|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
Don Sinyard
a Racer
from Waynesville, NC
Date Reviewed: April 13, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Tsali, Black Mountain(Pisgah), BUMP trail in B,ham, Al. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1650.00 | | Purchased At: | Blue Ridge Cycling | | Strengths: | VALUE!!!!!!!!; Very compliant ride while being quite laterally stiff for climbing and sprinting | | Weaknesses: | I quite often get front end shimmy on fast descents. Possibly due to Profile carbon fork matched to Rolf Vectors. | | Similar Products Used: | Litespeed Ocoee MTB(only Ti bike), Schwinn Paramount(the real thing, not production model), Basso GAP | | Bike Setup: | Full Ultegra, Rolf Vectors, Flite Ti saddle, Thompson post | | Bottom Line: | I'm very well pleased with this bike! As stated above, the only gripe I have is front end shimmy on fast descents on rougher pavement. The shimmy disappeared when I put on a set of Mavic Classic Pros(standard wheelset), so I attribute the shimmy to matching the Rolfs up with the Profile fork. Everything was set up perfectly upon delivery except the wheels were just a touch out of dish but easily corrected. I'm really amazed at the ride quality! At 180 lbs. I'm no lite weight climber , but I do love climbing(you'd better if you live here in Western NC!). On really hard efforts, I don't get any deraileur/chain rub and can't even get the wheels to noticably flex... impressive.
I would definitely recommend this bike to anyone, budget conscious or not! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Christopher Davis
a Racer
from Evergreen, Colorado
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Colorado Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2000.00 | | Purchased At: | Airborne.direct | | Strengths: | The ride quality is excellent, this coming from a sprinter. I feel the ride is forgiving without too much flex. This is due to the tubing being thicker than most other ti-frames. I found the value can not be matched anywhere in the market place. | | Weaknesses: | The service at Airborne-Direct. I am still waiting on a twenty-five reinbursement for a tune-up. There have been times I have called and have been in a holding pattern for hours.. They should call themselved United for they resemble the terrible service that this airline provides | | Similar Products Used: | Litespeed and Titec | | Bike Setup: | Ultegra groupo: Spinergy Rev-X wheels, King headset, Conti tires, | | Bottom Line: | I like their products so much I purchased a Corsair frame and have built it to be a 21-lbs racing bike. The management at Airborne-direct should feel ashamed of themselves for their piss poor customer service. How hard is it to return a email or just send my the reinbursement. They are grossly understaffed and if your willing to put up with this then go ahead and buy an Airborne. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jacob Tung
a Racer
from Austin, Texas
Date Reviewed: December 27, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
customer service
light weight
strong
stiff chainstays
nice ride | | Weaknesses: |
took a while for them to get the bike to me | | Similar Products Used: |
peugeot road
trek 2200 | | Bike Setup: |
zeppelin frame, 54 cm
full ultegra groupset
mavic open pro rims
michelin axial pro tires
icon stem & seatpost
selle italia flite saddle | | Bottom Line: | i absolutely love this bike. i used to race on a crappy peugeot touring bike, so maybe i'm a little easy to impress. still, this is one damn good bike.first of all, it's light! the setup i got (for $1612) only weighs 18.5 pounds.the chainstays are really stiff. when i hammer down, i can feel the bike accelerate instantly. and it climbs like it's not even there.the frame is beautiful. my main concern was the quality of the welds. they were the first thing i looked at when the bike arrived. as far as i can tell, they're just fine. the welds are neat, and i can't find any discolorations. the frame is true as far as i can tell. the brushed metal finish is a nice touch.the ride is really forgiving. there are some roads here in austin that used to really give me a beating on my old bike. now they just flow by like butter.the frame is tough, too. i actually raced the bike in a cyclocross race a few weeks ago (curbs, lawns, tree roots, one crash), and it held up just fine.the steering is also really responsive: ijust point and shoot. at the same time, the bike is really stable for long rides.before, i'd always get dropped right away in a race (collegiate, men's c (cat 4-5)). a good race for me was to finish anywhere in the top half of the field. the first race i rode on the airborne was a crit, and i finished in fourth place without really exerting myself at all. since then it's only been uphill. i've yet to finish lower than fourth on this bike. i'd like to think that i've improved as a racer, but the credit really goes to the bike.my only complaint is that it took a long time for them to get the bike to me. i called them up twice to inquire about the hold-up. the first time they mentioned something about not being able to get the right tires; i originally ordered the bike with some crappy tires, intending to replace them with some good ones i already had. the second time i called, the person i talked to said that the tires still weren't in, so they just slapped a pair of axial pros on it for free. that more than made up for the delay.i know that other ti frame makers like merlin and litespeed easily beat out airborne in terms of quality and craftmanship, but for $1600, i got a pretty damn good deal. there really isn't anything negative i can say about the bike. and the customer service made up for the delay. i'd recommend this bike (and titanium in general) to anyone. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
SteveS
a Weekend Warrior
from Texas
Date Reviewed: May 11, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Stiff but resilient, climbs great, smooth riding, good looking with a great looking rear triangle, cost/benefit ratio the best on the market backed by Airborne's great customer service | | Weaknesses: |
Doesn't cost enough to be considered high end titanium. | | Similar Products Used: |
Italian steel, aluminum, carbon fiber composite, OCLV, and short rides on high end titanium bikes | | Bike Setup: |
Dura Ace and Ultegra combination, American Classic/Ultegra wheels with Campagnolo rims, Look LDS Pro fork | | Bottom Line: | A bike that rides like steel but even smoother than my favorite Olmo (a truly great bike), that can climb as well as my Trek 5500, but doesn't flex, yet still has road feel for $699 (frame only) is a steal. The oversized tubes work and the rear triangle is a work of art comparable to any high end. This bike is another home run for Airborne, believe it. | | Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$ 1500.00
