A great value for the money! I spent two days researching the components that came on this bike, and found that if each component was purchased new, I would have spent well over 1500 bucks MINUS the frame, bars, and seat/seatpost. You really couldn't piece together a bike any cheaper unless you bought all used components.
The bike comes 90% assembled, no need to worry about bleeding brakes or getting the driveline dialed in - put the front tire on, the handlebars and seatpost and you are ready to ride!
Reba RockShox - Avid Elixir 7 brakes - SRAM X7 drivetrain all work beautifully together.
Customer support is outstanding, I had several questions before and after purchase and was pleased when I received fast and courteous responses from Eric at Airborne. The satisfaction guarantee is also a big plus - nice to know that if there are issues with the purchase, I can always send it back.

Only weakness' I see is some of the parts that people change out anyway. The seat is a bit tough, and the grips (for me) feel weird. The tires are terrible in sand, but great on the hard-pack and slick-rock. Again, one of those things that can be easily changed out to accomodate the trails in your area. Right now I just plan to run them bald and start dropping the air pressure to get some grip. Be sure to pick up a Lizard Skin for the chain-stay as there is plenty of chain-slap to go around if your local trails are rough.

The bike is beautiful, rides VERY smooth for being a hardtail, and I cannot stop grinning from ear to ear when riding it. I have people stop and stare at the bike and ask me all kinds of questions and tell me how nice the bike is. Shifting is smooth, the Reba fork is plush, and the brakes are incredible. If you are even considering a new bike and still have a bit of a budget concern, Airborne is a company to put at the top of the list. Reading all the reviews at MTBR for this bike was a huge help in my decision making, and one that I am not regretting one tiny bit. I have the bike up to 75 miles, and it is still flawless. I wake up everyday to go to work, but all I really want to do is get on the Goblin and go for a ride - it is really, all I think about all day (don't tell the Mrs...)! Hands down, one of the BEST purchases I have ever made, and will probably order my full suspension from them when the time comes.
Ordering and Assembly - If you are unsure about the fitment, have your measurements ready and simply call Airborne and ask them any questions you may have. They are extremely knowledgable and will help you out when it comes to the right bike. Be sure to have it sent where you will be the day of delivery as well, which takes about five business days, as they will not leave your bike on the front porch without a signature. Putting the bike together was a snap, and took less time than unpacking the bike itself. The air pressure in the tires are very low, and will look wobbly when you give the wheel a spin. All you will need to do is set the bead by pumping the tire up to 60-70 PSI and they will true up. I only add these two items as these were issues that came up for me. All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase and wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again. Great value, awesome bike, and 5:30 just won't get here fast enough for me to get back on my Goblin and hit the trails!

lockout fork is great. bike flys & makes short work of roots that used to slow/scare me. Componets are a few notches above bikes in the price range.

Grips get slippery from rain, sweat, or post water bottle grab (easy replacement). The tire treads have not had enough grip in mud, loose dirt, and even wet road a few times. RD hanger was bent in shipment...Airborne swifty sent replacement and covered repair.

Overall, it was a big change to go from a 26” to a 29er. First off, this bike definitely flew on the trails – the roots that would give me a rattle and slow me down hardly need a thought now. The seat took 50 mi to get used to – certainly some numbness on 10+mi road rides – but is OK now. Beyond getting used to that big front tire in tight turns, the fork is the biggest highlight. Love the Reba lock out feature as I easily go from dirt to road with an on-the-fly adjustment and have fun playing with the air pressure, lockout notches, and watching the red ring (instructions on ideal sag would have been nice). Clears obstacles and rocks with ease where I would have been nervous on my previous 26” Rockhopper. No doubt in my mind that the components are superior to bikes in the price range and the Gobiln is an overall value. Wish i could have tried the 18" vs. 20" somehow as i was in between sizes.

Similar Products Used:

2006 Specialized Rockhopper 26"

Awesome value - I couldn't come close to the same component selection and ride quality with any of the bikes from the major manufacturers. The frame is excellent quality, with decent paint and clean welds through out. I'm still getting used to the 2x10 shift pattern, but the derailleurs both shift cleanly and precisely. The brakes are excellent (much more modulation than the Avid Juicys on my Santa Cruz).

Some of the Airborne brand name parts aren't the best quality. The value is still great, but they still have to save some money somewhere. I swapped out the handlebars and seat post clamp immediately - both pieces are WAY to heavy for this quality of bike. The stem will be next, followed by the seatpost. The wheels will be upgraded when my wallet recovers. They are all function, but it's a cheap(ish) way to save some weight and add some more durability.

I'm loving the bike. This is my 1st 29er and my 1st hardtail in 15+ years, so I'm still getting used to the ride, but I'm loving it on every trail.

I hesitate to call it a weakness, but I can't really recommend this bike for a newbie rider or a rider without some decent mechanical skills. If you can turn a wrench and have any skills adjusting a bike, the out-of-box set up is quick and easy. If you're not 100% comfortable assembling a bike, pay the extra $$$ and have your local bike shop do the job.

Similar Products Used:

2011 Santa Cruz Nickel, 1999 Santa Cruz Heckler, Specialized M4 Stumpjumper, and 25+ years worth of other road and mountain bikes.

Firm chasis, Price, Components, Fork, wheels, Seat...pretty much everything.

Fork 'chatter' at DH speeds....and where the tapered headset meets the top/down tube seems alittle funky and not on par with higherend frame designs.

My background: been riding 26ers for 20 years, full and hardtail, trail/XC/AM riding, dable in races occassionally. I do between 12-18 mile rides 2-3x a week. I buy bikes that have excellent value and dont purchase bikes because their trendy and what everyone else uses.

Which brought me to AIRBORNE.

One of the hardest things in the world is to buy something without trying it...especially when it comes to MTB, that r so different accross the spectrum. Read, the reviews out there...they will help form an opinion. Also, get out there and ride demos....i mean really ride to see what u like the most. I had the opportunity to demo Specialized S-works HT 29er, Specialized Epic FSR 29er, Trek Superfly Elite and lower end bike like diamondback Mason HT 29er.

I discovered I really like the 29er HT configuration and really appreciated the agility and response of a 26er HT.

Enter the AIRBORNE GOBLIN 29er.

Geometry....The riding position feels like youre inside the bike rather then on top. The bottom bracket is located .5-1" lower to the ground. While this surely helps with lowering the center of gravity it also directly translates into more pedal strikes with objects and while turning at speed. Rotors also seem to get wet more then a 26er. I dont love or hate the geometry.

The fork responds superbly to drops and big hits while smoothing out progressive bumps. I do get alot of 'chatter' at top speed going down hill...which translates too less feedback at the controls, especially if trying to brake. I believe this is mostly my not having tuned the fork for my wieght yet (165#)

Gearing...I love the 2x10 drivetrain. The chainteeth they paired with the new drivetrain is flawless. I rode this bike through the hard stuff the first month i had it and never felt like i needed another gear. The Goblin climbs very well as long as you dont come to the point where your grinding out in the large granny gear. It becomes unstable and hard to control....(u will learn not to follow your buddy to close in the technical stuff as this is the only thing that will cause you to slow down when you knows its not a good idea too.)

Ive heard people complain about the seat and foam-ish hand grips. Its true the hand grips do get crazy slippery when wet - if your not wearing gloves. Who dosent wear gloves? I actually love the seat, maybe best seat ive ever owned. Ive had other people say how much they liked the seat as well. Its amazing.

SRAM components.... I have 3 other bikes, all 26er and all with Sram x7 level components. Obviously i like what they make and am bias. IMO, they are value priced components that give a smooth precise feel consistantly and will take a substantial amount of abuse. XO feels like a refinement on an already stellar product. Feels like they added some ball bearings to what otherwise might have sealed bearing races. Overall the same feel just more refined and crisp. (Kinda like 2.5# trigger pull compared to a 4# trigger pull on a fire control group, feels about the same just more refined)

Wheels feel exquisite and are much lighter then i expected for such a big hoop. I immediately made them tubeless...which i feel is mandatory to help with the stiffness of a HT. I would have some reservations with these wheels if I were a heavier rider. These hoops could use a wheel truing after a month of hard riding...but these are not the heavier duty rim that 'black flag' , but the race version so i expected to have to tighten them after a months use. But I expect to not have the same issue again after the initial break-in.

Brakes are what id expect from a hydrualic system. Ive put close to 100 miles on this rig so far and the pads/rotors seem to not have bee "fully bedded" yet. Strikes me as odd...they work fine but theres a slight audible sqeual that i dont have on other bikes. Read above where the rotors get wet more often then a 26er. Pretty sure the problem lies there.

Weight is neither heavy nor light...somewhere right in the middle. I cant imagine getting much skinnier while using an aluminum frame. Which BTW, AIRBORNE has powder coated for durability.

Similar Products Used:

Trek superfly, Giant XTC

You can't beat the components for the price! Goblin rides better than my Higher end bike! Very impressed!

Paint chip the size of a pea when shipped! Airborne did refund the shipping because of the chip! Great customer service!

I bought this bike for my brother birthday. He loves this bike! And I will agree with him! The Goblin rides and handles amazing! I am so impressed with the Goblin, I will be adding a Goblin XO to my collection! :-)

Value and Quality. You won't find a another bike with this level of components for even close to the same price.

I can't find any.

Upgraded my $500 Giant bike to the point where the only thing left to upgrade was the drive train. When I saw how much it would cost to upgrade I decided it was time to find a better bike. Did as much research as possible for the best value and components and ended up with this - 2013 version. Day after I purchased a friend tested it and also purchased. Been out on a few rides so far and it is night and day difference compared to my old bike. The trails are much more fun than they have ever been. My next bike down the road will probably be from them as well.

The components cannot be beat for the price on this 2013 (version 2) Goblin. The Reba fork is great, takes all the bumps you can give it. The SRAM gearset shifts clean and fast under load. The bike feels very stable. No brake issues so far.

The seat is harder than i'm used to but I didn't have much issue with it. I won't change it out. The 29" wheels feel a little sluggish on the turns.

Overall i'm very happy with this bike. I came from a 2004 Trek 4500. I love the jump up to a 29er, i don't think i'll ever go back. I was a little leary buying online but not any more. The bike comes very well packed and 95% assembled, you just need to install the handle bar and the seatpost.

The only change I plan on making for now is swapping out the handle bar for a better personal feel.

You cannot beat this bike on price. I was looking at a 2013 Specialized Carve comp 29er. The Specialized was $1550 and had lower components for every part. This bike was a deal!

Similar Products Used:

2004 Trek 4500

Beautiful bike, excellent parts for money spent, super easy to unpack and ride, loves to go fast, easy to control.

The seat is pretty bad (I feel like I need a butt transplant). Feels heavy (didn't ride heavy at all).

This is my first "new" mountain bike. I've previously been riding an older steel Specialized Hardrock 26er. I shopped extensively to find the best deal I could and the Goblin on paper was a no brainer. Unpacking the bike was easy and I was struck with how dang sexy this bike is. After 15 minutes it needed to have the brakes realigned and some of the shifting dialed in but that wasn't a problem at all.

First ride: There was a bit of a learning curve moving from Shimano 3x7 to Sram 2x10. The trail was exceptionally rooty and the combination of the aluminum hardtail frame and butt hatchet seat made it feel like I went to prison and lost... A new seat and working on my riding position should help tremendously.

This being my first trail ride on a 29er I expected to have poor control over the bike and steering through turns but it was effortless and easy. I was also amazed at how this bike would pick up and hold speed exceptionally well.

All in all this was an excellent bike from an excellent company!

SRAM X7 drivetrain is super smooth, Reba RL fork soaks up everything, beautiful frame (welds look great and paint is very attractive). Customer service is superb.

NONE whatsoever....some people may be hesitating to purchase an online bike because they are unsure that they can assemble it. However, Airborne ships this bike to you (packed very well) mostly assembled. You just have to throw on the seat/bars and fine tune things. Anyone can do this with the help of some youtube videos about how to fine tune Derailleurs.

I absolutely love this bike....best 1,200 bucks I've ever spent...It is very refreshing to see a company such as Airborne that offers great quality, excellenct customer service, and low prices. Don't be intimidated with the thought of having to fine tune the bike upon delivery, you can do it! Airborne's competition is offering equal or lower quality products for much higher prices. Do yourself a favor, order an Airborne bike, you will have no regrets.

low cost amazing components try finding any 29er hardtail with elixir 7 X7 2x10 sram and dual air reba fork all for this price there is nothing else out there also its rides great for the value cant beat it

waiting for it to come in the mail, and waiting for weekends to go ride it

this is my favorite bike out of my collection of 6 but it was not all happy and dandy. i ordered the bike on a tuesday it arrived that saturday morning i put it together in about 15 min went to pump up my air shock and the shock would not hold air. My LBS would not work with me because i did not buy it from them and what not so i called airborne and Eric helped me out on monday. he was able to get me another reba in on the following friday from rock shox that works very well and i sent back the bad shock no extra cost due to warranty but what this shows is that airborne will help you out and do what they need to do to make sure you enjoy your bike i am not part of airborne just a really appreciative customer, ive dealt with many other companies on similar issues and no-one was as helpful and quick as airborne. Take advantage of the deal while its hear and trust me you will be impressed and very satisfied.