Carrera Banshee X a good deal vs an equivilent price frame

Prowlus

For £699 , The Banshee X seems to have bits derived from higher end full susses . Its forks is more associated with high end all mountain bikes and the suntour epicon shock has rebound and lockout

Is this a good priced rig compared to say a mongoose Teocali . This ting even outspecs a Specialized FSR XC Comp :shock:



http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... rn_106166#

supersonic

Its a bargain. BUT... not really directly comparable to the FSR or the Teocali - it is more of a budget freeride bike than XC or trail bike. So you get the extra weight. But if that is what you want, you cant go wrong.

I was eyeing up its bigger brother, the triple X today - very nice!

rob cole

This ting even outspecs a Specialized FSR XC Comp Shocked

at a glance it would appear you a getting a "better deal" from the Carrera, ignoring the fact they are completely different categories of bike

however, the reason the Carrera has a better spec. is because it has a cheaper frame that costs less than manufacture

so in fact, the Specialized is actually the better deal, because the frame of a bike is the heart and soul of the bike, and costs the most to change

with Specialized you are getting some of the best designed and manufactured frames in the business, with a superior suspension system, and that is what you are paying for - and bear in mind that Specialized are very competitive in terms of their complete bike pricing

supersonic

Hmm, but Merida make the Carrera frames. Infact, Merida make some Spesh frames!!! Banshee uses the Spesh Horst link too ;-)

rob cole

Hmm, but Merida make the Carrera frames. Infact, Merida make some Spesh frames!!! Banshee uses the Spesh Horst link too

it all depends on the pricepoint the frame is being manufactured to...if you look at the 3 big fork manufacturing companies in Taiwan and read their "client" list most riders would be shocked that their £600 Rockshox, Fox or Marzocchi fork is made by the same people....

factories adjust the quality of their output according to the manufacturing pricepoint and the proprietary design / technology of their clients

supersonic

Doesn't mean the Banshee frame is bad though. Having seen it in the flesh, the quality looks very good.

rob cole

its not a bad frame, its going to do the job fine

but its not as good quality as a Specialized frame - for example the SX Trail or Big Hit

supersonic

The other reason Halfords are cheap of course is that they are the sole supplier and importer - the distributor is effectively cut out of the loop, allowing them to pass on the savings.

Reading a bit further into the Merida thing, I now believe they manufacture all of Speshes frames! They also have a 19% stake in them. I know many Konas are made by Spesh, and the older Banshee used to have the same front triangle as the Coiler.

Nowadays it is getting harder to find a bad frame than a good one! I do like the M4 and M5 Speshes, as the alloy is a little stronger, and a little more worked.