Out of the box Assembly

[dlynes]

guys,

please share your experience with assembling your Airborne?

Only Cons I can think of myself with Airborne or ordering bikes online:

Assembly
No Free Tune Ups (not sure what 12months of tune-ups would cost or if i'd even need/use it).

Thanks,

[OilburnerDe]

No issues with setting up mine.

But the bigger question is your comfort level, mechanical ability, confidence. Those are key.

30 years ago my first full time job was at a bike shop, assembling bikes. Eventually became the repair shop manager. Times have change as well as bikes.

Do I know how to bleed brakes, rebuild a shock? No. Could I do it? Probably, given the correct tools and enough research.

Biggest issue I had with my 2nd Gen Goblin was dialing in the front dérailleur.(it wan't really a problem) Had to align it slightly and do some tweaking. Same with the rear, with the exception of the aligning. Heck, mine has less then 25 miles on it and is still be broken in.

But after seeing how this bike was put together, even if you are a novice, it should be a fairly simple task.

[trevor_b]

Is assembly a case of putting on the seatpost/saddle, handlebars, front wheel/tire and making adjustments to everything? Or is the drivetrain in pieces etc and everything needs to be assembled?

[Barheet]

I assembled my Guardian in about 20 minutes. It took a lot longer to take it out of all the packing material than it did to put it together.

Basic setup included adjusting and tightening bolts, and minor drivetrain adjustments like tuning in the rear derailleur. This took maybe 15 minutes. I had to do this again after a month or so due to changes in the derailleur cables while riding. I also experienced some brake pad rub on the hydros which eventually required me to bleed them. This is not the norm though. A quick youtube search will net you some good stuff to watch so you can learn how to do it yourself. After 4 months of riding, I took my bike in to the shop to get a new fork put on. While I was there, I had them true the wheels and adjust the rear derailleur for me since I had bashed the hanger on something and couldn't get it tuned in right. This cost me $20. The mechanic said the wheels were mostly true, which surprised me because I don't even have a truing stand and was eyeballing it.

[dlynes]

Would it be an insult to take an online purchased bike and have LBS assembly it?

at the end of the day, business is business..and they would be getting one more bike in the shop then they already had...

any idea how much it generally costs as well?

thanks,

[Barheet]

For the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would do this. Can you turn an allen wrench? If yes, then you can assemble a bike.

Yes, your LBS will help you with this, especially this time of year when it's slow.

[jkidd_39]

Do I know how to bleed brakes, rebuild a shock? No. Could I do it? Probably, given the correct tools and enough research .

A shock rebuild is cake. Never done one till a few weeks back cuz my LBS is lazy. Forgot my tools at my shop. Did it with a crescent wrench, a hammer, and a screwdriver. And a injection syringe from the kitchen.

The Internet is your friend. The next thing I need to learn is how to adjust my derailluers.

[dhpeteinsc]

Would it be an insult to take an online purchased bike and have LBS assembly it?

at the end of the day, business is business..and they would be getting one more bike in the shop then they already had...

any idea how much it generally costs as well?

thanks,

Nope, no insult. They should have no problem helping you.
Just dont tell them how much you paid for the bike

[dlynes]

Nope, no insult. They should have no problem helping you.
Just dont tell them how much you paid for the bike

thanks,

[6_Myles]

Just timed myself with the new goblin that just got delivered...12 minutes and two allen wrenches to get it built. Probably another 20 minutes of checking every bolt, bearing and cable, and to run through derailleur adjustment.

[mi26r]

Took me about 30 min to assemble. Took another 30 min adjusting front and rear derailers (not including time spent watching how to videos on youtube).

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[Pantherburn]

Mine just got delivered today. Haven't assembled yet, but peeked and they now are coming with the rear wheel and derailleur already attached. Was that your experience also 6 Myles? That makes it that much easier. If you have any mechanical aptitude at all, you won't have any trouble. Just take your time.

Regards,

Frank

[6_Myles]

Yep, my Airborne Delta came that way too.....REALLY speeds up things.

[SD_Locals]

Hello fellow Airbornes,

I just pulled the trigger on the new Goblin this past Monday. I can't wait to assemble this bike as it will be my first mtb. One question I have for the ones who already got their bike. How long did it take for you to get your bike from the time you place your order to the time you recieve? I'm just anxious I guess. :-)

Cheers

[Barheet]

Mine took 4 days. I live in Iowa and they ship from the west coast.

[swildnm]

I've ordered 2 bikes from them, A Guardian and a Skyhawk. Both took about a week.

[CaTiRo]

On my Zeppelin I had to install the fork, stem/handlebars, rear derailleur, seatpost and front tire and pedals, and i think that was it. And then I adjusted everything. The fork was already cut and the star nut was already installed so that was a breeze.

[mi26r]

On my skyhawk, I just had to install seat, handle bars, pedals, and front wheel

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[SD_Locals]

Assembly wasn't that difficult even though there is no instructions on how to put it together. My only problem right now is I can't seem to get my front disc break to stop hitting the brake pads when the wheels spins? Any suggestion would help. It creates this squeaky sound. YouTube hasn't really help me yet?

[OilburnerDe]

Assembly wasn't that difficult even though there is no instructions on how to put it together. My only problem right now is I can't seem to get my front disc break to stop hitting the brake pads when the wheels spins? Any suggestion would help. It creates this squeaky sound. YouTube hasn't really help me yet?

Did you align the caliper to the rotor?
Set the wheel in the fork and secure it. loosen the fron caliper bolts so you can move the it round on the mount. Squeeze the front brake a few times and you should see the caliper move around. Squeeze and hold it, tighten the the two bolts and that should do it.

There are several threads on here as well as other sites as well as youtube videos.

[SD_Locals]

Thanks for the reply. I will try it out again like you said and see what happens? I've also notice that I can't really turn the front wheels and pedal the bike at the same time with out the top of my foot hitting the tires? Anyone have that problem? Will post up pictures later.

[trevor_b]

What size frame did you go with? How tall are you?

[SD_Locals]

Frame: 16

I'm 5'6.

[BigDaddyFlyer]

Thanks for the reply. I will try it out again like you said and see what happens? I've also notice that I can't really turn the front wheels and pedal the bike at the same time with out the top of my foot hitting the tires? Anyone have that problem? Will post up pictures later.

In order to fit the bike in the box with no resulting damage, the stem is turned around backwards on the steer tube. This is normal practice in the bike industry.

It needs to be spun 180 degrees when you build the bike. If you didn't notice that and built it, the fork is effectively "backwards" which would result in greatly decreased toe clearance and whacky steering.

Are the rotors both on the left (non-drive) side of the bike? If not, you need to loosen the two stem bolts on the back of the stem, spin it back around 180 degrees, then re-tighten.

Hope that helps,

Jeremy

[SD_Locals]

Thanks Jeremy! Toe overlap solved :-)