I think the mistake you are making, TMITN, is that you are looking at the .5° as a figure in comparison to the overall head angle. Look at the whole trek MTB range - 70° for top end XC to 65° for the Session 88. That is 5° total change from lycra-lads to DH... .5° is a 10% change over the whole range, so imagine the difference this can make in a single bike, even for the average rider.

Only problem is Mark was saying the same things about the old version...which required a redesign because they were not so crash hot. I'd like to believe that WTB have suddenly worked out how to make a much better product - but I am finding it hard not to see this as just all the same marketing crud they used before with the added tag of 'hey, its NEW!'. I am not saying that the tire is not good - but I will be testing a pair fully before I buy, as I would hate to add another pair of Weirwolfs to my box of 'parts that were just shit'.

As I mentioned above - Mick Hannah pretty much raved about this bike AFTER he signed with GT. He didn't have to say anything nice about it - but he did...

Yeah - the deal with Banshee was always just to ride as a 'test pilot' and we were going to see if we could swing an outside sponsor for a team with Mick on it. That never came about and Mick signed with GT. One of the interesting points from Mick's feedback was that his first runs he felt a bit unsettled - this is a bike in his words that NEEDS you to really push it - when he let go it was in his words one of the best rides he has tested. Mick was signed to GT when he made these comments - so I take them as unbiased praise.