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1st day with my Airborne Taka

5K views 28 replies 16 participants last post by  Dougie 
#1 ·
not a review for the record i've only had maybe 3 or 4 hours on this baby so far. this is just my immediate thoughts.

WOW!

today was the most fun day of riding a bicycle i've prob ever had.

this thing is amazing. i really dont know what else to tell you right now because i'm not doing a review and i'd like to save all the breakdowns for that (down the road a ways)

bacialy i'm just super stoked that it came today. i will be riding tomorrow untill i throw up die, go a lil further and then die again :D

BTW this bike is really fun but REALLY challenging to ride on the road.

ok done rambling. bottom line- bike is here, love it to death- the end
 
#7 ·
taletotell said:
He said it was not a review, just first thoughts.

Congrats man! glad you love your ride. Throw up a specs list and future plans if you plan to make changes.
i havent hit the trails enough to know if i'm gunna change anything proformance wise. might do some visuals down the road.

i bought the last 19'' demo i picked it up for $1200.

according to airborne the demos only did 3 runs a piece at sea otter. has a couple lil dings in the paint and a lil dust but thats it.

my previous bikes were ( and still are for now)
IH maverick 1.2 hardtail & 4.2 FS
Diamondback coil EX FS
KHS FTX Pro FS

this is my first DH rig. i'm ready to shred. love this thing
 
#8 ·
Gilly32 said:
i havent hit the trails enough to know if i'm gunna change anything proformance wise. might do some visuals down the road.

i bought the last 19'' demo i picked it up for $1200.

according to airborne the demos only did 3 runs a piece at sea otter. has a couple lil dings in the paint and a lil dust but thats it.

my previous bikes were ( and still are for now)
IH maverick 1.2 hardtail & 4.2 FS
Diamondback coil EX FS
KHS FTX Pro FS

this is my first DH rig. i'm ready to shred. love this thing
That's correct, the demo fleet of Taka's at Sea Otter saw minimal use - you got a great deal. Be sure to post up when you get more used to it. :thumbsup:
 
#10 ·
ya i have to admit its pretty surreal..

the thing that is gunna take the longest to get used to is the forks no doubt

i'm a kinda big guy. 220 and they just feel like theres no bottom. plus i've never owned anything remotly close to what these are.

the other thing thats a lil strange to me is how big the bike actually is. i mean this thing is like a effin dirt bike. i;ll def. let you guys know once i get some trail time on er'
 
#11 ·
I've got a Flyte (Yankee-Zulu). They were Airborne, then Flyte ended in 2006, then Airborne just got revived I think. Frames are all made in China, same factory as the Iron Horse frames? (dunno) Which is why they have the price advantage over Taiwan stuff, but quality seems comparable. Bikes seem a tad heavier and designs slightly more dated, than the top of the line stuff. But I mostly care about durability and having fun. I'll hone my my skills and save up for a SC Nomad or something later.

Have fun :thumbsup:
 
#12 ·
Yeah I wouldn't want to pedal one, but for DH and freeride there is no doubt in my mind it is a great bike. IH made great bikes at a good price. If you aren't a strictly lift access rider I'd look into a second set of lighter wheels to use on the trails to off set some rotational weight. Not much to do about the geometry, but if you can get used to it awesome!
 
#15 ·
nmpearson said:
not stoked on the bikes, but i met the whole airborne crew and they were easily some of the coolest/nicest people i've met in a while. dope people that just have a great passion for biking
have you ever got out your wallet for one and THEN rode it? bet u'd be stoked then.

went to the DH park today and met up with some riding buddys. i'd say on average there sleds are worth about 3K if not more.

let my close friends who i know can shred take it for a run and every one of them said if they had to start over from scratch this is what they would be on.

i wish they came with color options tho. i really love the way they look but i'm starting to think its only cuz the desert sand is all they offer, know what i mean? oh well

still in love :thumbsup:
 
#16 ·
Gilly32 said:
have you ever got out your wallet for one and THEN rode it? bet u'd be stoked then.

went to the DH park today and met up with some riding buddys. i'd say on average there sleds are worth about 3K if not more.

let my close friends who i know can shred take it for a run and every one of them said if they had to start over from scratch this is what they would be on.

i wish they came with color options tho. i really love the way they look but i'm starting to think its only cuz the desert sand is all they offer, know what i mean? oh well

still in love :thumbsup:
you have to understand i'm a diehard transition rider. I own a tr450, tr250, covert, ToP and bottlerocket, along with a supreme 8. I test tons of bikes, and I know for a certainty it didn't feel like one of my high end bikes within a second of jumping on their taka(which was upgraded from yours). On top of that, i've had customers massively upgrade the old iron horse version with vivid/boxxer, and rc4/40 combos that i still didn't like it. Like I said, their bikes just don't do it for me, but I really enjoyed talking to that crew and everything they stood for. One of the dude's told us to come to wisconsin and he'd let us borrow some bikes at rays! that was really cool of him. But yeah i'm stoked to see what they have coming up!
 
#17 ·
to the OP: enjoy the stoke..


seriously.. its the best when you got some new ride and your loving every second of it..

i dont care about prices.. some get off on flashing super high end gear.. along with the pricetag..

others do by bargain basement stuff..

and some get off on having a bike they love.. regardless of what the fashion police said ;)

personally, i try to enjoy all parts of what DH brings, gettign parts, putting them on, riding and having fun with others who like DH as well.

Hell, lately ive gotten into posing too.

i just show up in full gear, ride once to get my daypass or whatever, then i hang around and get busy talking old stories..
 
#18 ·
a bike you can afford... that works... is pretty cool!

I tend to recommend other bikes often, but for someone looking for the most bang for the buck, they're a real decent bike & they're not gonna fall apart like some other cheaper bikes.

Always cool to have a new bike!!!:thumbsup:
 
#20 ·
toddre said:
I like this post because it's a great example of one of Airborne's main objectives....
Build a solid bike for some one new to the sport or niche and do it so they don't have to spend a ton of $$$.
+100

thats it too. i mean i used to ride the DH course on my Diamond back but it is more of an all mountain and it just got broke.... every time

and i'm sorry guys but unless Trek or C'dale is gunna sponsor me i'm not putting a bike on my car that costs more that the car did its crazy. unless your a pro the need for a 4K bike blows my mind.

but up untill now there was NO way in hell i was gunna have the kind of rig needed to rock out DH course the way its ment to be.

thanks to this bike i now can and my water didn't get shut off and all the lights in the house are still working. :thumbsup:
 
#21 ·
Gilly32 said:
+100

thats it too. i mean i used to ride the DH course on my Diamond back but it is more of an all mountain and it just got broke.... every time

and i'm sorry guys but unless Trek or C'dale is gunna sponsor me i'm not putting a bike on my car that costs more that the car did its crazy. unless your a pro the need for a 4K bike blows my mind.

but up untill now there was NO way in hell i was gunna have the kind of rig needed to rock out DH course the way its ment to be.

thanks to this bike i now can and my water didn't get shut off and all the lights in the house are still working. :thumbsup:
My car is nothing special and I rock my DB mission at the bike park, but I totally agree with you. Life and family before bike.
 
#22 ·
Gilly32 said:
+100

thats it too. i mean i used to ride the DH course on my Diamond back but it is more of an all mountain and it just got broke.... every time

and i'm sorry guys but unless Trek or C'dale is gunna sponsor me i'm not putting a bike on my car that costs more that the car did its crazy. unless your a pro the need for a 4K bike blows my mind.

but up untill now there was NO way in hell i was gunna have the kind of rig needed to rock out DH course the way its ment to be.

thanks to this bike i now can and my water didn't get shut off and all the lights in the house are still working. :thumbsup:
Nothing wrong with buying a cheaper bike... ive heard pretty good things so far about the airborne Taka.
Not to take away from the fact that you DO get what you pay for most of the time.
Also by the time you get done "upgrading", wheels, brakes, suspension, drivetrain, ect you will have "more into it than your car".... there is no way around it.
The nice thing about the Taka is that it gets you rolling quickly for a cheap price so anyone can afford it...... then you can upgrade it slowly as you get the money. Nothing wrong with that.:cool:
Have a blast with your new bike, im sure you will.:thumbsup:
 
#24 ·
SHIVER ME TIMBERS said:
congrats to you on your new ride:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
40,000 post.....the coolest name on the forum.. ur the like the Godfather of this place hahahahahaha

thanx ya'll

i really do love this thing. i actually broke the shifter so i've been riding aound for the last 2 days in 7th gear...

i called airborne and told them what happened. ( broke like 2 min after it was out of the box) and they are sending me a brand new, unopened sram x5 shifter!!!

not a million dollars but still.

if you guys ever end up dealing with airborne ask to talk to eric McKenna he's the man
 
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