Jay MacNeil

I'm currently the Operations manager at Banshee, in charge of production, operations, and have a hand in most things that are happening here.

I've lived in Jhongli, Taiwan for the past 4 years and work at the factory where we make our bikes. On most days you can find me buzzing around on the shop floor, responding to emails, and just trying to keep a lid on everything as there really is a lot to do.

Formerly from Vancouver, Canada I have to say the one thing I miss the most is the riding. I try to get back every year to get some runs in at Whistler or the North Shore mountains where I grew up riding. Unfortunately this past season I wasn't able to get enough free time to make the pilgrimage.

I've been in the industry for awhile now and got my start at Syncros when they used to be in Vancouver. It was an exciting place to cut my teeth so to speak and was an experience i'll never forget. Before Syncros I had always ridden bikes and was even hitting trails before they had invented front suspension. My first mountain bike was a Giant ATX 890, and then after that i had a bunch of Balfas, until i got my first Banshee - a wine red Chaparral.

I have been lucky enough to ride and race in Asia and North America but my dream is to go to some of the other countries I've not been to yet. I still need to check off all the countries in Europe, Australia, South America and a lot of the other great spots in the US. If someone is to ask me what is your goal in life... I can't say it's to make a bunch of money and buy a bunch of crap..., but how cool it would be to travel to distant places, experience the local culture, meet other people, and ride my bike with them.

In 2011 I was awarded a patent from the USPTO for a new dropout design that was a joint idea between me and my friend and Astrix Bikes owner Ryan Carroll. US8087686 if you care to look. Its nice knowing that in some small way I've added something to the industy and keep the idea open so anyone who builds bikes can use it, rather then hoarding the idea.

My current bikes keep changing and for the 2012 season I will be riding a Prime prototype, and one of the new Paradox V2. I guess you could say i'm a 29r lover for all things trail related.

 

Keith Scott

I'm the engineer and designer among other things here at Banshee Bikes, as well as one of the owners.

I live and grew up in Scotland, and have always loved riding from the age of 3. When I was about 10 and got a bit of freedom I started to go riding with my friends in local woods, and as I got a bit older I started to go further afield to the highlands of Scotland for some epic all mountain rides with a map and compass.

I really got into 'free riding' when I first visited Vancouver by myself for 3 months when I was 18 and was introduced to the North Shore, Whistler, and went on a camping/riding trip around BC. That summer changed my world and riding style for ever. Since then I've returned almost every summer to ride and see friends, and when I'm back in UK I build DH trails and jump spots to try and bring a little of the magic back with me.

My engineering background consists of an Masters in Mechanical Engineering where I specialized in suspensions dynamics and linkage kinematics. Previous related jobs range from wrenching at local bike shop when I was growing up, to an international engineering consultancy company, and a great time at Rolls-Royce designing and manufacturing jet engine components where I learned a lot.

I do this job because I love riding bikes, and want to design the bikes that people like myself will enjoy riding most. I don't believe in gimmicks and marketing spiel, I believe in giving customers what they want, and basing designs on personal experience and real world physics. I design Banshee frames for proper mountain bikers, who will ride in all weather conditions and need a frame that will perform best when being ridden hard. I design bikes to out perform all other bikes on the market.

Currently I have 3 bikes, a Legend MkII for DH and park riding, a Spitfire for trail ripping, and an Amp for pump track and jump days. I am also the first to test prototype frames when they are ready and push them as hard as I can.'

 

 

Jon Hadfield

I’m the Sales and Marketing Manager here at Banshee Bikes. I am also the Product Manager, responsible for the buildkit specs and the suspension options that we offer.

 I grew up in England and have been riding mountain bikes for the last 20 years. I rode mostly XC in the UK, but I was lucky enough to spend 2 summers in Whistler, BC where I worked as a mountain bike guide and picked up a love of gravity assisted riding. I fell in love with BC and made a permanent move to Vancouver in 2008. I now have the North Shore as my backyard and strangely enough I ride XC a lot more than DH (although its hard to say no to a day at Whistler Bike Park).

 Before joining Banshee I worked at Race Face for 3 years, before that I was managing a bike shop in the UK and prior to that I worked at an advertising agency.

 My job at Banshee is a dream come true for a mountain bike addict like myself. Being such a small company, each of us are heavily involved in all aspects of getting Keith’s designs from paper and onto the trails. It is great to be able to put my personal stamp on the bikes that our customers get to ride. A Banshee truly is a bike designed for riders by riders.

 I’m currently riding a Prime prototype for trail riding, a Legend for DH, an Amp for the pumptrack and some other prototypes that I can’t tell you about just yet!