Submitted by
Jeff
a Racer
from Grand Blanc, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: May 6, 2002
Strengths: light, solid, excellent climbing and acceleration, stable descender even in rough conditions, less harsh than aluminum, tremendous value, easy to assemble (according to the guys at the LBS)
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
It might seem early to give a review after only a few rides but I wanted to put this out at the beginning of the season in case people are making buying decisions, now that Airborne is selling through bike shops.
I've been riding several years and started racing last year. I usually ride my Stumpjumper FSR Comp, which is a great bike, but not a great racing bike. I took this bike to my favorite trail, Pontiac Lake, and knocked 4 minutes off my PR for the 10.7 mile loop, and I wasn't even pushing that hard!!
The Corsair does it all; it accelerates great, climbs great (in or out of the saddle), descends well, very quick in the single track, solid ride without the harhness of aluminum. The paint is rather understated but looks good. The welds are high quality.
I plan to upgrade all the parts as time goes by and put the current ones back on the Marin. This frame should last forever and I'm looking forward to many years of fun with it.
This is a great frameset for the money (it's a great framset for twice the price!)and the service from Airborne to the bike store was excellent (ordered on Monday and received on Thursday). Unless I'm mistaken, this is a US made product, if that's a factor in your decision making process.
Bottom line - buy this frameset!! If you don't have parts to put on it, you can buy the full bike from your LBS or you can go to the Airborne.com website and build your dream bike. Checkemout!!
Favorite Trail: Pontiac Lake, Brighton, Highland, and Holdridge Lakes
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$600.00
Purchased At: Assenmacher's Cyclery - Grand Blanc
Similar Products Used: Trek 8000, Marin Pine Mountain, Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp
Bike Setup: I took all the parts off of a '99 Marin Pine Mountain extra large frame that I inherited from a friend. The Marin was great but way too big so Bob at Assenmacher's suggested the 2002 Airborne Corsair frameset (18 in.) I'm 6 feet tall, 32 inseam, and weigh 180 lbs. It currently has the Manitou SX fork, Avid Arch brakes, XT front and rear deraileurs, XT shifters, Richey stem, Ovation bar and seatpost, Marin seat and seatpost, LX hubs, Mavic 138 wheels, IRC Mythos tires (knobby front and semi-slick rear). LX cranks and cassette.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
C
a Cross Country Rider
from Boston, MA
Date Reviewed: November 1, 2001
Strengths: light, strong. Not at all flexy in the bottom bracket.
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I've had my Corsair for about 2 months now. Absolutely no complaints. Bought the frame only, put it together with no issues.
Geometry is almost perfect. Pretty much identical to an IBIS or Dean. Carves up the corners and it very steady technical downhills.
Pretty light at 3.5 lbs. What I won't say is that it's plush. It does seem to take the rattle out of the ride, but as everyone should know, there is no such a thing as vertical give on a double triangle frame. Titanium does seem to dampen vibrations better than aluminum, but I wouldn't say it's like riding full suspension.
Bottom line: the bike is a freaking dream. I went out for a ride a week ago with two cats: one on a Dean and and the other on a Litespeed. They both were asking about the Airborne. I was thinking....you guys paid way too much for your TI rigs. Heh heh.
This is a follow up from an earlier post on the other Corsair page. My opinion hasn't changed; I still think the frame is awesome. No complaints. Does everything well and is extremely comfortable after 20 miles off-road. Feel less beat up than on my aluminum frames I have had. Please see my other review.
Similar Products Used: Cannondale, GT, Breezer, Nishiki, Schwinn, KHS, Specialized
Bike Setup: XT, XTR, MARS, Raceface, Bontrager, Michelin, Easton
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Newport Beach
Date Reviewed: October 4, 2001
Strengths: Price, weight, looks, Ti, ride
Weaknesses: none yet, and don't imagine there will be any
Bottom Line:
I wanted to build a H/T back-up to my FS rig (Wild Hare) as I HATED the stumpy. There's stiff, and then there's harsh. M2 is harsh. I'd read all the great about Ti, and went beyond Bike Mag hype and garbage, and asked some metal fabrication experts, if they had a choice, all things being equal (price, weight). Hands down Ti. Not so much for ride characteristics, but if welded correctly, it will not break. All the metals have their application strengths, but for longevity, it's Ti. With their lifetime warranty of REPLACEMENT not repair, why would you spend more? Oh, yeah for more $$ you get prettier welds and dropouts. But $400 or more for the same?
After a month of riding, I'm hooked. Ti is a different feel, in a great way. The corsair is stiff enough in the BB for me, as I weigh 160 with gear and water. It was perfectly true, handles great, and seems the more agressive you ride it, the better it rides. Climbs great, descends without being twitchy, even at higher speeds. The only odd was getting used to the sloping TT. When you get your frame (mine was a 16"), you'll swear it's a lot smaller. It's not. I haven't ridden my Wild Hare since. And lastly, great service, answered all my questions, and I got the frame in one day.
Similar Products Used: First Ti frame, prior hardtail that it replaced was a 97 M2 Stumpjumper (now that's a HARDtail)
Bike Setup: XT 8 speed F/R, XTR shifters/levers/brakes, XT/517's, Z2 Bam ('99), XY seatpost, CT2 bars, kore elite stem
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
c
a Cross Country Rider
from Boston, MA
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2001
Strengths: light 3.55 lbs. not at all flexy in the bottom bracket. no paint to mess up, pure TI!
Weaknesses: none yet.
Bottom Line:
I bought this frame directly from Airborne.net. Two days and I had it in my living room. Took me about 3 hours to build it up. Absolutely no problems. Bottom bracket went in like a dream. Cable guides are perfect.
I'll write another review after I've taken it out a few more times. 3 days and 3 rides later I'm loving the Corsair. Have to run.
Strengths: Calidad del material ,resistencia y prestaciones maximas.
Weaknesses: Solo las calcomanias que la identifican se deterioran facilmente.
Bottom Line:
Son muchas las virtudes que rodean este producto,la flexion que brindan sus tubos es realmente asombrosa ,simplemente tienes que tenerlo para convencerte que es definitivamente SUPERIOR.
Weaknesses: I got one... once you scratch the stickers on the frame they start to deteriorate very rapidly and you only can get this frame from airborne.net or bikeusa.com so you never are going to find a deal on it.
Bottom Line:
(i have literally crash this frame dozens of times and still no scratches)(besides the "access Ti" frame is the cheapest you´ll get and you just simply can´t compare the handling of the corsair with the "access" one...) this is a piece of art... even more if you dont like brushed Ti... like me...)(this frame is the lightess... even lighter than the Lucky Strike or any litespeed, yes... i know... the "access Ti" is lighter but again, it may be lighter and cheaper but flexes way too much) YOU HAVE THE MONEY??? BUY IT!!! THE BEST INVERSION OF YOUR CICLYNG LIFE...
Submitted by
Louis Bernocco
a Weekend Warrior
from South Windsor, Ct., USA
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2001
Strengths: Can take anything you throw at it and then some. Makes each trail easier to handle and a lot more fun. Can take a licking and keeps on trucking
Bottom Line:
Well worth the $600 I paid for it and it as good if not better than a Litespeed which starts out $300-400 higher!!!!!!
Submitted by
Kyle Branyo
a Racer
from Greensboro, Norht Carolina,
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2001
Strengths: It works just as well, if not better than a expensive litespeed, merlin or moots frame. But the advantage is, is that you have saved lots of money so you can buy some nice titanium parts to go along with the frame!
Weaknesses: It is a little flexy, but not like merlins where the tire rubs( but i guess flex comes with titanium rihgt?)
Bottom Line:
This bike is a racing machine, the frame does what i wanted it too and more. If you are looking into a nice unexpensive frame, this is the one!
Submitted by
Sergio Acosta
a Racer
from El Paso, Texas, USA
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2001
Strengths: The thing I loved most about the frame is the finish, Lightweight and that the trail vibrations are absorbed. Now that I've tried this bike I'll never go back to Aluminum.
Weaknesses: None found till date.
Bottom Line:
If you have $600.00 buy this frame, if you have more money buy this frame and some very light parts for it, because you can pay $1500.00 for a Litespeed or other Ti Bike but wgy would you. This frame is the same quality as the more expensive ones.
Strengths: Realmente es superior desde el mismo momento en que te montas,su absorcion a las inclemencias del terreno su comodidad,sin duda alguna ,la mejor inversion de mi vida.
Weaknesses: ES PERFECTO ,TE HACE SENTIR SUPERIOR ,ES UN PRIVILEGIO.
Bottom Line:
Aunque tengas que hacer un sacrificio para adquirirlo ,nunca te arrepentiras.
