The new "Rune" has little in common with the "Scream" drop bike, neither visually nor technically, and is also aimed at a completely different group of riders - touring freeriders. For the rear suspension, Banshee has said goodbye to the supported single pivot and given the "Rune" a VPP rear triangle, which is very popular in the USA. The front suspension is the lowerable "36 Talas" from Fox, which has been made even more suitable for touring with a quick-release axle for 2008. At the rear is the new "DHX Air" with quick-acting ProPedal. The equipment is Shimano-free. SRAM supplies the gears and brakes, while the cranks and wheels are from FUNN. We don't know who makes the seatpost clamp in road bike design, but it really has no place on a bike like this, a quick release is a must! Banshee does a good job with the geometry. The bottom bracket is not too high at 36 cm and the top tube is not too long. You sit upright, but not enthroned above the bike. Off-road, you immediately notice two things: the fork has great suspension, the rear end does not. The VPP system works with chain tension to suppress bobbing tendencies. This actually works at a defined SAG point as long as the rider remains seated and pedals calmly. However, when riding over roots, you feel a strong pedal kickback (especially on the small blade) and when pedalling fast in the cradle, e.g. before a jump, you pull the rear triangle together. The result: a lot of bobbing and a bumpy ride. The rear suspension also has too little progression at the end of the travel. Although it responds sensitively and works directly and well in the mid-stroke range, it rushes through the stroke on hard hits and hits hard. This could not be remedied even with maximum pressure in the Piggy and the bottom out fully closed - with a rider weight of just under 70 kilos, mind you. Thanks to the good geometry, you can still have fun on flowing trail sections. The "Rune" follows steering impulses very directly and is easy to control on jumps.
The entire individual test is available as a free PDF download.
