Airborne 1999 Zeppelin

Price Paid:  $1900.00 at online

Favorite Ride:
placerville to pollack pines CA

Bike Setup:
all ultegra. Ultegra triple

Summary:
I bought this bike as one on the best compact designs available. It was the first road bike that really fit me. I had no problems until last year when the frame went out of alignment. I didn't know that it was out-of-alignment until today when I couldn't ride home. Someone stopped to tell me and helped me fix it enough to get home (6 miles)

Strengths:
works fine when aligned

Weaknesses:
went out of alignment. My steel frame bikes (KHS) never did

Similar Products Used:
1993 Performance Road bike made by KHS

Price Paid:  $1700.00 at Web site

Favorite Ride:
No traffic, lots of climbing

Bike Setup:
Full Ultegra group, Rolf vector wheels, icon stem, bars and seatpost.

Summary:
For a Ti frame, this bike is an excellent combination of quality and cost. Excellent job by customer service in sizing me for the bike, and delivery was impeccable.

This bike rides extremely smooth during all aspects of the ride, uphill, downhill or on the flats.

Strengths:
Ti frame at a great price
Full ability to customize all components
Customer Service
Smooth ride

Weaknesses:
My only complaint is with one of the components, the FSA headset.

Similar Products Used:
First road bike

Price Paid:  $2100.00 at Airborne Online

Favorite Ride:
Hilly, long country roads

Bike Setup:
My bike was spec'd with a mix of Shimano Dura Ace and Ultegra drivetrain components, Cane Creek Aerohead wheels and headset, Time Stilleto carbon fork, and Icon stem, bars and seat post.

Summary:
It is hard not to recommend this bike to anyone who can't afford a Lightspeed and is experienced enough to know what they want in a all custom bike.

Strengths:
At this price, I don't think that I could find a cooler all custom bike, this light, that accelerates this quickly, and will not rust when I ride on rainy days. The frame has all the features I could want like a chain hanger and a frame pump peg, I also like the way that the frame looks. One of my favorite things about this bike however is the story that I spin on how it was fabricated in a defunct 3rd world nuclear arms factory by out of work munitions designers.

Weaknesses:
Hmmm, besides some slightly crooked decals and wishing that I had a 1 1/8" head tube, my major complaints would be with my component picks. After a season and a half, and a new stem, headset and seat, the bike fits just right and rides just right.

Similar Products Used:
My old steel framed Specialized road bike with two generations of component upgrades, and whatever else I test road and drooled over in the local showrooms in the same price range as I paid for this.

Price Paid:  $3071.00 at Airborne.net

Bike Setup:
Airborn Zepplin. 2000 Campy Record 10 speed. Mavic Open Pro Rims, Michelin Axil Pro Kevlar tires, Chris King headset, 2000 Campy Record clipless pedals. Selle Italia Max Pain saddle. Cateye Cordless cyclecomputer.

Summary:
For the savings on the frame from Airborne, I decided to spend that on top of the line Campy Record group set. The bike is very light, very fast, climbs very well, fits well.

The bike seems slightly unstable at very high speeds (> 50 mph) down steep hills. But this is the first bike I have taken above 50 mph, so I do not know if it is typical.

The customer service staff did an excellent job working with me on the sizing. It turned out to be very important as it helped me avoid getting frame that doesn't fit. The Airborne staff did an excellent job putting the bike together and keeping me up-to-date on the progress of preparing and shipping it.

The Selle Italia Max Flite saddle that came with the bike was my one major mistake. What a painful experience that was! Save yourself a pain in the butt and start with a comfortable saddle (e.g., Terry Comfort Liberator).

Over the past 2 years, the bike has help up perfectly. I recommend this bike to all road riders who are looking for a durable, smooth-riding and inexpensive titanium frame/bike.

Strengths:
Ti frame and ride for a lower cost. Good customer service.

Weaknesses:
No serious weaknesses.

Similar Products Used:
None similar

Price Paid:  $2000.00 at Online

Bike Setup:
Full Ultegra Groupo w/ Flightdeck, Selle Italia Flite saddle, Speedplay pedals, Rolf Vector wheels

Summary:
This is a great bike. I have 1,600 miles on it so far and the only problems have been with components (broken spoke, pedal noise). The ride is comfortable and responsive. The finish is excellent. I looked at other bikes with "bigger" names and decided I could get a lot more bike for the buck with Airborne. I was right.

Buy this bike if: You want a great Ti road bike for a reasonable cost.

Don't buy if: You absolutely must have a big name and you have money to burn.

Strengths:
Cool Ti frame at a reasonable price.
Ability to customize the components.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
None