Staff Bike Checks | Brodie's Banshee Titan

by Brodie Hall March 31, 2022

I love the look of Banshee's frames. I think it's an awesome mix of elegant and industrial.

Well folks, we have another Lost Co Staff Bike Check and, yup... you guessed it! Another raw aluminum enduro rig. BIG SURPRISE, huh?

I'm actually pretty excited about this bike check because it's my personal Banshee Titan, which means I get to talk a bit about my experience with some of the components. This won’t be a knitty-gritty bike review as I need more time on the bike before I can say anything substantial about it. However, I'll touch on a few key aspects of the build and why I chose certain components. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Starting with my choice of frame, it probably seems like I picked the Titan just to jump on the aluminum bike bandwagon. If you've followed our blog recently, you know a lot of The Lost Co staff has somewhat of an infatuation with alloy frames. Adams Knolly Chilcotin or Russ’s Spire are prime examples of impressive aluminum rigs, and I have to admit, after seeing how their builds turned out, I wanted my own. I mean, come on! Raw aluminum frames look so good! If you look back to Colins blog post about why everyone at the Lost Co rides an aluminum enduro bike, you'll see he brings up some really good points about the merits of an aluminum frame. Mainly, that they’re cheaper than carbon frames, which allowed me to splurge on components like SRAM's GX AXS drivetrain and the RockShox ZEB Ultimate fork. There’s also research being conducted by Trek Bicycle Corporation that points to Aluminum as a more sustainable material than carbon fiber. Sustainability for the win!

Aside from the frame material, I chose the Titan because it seems like Banshee took a different approach designing the geometry. It has relatively long chainstays (452mm) and a tall head tube (120mm). I'm actually very pleased with how the Titan rides. It feels like the long rear-center and tall front-end lets me stand up a little taller and put more weight on my feet than some of the other longer-travel 29ers I’ve tried. As I said above, I need more time on the bike to really get a feel for it, but so far, I'm quite impressed!

Frame: Banshee Titan- Size Medium

Fork: RockShox ZEB Ultimate -170mm

Shock: Fox X2 Performance Series

Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle - 170mm

Chainring: SRAM GX Eagle - 30t

Derailleur: SRAM GX AXS

Shifter: SRAM GX AXS

Chain: SRAM XO1

Cassette: SRAM GX Eagle 10-52t

Pedals: DMR Vault - LACON Edition

Hubs: Hope Pro 4

Rims:

R: DT-Swiss EX511

F: DT-Swiss XM481

Front Tire: Maxxis Shorty 2.4 DD,

MaxxGrip

Rear Tire: Maxxis Dissector 2.4 DD,

MaxxGrip

Saddle: WTB Deva

Seatpost: OneUp Components

Dropper V2 - 150mm

Dropper Lever: WolfTooth ReMote

Light Action

Bars: CRD Stooge 803 - cut to 780mm

Stem: CRD Vagrant 35mm

Grips: ODI Elite Pro Lock-on

Brakes: SRAM Code RSC

Rotors: SRAM Centerline -

200mm/220mm

Accessories:

-OneUp EDC V2 Tool w/ Threaded

Carrier

-Ground Keeper Clear Gloss Frame

Protection

-King Cage Stainless Steel Bottle Cage

Suspension - Fox Float X2 Performance / RockShox ZEB Ultimate

For suspension, I chose a RockShox ZEB Ultimate fork and stuck with the stock Fox Float X2 Performance rear shock. I chose a ZEB because I wanted to see what all the hype was about and I'm happy I did. It definitely lives up to the hype. Easy to set-up, its been composed through rough terrain, precise in handling and actually feels pretty playful on mellower terrain for being such a beefy fork.

Moving back to the rear-shock, the Titan came stock with a Fox Float X2 Performance series. As a “Performance” series rather than a “Performance Elite” or “Factory” series, it lacks High-Speed Compression and High-Speed Rebound adjustments found on higher-end Float X2’s, but it’s a great shock. It’s doing everything that I want it to, so I don’t see a reason to swap it for something with more adjustments. Not yet, at least.

Drivetrain - SRAM GX AXS Groupset

The drivetrain is a SRAM GX AXS electronic/wireless groupset and I’ll be the first to say that an electric, wireless drivetrain is not necessary. Cable derailleurs are time tested, reliable, and for now, much cheaper than electric alternatives. Originally, I didn’t even want an AXS drivetrain but the bike industry's supply chain issues had a different plan for me. At the time of the build, cable-actuated derailleurs were nearly impossibe to find. If I wanted to put a drivetrain on my bike, it would have to be AXS. Now, with that said, I am absolutely thrilled with the performance of SRAM’s AXS drivetrains and I think it’s going to be a tough transition if I ever have to go back to cable shifting.

The GX AXS Drivetrain shifts smoother and more consistent than any other drivetrain I’ve used, including super high-end XX1 or XTR drivetrains. There’s no fussing with barrel adjusters and no replacing cables’ and housing, just charge your battery and always have perfectly crisp shifting.

Brakes - SRAM Code RSC

SRAM Code RSC brakes were an easy choice for me. I've been a fan of SRAM brakes ever since the introduction of the Guide brake and absolutely love the Code RSC's. They have tons of power, great modulation, and in my experience, they've been very reliable. What more could you ask for?

Tires - Maxxis Shorty / Dissector

I've been using Maxxis tires for years, but this is the first time I've used the Shorty and the Dissector. I'll start by saying that the Maxxis Shorty is a seriously impressive tire. When the trail is reletively soft, it digs into the trail like no other. Adam recently wrote an awesome blog where he lays out his impression of the Shorty. I pretty much agree with everything he has to say about it, so rather than re-itterate everything he already said, I'll just leave a link to the blog post here.

The Dissector on my rear wheel is also proving to be an awesome tire, mostly due to its versitility. To be honest, I've never been super particular about my rear tires. As long as my rear tire has decent cornering traction and rolls fairly well, I'm happy. So far, the Dissector checks both of these boxes and then some. It digs in around corners, has solid braking and climbing traction, and it rolls easy enought to keep me happy on climbs and rolling terrain.

The Rest of It

The rest of the build came together fairly naturaly. By "fairly naturally", I mean that I basically chose the parts becasuse I think they're interesting or they look cool. The OneUp Dropper V2 is a no-brainer. It's simple, reliable and adjustable. I like the look and ride feel of the oil-slick DMR Vault Pedals, and I chose the Vagrant Stem and Stooge 803 Carbon Handlebars because they're made by Cascade Racing Designs which is owned and opperated by our head mechanic, Russ. I'm a sucker for supporting local companies and love the fact that I know the person who designed these components.

Smaller nuances of the build include a OneUp Components EDC tool which is secured by their Threaded Carrier, GroundKeeper Clear Gloss Frame Protection protects the painted areas and a stainless steel waterbottle cage, made in my hometown Durango, Colorado by King Cage

And thats My Banshee Titan! I hope you enjoyed reading about it!

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ABOUT THE RIDER/WRITER

NAME	AGE	HEIGHT	LOCATED
Brodie Hall	26	5'9"	Bellingham, WA

Current Bikes: Banshee Titan

Bike Size: Medium

Favorite Trails: Spacewolf, Galbraith / Graysill Connect, Coalbank Pass

About Me: I grew up in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado where high country epics are the local favorite. After moving to the PNW in the summer of 2021, I'm really loving the steep, loamy, and rooty terrain that Bellingham has to offer. Jumps are growing on me, but still not really my thing. Historically, my bike of choice is a mid-travel 29'er, but the steeper, faster terrain in this area has me curious about a longer-travel mullet bike.