Airborne Valkyrie

Price Paid:  $3500.00 at Airborne/Giotto Spor

Favorite Ride:
Coal City Century

Bike Setup:
Both bikes (we bought two): Campy Record Triple cranksets, Campy Chorus for all other components, Camply Chorus low flange hubs, titanium seat post collar, Thompson Elite seatpost, Deda Black carbon fork, Dead bars, Campy Record headset, Look PP375 (?) pedals, Custom built, kick ass Campy Montreal 76 wheelsets (built by Tom Rakowski of Giotto Sports) Sigma sports bik 'puter, Radius saddle

Summary:
Wanted to let you know how pleased we are with the Airborne 2003 Valkyrie frames obtained by, and built up for us, by Giotto Sports in Northbrook. They are an Airborne vendor listed on your website. Their workmanship was impeccable; your frames looked great, no scratches; everything we specified came as promised, on time, and ready to go. Delivered in person by Giotto Sports(they are nearby to us), they also provided us with a Fit session in addition to a concise explanation of how the new equipment operated.

I would strongly recommend Giotto Sports to anyone in the market for your frames. They are extremely knowledgable.Feel free to have any potential customers of Giotto Sports contact me if they are interested in a reference. I would be happy to tell them how pleased we were with the
service of both them and of Airborne.
Airborne was also particularly helpful. Their customer service was outstanding.
We couldn't be more pleased with the entire process.

Strengths:
Flawless welding, nothing dinged or scratched.

Weaknesses:
None that I'm aware of at this time

Similar Products Used:
Windsor Profesional (Mexican Cinelli) circa 1974 and still riding..Full Campy Record, Columbus double butted tubing; Peugot PX10E, circa 1977 and still riding; Reynolds 531 double butted tubing;52=31

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
Full Ultegra, Mavic Ksyrium SSC wheelset, Terry Men’s Fly Ti saddle, and Michelin Pro Race tires

Summary:
This bike is every thing I wanted for riding lots of miles. It was lightweight and flexible in the right direction. I purchsed it at the end of May and have rode it for 3000 miles. Three of the rides were my first three centuries and I could not imagine riding any non-titanium bike for that distance.

I was concerned about the fit before purchasing it because I was not able to size it at a bike shop. I found I had made the right choice in size and stem.

I needed no tune up on the bike when I received it. Everything was set up right.

Strengths:
Flexible in the right direction and lightweight

Weaknesses:
Can't think of any.

Similar Products Used:
Schwinn World and Cannondale Silk Tour

Price Paid:  $0.00 at diy_ bikes.co.uk

Favorite Ride:
Mountains in North of Mallorca

Bike Setup:
dura ace group, 32 spoke wheels on shimano hubs

Summary:
excellent. light, stiff enough for a 54cm frame...taller riders might whinge but...very comfortable...not as light as top aluminum or carbon but is it as crashproof? this is a bulletproof mother**cker...wouldn't swap it for a Trek at a half pound lighter because you can't break it.

Strengths:
unbreakable, comfortable, a really nice colour, doesn't have 'US Postal Service' written on it

Weaknesses:
costs more than a steel frame, doesn't look as expensive as USPS carbon

Similar Products Used:
various steel frames, including lovely Columbus Genius, aluminium boneshakers

Price Paid:  $699.00 at Airborne Direct

Favorite Ride:
Anything with no wind or rain

Bike Setup:
All Ultegra w/triple, EC70 fork, FSA headset, Performance stem, Rolf Vector Comp wheels

Summary:
I wasn't really planning on buying a new bike, but I also had the feeling that my old frame was holding me back a little, so when I found out about Airborne I just couldn't pass it up. There's always some concern when buying "sight unseen," but the guarantee took care of that for me.

Long story short, I love this bike. Everything you read about Ti and Airborne frames is true. Light, plenty stiff (I'm 5'10" and about 180 lbs.), soak up the vibrations, very quick and responsive. I'm not real strong, but when I stomp on this thing I feel like I've been shot out of a cannon. I did the MS 150 here in Utah last weekend and in the past my lower back was just killing me by the second hour of the second day. This year, nothing at all until the last hour, and then it was no big deal at all. That's nothing but a better frame, including fit and material.

If you're looking for a Ti frame you'll never go wrong with Airborne. And if money is a big concern, (well duh), you can't go wrong with a Valkyrie. I'm sure one of the reasons there are more Valkyrie reviews this year is that because of the recent price increases they are selling more of them than in the past. If you're a full-on racer a Zep is probably a better choice for you, but if you're like me, an old guy who just loves riding a bike, spend the extra 200.00 on upgraded components and enjoy a fantastic ride at a great price.

I know there is a hi zoot factor to Ti and the unpainted look, but I need a little more color in my life than that, so I had mine power coated. For those who might be interested, there is no problem with powercoating Ti at all. The coater just does the typical prep work and it sticks great. Jeremy was great about sending me electronic copies of the decals so that I could modify the colors and make my own to match the color scheme on the bike.

One other thing. I had a problem with the rear deralliure and tweaked the hanger a bit. No problem. My LBS just bent it back and on the way I went. There's something very comforting abut knowing that it's not going to snap in a crash.

Strengths:
Light, stiff, VERY comfortable, looks great (especially after I had it powder coated).

Weaknesses:
None that I can find

Similar Products Used:
Re-built Raleigh touring frame w/aluminum top and down tube.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Local Shop

Bike Setup:
56 cm I'm 5'10 155

Summary:
Great bike ! I've been riding a 96 A1 Sportspecialized all Aluminium frame and fork. I'm too light for Aluminium this bike beat me to death. I didn't think I could afford Titanium until I found Airborne. Buy this bike you will not regret it. I ride about 100 mi or more per week. My primary concern was comfort and I've found it. I was also looking for a lifetime purchase and with Titantium I've got it. I had been looking at the Giant OCR bikes, Cannondale, Fuji, and Lemond. I actually bought mine from a dealer but the fit kit is great. This bike is just what I was looking for. How many bikes do you get to choose your components and still get it in 1 week. Airborne will change the way bikes are sold and ordered. Kudos to Airborne. Don't be concerned about purchasing this bike my order all though it's easier and just as cheap to get it from a dealer.

Strengths:
Weight, comfort, price. It's titanium Dude !!!

Weaknesses:
The only weakness is the seat post drink holder. Because of the sloping top tube you can't carry a big bottle in the back cage and it's tight with a smaller one. This is really not a problem because you only use the rear to swap out w/ the front when it is empty. This could be solved by lowering the cage holder on the rear.