I am particularly fussy when it comes to turning. If you don’t feel comfortable in the turns then you wont produce fast times. This is not the case with the Scythe, it turns sharply and precisely in any sort of corner. The biggest stand out point with the Scythes turning ability is how comfortably it power slides when the speed is high, without feeling the need to unclip your foot. This is a major benefit for any downhill racer.
What has been reinforced when riding the bike is its versatility. Whether it is dirt jumps, drops, gaps or any line where the wheels leave the ground, the bike does so with ease and stability. My confidence with this type of riding has increased significantly to the point where I will hit lines that I wouldn’t usually do everyday without a second thought.
Another major positive of the Scythe is its ability to gain speed quickly on the ground during a downhill run. A combination of the stiff, lightweight frame and power going straight to the back wheel make this possible. So getting the power down out of a turn, pumping through the turns and just pumping in general is a breeze.
I am particularly fussy when it comes to turning. If you don’t feel comfortable in the turns then you wont produce fast times. This is not the case with the Scythe, it turns sharply and precisely in any sort of corner. The biggest stand out point with the Scythes turning ability is how comfortably it power slides when the speed is high, without feeling the need to unclip your foot. This is a major benefit for any downhill racer.
So far the bike has needed no maintenance what so ever and is holding up strong. So far so good.
We have just updated the website with a swag of new products. You will now find all the 2008 model Banshee’s online as well as a full range of Industry 9, as always you will find a stack of information in there with some relevant links and RRPs.
2003 World Champion Greg Minnaar has teamed up with Gamut USA for the 2008 season. After his successful shoulder surgery last October, the South African rider is well prepared to write the next chapter in his already illustrious career during this year’s campaign. Gamut is very pleased to have added Greg to its select team of riders, and looks forward to watching Greg race all over the globe this coming year.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Greg’s caliber represent our brand,” said Mateo Graziosi, Gamut co-founder. “We have long admired Greg’s riding abilities, as well as his professionalism, character and dedication to the sport and his fans.”
Greg will be running Gamut guides on his new Santa Cruz V10 while on the UCI World Cup tour, as well as other major events throughout the world.
“I’m really excited to be working with Gamut,” says Greg. “After riding a gearbox bike for the past 4 years, I needed to really study my options when selecting a chain guide for my V10, as the technology in this area has really moved on. I’m impressed both by the quality of Gamut’s products and the level of support and enthusiasm coming from the company as we head into a new season and a new chapter in my career.”
Greg is the latest addition to Gamut’s growing team of world class riders. Gamut is proud to support the riding pursuits of mountain biking’s top talent throughout the world.
XXIV has secured the rights to an exclusive story of Straitline Components. We have fought A Current Affair and Today Tonight, tooth and nail in the supreme courts securing an injuction to exclusive coverage of this unveiling article on Straitline components.
It seems everyone has had the wool pulled over their eyes. While we sit here riding their sweet products, one has to think that a genius has designed these products within a thousanth of an inch of their life. It seems this is untrue. From the top secret pictures we have uncovered, it seems that Greg Parish (Straitline “Marketing Extroardinare”) is merely getting shit-faced on vodka supplied by competitors (Brooklyn Machine Works) and just mashing buttons on the CNC machines.
Our thorough investigative / cheque book journalism skills have uncovered some videos of the antics which have caused public outrage. It appears the guys are such booze hounds that they don’t even know which way to hold a camera up.
Rumour has it, this fusion of forces was the source of the amazing iStem…has anyone seen one of those?….
Would you beleive he did 4 years at uni for this…Drinking?….as he failed his uni degree…in marketing. But here he is running the show! There is something to be said for criminal rehab, well done Greg. You go tiger!
Be sure to check back with XXIV for all your exclusive current affairs exposures on Straitline Components and the infamous Greg Parish. Greg take off you glasses and apoligse to everybody that you have frightened; to the police who were forced to retreat and cars who have been damaged; and to the community who have had to pay for this! He must think he is just made of dollar dollar bills yall!
In the past month, 2 bikes have been stolen. Below are the details of both, if you see these around then please get in contact with us. We will be offering a reward for any information leading to the bikes being recovered.
Banshee Scirocco - RETRIEVED
Banshee Rune
This is an actual photo of the bike as it was when it was lost/stolen
Circumstances:
This bike was picked up by TNT couriers to be delivered to AMB magazine in Sydney from its origin in Melbourne. It was picked up in late December, where it has since had no tracking information other than “picked up”. TNT have reported that they “lost” the bike in shipping, how ever it was a large bike box and we highly suspect this has been stolen. It’s likely whereabouts are unknown.
Spec and Notable Features:
2008 Banshee Runew/ Fox DHX Air in Team Black / Chrome
Fox 36 Talas RC2
SRAM X0
Avid Juicy 7s w/ Red Straitline Levers
Industry 9 Enduro Wheelset w/ Red spokes and DT 5.1d Rims
Raceface Cranks w/ Gamut P30 bashie and Straitline Pedals
Well it has been a while coming, but we now have our factory race bikes rockin’ and rollin’. Pictured is Dave Hetherington’s XXIV Factory Banshee Scythe Race Bike. It is tricked out in a custom Banshee team paint job, Industry 9 DH Wheelset, Gamut P40, Straitline Levers, Straitline Wedge Stem, Full SRAM / Rockshox / Avid / Truvativ kit thanks to our mates at Monza Imports (SRAM Australia) and Maxxis Tyres.
It obviously hasn’t been ridden yet, but Dave will be riding it non stop this week to get everything dialled in for the National Series Finals in Mt. Beauty. We will let you know his thoughts when he has got some miles down on it. We will be up at Mt Beauty for Saturday and Sunday in the little yellow Marquee, come and say hi, especially if you want to check all the sexy fresh produce. For any non-racers…or just guys who don’t care…come have a drink (or 20) with us on Satdy night.
This is an interim bike for Dave, who will be racing on the Legend frame as soon as it has been produced, likely within the next couple of months. But the Scythe has built up to be a worthy DH Race rig with an awesome weight and some great geometry for racing, so we are expecting it to perform well.
Straitline have introduced a new colour into their range this year; Bronze. It looks fantastic as you can see and will definitely work great with colour schemes, especially the colour schemes we are seeing in the DJ / Street market. We have levers and barcaps in stock in the Bronze colour, with pedals and stems on order. Get in touch with your closest dealer if you want to get your hands on this brand new colour.
Ryan Denehy from BNQT.com has interviewed Jay and Keith from Banshee Bikes, which has an in depth look at Banshee; which is still a relatively new company on the scene. It is a great article which give you an insight as to what goes on behind the scenes on a daily basis at Banshee bikes.
We hadn’t heard of BNQT.com before, but after going there have realised it is a pretty cool site. It is a news and style site which covers most extreme sports, so there is something for everyone. Check it out.
Well our mate James Maebus, a little XC whippet from Melbourne is getting a sponsorship through VIS / BikeNow. His product sponsors are Bianchi, SRAM / Rockshox / Avid / Truvativ, Industry 9, Straitline Components, Michelin and OzRiders.com.au .
OzRiders.com.au is James’ new venture into manufacturing and distributing products within Australia. He is off to a cracking start with his current highlight product being his high density foam grips. They are a hexaganol shape, ergonomically designed and best of all; cheaper than the competition…and they come in white too, currently these are the only white high desnsity foam grips on the market! He is also working on a bunch of new and innovative products that are bound to put a smile on like minded lightweight XC whipper-snappers.
Jeff Lenosky has been riding for Straitline for a while now and he has been helping them develop and test their already fine tuned products. For 2008 Straitline are bringin out a Jeff Lenosky Signature Edition set of pedals that have been colour matched to his STP frame. These will be available soon, but will be in limited numbers so pre-orders will be essential if you want to gaurantee grabbing a set of these.
Straitline has also revised their pin design. The pin now features a hexagonal shape rather than being round, which will provide more grip…even though they were grippy enough! They have also changed the tooling size for the pins to metric, so now a 5mm socket will fit perfectly onto the pedals rather than having to source an imperial socket.
