From mud and slop-fests in Scotland to never-ending Alpine descents via some beastly jumps on home trails, our long-term test bikes haven’t had it easy! They’ve stockpiled a ton of kilometres and even more vertical metres on some gnarly trails and lung-burningly tough races. Now that the new season has crept up on us, it’s time for the testers to slam down the lawful fist of justice on these bikes and reveal how their test bike fared, and whether it’s convinced them of its value.

Pirmin’s CENTURION Trailbanger

I’d never heard of the CENTURION Trailbanger before this long-term test, which isn’t surprising given that they’d eased off this bike since its predecessor was on sale, and it hadn’t been featured for a while. The model that I got for the test was a prototype, virtually ready for series production.

Pirmin and his CENTURION Trailbanger

I took the Trailbanger on a ton of trips and rides, bruising it around my home trails in Oberammgau as well as bike parks in Switzerland and France, and it always did me proud. My fiery-red steed doesn’t have the production spec, lying somewhere in the middle of the Trailbanger Team and the Trailbanger 2000. I chose a medium frame for my height of 178 cm.

The CENTURION Trailbanger on the trails around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Thanks to its long 441 mm reach and slack 65.5° head angle, the CENTURION Trailbanger breeds confidence and does its name proud on bombed-out bike park trails. I’d have loved a rear shock with a piggyback reservoir like you find on the top model, as it would give more feedback and perform a bit more consistently.

Riding the CENTURION Trailbanger

Aside from the issues with the derailleur hanger, which we cleared up together with CENTURION early on in the test, and don’t affect the production bikes, the whole season passed without any issues other than some regular servicing in the workshop.

Heavy terrain is no problem for the CENTURION Trailbanger

The Trailbanger grinds up climbs with ease, and the front wheel keeps in constant contact with the ground. The 170 mm travel at the front and 165 mm at the back iron out massive hits on descents, and couldn’t be more forgiving when I screw up a line. Not as burly as you might think, the bike is happy to get some airtime. The quicker you drop down a climb, the happier the Trailbanger is, offering loads of stability and gliding serenely over bumps like it’s on rails.
The bearings still don’t show any signs of wear, and if the Trailbanger didn’t have to go back to CENTURION then I’d love to keep riding it for another season.

CENTURION Trailbanger action shot

Price: € 5,000
Weight: 13.4 kg
Travel: 170/165 mm
More info: Centurion Website
KMs Ridden: 2,434 km
Downhill altitude metres:: approx. 100,000 m
Issues:

  • Two derailleur hangers snapped
  • Small dent at the rear (from crash)
  • Swapped two gear cables

Would I buy the CENTURION Trailbanger?

After around 100,000 metres of vertical descent and a sick season of riding, one thing is for sure: the CENTURION Trailbanger is a winner. Robust, efficient, and reliable, this bike is definitely one I’d buy – but not right now, as the next long-term test bike is already winging its way over to me! The Trailbanger is worth every penny CENTURION asks for.

Read more about the bike in Pirmin’s review of the CENTURION Trailbanger. To see the original condition of the bike, check out the First Look.

If you want to follow our long-term test crew, check the long-term test timeline.

Words: Pirmin Fischer Photos: Christoph Bayer


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