Airborne Zeppelin
 

Hi all! I recently just purchased my first road bike, found a good deal on craigslist and got some advice from some of you here at bikeforums. Was wondering if you guys could tell me a little bit more about this bike from the pictures ? Thanks a lot and hope you're all having a great holiday.http://imgur.com/kXGDsLW http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=424562http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=424563http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=424564http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=424565http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=424566

The Airborne Zeppelin was a respectable quality import that got generally good reviews and still has fans. You can Google the name and get lots of info.

Airbornes I'm familiar with were Ti and had very nice welds (including the one I have). The one in the pic looks more like lumpy aluminum welds. Is it Ti or Al? Also, components seem rather low spec compared to the norm for the Zeps I've seen. Did Airborne ever make Al bikes?

+1. Looks a little suspect...just stickers?

Hi ess .. , and welcome to the Airborne "club". I have a 2000 Airborne Zeppelin, purchased new from the company in Dayton OH. Mine is equipped with mostly Ultegra 3x9 components. I believe that yours is at least a year or two newer based on the decals. Also there is a HUGE difference in the rear dropouts; yours are larger and include a replaceable derailleur hanger. Also your headtube is quite different; mine is just a straight diameter, without the flaring at the top and bottom. Is your fork 1" or 1-1/8"?

Have to agree that it does sort of aluminum "glow" to it, especially on the photo of the whole bike on the link provided (http://imgur.com/kXGDsLW). So I'm not positive exactly what you have here. It is possible that they made some out of aluminum in later years. The original Airborne company went out of business at some point in time (not sure when), and the current Airborne company makes only mountain bikes and is not associated with the original company.

As to the lower level components on the bike, at least at the time I purchased mine, you could have it built any way you wanted with any components you wanted. Mine has a Shimano XTR rear derailleur and cassette, shifted nicely with my Ultegra 6503 brifters.

More photos would be helpful.

Regards, Dick

Thank you for all the info, I'm not sure my fork size (I'll go ahead an measure it when I get a chance). It does say Miamisburg on the bottom of the fram if that helps denote anything. Here are a couple more pictures (sorry didn't know what to take a picture of) http://imgur.com/a/soV9e

I don't think that's a Zeppelin. I think it's a Thunderbolt. Aluminum frame.

2003 Airborne Thunderbolt Ultegra - BikePedia

Lots of pictures on the Internet for this bike: http://www.bikejournal.com/images/yl...der%20tree.jpg

Those are some cheap (and rusty) parts. But I hope it fits and serves you well.

Yes, I agree with knobster, it must be a Thunderbolt. Looks to be very similar in geometry to the Zeppelin. The Thunderbolt is not shown in the 2000 Airborne flyer, so it came along later. And Miamisburg Ohio is just outside of Dayton, so that is probably where I went in 2000. Oh, and it looks like a very nice bike in the new photos. Good luck with it.

Regards, Dick

From your earlier, "should I buy it?" post, I know you got a good deal and did not over pay.
Shimano Sora derailleurs with Tektro brakes is a decent component set, especially compared to the other bikes you were considering.

The Continental Gatorskins are very good tires and you got a speedometer as part of the deal.

Your bike purchase is the exact reason so many people here on BF preach to never buy a brand new bottom of the barrel, big box store bike.
(Think: Target, Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Sports Authority etc.)

The BF consensus is always to find a way better used bike on Craigslist, always suggesting to look to spend about exactly what you paid.
The commonly held wisdom is you get a way better bike buying a decent used bike, and you did just that.
You did good.

Have fun, catch the cycling bug, and keep us posted on your adventures.

^^ Agree. Nice job and if you stick with it, you can upgrade with some new drive train.

Thank you for following up with my posts, your reply is actually really comforting as I wasn't quite sure the actual bike I bought was still a good deal.
I was contemplating buying brand new from one of those retailers until I came upon this forum, everyone here has been extremely helpful especially towards a noobie such as myself.

From what I remember of the original CL ad the OP posted, it sounds like the seller stripped all the components and built the bike back up with parts from his parts bin. But he said the brifters where brand new as well as the stem and bars I think which they do all look new in the pictures compared to the other components. All in all for $300 for a starter bike it's still a good deal, especially in the bay area where used bike prices are generally higher than most other parts of the country.

If you had a hard budget of $300, the best you could do new on BD would be :

Save up to 60% off new Road Bikes - Gravity Avenue B | Save up to 60% off new road bikes

Save Up to 60% Off Road Bikes - Dawes Lightning DT

Those bikes have downtube shifters, very low end components, steel forks and aluminum frames that I would guess are much heavier than the Airborne alum. frame.
As others said, the Gatorskin tires alone are a nice upgrade that would cost at least $60 for a new pair. Not sure what brifters are on the bike but even a new set of Tourney (Shimano's lowest end brifter) would cost $80. So for the money spent you certainly got better value than you would from a new bike at the same price. The fit is the most important thing. If you catch the bug, you'll probably want to upgrade in a year or two anyway so that's why it's great to get into your first bike for as small of an investment as possible.