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2013 Spitfire

510K views 3K replies 288 participants last post by  RS VR6 
#1 ·
What do we know so far?

Does it have bearings?
Adjustable geometry? Looks like there could be adjustable geo built into the dropouts.
Geo specs?

27.5" compatible dropouts as option

"Banshee Bikes 2013" by fakawi
 
#1,175 · (Edited)
Made an update to my build the other night .I swapped the duel ring 2x10 with e13 chain device and slx shadow + long cage rear mech for a race face narrow wide front ring with zee shadow+ short cage rear mech.

Im very happy with the result , I lost 680gms in wieght!! The bike now wieghs 30.5 pounds bang on and the race face ring seems to work great and looks trick matching the rest of my race face finishing kit:)

Here are some pics :)







Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk
 
#1,180 ·
Frame finally arrived and built :)


001 by spinnerpics1, on Flickr

Frame - Banshee Spitfire 2014. Medium. Black anodized.
Rear shock - Fox CTD
Fork - Fox 36 talas 160
Bars - Spank Oozy
Stem - Easton Haven
Headset - Hope
Grips - Odi Troy Lee
Saddle - Selle SMP Avant
Seatpost - KS Dropzone
Brakes - Formula RX. 180mm.
Cranks - XT M785
Chain - SLX
Pedals - Deity Decoy
Front derailleur - X9
Rear derailleur - X9 mid cage
Shifters - XO
Cassette - XT 11 - 36
Wheels - Mavic Crossmax XL. 26"
Tyres - F: Schwalbe Hans Dampf. 2.35 Trailstar.
R: Maxxis Highroller 2.35 60a
Nukeproof chainstay protector
Ti and alloy fasteners from Probolt
Jagwire Ripcord cable kit
Total weight - 14.02 kgs

More detailed pics 2014 Spitfire built
 
#1,182 ·
Here's mine on its first proper ride yesterday.
I ran it in the slackest setting and the low BB just wasn'tan issue; I could take on a steep rocky climbs and completely avoid pedalstrikes. All my concerns were quickly banished.
its climbing ability is what blew me away; the rear endtracking was spot on with tonnes of traction and I was running a 33 t singlechain ring for the first time and very steep tech was no problem at all. Like a mountain goat.
Downhill wise I think I was held back by a poor cockpit setup. I wasn't running enough spacersbeneath the stem and my front end was a bit too low. I had 10 deg rise bars as well. More spacers and high rise bars are probablywhats needed. My weight felt a bit toofar forward. Ill have to tweak that butdon't want to lose the low slung, front traction feel of the frame. I think I can get away with wide bars as thereach wasn't as long as I thought (im 6ft 3).<o:p></o>[/SIZE]
I was running the DB air at 15mm sag and 180 psi (im 14stone/89kg), which is the recommended base tune, but found that it was runningthrough its travel a bit too often to be honest. I was riding a quite flat trail centre. The low speed action was spot on but I felt Iwas bottoming out even though there were no real drop offs. I spose more tinkering with the hsc is whatsneeded.<o:p></o>
So steep rocky chutes felt a bit sketchy as my weight wastoo far forward and the shock needs a tweak. Im sure it wasn't a limitation with the 140 travel and hopefully I canget the shock to feel bottomless or at least give the feeling of more travelwhen its needed. On the other hand, thebike was easy to get airborne, and was really playful on jump sections. Being able to pump the terrain to carry speedwas what I wanted from the shorter travel and that's I got.<o:p></o>
Over the next few weeks I'll be getting new bars, shortchainring bolts so I can ditch the bashguard and a fair amount of shocktweaking (its become like an MBUK long term review now :)
 

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#1,187 ·
... I was running the DB air at 15mm sag and 180 psi (im 14stone/89kg), which is the recommended base tune, but found that it was running through its travel a bit too often to be honest ... The low speed action was spot on but I felt I was bottoming out even though there were no real drop offs. I supose more tinkering with the hsc is whats needed ...
Yep, as Keith has already mentioned: More Volume Reduction Spacers should solve that Problem.
 
#1,186 ·
thanks Keith, I didn't get any spacers with the frame, I spose they're sold separately?

Ill probably just reduce sag to 13mm (for what its worth) and increase HSC slightly and then fine tune rebound. Now that Im back trail riding hopefully im due to lose some weight anyway - just as soon as xmas is out of the way!
 
#1,189 ·
I'm a bit confused and irritated - hopefully I'm just being dumb but does a Reverb Stealth work with the Spitfire?

The Reverb stealth has a "Connectamajig" beneath the post, which allows you to easily detach and reattach the hose. See attached image:



The silver end stays on the hose, the clever back thing in the middle between the hose attachment and post insert, joins it together. The silver end on the hose however does not fit through the stealth hole :(

I'm assuming that, to thread the hose through the hole, I need to cut and bleed the hose.
The question is - which side do I cut? I assume I should cut the lever side, but how would I go about threading the hose through then, given I'll need to thread it top down?
 
#1,190 ·
....... how would I go about threading the hose through then, given I'll need to thread it top down?
Get a thin piece of wire (around 1mm diameter), thread it through the hole in the seat tube and out the top. Attach it to your reverb hose , (possibly poke it up the middle where the fluid runs ?) and secure with some electrical/duct tape. Pull the wire back down through the seat tube hole , bringing the hose with it. Use a small amount of tape and pull it on tight to keep the connection slim and easy to get through the hole. You may even be able to do it without the tape , just using the wire to help guide the hose through the hole.

That's how I used to feed rear der cables through the swingarm of my Orange 5.
 
#1,192 ·
Thanks for your valuable input, much appreciated. 48 pages worth - yep definitely easy to find what I'm after - and what "previous" manual?

Get a thin piece of wire (around 1mm diameter), thread it through the hole in the seat tube and out the top. Attach it to your reverb hose , (possibly poke it up the middle where the fluid runs ?) and secure with some electrical/duct tape. Pull the wire back down through the seat tube hole , bringing the hose with it. Use a small amount of tape and pull it on tight to keep the connection slim and easy to get through the hole. You may even be able to do it without the tape , just using the wire to help guide the hose through the hole.

That's how I used to feed rear der cables through the swingarm of my Orange 5.
Cheers dude, I ended up giving up and taking it to the LBS :p
 
#1,193 ·
Thread the post as a 2013 and earlier is done. Hence previous manual. Problem solved. Think I read builtorride commented on this in this or the Rune V2 thread.

Anyway: it is supereasy and should only require minimal bleeding of the lever only. Connectamajig is for easy seat removal, not easy installation as far as I know.
 
#1,197 ·
Difficult and subjective question to answer.
The Spitty feels like a pocket rocket and has a "DH bike that can pedal uphill well" feel to it.

It's fast, stable and nice and snappy out of corners - so for me personally it feels nimble as hell without the skittishness that a lot of other bikes have.

I've not ridden it extensively just yet, but I have played with the CCDBair settings, and have made it quite lively as a result. Mine does stick to the ground, unless I'm intending for it to jump - which is does incredibly.
 
#1,199 ·
I would agree with NoStyle. Its still a nimble and fun loving bike. But at the same time it is stable and gives you the confidence to push your skills to the edge. I honestly feel its making me into a better rider, after 1 month I feel much more comfortable, more confident, than and willing to push myself harder and faster that before.

I am usually quite critical of my bikes. but I can't think of a single negative about the Spitfire so far. Reading through this thread you'll not find any other complaint apart from the warranted weight (this extra heft contributes to the solidity of the frame and the stability), this weight bothers some. If thats not a concern to you then you need to place an order as soon as possible, you will not regret it.
 
#1,201 ·
My '14 Stealth Ano black Spitfire showed up monday. Finished the assembly and got it all together Moday, set it up tubeless and strted fooling with the shock yesterday. First ride was very impressive. This thing inspires confidence, and allowed me to keep up with some of my buddies I couldn't keep up with before. Very impressed with it!

 
#1,205 ·
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this is the latest on my spitty. Such a great bike - I love it. Im house training our new puppy at the minute so im pretty much housebound. However, I managed to get away for an hour yesterday to tinker with the set up. I've put some old 40mm rise DH bars on it now just to see how high rise bars affect the handling as I just need to sort out the cockpit and i plan to get out again today for a thrash around. Yesterday I put a load of spacers beneath the stem to raise the stack height and it felt loads better than my first ride. Also put 200 psi in the shock to lower the sag from 15mm down to about 13mm or so, although Ill try out a shock reducer at some point

im happy running the slack setting for the time being as its so nicely balanced. Its such a fantastic bike and well worth the long wait. I just wish it was summer so I could spend all day on it
 
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