For tedious trademark reasons, Banshee is sold as Mythic in the UK – we’re not about to change all the logos on these pictures, though, so just imagine that they all say “Mythic” on the downtube. And if you’re not in the UK, you can ignore all this silliness. It’s precisely because we’re in the UK that we’re showing you the Spitfire first – with 130mm rear travel, up to a 160mm fork up front, room for 2.5in tyres, head angles ranging from 66° and sturdy yet not-too-portly construction (the Large proto is claimed to be 6.5lb with shock), this ought to be a fantastic trail bike for the adventurous rider. If you want it a bit steeper, an alternative shock mount raises the BB and steepens the head angle by a degree.

We had to look a couple of times at the Banshee Paradox to figure out what was going on. Spotted it yet? Yes, it’s a 29er. As the name suggests, that may seem to be an odd direction for a brand like Banshee to head, but it’s come up with something quite distinctive. The Paradox is built around a 120mm fork, and the Maxle’d Reba, stumpy stem and big tyres on the show bike give you some idea of intent – this isn’t an endurance racer. Banshee has curved the seat tube to give clearance for 2.4in tyres with super-short (by 29er standards) 17in chainstays. It’s also got ISCG05 mounts and cable guides for a Hammerschmidt.

The latest incarnation of the Legend is altogether easier to get your head around – it’s an out-and-out DH race frame with 7 or 8.5in of travel from a 3in stroke shock. Frame weight is 8.4lb.

More details at www.bansheebikes.com. Banshee comes in to the UK as Mythic via Freeborn (www.freeborn.co.uk).