Talk to me about Airborne bikes

Triathlon Forum
1

Am considering Airborne for a racing MTB since it has 2" soft tail design and runs a bit cheaper than other ti bikes. Anyone ridden Airborne bikes? More specifically the Ti bikes?

And if anyone has ridden/owned the Pakka Wallup that would be doubly swell.

Any info appreciated…

Also thinking Moots but 2" seems nicer than 1" for the softtail.

Lehmkuhler

2

I have an Airborne Spectre (Ti). I love it. Airborne prices have gone up recently, but combined with their warranty, I believe they are still a great value. Only negative is that the frames are welded in communist China. Good welds–but, still I don’t like giving money to them.

3

Can’t comment firsthand about the titanium Airbornes, but I ride an aluminum Airborne Thunderbolt that I bought stupid cheap. It’s a great bike, and I thoroughly enjoy riding it. I built the frame with Campy Centaur, and it’s a super ride. A local club member has a ti Airborne that he’s had for four years, and he loves his bike. It has served him very well.

I hold Airborne in very high opinion. Their ti bikes are made in China, I believe, but that doesn’t appear to be a problem. Don’t know about the Airborne mountain bikes, but their road bikes are excellent.

RP

4

Those commie bastards… wait, no, just kidding…:slight_smile:

So the frames are well made. That’s good to know. Honestly if Litespeed hadn’t dropped their softtail or either Litespeed or Moots had a 2" softtail I’d probably give them the nod to put of the Chinese “world domination through manufacturing” plot a bit longer.

I’ve read somewhere that the complete bikes from Airborne.com are a bit high priced. So much that you could buy the frame from them, and get the rest of the bike from other locations and end up with a higher/more specific spec bike at a lower price… Anybody?

Thanks again. I’m gearing up for my dream ride and I know this isn’t a MTB forum but there’s more than enough bike knowledge around here to make up for the lack of specificity.

Lehmkuhler

5

I just bought the frame, and had it built up mostly with parts off my old bike. I also got my frame at the end of the model year on close-out, so I got a really good deal.

6

I ride an Airborne Zeppelin. Love it. Military get a 30% discount on all bikes…of course the downfall is that you are not purchasing from an LBS, but I love the bike…especially the titanium!