Product Full Name | Banshee Spitfire XO1 build

Retail Price | This build £4099.99 (frame only £1299, and builds from £2649)

Available From | Ison Distribution

Banshee Spitfire – a highly tuneable and user friendly trail weapon

Although based around a 140mm travel back end, the Banshee Spitfire is not pitched for leisurely trail rides – it’s 66degree head angle, 150mm fork and 30lb weight put this rig firmly in the aggressive trail category.

Not to be confused with the bigger 160mm travel Enduro smashing Rune, the Banshee Spitfire is a trail bike designed around the type of rider who knows what they like, and like to tinker. It accepts both 26in and 27.5in wheels – and has easily adjustable geometry.

Our size XL test bike was specced around a SRAM XO1 drivetrain, with a Monarch RT3 Debon air rear shock, and MRP Stage fork. With a princely sum of just over £4K, the Spitfire promises a lot – though there is a frame only option for £1299, and competitive builds starting at £2649.

The Banshee Spitfire – a no frills bike that will give you all the thrills out on the trail.

The Detail

In the sea of carbon bikes and alloy bikes with curvy frame designs, the Banshee Spitfire immediately stands out as something different. It has a far more purposeful look – there’s nothing here for show, just a bike with form that follows function.

The short head tube on the Spitfire might please those on smaller sizes, but it messes with the ride position for taller riders.

Made from hydro-formed 7005 Aluminium tubes, the roomy front triangle has a dropped top tube with a simple brace to support the seat tube. The top tube on our XL had a 640mm length – although quite roomy, it’s fairly average for an XL bike in the 140-160mm category these days. Seat tube length is 508mm/20in – long enough to handle taller riders, but possibly a touch tall for those wanting to size up.

The stumpy 115mm head tube could do with being longer on the bigger sizes though – it might suit the smaller frame sizes but results in lofty riders needing a lot of headset spacers and/or a high rise bar to get things in the right place.

There is internal routing for a stealth type seat post, but most cables run on the topside of the down tube – not the cleanest design but it makes the bike versatile and easy to work on. Great for privateer racers and tinkerers.

Our Banshee Spitfire test bike came with a Rockshox RT3 Debonair – rather than the Cane Creek Inline shock that is specced as standard.

A down tube mounted shock is driven directly by the seat stays of the back end, which is controlled by the KS link system. This variation on a twin linkage is designed to offer anti-squat characteristics to the suspension, which means the bike sits up when you pedal.

The back end of the Spitfire uses the KS link system.

The Banshee Spitfire is great for climbing as it puts a bias to moving your weight forward, and will shift ass when you put the power down. One trait of this design is slight bob as the suspension extends under pedalling, but it can be well controlled with modern shocks and isn’t that noticeable.

Large sealed bearings pressed in to the frame, and a wide pivot stance keep things sturdy and durable out back, which mate well with internally ribbed, box section chain stays and a 142mm bolt through back end.

The KS link system looks a little industrial, but is purposeful and does the job well. Despite the bearings developing a bit of surface rust in our somewhat wet test period, they were spinning fine and needed no maintenance.

One of the best features on the Banshee Spitfire is the drop out system – which has a 3 position design via supplied ‘chips’ which allow for geometry tuning and the use of smaller 26in wheels.

The interchangeable chips allow for geometry adjustments, and the use of smaller 26in wheels. Dial in the Spitfire the way you want.

As stock in the central position – with 27.5in wheels – you get a 66deg head angle; 75deg seat angle; a 435mm chainstay; 1216mm wheelbase and a low 339mm BB height. Good numbers, and easily adjustable to your preference.

Out on the Trail

Once I’d tinkered with the set up position, getting to know the Banshee Spitfire was easy. The sight anti-squat design did mean the bike bobbed a touch on climbs – but it kept my weight forwards and both wheels planted. It’s a characteristic that suits a bike like this, with a bias to climbing for the descent rather than being a whippet.

This combined with the decent length chainstay and steep 75degree seat angle made the Spitfire climb really well – especially on steep terrain. Although our XL sample weighed 30.8lbs/13.97kg, it wasn’t weight that held the bike back on climbs – the only niggle was the fairly low BB, which meant pedalling on technical climbs needed a bit of thought. However, I actually prefer lower BBs for the overall in-the-bike feel and stability, but if you prefer things higher you can adjust the BB height with the supplied frame chips. I didn’t try the lower setting as never felt the need to go lower, but if you like things aggressive it will sure cater for that.

Although our bike should have come with a Cane Creek Inline shock, the Monarch RT3 Debonair flattered the suspension design well. I preferred running 30% sag too, over the recommended 25% – as I found the bike sat in to it’s travel better and the anti-squat became slightly less noticeable. The back end on the Spitfire ramps up enough that I never felt like I was pushing our luck – it is well controlled and doesn’t struggle absorbing hits that the longer travel fork takes.

When pointing the Spitfire down, it has a sense of urgency about it that inspires you to push in to every little back side and throw down a crank or two whenever you can. It’s really comfortable at speed, and surprisingly good at staying controlled when things get choppy.

But push it too hard and slowing down becomes harder as the back end can skip around a bit. It’s not a design flaw, its just you can truly ride this bike to the limit. I like this in a bike, and it reminds me of my old Foxy a bit.

Aggressive bikes are often referred to as bottomless, or being capable of handling anything you throw at it – which are nice traits to have if you ride hard as it’s nice to know there is a little extra for when you run out of skill.

But the Spitfire isn’t that sort of bike.

It likes to be ridden to it’s absolute limit, and copes with it really well . It doesn’t mind being red-lined and laughs when you blow the o-ring off the shock – it takes that sort of riding in it’s stride, and actually encourages it.

We Say 

All in all, the Banshee Spitfire is a wild little bike.

It has enough travel to provide the grip you need and to absorb a hell of a lot – but it’s not too much bike that robs you of ride experience. You can feel the trail on the Spitfire, and it encourages you to leave an imprint in every turn.  It’s a bike that you can ride hard as hell and it just screams for more.

The Spitfire isn’t the slickest looking bike, but even that has it’s own appeal. The cable routing and easily accessible bearings will please home tinkerers, and it’s utilitarian look will win a lot of fans. It also has a decent 2year warranty on the frame, and a lifetime crash replacement policy that gives the owner a sizeable discount should things go South. 

What do you think of the Banshee Spitfire – do you like the no-nonsense approach?

Would you rather buy a bike like this, or would you stick to main stream brands?

Let us know in the comments below!

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