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.
