Mike Montgomery video

After watching this video, I really don't feel there is much to say, other than Wow, and that we are very proud to have Mike killing it on our bikes.

Matej winning another National Level DH

We have been proud to have Matej Charvat racing the legend (both MkI and now MkII) at national and WC races for a couple of years now, and even raced Scythe to top 30 at worldcup before that... this guy is a real talent, and humble personality.

Here is a video of him winning at the latest national race In the Czech Republic.



Matej has had a really solid start to the 2010 world cup season, and is currently sitting 54th in the overall world cup standings. So if your going to be at any of the up and comming WC races, be sure to chear him on!

Please visit his facebook page, and website for more videos and information. Keep it up Matej!

Legend Stealth Build

The Matt, Sanesh, and the good guys at North Shore Bike Shop in Vancouver have been putting together a lot of extremely nice builds recently. This one made me very jealous...






Yup, 36.6lbs, and about to get lighter thanks to a Ti spring... pretty crazy!

If your in North vancouver any time, be sure to pop in and visit the guys and check out some of the amazing builds they put together.

Legend Wins Gold in Malaysian Games!

Fakawi Banshee Team rider, Stanly Jalip JR, blew away the competition in the XIIIth Malaysian Games recently to grab the Gold medal in the men's Downhill event.

Stanly will also be racing in our upcoming Banshee Kiara Rage downhill race in Kuala Lumpur! Want a piece of this guy? Come race with us this July 25th!

In the mean time, check out this Legend MkII built up by one of our Singapore dealers..

TEAM BANSHEE AUSTRALIA GETS UP IN COLORADO USA

Team Banshee Australia downhill racer Ben Power has added another podium to his race resume by winning round 4 of the 2010 Mountain States Cup and 2010 Colorado State Championship CAT1 Men 15-18 years today. Riding a borrowed bike, Ben posted an impressive winning margin of 7 seconds to take out the race at his first overseas event. Word is that Ben loved the steep and blown out track (similar to some back in Oz) but struggled with racing at 11,000ft above sea level but obviously not enough to affect the final race result!! It's back to Australia in a week or so to complete the Queensland State Series which he is currently equal leader for Junior Men Under 19 years and then onto the Australian National Series.

LEGEND PODIUMS AT KING OF BALLARAT AUSTRALIA

Hi Banshee Fans,

The first round of the King of Ballarat series (Vic, Australia) was held on Sunday June 20th. A large field of riders was greeted with wet and greasy tracks courtesy of persistent rain overnight. This made racing difficult for the riders however, by the amount of cheering up the hill, spectators loved it.

The race format differs somewhat from a normal downhill race as riders race
3 timed on two tracks and then the times are totaled to get a winner.
The tracks are short (around a minute each) but have the same features of a fully blown downhill course.

Banshee rider Dave Hetherington won with a time of 2.47.5 just .7 of a second ahead of reigning K.O.B champ James Carter. Dan Mclean was 3rd ahead of 4th placed Aden Wyber having his last race before heading overseas on national duties with the Aussie team.

This was an impressive win for Dave as he had issues in his first run which put him nearly 6 seconds down in 11th place. He won the second race by 1.9 seconds on a rain soaked track, many riders coming to grief in the slippery conditions on the second last turn (a sweeping left hander on a clay
surface) much to the delight of the large crowd.

Dave put in a blinder in the 3rd and final race having a clean run on a drying track winning by nearly 2.5 seconds. This earning him a win on the day.

Dave said after the race, "I slipped a pedal after the start, rode the top tube and veered off the track and lost a lot of time. You just can't give these guys 6 seconds head start in a sub 3 minute race! I kept focused in the second race and had a clean run and made up some time. I didn't give myself a chance of winning overall but I concentrated on having a good third run with the hope of salvaging a podium. We made the right choice with tyres and the legend was just awesome".

As I said earlier it was an impressive win given the circumstances (the head start he gave away, slippery race conditions and caliber of riders).

Overheard during the second race, down the bottom where the action was, I was standing in the crowd and Dave went through. Smooth, so smooth he looked slow; one guy turned to his mate, nodded and said "that's the Banshee Legend"
Up top where the riders were gathering for their start, one rider asked "who won the second race?" the reply "some guy on a Banshee"

Kinda says it all,
The Banshee juggernaut rolls on.

Cheers,
Team Banshee Australia

Fogelsode #26: Black Rock

After a few years of seeing sick videos and pictures of the beautiful Black Rock trails, we got the chance to ride them!  It was an awesome time, camping right by some of the best trails I’ve ridden, thinking about nothing but bikes.  It’s an amazing place, with an epic lush forest, generous and friendly locals, and trails that’ll make you never want to leave.  Did I mention how sick the trails are?

Enjoy!

 

-Jack

Legend MK II

Just built up my new DH bike for the year, ready in time for coaching at camp of champions. The bike is decked out with Raceface Atlas FR components, geax tyres, straitline bling. I gotta say having a bike like this can give you some new confidence in sections that once made you think twice. Stoked to ride this a lot this summer.

Iggy Strbac playing on his new Legend MkII

I had the please of meeting Iggy when staying with Jack Fogelquist in california for a week after Sea Otter a couple of months ago. The guys has pinner skills and style up to his eyeballs, keep an eye on this kid!


http://www.pinkbike.com/video/145666/

Video is filmed by the main man Justing Brantley on his brand new Canon 7D. Great work guys!!

Legend MkII video

Arron Laroque got some filming time with Strahan Loken on the Legend MkII.

Check it out...

Banshee Legend Mk II from Aaron Larocque on Vimeo.

John Clark Bike Check and Bio

John Clark:

Name: John Clark

Age: 25

Location: Sacramento, CA

About me: My focus for racing is mountain cross and this is my first year at the professional level. I race downhill for fun and also to keep myself busy at the races, at the CAT 1 level. My goal for this year is to make it to the professional level for DH.

Riding Style: Racer, when I go Dirt Jumping I like to stay low.

Fun Fact: When I ride it looks likes I’m scared of what I’m doing; my eyes get big and I bite my lip for some reason.

Competitions Attending: MSC #3 Chile Challenge Angle Fire, NM. Pro GTR #3 Northstar, CA. National Champs Sol Vista, CO, UCI World Cup #6 Windham, NW. Fuild Ride #4 Mt. Hood, OR. Race 4 Tara Norhtstar, CA. and some local races too.

I would like to say thanks to all my sponsors for this year. Banshee Bikes, X-Fusion Shox, WTB, Hayes, Sun Ringle, Answer, MRP, Crank Brothers and The Hub Bike Shop in Roseville, CA. Also to all my riding/training buddies for keeping it fun.

Frame: Scythe Med

Rear Shock: X-Fusion H3LT

Fork: Fox 40

Headset: Cane Creek

Stem: Answer Direct Mount

Bars: Answer Pro Taper 1/2 rise

Grips: Answer Fall Line DH

Brakes: Hayes Stroker Ace

Shifter: Sram X-9

Derailleur: Sram X-9

Wheel Se:t Sun Ringle ADD Lite

Tires: WTB Dissents 2.5

Seat: WTB Aviator

Seat Post: Banshee Special

Chain Guide: MRP G2

Chain Ring: MRP 36 Tooth

Cranks MRP: Camber 170mm

Pedals: Crank Brother 5050XX

Frame: Rampant Long

Rear Shock: X-Fusion 02 PVA

Fork: X-Fusion Velour

Headset: Crank Brother Iodine

Stem: Thompson X4 50mm

Bars: Answer Pro Taper 1/2 rise

Grips: Answer Fall Line XC

Brakes: Hayes Stroker Trail

Shifter: Sram X-9

Derailleur: Sram X-9

Wheel Set: Sun Ringle Charger

Tires: WTB Prowler MX 2.3

Seat: WTB Silverado

Seat Post: Banshee Special

Chain Guide: MRP Mini G2

Chain Ring: MRP 35 Tooth

Cranks: MRP Camber 175mm

Pedals: Crank Brothers Mallets/5050XX

Ace Hayden Bio and Bike Check

Mitchell Hayden:

My name is Mitchell Ace Hayden, I am from Kamloops B.C. and I am 18 years of age. I can’t really sum up my riding style because I like to ride everything. I ride BMX a lot, I love to dirt-jump, love to ride trails, big senders are always sick too. But overall I love anything to do with a big shock bike. RENEGADE MOUNTAINBIKER.
This season I am planning to enter as many races as my high paying Mcdonalds job will allow me to. BC cup circuit, some Canadian national races, Crank-worx, and some fluidride races are on my list for sure. Graduating this year and moving to whistler will take up some time and money for sure but it should be super sick!

Shout-outs go out to Banshee Bikes of course, Raceface Components, Royal clothing, Smith optics and a big thanks to the Bicycle Café for getting my bikes running smooth!

Frame: Banshee legend MK 2

Shock: Fox DHX rc4

Fork: Rockshox Boxxer Team

Wheelset: DT swiss FR600 hoops laced to DT swiss 340 hubs with dt comp spokes

Cranks: Raceface Respond

Brakes: Avid Code CR Mags 8-inch front 7-inch rear

Drivetrain: Sram x9 shifter with sram x0 derailleur, XTR chain and SLX cassette

Guide: E.thirteen LG1+

Bar: atlas FR

Stem: Atlas DM)

Pedals: Straitline flat Pedals

Tires: Maxxis minion DHF, on both front and back

Seat: SDG TI-FLY titanium railed seat

Post: Thomson elite

Grips: Raceface snipe lock on ( BEST GRIPS EVER)

P.S Bike is so rowdy!

Sponsorship Request

I wonder how many other industries receive as many sponsorship requests as the bike industry. Can you imagine emailing Crest and asking them for a tooth paste sponsorship? I have been brushing my teeth for a long time, I have some pretty good moves.  Today I received this video attached with a sponsorship resume.

 

His resume was pretty impressive, he obviously used spell check and had his dad proof read it for him. A step up from most of the sponsorship requests I get. The only thing stopping me from hooking him up is that he is asking for too much. I hear he already has a sponsorship with Spank Industries and IXS Sport Division. And his coach looks like an over the top hockey dad … so I think I will just stay away from this one.

Keep Riding.

Rob Dunnet

P.S. this was not a real sponsorship request. That is Ryder on the bike and Lance doing his best to keep up with him. Lance is a buddy of mine who is the rep for Spank and IXS as well as other companies. Great to see a future ripper getting his training wheels off.

ProGRT #3: Northstar Course Preview by Team Geronimo

This weekend is the 3rd stop on the ProGRT series. Team Geronimo's Pro squad will be in attendance. Just last weekend Cody Eichhorn took home a 4th place finish at a smaller state race, so things are looking good for this event.

Here's a helmet cam of the course, with Graeme Pitts following Cody:

ProGRT #3: Northstar Course Preview by Team Geronimo - More Mountain Bike Videos

Ace at Arduum

So this past weekend was BC cup #4 in mission, Arduum. I have never seen so many broken bodies in my life, I sat at the rock drop on saturday for over an hour watching the gnarliest crashes I have ever seen in my life. Broken backs, femurs and arms were some of the big ones that went down. I only ended up doing 2 practice runs on saturday but really focused and walked alot of the trail to scope out the sections and I felt really comfortable. Race day came and in my one practice run before our race runs my front tire slipped out and i ended up hopping over the bars and doing the splits in some sharp ass rocks leaving me with what looks like a boob growing off my left leg and golf balls all over my knee and shin. After that going into my race run I Just wanted to chill and have a safe run with a decent time without destroying myself since I had a dead left leg. This was not the case, in the first half of the trail, the techy part, I had some of my worst crashes ever leaving me strengthless and pissed off so instead of hammering down the trail and crashing more I just took it super easy and coasted down the rest of the trail. Ended up like 33rd out of 43 or something in Junior Men. Just glad I didnt get badly injured and glad all my homies are good to go too. Bear Mtn is next and I plan to do very well there!

Set your Sag!

The most important thing to get right when setting up your shock is to get the sag right... get that right and your 80% done, then you just have to dial in the damping settings.

So, here are some graphs showing the Suspension Sag vs. Shock Compression for each of our full sus rigs.

A lot of people think 30% sock compression = 30% sag, but that is not normally the case, it all changes due to leverage ratio curves. Hopefully these graphs I made up will help you tune your bike in more accurately.

True all mountain??

Horst sent me this self filmed video from his ride on his wildcard in the Austrian alps... is this all mountain at its purest? You tell me?

Leogang helmet cam footage

Brayton got this helmet cam footage on practice day before the leogang WC.



He placed 14th fastest during practice and was feeling good, but unfortunately he crashed in qualifying and missed the final... he was gutted because he was feeling fast. But this happens when racing, just got to forget about it and focus on the next race.

A Legend's Outing in Australia

Darren Boman - Barspin Imports (Banshee Bikes Importer/Agent - Australasia) has finally fallen to temptation and treated himself to a Legend MKII (white-medium) in preparation for a return to the racing circuit. Darren took the Legend to renowned Queensland downhill track, Illinbah to check its performance and get himself back into the swing of racing before heading off to Malaysia in July to compete in the Banshee Kiara Rage. As can be seen from the photo above it did not take Darren long to start feeling at home on the Legend and had it humming down what is considered one of, if not the best downhill tracks in Australia!! Comment from Darren after a days riding and testing - Sweet as!!!

Lone Wolf Productions get VOD on Pinkbike

Hello all,

I was just sifting through Garett Buehler’s footage when I decided to take a break and check out pinkbike.com, and guess what I saw. VOD for Lone Wolf Production…not bad for our first section. Stay tuned for more to come very soon.

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/140319/

Ace Ripping Rio

So every wednesday night a big group of riders meet up at the Bicycle Cafe and go ride various trails each week in town. Quick little clip of the german exchange student Flo chasing me down rio last night! There should be some more clips ill add to this post in the next little bit.-Ace

Chasing Ace 1 from Florian F. on Vimeo.

Cameras battery died right at my favourite part of the trail :(

Chasing Ace 2 from Florian F. on Vimeo.

Leogang WC track walk

I'm sorry to say that the factory team is down to just one rider this weekend, as Tom is sick as a dog right now, and is gutted to miss out.

Adam Brayton shows us his lines in that unique way that only he can do... check it out!



Tom...we all hope you get better soon mate!

Vital MTB - Teva Games

2010 Teva Games Slopestyle - More Mountain Bike Videos

Watch for Banshee Team rider Mike Montgomery … pretty amazing run …

Keep Riding.

Rob Dunnet

Spitfire on Pinkbike.com

Aaron and Strahan have been up to their old tricks. This time with a Banshee Spitfire. Check it out …

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/banshee-spitfire-video-2010.html

 

Keep Riding.

Rob Dunnet

Phil's Scythe

Phil S, has bought many different frames / bikes from Freeborn here in the UK

He finally settled (for now!) on a Mythic Scythe Freeride frame, after purchasing a "DH bike" from us, and finding it 'overkill' for the UK

He owned a Wildcard in the past, and we recommended the Scythe as a "slacker / squishier WC"

Already, the cool kids on Pinkbike are saying it looks like a "Batman build!"

Have fun with your Scythe Phil...

cheers

rob c
mythic bikes, england, UK

Team Geronimo Visits the National Guard Youth Challenge Program

San Luis Obispo – In the throes of the early 2010 race season, Team Geronimo/Banshee Bikes carved out time to make an important trip to visit the staff and students of the Grizzly Youth Academy.

For more CLICK HERE ...

Aaron LaRocque

At Banshee Bikes we are pro all things that are cool. Aaron LaRocque is pretty cool. Here is his 2010 Demo Reel. Watch it, rewind it, share it with friends and most of all enjoy it.

For More Aaron CLICK HERE …

Register+Bike Check+Review = Free Fox

Do you own a Banshee? Do you want free stuff?

Alright now that you are listening here is what you have to do.

Step One. Click here … Register your bike for warranty.

Step Two. Wash your bike, get your video camera, do a video bike check. Post it on Pinkbike. If you do not have a video camera some pictures and a spec list will do, post it in your Pinkbike blog. If you do not have a Pinkbike account get one, it is easy and every biker should have one.

IT GETS BETTER, FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE ...

Wild Wildcard

I saw this Wildcard yesterday on facetime (aka facebook) and had to get a spec list for it.

I contacted the owner on facetime and asked him to send me a spec list, he is not a native English speaker and I am not much for editing, I am sure you will get the idea:

FOR MORE CLICK HERE …

Lone Wolf Productions Goes Live

Hey Guys,

Today was a bit of a big day. The site has gone live and in the same day has been featured on the pinkbike.com's main page:

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/lone-wolf-productions-section-1-2010.html

Lots of props to Banshee of course for being a site sponsor. We are also available on the Lone Wolf Productions blog, our facebook page and twitter now so follow as there as well:

http://lonewolfproductions.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128040877218809
http://twitter.com/LoneWolfTeam

Hope you all have a second to check it out.

Matt Brooks

Strahan in Peru

Banshee’s good friend Strahan Loken has just returned from riding in Peru. While in Peru he emailed me a couple of times to make me jealous of the sweet single track. He sent me an email with this video attached to rub it in some more. Strahan has a little one on the way so this might be the last time we ever see him on a bike.

Peru Inca Trail from strahan loken on Vimeo.

Keep Riding.

Rob Dunnet

Lunch Hour

I took an extended lunch on Tuesday to go ride my bike. After spending the first five or six hours of my day answering emails I decided it was time to get out of the house and onto my bike.

James has been practicing this move for weeks. It is his finishing move when the side mount does not work.

FOR MORE PICTURES CLICK HERE …

Fort William helmet cam run

Tom And Adam have been hooked up with GoPro Hero HD Sponsorship for 2010. So they will be putting together course videos for each of the world cup rounds plus some other stuff during the year.



I'll make sure Tom tightens up the Go Pro harness a bit for next time, as it does move around a bit... but just goes to show just how rough the course at Fort Bill is.

I was there at the weekend cheering our guys on, as well as other friends who were racing. It was agreat event and we got some solid results. As the courses get steeper and nastier from now on, our guys will hit their natural element and are aiming to prove themselves as a force to be reconed with.

Banshee Wildcard Bike Check

Here is a bike check on my Banshee Wildcard, stay tuned for bike checks on the Banshee Legend and Rampant in the next two weeks.

Banshee Wildcard Bike check from Taylor Loughran on Vimeo.

Enjoy!
We are running a cool contest with these bike checks, so stay tuned to the Banshee Blog or Pinkbike.com for details on how you can win.

New Sponsors and Tricks!

Here is a bike check and little edited that I did riding a step up.



Aeron

Mike Montgomery on Banshee

A couple years ago my brother sent me a video of Mike riding in a skate park. My brother said keep an eye on this guy he is going to be huge. It was great to see BMX inspired tricks on a mountain bike.

For the past two years we have been Mike Montgomery fan boys. Always trying to find footage, pictures or results from the competitions he had competed in.

When Jay told me that Mike would be riding for Banshee this year I was pretty excited to see what he would be able to do on a Rampant and Amp. He has not disappointed, with two best trick awards in as many competitions Mike has had a great start with Banshee.

FOR MORE CLICK HERE ... or visit Pinkbike ...

Another Weekend in Kaohsiung

It is odd for James and I to have weekend riding partners. And it is odder when those riding partners are 外國人 (foreigners). This weekend Mike Dutton from Spank Industries, Clem Martin from Commencal, Aurelien “Leo” Leaux from Koxx and a couple of other friends showed up early Saturday morning for some riding.

(James will a monster table over the big left handed hip)

FOR MORE CLICK HERE ...

WC #2 Fort William - Track walk with Deacon and Brayton

These comedians showing that even track walks can be fun!

Check out some key parts of the course and with Adam and Tom... with a few little extras thrown in for good measure!

Transfer Gap

The eternal question for any riders who like to get airbourne - Can I make that gap?

Its something I have enjoyed answering over many years of BMX and Extreme Freeriding, and with our new Pump Track at Esher, many new “questions” have arisen over the different transfers that are possible in the park!

Most of the obvious transfers have already been conquered, but I recently noticed a possible gap from the 1/4 pipe to the wallride

For more from Rob CLICK HERE ...

Classic Combination

I was wondering around and I found these pictures that Nic Genovese took and it got me to thinking about classic combinations …

There are things that we associate together with out really thinking about it. Like peanut butter and jam, milk and cookies or Ernie and Bert … before Ernie got hit by that bus. Urban Legend or not the Sesame Street has never been the same for me. My classic combination for the 2010 riding season is not purple and white … it is Paul and Nic Genovese.

FOR MORE PICTURES CLICK HERE …

Fogelsode #25: Bend Slalom

I finally got around to putting some footage together from Cob’s and my trip to Bend for Jamie’s UpsideDown and UnderGround contest. Unfortunately we didn’t get any footage of the contest, but Gunnar killed it with an awesome edit here. One of the days was super windy, so the locals showed us around. One of their spots was the slalom track, which we ended up riding until dark because it was so fun! It’s a huge run down the hill with big berms and nice sized jumps, which left everyone smiling run after run. I’ll let the video do the rest of the talking, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re ever near by. The end of the video is just the result of a 10 hour drive.

Enjoy!

-Jack

LEGEND GETS UP AGAIN DOWNUNDER

Team Banshee Australia gravity racer Ben Power battled difficult conditions with rain, mud, more rain, mud and cold weather last weekend to post a win in the Queensland Australia KWT-Maxxis Sunshine Series (State Series) Round 2 at Illinbah (his home club track). The Illinbah track is rated by many WC riders as being the best and toughest track in Australia but when it gets wet, really wet like last weekend it become hell on earth!!



FOR MORE WORDS AND PICTURES CLICK HERE ...

I SPY

I spy with my London Eye...something beginning with "R"



2 engineering marvels in one photo?

you can't say we don't give you great value on this blog!


the sun is shining in London, after a very wet start to the Summer, and the city is full of bike riders....the Pump Track is drying out and its time to ride

cheers

Rob C
Mythic Bikes
London, England

Lone Wolf Productions Sneak Peek

Hey everyone. I know I haven't posted in awhile but it's for a good reason. I have been working on a new web site and I think the end result has turned out quite well. The site I am posting is not complete but it is very close. We should have the full version by the end of this week or early next week, so stay tuned here or to pink bike for the official announcement. I hope you like it and let me know what you think. A big thanks to everyone at Banshee for all the help so far this year!

http://www.lonewolfproductions.com.php5-12.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com/