Airborne bikes?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Ralph Ray
I noticed one of the retailers here in town started carrying Airborne bikes. Thay seem like some very well made frames with beautiful welds, nice components & decent prices for the way they are equipped. How about some feedback from some people out there that own some. Are you guys happy with them? It seems they( Airborne) will go out of their way to make sure you are happy with your purchase. Thanks.

They should,not a cheap bike.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Ralph Ray
I noticed one of the retailers here in town started carrying Airborne bikes. Thay seem like some very well made frames with beautiful welds, nice components & decent prices for the way they are equipped. How about some feedback from some people out there that own some. Are you guys happy with them? It seems they( Airborne) will go out of their way to make sure you are happy with your purchase. Thanks.

Superb welding.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Ralph Ray
I noticed one of the retailers here in town started carrying Airborne bikes. Thay seem like some very well made frames with beautiful welds, nice components & decent prices for the way they are equipped. How about some feedback from some people out there that own some. Are you guys happy with them? It seems they( Airborne) will go out of their way to make sure you are happy with your purchase. Thanks.

I don't own one, but I rode a couple different of their bicycles. They ride comparable to my Litespeed, Serotta, Ti-Cycles bicycles at competitive price compared to them. The look of quality is also comparable. The dealer support seems good.

I own an Airborne Zeppelin that I bought from my LBS who are dealers. Before choosing it I rode a couple Litespeeds and a Merlin, as well as some Al bikes. I also tried an Airborne Manhattan Project but that was significantly more expensive than the Zeppelin. I found it was comparable to the other two makers but I have to say I am not one who notices subtle differences in frames.

I really liked that I could configure the bike almost anyway I wanted to on their website and then take that to my bike shop and have them order it. I didn't pay shipping but paid sales tax. When my bike showed up they had sent the wrong frame size, but my LBS loaned me a Manhattan Project while the mistake was taken care of.

I am very happy with the bike. The bottom bracket does have some flex but I can live with it. It climbs well and I sprint as well as I did on my previous Al bike.

The frame, however, did develop a hairline crack in a weld between the top tube and the seat tube. I took the bike back to my LBS and they handled the warranty return. I was on a new (2003) frame in 10 days (more like 6 business days as that included 2 weekends). Airborne covered all expenses, as they should. I was impressed with the turn around time as I have known others who have had to wait 6-10 weeks for warranty frame replacements. I've been told that cracks in that area should not be a problem with the current frames.

Despite the crack I think that Airbornes were good value for money when I bought mine. I haven't really been paying attention to what is available now and what cost, but they have a range of frames to cover most people's needs and budgets. I race on my Zeppelin and have seen other racers on them too. I know the Torch is very expensive but that is supposed to be a pure race frame. The Valkyrie is one level lower than the Zeppelin and one of the mechanics in my LBS owns one.

i just hope their still around when I get ready to purchase my first TI bike. Their frames seem outstanding and I have never heard anything bad about them.