We met up with Keith Scott, designer and partner at Banshee bikes. He showed us their blinging new Legend 29 DH race bike and told us how this new big-wheeled machine is different than the existing 27.5-inch wheeled Legend.
"The Legend 29 is bike designed for fast racers who are in excess of six feet tall. It's a very long, low-planted, DH race-specific bike with optimal weight distribution and race-focused suspension kinematics. It's all about speed." Keith said.
The Banshee Legend 29 has slightly less travel than the 27.5 at only 190mm front and rear. There were two considerations for running less travel on the new bike; geometry (BB height and general height of the bike) as well as shock leverage ratio. The BB height of the Banshee 29 is on par with the 27.5-inch bike keeping it low, stable and race-ready. If the travel was pushed 200mm, the bike would be too high for serious race applications. Using less travel also reduces the leverage ratio. Keith explained that having a less-leveraged shock will aid in proper damping set-up and suspension performance for bigger/taller riders as well as reducing the load on the frame under hard compressions.
The front triangle is new and specific to the 29er with custom triple-butted hydro-formed tubes and geometry to match the bigger wheels. The rear end was been tweaked accordingly and there's a new forged linkage. The linkage has slightly less anti-squat than the 27.5 because it's likely that a slightly smaller chainring will be used given the 29-inch wheels. The reach is longer to match the longer chainstays required for the 29-inch wheels and Banshee believe this results in weight distribution that is balanced and optimized. Additionally, seat angle is steeper for taller riders who tend to run their seats higher.
The Banshee Legend 29 will probably only be offered in size XL as Banshee believes the benefits for tall riders are where a 29-inch-wheeled DH bike shines.
Cruise through the gallery to see the bike up close!
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