Review - Banshee Wildcard

North Shore & Whistler inspired, look inside to read all about Banshee's amazing Wildcard.Before I get started, check out this video filmed & edited by Adam Yunker (Spoked Media)


The Wildcard is a bike designed to be a do-it-all abuse bike. Meant to billy-goat up the mountain, jump off it, bomb down, and then do it all over again. This is what I was looking for when I was picking my bike for this season. I had to find something that could do everything and go anywhere. I didn't need it to be the lightest or the strongest or even the latest but a balance between it all. The Banshee spoke to me. It has the usual bells and whistles: hydro-formed tubes, a large 1.5 Headtube and adjustable travel. But what really caught my eye was the attention to detail that went into the bike like the ribbed chainstays and the low-rotation shock pivot. The bike had clearly been designed to take abuse and come back for more.

Once I decided on the frame, I headed on over to North Shore Bike Shop to spec and purchase my bike.

Spec List


The most notable changes on the spec list this season were my wheels & brakes. I purchased a set of hand-built WTB Freeride wheels to replace my Revolutions in an effort to lighten up my bike while still retaining the strength of the Revolutions. I was also given a set of Shimano Saints, which I feel are far more suitable for the Wildcard. The constant power and better heat management of the Saints is very much appreciated on a smaller bike where you tend to use the brakes more often.


The Basics

The Wildcard was designed as Banshee's short-travel freeride bike, and very short-travel at that. They sell the bike with a 5 inch travel setting. This was a concern for me at first. I thought it may be a touch too little for the more demanding North Shore trails and Whistler Bike Park but luckily Banshee had incorporated a 6.5" (165mm) travel setting. By raising the travel you also increase the BB height by approximately 0.6" and steepen the head & seat tube angles by a full degree. The Wildcard comes with a 68mm BB width, 10x135mm rear end, 30.9mm Seat Post, 1.5 Head Tube, ISCG05 chainguide mounts and a 34.9mm Top-Pull front derailleur clamp. Although Banshee has spec'd fairly standard numbers here, they've done a very good job of maximizing compatibility with most components.

The frame and shock MSRP is $1700 USD with a Manitou Evolver ISX-6 and $1800 USD with a DHX Air for those who opted to sacrifice Hi/Lo Compression adjustments for a Pro-Pedal. Depending on application and rider size, the bike is also extremely capable of running a Mono-Tube air shock such as the RockShox Monarch or any coil shock. Banshee also has builds ranging from $2875 USD to $4145 USD.

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First Impressions

On my first ride out I instantly noticed how flex-free the rear end of the bike was. It almost felt like my suspension was too stiff for my weight. I also noted how physically small and nimble the bike was underneath me. The combination of a low Bottom Bracket (13.3" on my setup) and steep Head-Angle (68.5 Degrees) made for a very snappy and responsive ride. When the riding got steep and gnarly though, I did get scared. I was not used to attacking trails as aggressively and as fast as the Wildcard demands. I had also found that the shock, although very adjustable, was very hard to find a sweet spot between perfect pedaling and small bump compliance on the faster chunderier rides.



Mid-Season

After having my bike for four months now, and getting a custom tune done on both my fork (by the brilliant James at SuspensionWerx) and Shock (done by my buddy Zac at Trident Sports) I was feeling even more natural on my bike. The suspension felt invisible, the bike seemed to track the ground perfectly without sacrificing any pedaling efficiency. On the faster terrain I did notice that I had to use a lot of body motion to soak up the terrain, but that is part and parcel with riding a short travel bike. I also upgraded my Old-Style Cut RaceFace Atlas FR bar to a New-Style Un-Cut Atlas FR bar. Right away I noticed that extra inch of bar had me riding even more forward on the bike and got me in an extremely low and aggressive position. This, added with the geometry, suspension, and weight of the bike, made something that felt less like a bike and more like an extension of my body. I was really able to use the stiffness of the bike, specifically the rear end, to my advantage on the trail. The bike always tracked the line that I pointed it in with no noticeable lateral movement. I also swapped out the Transition Revolution wheelset to a Hand-Built WTB wheelset, comprised of WTB Fr Rims, laced with DT Aluminum Nipples and Straight-Gauge Spokes, onto WTB SuperDuty Front & LightDuty Rear hubs. This wheelset dropped a pound off the overall weight of my bike. The bike was even easier to move around and play with, especially in the air. The suspension became more active to the unsprung weight. The true strength of this wheelset was confirmed when I rode Heart of Darkness in Whistler BC on a flat tire. For those of you who don't know this trail, it’s filled with very large, high speed brake ruts and three small jumps. After the end of that lap, my Schwalbe Fat Albert tire & my WTB rim showed no signs of damage. Aspiring Weight-Weenies pay attention, this wheelset is a great balance between weight and strength. I am, unfortunately, one of those people who do very little maintenance to their bikes, and these wheels have fared me until now without a single tensioning & truing.

During the time that I spent in Whistler in August (14 days) I quickly learned two things, light tires don’t like high speed rocky turns and lightweight brakes tend to heat up over a day of riding. My Formula The Ones performed great everywhere except in Whistler Bike Park. The runs were too long and the brakes had a tendency to heat up and change their feel on the fly. This only happened over a long days ride but on a DH Race brake, I would recommend them due to their obvious weight benefits. On the traction side of things, the tires gripped extremely well but I did manage to tear the Snake-Skin casing in a few spots riding various trails on the mountain. As a do-it-all tire the Fat-Alberts exceeded my expectations, but Whistler Bike Park did seem outside of their comfort zone. I now use Maxxis HighRollers for the Bike Park and Schwalbe Fat-Alberts for everything else. Another slight change in my riding setup was a swap from my Straitline SSC Stem to a Loaded Precision AmX Stem. Swapping was a very functional change, the higher rise provided a more comfortable riding position with less weight placed forward and, with spacer adjustment, an equally aggressive ride.

By this point in the season, my riding was more aggressive, and the bike had come along for the ride. The lighter, stronger wheels, lower bar and perfectly setup suspension had really highlighted the key points that I have noticed in the Wildcard. I was able to ride all but the steepest climbs and descents, and more importantly the bike is small enough and light enough that I could still have fun riding both up and down.


End of Season

Come September, I was more madly in love with my Wildcard than before. With Bobsled and the Loutet Dirt Jumps re-done, I now had the perfect after-school/ work areas to ride. Dirt jumping and smoother trails are not usually my terrain of preference; I enjoy rocks, roots, and bridges. I usually keep my wheels on the ground and traction at a minimum. Riding the Wildcard on faster and smoother terrain with more jumps and air opened up my eyes. I re-discovered riding my bike as a way to relax myself, rather than push my own personal limits. Endless Biking , with whom I had been coaching for this past summer, graciously offered me a set of Shimano Saint Brakes. I obliged and put them on my bike right away. Along with the brakeset, I installed 7 inch front & rear rotors on my WildCard, adding a bit more grab to the back and taking away some from the front. Despite this, the only power change I noticed from my Formula The Ones was in my rear end where I gained some. Right away I noticed an increase in reliability in my brakes. The Saints are far more consistent than my Formulas, not to mention the modulation of the Saints feel great. The levers provide just the right amount of resistance so that your fingers don’t feel like they are pushing against nothing. The Wildcard was still shining, the feel of my new brakes made me feel extremely at home on my bike, even more of an extension of my body than before. The new-found consistency in my brakes allowed me to push my speed with the confidence that I can, and will stop should the need arise.


Final Thoughts

The Wildcard is a bike I praise highly. I recommend it to all those who want a bike just to have fun on. Throughout the season my riding and riding style changed from all-mountain/trail, to downhill/freeride, and then onto dirt jumping & 4x/pump tracks. My Wildcard was able to accommodate whatever I needed at the time, whether it was a short & steep DJ bike, or a bike that I could ride with my buddies on their downhill bikes. This bike seemingly has no limits and is very fun to ride. I strongly recommend this bike to anyone who is looking for something to pull out and just have fun on without worrying about what they are riding that day. You may not be the fastest going up, the quickest coming down, or even have the biggest pocket of tricks in the air, but you will have the freedom to ride everything. And that ability to ride it all is why I love my Banshee Wildcard.

Huge thanks to Banshee for the frame,
RaceFace, Straitline and Loaded Precision for the componentry.

Also, a special thanks to Endless Biking and North Shore Bike Shop for keeping me rolling strong all season and Adam Yunker for the great photo's and videos!


Keep on Rollin'!