Descend Like a Hooligan on the Rock-Solid Banshee Prime

Equipped to Order

Banshee offers a handful of build kits through its North American dealers, which means that if you’re in the market for a 150mm trail bike, there’s a Prime to fit your needs (and budget). Buyers start with the frameset, which includes a headset and RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 shock, and then specify a build kit, which includes everything else but the fork and wheels. We rode the “race” build kit—consisting of a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain, SRAM Guide RS brakes, and Rockshox Reverb dropper post—with an MRP Ribbon air-sprung fork and Race Face Arc 30 29-inch wheels (the Prime also accommodates 27.5-inch wheels).

Trevor Raab

Flipping dropout mounting chips allows riders to adjust the Prime’s geometry.

Stiffer Aluminum and Adjustable Angles

Banshee’s commitment to aluminum innovation is evident in the Prime’s hydroformed 7005 aluminum frameset: It’s stronger, stiffer, and lighter than the previous model’s non-hydroformed 7005 aluminum frame (Banshee is among the few manufacturers hydroforming 7005 aluminum, which is marginally stronger and stiffer but more difficult to manipulate than 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum). The Prime also features adjustable frame geometry. Optional long dropouts increase chainstay length by 10mm to accommodate plus size tires and increase stability as desired (Banshee offers the long and compact dropouts for 148x12mm and 142x12mm rear axles). Flippable rear dropout chips allow riders to increase the head- and seat tube angles by 0.5 degrees (the higher setting also raises the bottom bracket by 8mm).