Submitted by
TreeKiller
a Cross Country Rider
from Stokesdale, NC
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2012
Strengths: Awesome components for the price. Frame seems stiff but compliant. REBA fork is awesome. Small Block 8 tires are light and roll fast. Staff are knowledgable and actually RIDE!
Weaknesses: Required quite a bit of tuning out of the box. Wheels are functional but heavy however, you can't expect a $600+ set for wheels for this price), the cable routing seems to be exceptionally long and I suspect the housings aren't the best. The SB8 tires are awesome on hardpack, but they are BAD in ice slick NC wet winter clay. I'm replacing them until late spring. My opinion is that setting the fork up for 100mm travel would be best for most people, but it's not too hard to change.
Bottom Line:
I was trying to decide between a Stumpjumper HT 29er and a Niner custom build when I seen a number of people were buying complete bikes on the internet and swapping the parts to Niner frames as it is cheaper. In looking at potential candidates to rob parts from I ran across the Goblin. It was spec'ed nearly identically to the Stumpy. So I read some reviews and with some reservations I pulled the trigger on an order. Considering it was $1,000 less than the Specialized I'm VERY satisfied with my purchase.
As stated by others, it is best if your are at least somewhat comfortable with doing minor to moderate wrenching. The front deraileur on mine was not mounted correctly and the bike required minor tuning throughout to fuction.
Similar Products Used: Iron Horse Warrior 5.0, Specialized Camber Elite, Trek Superfly HT Elite, Raleigh M80,....
Bike Setup: All stock for now
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Zeis Bikes
a Cross Country Rider
from Dayton, Ohio
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2011
Strengths: lightweight, solid components, 29er rules, small block eights awesome in hard pack. X7 drivetrain is smooth and fast acting and Avid Elixir Brakes are dialed in and ready to ride out of the box. The "Kool-Aid Green" bounces on the goblin and is a real head turner with the white accents
Weaknesses: stock wheelset is heavy and sluggish, a few of the components like stem, seatpost and handlebards may need swapped to fit your style or desire.
Bottom Line:
YOU WILL NOT FIND ANOTHER 29ER UNDER 1200, HELL, UNDER 1500 WITH THIS HIGH LEVEL OF COMPONENTS AND THAT PERFORMS THIS WELL. This is the perfect ride for someone wanting to try out a 29er for the first time but isn't interested in a cheaper rigid single speed. Or this can be a great race day back up bike. I have had this thing on tight technical single track, open fast flowing trails, at Rays MTB Park in Cleveland, and on more technical freeride terrain.
Favorite Trail: MoMBA, MetroParks Mountain Biking Area
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$1200.00
Purchased At: Direct
Similar Products Used: Gary Fisher Paragon, Redline Monocog, Surly Karate Monkey
Bike Setup: Stock except new powder coated white wheelset, carbon straight bars, thomson seatpost and stem, and new saddle
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Submitted by
chestont
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, AZ
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2011
Strengths: Great componentry for price. bulletproof drivetrain, fit and finish on par with the big brands. Fun to have and ride around if you want to stand out from the crowd.
Weaknesses: Could always be lighter. Included Small Block 8's are not a one-size-fits-all kind of tire. Need to do some light wrenching to get the bike up and ready to ride. Waiting for the package at your door every day once you click "order".
Bottom Line:
After years of riding ht 26 it was time for an upgrade. The science of 29ers made sense to me so I made the leap. It can be kind of scary buying a bike online you've never seen before but the company is such a pleasure to work with. I also think the price has gone up $100 since I purchased it, but it is still a great value at that price when compared to anything with comparable componentry,
The bike came needing to be partially assembled. Nothing was too difficult and it took me about 30 minutes to get it all together. The Goblin was a very easy transition to make for me. I felt very comfortable after a short ride at a local trail I've been riding since I started mountain biking.
Not long after purchasing it I took the bike to Moab and had a mostly good experience(I did have some equipment malfunction but that was due to user error/older parts, nothing to do with the bike as it came to me). I could not keep up with my FS 26 and 69 buddies down the really rocky stuff. However, anytime there was a long rocky climb I was good to go. It will roll over everything with confidence and once you get some momentum going its hard to keep from smiling.
I had been considering swapping out the wheels for some Sun Ringle Charger or Black Flag Pros to shed some weight, however I moved out to North Carolina and have since realized I don't really need them. The trails I ride don't have the epic climbs I did out West so the weight is less of a factor. This bike was made for the kind of trails I ride out here. It eats up all the singletrack and roots I have thrown at it. Absolute pleasure to ride. Based on riding out West I was going to give overall 4 chilis, but after riding out East its easily a 5 chili bike.
Upgrade recommendations/plans
I definitely recommend swapping the front sb8 to something wider/more aggressive. I've left the rear wheel as an sb8 at about 28-30psi(tubed). I swapped some control stuff for fit(5'11.5" on a Medium, I'm in that gray area for size. L would have worked too) and I think I'm going to switch to a riser bar for a little more relaxed riding position. I saw an article where the reviewer removed a spacer in the Rock Shox fork and extended the travel from 80mm to 100mm which I'm looking into. I still eventually want to buy some tubeless wheels and shed some weight off the bike, but for now I'll save the money while I'm in law school and continue to enjoy. The bike as of right now sits at 27.5 lbs.
Similar Products Used: Klein Pulse, Specialized Rockhopper.
Bike Setup: stock except for Thomsen seatpost, Race Face stem, Ardent 2.4 up front with sb8 in rear.
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Submitted by
Westbayou
a Weekend Warrior
from Bradenton, FL
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2011
Strengths: You can't beat the components for the price. Everything is well matched, higher end components for this price point without being a mishmash of high end and low end components.
Out of the box it took 30 minutes to assemble, and everything except the brakes were perfectly dialed in. The Reba fork is butter smooth, and the X7 setup shifts flawlessly. The 2x10 gearing is different than what I'm used to, but I find myself searching for a gear much less frequently. I think it took longer to unpackage the bike than it did to assemble. Love the green color, but I see Trek/Fisher is rolling something similar out for 2012.
The bike just charges through the soft sand here locally when my 26" bike would get swallowed up. My average speed is higher as well.
Weaknesses: As with all mail order bikes, you need to be able to wrench on your own bike or have access to a very understanding bike shop (as in, why didn't you buy from us...) I'm still working on dialing in the Elixir R brakes, as I still have a little rub after truing the calipers, and the rear brake is much softer than the front. I also found the 640mm flat handlebar is much too narrow for my preference, and the stock saddle is rock hard. Granted I haven't been overly sore from the saddle either.
Bottom Line:
If you find yourself in the situation I did, the Goblin is a great buy. I test rode several bikes that really didn't do much for me, and decided I wanted a Fisher Cobia at this price point from a previous test ride. The problem was, nobody within 100 miles could get me one until the 2012 models hit sometime in August (it is May now). That was just too long for me to wait. Turns out, it was a similar situation for Felt, and Giant. I was left with options that were $500, or $1700. My budget was right at $1200. The team at Airborne was very knowledgeable, and assured me I would love the bike which was true. They even said if I rode it, and didn't like it they would let me ship it back for a full refund. I couldn't argue with that, and the good news is I'm keeping the Goblin! I ended up with much nicer components than the Fisher for the same price, and the frame fit and finish is excellent. If you can get over the "name brand" issues, you will be rewarded with an excellent product and a knowledgeable company backing it up.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Rock Hopper Comp 29er
Fisher Cobia
Cannondale SL2
Bike Setup: Stock w/ Syncros 710mm riser handlebar and caged pedals.
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Submitted by
toddre
a Cross Country Rider
from Connecticut
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2011
Strengths: Solid geometry...X7 2X10 works really well... unreal value in a bike
Weaknesses: SB8 tires aren't for everyone... Some may feel uneasy about buying a bike online
Bottom Line:
Full Disclosure: I am lucky enough to be on Airborne's Flight Crew.
That being said, this is a pretty impressive ride. I have no idea how they can pack such a valued punch at this price point. there wouldn't be alot out there to compare to value wise.
The 74 ST and 71.5 HT strikes a great balance between agility and stability...
The only downfall I can see is that some may feel uncomfortable buying a bike site unseen... I wouldn't sweat it, Airborne is always willing to work with you.
Check one out!
