airborne blackbird?
04-25-05, 04:29 PM
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airborne blackbird?
I wanted to know if anyone has any opinions on the airborne blackbird frame, or airborne bikes in general. I'm looking for a pretty cheap aluminum/carbon frame and I thought the blackbird looked like a good deal. I'm coming off a cheap Jamis Ventura (very flexy cro/mo frame) and I want something stiffer for climbing the hills around santa cruz. I'm 5'10'' 160lbs and I want something that won't flex the bottom bracket with every pedal stroke, but a little vibration dampening over broken pavement would be nice too. I also don't want to spend much more than $600 for a frame. thanks for all your help.
04-25-05, 07:21 PM
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Bikes: Cannondale super V 500, Bianchi Piaggio(hopefully getting a new road bike when I get some money)
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Lectron has some experience with the company, try PM'ing him/
When I was looking for a frame to build up I PM'ed him about the Blackbird and Airborne in general.
here is the reply he sent me:
"Hello forum*rider
I don’t know to much about the Blackbird, Love the plain though.
The frame looks just great!, and the geometry looks pretty similar as the
Manhattan Project. If it is, it’s a little slacker then usual, meaning you won’t
use as much saddle setback as normal. That will again interfere with the toptube
making the effective length shorter, so you’d might size up one.
They make use of Puro™ U6 aluminum alloy that is 25% stronger and
20% more fatigue resistant than traditional 6061-T6 aluminum alloy.
U6 aluminum allows us to use thin-wall tubing without sacrificing strength.
It’s very commonly used in better folding bikes (even off road).
Why we don’t see it more often in roadbikes, I don’t know. It’s suppose to be very good tubing.
When it comes to the company, I don’t really know that much about them.
I bought the frame from their Swedish distributor, but I’ve sent them a few e-mails and
they’ve answered me back quite quickly.
This is what I gave them as a feedback:
"So I purchased the Manhattan Project. Why? Why go for such a “heavy” frame?
I mean there’s a lot of cheaper frames with 70% the weight. No.
This time I wanted a comfortable and a high performance bike. I bike I really wanted to ride mile after mile after mi……………
And I didn’t get disappointed. I really love this bike. The geometry is a little slacker than usual,
but with a non setback seat post it fits me perfectly. I have rather long legs, meaning the
top tube can easily get to long for me with a standard geometry. This is one of the best bikes I’ve ever ridden.
It didn’t come for free, but worth every penny. Finally I realized. Buying the right one, you only need one racing bike.
Well, and so I did."
When I was looking for a frame to build up I PM'ed him about the Blackbird and Airborne in general.
here is the reply he sent me:
"Hello forum*rider
I don’t know to much about the Blackbird, Love the plain though.
The frame looks just great!, and the geometry looks pretty similar as the
Manhattan Project. If it is, it’s a little slacker then usual, meaning you won’t
use as much saddle setback as normal. That will again interfere with the toptube
making the effective length shorter, so you’d might size up one.
They make use of Puro™ U6 aluminum alloy that is 25% stronger and
20% more fatigue resistant than traditional 6061-T6 aluminum alloy.
U6 aluminum allows us to use thin-wall tubing without sacrificing strength.
It’s very commonly used in better folding bikes (even off road).
Why we don’t see it more often in roadbikes, I don’t know. It’s suppose to be very good tubing.
When it comes to the company, I don’t really know that much about them.
I bought the frame from their Swedish distributor, but I’ve sent them a few e-mails and
they’ve answered me back quite quickly.
This is what I gave them as a feedback:
"So I purchased the Manhattan Project. Why? Why go for such a “heavy” frame?
I mean there’s a lot of cheaper frames with 70% the weight. No.
This time I wanted a comfortable and a high performance bike. I bike I really wanted to ride mile after mile after mi……………
And I didn’t get disappointed. I really love this bike. The geometry is a little slacker than usual,
but with a non setback seat post it fits me perfectly. I have rather long legs, meaning the
top tube can easily get to long for me with a standard geometry. This is one of the best bikes I’ve ever ridden.
It didn’t come for free, but worth every penny. Finally I realized. Buying the right one, you only need one racing bike.
Well, and so I did."
04-25-05, 07:33 PM
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I am not familiar with the Blackbird, but I do have a Carpe Diem I bought from Airborne in December. I am very pleased with the bike. I did have some problems with vibration in the front fork; I was extremely impressed with the level of customer service I got. Airborne immediately sent a new fork to my bike shop. This solved the vibration, but the bike developed a brake squeel. Again, they quickly sent out a new brake and the problem was resolved.
Most of my communication with Airborne was by email, on a Sunday night, with the president of the company. You can't ask for better than that...
Joe
Most of my communication with Airborne was by email, on a Sunday night, with the president of the company. You can't ask for better than that...
Joe
