all seem pretty happy and will say things like , it’s all you need to ride here , so quick , etc etc

It’s kind of sparked my interest as well , not sure if it’s enough to take the step , but interested all the same
 

Nambra

Definitely should have gone to specsavers
I think the trend toward aggressive geometry with plus tyres have something to do with it. Low psi 2.6" to 2.8" rubber on a hardtail softens the back end a lot without it feeling sluggish like a fat bike and the extra overall wheel diameter gets closer to a 29er, so they roll well too. I'm a 48yo hack but when I jump on my Chameleon I feel like a kid again - so much fun.
 

slowmick

38-39"
@kiwiinmelb - Lysterfield will make you work hard on a hardtail. there are so many exposed roots that it requires a very active rider to get the most out of the ride. when it's good it's awesome, when it's not it's draining. The start of aneurysm sucks balls on a hardtail.
 

LPG

likes thicc birds
I really like the look of it but I feel the rear centre is too short on XL sized bikes.
Short chainstays make sense on aggro hardtails as you ride them differently. You have to ride them very actively looking for the smooth lines. hop over the sharp rocks looking for a smooth landing. Hit the right line and keep or catch up with the guys plowing and straightlining tech sectios on the duallies and you feel like a king. There will be sections where you just have to slow down while you bounce over the rough sections of the trail but it is worth it. Trying to make it more stable with longer chainstays defeats the point of them. It would be nice to scale the XL CS up but the seat tube is fairly steep so your weight won't be too far back over the rear axle with the longer extension.
 

The Reverend

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Short chainstays make sense on aggro hardtails as you ride them differently. You have to ride them very actively looking for the smooth lines. hop over the sharp rocks looking for a smooth landing. Hit the right line and keep or catch up with the guys plowing and straightlining tech sectios on the duallies and you feel like a king. There will be sections where you just have to slow down while you bounce over the rough sections of the trail but it is worth it. Trying to make it more stable with longer chainstays defeats the point of them. It would be nice to scale the XL CS up but the seat tube is fairly steep so your weight won't be too far back over the rear axle with the longer extension.
What I've found is that the STA makes a difference whilst seated, but upon standing, the rear centre tucked in too much for my tastes makes is fidgety / nervous.

Admittedly, my last hardtail was a race / XC model but they were longer on that than the chainstays on bikes as short as the SCHT / LT I've tried and really didn't get on with.


Pole Taival might be the winner if I can be motivated to wait for it to arrive.
 

LPG

likes thicc birds
What I've found is that the STA makes a difference whilst seated, but upon standing, the rear centre tucked in too much for my tastes makes is fidgety / nervous.

Admittedly, my last hardtail was a race / XC model but they were longer on that than the chainstays on bikes as short as the SCHT / LT I've tried and really didn't get on with.


Pole Taival might be the winner if I can be motivated to wait for it to arrive.
The front end geo on the xc bikes isnt helping the nervous handling.
 

The Reverend

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Agreed, and actually that XC frame handled very well. What I found too playful was the FS bike with super short stays in XL.

I'm not after a plough but it needs to be balanced. I might be wrong on this but having such short rear ends might be less than perfect. As always there's precious little way of being sure without actually riding one. And that's almost impossible for XL sized bikes...
 
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Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
Anyone heard reports of a 29er enduro version of the legend
The legend is their dh bike. I'm pretty sure they just released the 29er this year, but only in L and XL.

Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk
 

The Reverend

Likes Bikes and Dirt
On MTBR there's a rider with a 650b Legend running a 170mm Lyrik. Seems to pedal well enough too. The 29" like that would be epic downhill, not so sure it'd be the choice for anywhere else but happy to be proven wrong.
 
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