Banshee Chaparral Mountain Bike Frameset - Gear Review

Unless you spend a fair amount of time riding teeter-totters, bridges and natural obstacles found in the forests along the North Shore of British Columbia, you may not have ever heard of Banshee Bikes. If you have, then you're one step ahead of the game, but if you haven't, then listen up. Banshee is the brainchild of industry legend, Pippin Osborne. Not only is Pip one of the friendliest Canucks you'll ever meet, he's also got an eye for building some of the burliest bikes on the planet. And, up until last year, the most trailworthy bike in their lineup was the Chaparral. I rode the Banshee Chaparral extensively in 2004 and absolutely LOVED every minuted of it. Yeah, it's heavy and yeah, it's overbuilt for everyday trail riding, but man is it worth it when you point that sucker downhill. Just thinking about that smooth 4-bar rocker-arm suspension brings back memories of absolutely bombproof descents on some legendary trails along Utah's Wasatch Front. What Makes the Banshee Chaparral Special? Well, the Chappy really has a face only a mother could love. Honestly, it's not one of the sexiest rigs you'll come across, but if you're looking for what is absolutely the most stout and bomber frameset for everything from epic trailrides to off-the-roof huckfests, the Banshee Chaparral is the ticket. Here's a few other highlights: The rear triangle doesn't budge--even under extremely hard cornering The suspension remains plush and active in all conditions It's surprisingly peppy for a 12-lb frameset (yup... a dozen pounds) It hooks up well even in the steepest and gnarliest terrain So, if you want a bike that can take every bit of abuse that you can possibly throw at it, then hook yourself up with a Banshee Chaparral frameset. Pricepoint currently has 2005 and 2006 models still available. Buy Now: Buy the Banshee Chaparral Frameset from Pricepoint.com