I love it when a plan comes together.

A good 9 mile ride in the books. I have been feeling like I need to get some stamina back in the legs and get the lungs working again so this was more of a training ride then finding good places to get the bike out there and see what I can do.

I could have tried to get a gym membership and kept on going to the gym every now and then. I could have paid more for hockey each session and had a blast. But I am very happy that I was able to find a bike that I am riding. I love the fact that at this point I am the limiting factor. The bike will do what I need of it.

After being away from biking for a while I have rekindled my passion for getting in the saddle. I am working on  getting a good cadence, and feeling in rhythm.  Each ride feels better and my legs and lungs allow me to keep riding and I have more and more fun.

So finally after figuring out that I wanted a new bike, going through a process of what to buy and now working my self back into riding, now I am seeing that the initial step of saying yes I want to mountain bike again was such a good plan. I am now feeling better, and seeing how awesome I feel after a good ride. Now I have to get my son working up on his 12 inch specialized so that we can start going out for little rides together.

4.5 Miles and then a flat

I was thinking about changing out my front tube but was wanting to get some money out of the stock tube. Well after another wonderful thorn I am now running both tubes with slime and should not have to stop a ride due to a wonderful thorn.

I called my wife to come pick me up as I was about 2 miles away from home when I ran out of air. My wonderful little son kept saying, "we are going to save daddy!" My little hero.

I am feeling more and more comfortable on this bike. I am loving the 29er and would suggest to anyone to try one out. I was really hoping to pump out another good 7-8 mile ride but was stuck with the flat. Just have to make it up later this week.

I am thinking about picking up a CO2 Cartridge and Inflater. I guess I could just carry around a pump then I wouldn't have to worry about cartridges. Not sure which way to go. Probably I'll just grab a pump for sustainability versus having to discard and buy new cartridges. Any thoughts and ideas I would really appreciate it.

Airborne Guardian Review

Review Post - After 1 year


I feel that finally after almost 40 miles of riding on this bike I can give it a good review. I have rode around town with the family, and have done some good off-road riding on my own to break it in.

Frame	6061 Hydroformed Aluminum Hardtail 29"
Fork	RockShox XC28 TK Mg29 with Preload Adjust, Rebound Adjust and Lock-Out, 80mm
Headset	Ahead Sealed Cartridge 1 1/8"
Brake Levers	Tektro Auriga Comp
Brakes	Tektro Auriga Comp Hydraulic Disc
Rotors	Tektro 160mm Rotor
Shifters	SRAM X-5 Trigger 9-Speed
F Derailleur	SRAM X3
R Derailleur	SRAM X5 9speed Long Cage
Cassette	SRAM PG-950 12-34T 9-Speed
Chain	KMC X-9
Crank	Truvative E400 22-32-42T
Bottom Bracket	Powerspline Sealed Cartridge
Pedals	NONE
Rims	Weinmann Disc Bull Double-Walled with Eyelets, 32H
Hubs	KT HiFlange 32H
Spokes	Black 14g Stainless
Tires	KENDA Small Block 8, 2.1"
Handlebar	AIRBORNE Alloy Flat, 640mm width
Stem	AIRBORNE Alloy +/- 7 Degree Rise, size specific
Saddle	Selle San Marco SPID White/Black
Seat Post	AIRBORNE Alloy 31.6mm Diameter, 350mm Length
Extras	Owner's Manual, Clear Coat, H20 Bottle Mounts

This comes straight from the Airborne Website. Go to Airborne Here

First off the frame. I look at how the welds are lined up(almost artistic, which also means they are a good bond). The frame looks rock solid and feels rigid. My guess is this frame will last me a long time and that is always a good thing on a mountain bike. Change the components, break some stuff, and just keep on riding. Airborne has a lifetime warranty on the frame and that makes me happy knowing I can ride without worry that I am not going to have to buy a new bike any time soon. Frame 10/10

Fork:
The Rockshox delivers some great absorption, I rode a rigid Trek 950 for years and so moving to a front suspension takes a little getting used to but I can feel the front end is planted and connected. It eats up the little bumps and makes riding that much easier. When I break down and upgrade I'll then do a comparison but as for first fork I am impressed. I can pick a line and stick to it without hopping off a rock or jostling from a rough trail. This fork gives my riding confidence. I did play around with the rebound adjust and am glad I can lock it out if needed. Those were some features I was looking for when I bought this 29er. I know there are better shocks out there but for this price point I am happy. 9/10 (ignorance in not knowing better)

Headset: No complaints here. Allows the bars to control the wheel and the shock to work well. Smooth. 10/10

Brake Levers: I have never been real picky about small or large levers. I have large hands and am able to adjust my grip placement quite easilty.  The levers are on the longer side so if I were to actually care I would get shorter levers. They work well in the fact that I can grab hard and lock up the brakes or modulate for just the right amount to slow or scrub some speed. 9/10

Brakes: I have gone down some very steep descents and been able to control the bike and felt comfortable doing it. These have been really steep short hills and longer higher speed bumpy hills. These are the first disc brakes I have ridden hard, but I would say right now there is no need to pay more. The ability to lock up the wheel or modulate the brake pressure is there. I am at the point now where my cables have stretched and I need to tighten them but so far nothing but perfection from these. A huge upgrade from cantilever or v-brakes. 10/10

Rotor: Goes with the brakes, no problems with these. I have yet to try em really muddy or wet so I can not yet comment on that. 10/10

Shifters: I am still learning these even after 36 miles. I really liked my rapid fires and its taking just a little getting used to making my thumbs to both up and down shifting. They fire quickly and the pressure you need to shift is a good "feel." Not too hard, yet crisp so you know you made a shift. A nice audible click as well to complete the feedback. 8/10

F Derailleur: This and the crank would probably be my least favorite parts on the bike. Nothing really against them except at some point I will probably change these out. They work fine and I have no real problems its just that I would rather have a 2x10 or 2x9 set up. I hardly every use another gear other then the middle front rung. The front derailleur is a little slow in shifting and I did have to adjust it out of the box because the chain dropped down onto the BB housing. 5/10

R Derailleur: No problems at all, shifts very crisp. I probably wont ever touch it unless I wear it out. Perfect shifting out of the box and no problems missing a shift after 40 miles. 10/10

Crank: As far as the crank working it is wonderful. Power goes hard to the chain and rear tire and I dont feel like I am losing anything as I pedal. One big problem that has yet to be remedied is that I am missing a spacer on the right side of the BB. So I am able to power the crank enough to hit the rear frame, only about a mm or less of a gap right now. I have contacted Airborne and they said they would get the part out to me, yet I am still waiting so I can get that on my bike. As far as cranks go I can not complain, seems light and responsive. 9/10

Bottom Bracket: As with bottom brackets I usually wear them out. This one feels smooth and tight. I wonder if it will still feel that way after a few hundred miles. No problems with the BB. As with all bottom brackets its really how long they last. 8/10

Rims: I like these rims. They look great on the bike, and roll really good. Maybe this is just the difference in 26 to 29 inch diameters? Not quite sure but I changed out the factory tube for a slime after some thorns gave me a leak. Easy to change out, a little heavy but love how they roll and ride. 8/10

Hubs: At of the box I have had no problems. Again there are probably better nubs but the bike rolls great. It climbs well and descends like a champ. 9/10

Spokes: If only I had magnesium composite light as air spokes on a $600 bike......(what can you really say about spokes?)

Tires: These tires are very cross country tires. I have always liked very aggressive tires and these are far from aggressive. They give adequate grip, but I have spun them out on a hard-pack climb. More likely technique then tire grip. So I cant knock these tires in how they perform. Its more likely just personal taste of why I will change them. They have done an admiral job of getting me out and riding without any problems. 8/10

Handlebar: If I can turn, climb, descend, and go in a straight line then to me the bars have done their job. Just like the brake levers I am not very picky and my preference is is actually a straight bar so I really like these. I will probably add some bar ends just for comfort but have been happy with position and style of these bars. 10/10

Stem: Fits the bike well, looks good! I feel like the bars are in a great position for riding and so the the stem works for me. Again the price point of this bike means there are better stems out there but I don't think this would be something I will change because it works great as is. 10/10

Saddle: I enjoy this saddle. I love the look and I found it to be pretty comfortable for the shorter rides I have done. Not sure I am ready for a long journey on this saddle yet but I think it works great on this bike. Looks phenomenal and is a good place to sit for a good ride. 10/10

Seat Post: Love the white post and it feels really solid and yet pretty light. I did have a creak in either the seat post or the saddle but a little grease on the post and screws fixed it really fast. 10/10

153/180 or 8.5/10

This review is completely my opinion. I am not an employee or have any affiliation with Airborne Bicycles as I have written this review. I am reviewing this for the price point of $600 and know that there are lots of better parts that could go on this bike. If you added those better, lighter parts you would increase the price and then the bike would not be affordable to me or many others.

In high school I rode a Trek 950. I still have it! I rode many miles with that bike and beat it up over the years. I am now in my 30's and wanted to get back into riding so I can teach my son and daughter about the wonderful sport of Mountain Biking. While on the 950 I taught mountain biking to summer campers and we rode a ton. I have never raced but really enjoy the technical riding aspect of singletrack with some tight corners, rocks, roots and what many other obstacles that can be thrown at a mtb rider.

Hope you come back for more adventures as I get back into the sport and enjoy my rides.

Old Borges Ranch RIde

This was a great place to ride. Still quite a lot of elevation change, 260 ft of it. This ride wasn't just go to the top and then fly down. You do climb right off the bat and then get into the meat of the ride.

 The first ridge you see here is actually what I climbed and then the fun decent during the last ride. You start in the valley on the opposite side which is where a creek bed lies. The hills in the background are those lush green hills which are already browning this early in late spring.

Late afternoon ride after work, this is about a third of the way up the hill as I was trying to get a decent sun bloom shot but didn't quite work out.

 

 Looking south east during the ride this is such a great view. What a great place to be able to ride! Glad I love exploring, but I am sure I will be visiting this place and getting some good riding in all summer long. This is in the East Bay Area in Northern California. Berkeley and Oakland are on the other side of those hills with San Francisco past them. Yet up here I feel like I am away from all the crazy population.

A few shots of the Airborne Guardian and the singletrack.

 Showing Mount Diablo looming over my riding area.

After the ride a parting shot of the trail.

So far the 29er is doing a good job of keeping me riding. I did have to break out the grease and take care of a creak in either the seat rails or the seat post. 

I am really loving the hydraulic disc brakes. They are a large upgrade from my previous Trek 950 and I have been confident in my ability to scrub speed or control the bike on some steep transitions. Overall I have positive things to say about the Guardian. For only $600 the bike has been a great purchase for me to get out and ride.

Castle Rock Park Ride

 A good 4+ mile ride with about 400+ ft of elevation to climb. Some of it incredibly steep! Hard to even walk up, but hella fun to ride down.

The trail for the most part was pretty wide, but there were a few singletrack sections. This one was a little fun because of the drop off to the left.

As you were going down the singletrack this was the view to the left. This is the best time of the year as everything is green. I'll ride here again in a week, or so and everything will be yellowish and golden.

This rock was where the elevation started to change. I rode along the valley for about 8/10ths of a mile and then things started to get fun. The trail is not very technical to ride, there were some washouts from the rain and some big flat rocks to navigate around. Easy enough for those just starting out, but very challenging with the climb.

I was trying to show the change in elevation. This part though was very timid compared to some of the sections of the trail. The right is the trail where I came from and on the left is the trail that keeps going up.

These are the foothills of Mount Diablo. I have heard that Mount Diablo is one of two spots that you can see  such an incredible distance. The surrounding land is all flat farm land. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge and all the way to the Mountains surrounding Tahoe. The rock formations were fun to look at as I caught my breath.

If you look in the bottom center of this pic    ^    that is the trail I rode to the big rock which then I started the huge climb. But wow this had a great view. I was lucky enough to frame it with my bike. Didnt know it would turn out to be such a good shot.

This last pick is of Mount Diablo, but it also shows how steep the path drops off down and to the left. The 29er Guardian does climb incredibly well. I am starting to get some of my riding habits back and the legs are working a little better. I cant wait to keep exploring as there are more trails in this park and a few other parks close by that I can get to and ride. Ah what a journey I have begun....

Thorns, Cages, and Bottles

Had my first Tube change.

Plus I added a Water Bottle Cage and bought a nice new insulated bottle.

I switched tubes to a slime tube. Hoping this helps keep some air in the tires with all the spiny burrs and thorns that come with the area. Actually changing the tubes was super easy. I had bought some tire wrenches but they really were not needed with the tire size being as large as it is. Just pull the bead over the rim, take out the tube and insert the new tube. Of course you have to check for other thorns before the new tube goes in. A very simple process. Glad I bought that tube with the cage and bottle.

I added the Cage and am very happy with the look and function so far. I think it looks solid on the Airborne Guardian and fits the paint scheme well. The bottle fits snug and yet getting the bottle in and out is easy while on the trail. The cage was 9.99 so a bargain for a good metal, lightweight cage.

I also bought this great Camelbak Podium Big Chill 25oz Bottle. It is insulated so it keeps the water, Gatorade, or other beverage chilled while you ride in the heat. I like drinking the cold water while exercising to keep the core temperature down. By starting with cold refrigerated water even after an hour of riding the water is still cold and refreshing. The bottle was 11.99 so for 22 bucks I can stay hydrated during some good xc riding.

This photo was already posted, but it shows off the bottle and cage really well with the bike.

Update: I am loving the bottle and cage. The bottle has a great spout which allows you to squirt with precise aim or to just suck on the nipple if that is your preference. I would suggest buying one of these bottles if are not lucky enough to have a hydration pack. One tip is you can fill the bottle up half way and throw it in the freezer. Make sure the bottle is tilted so when the ice forms it does not hurt the bottle. By freezing half of the water you can go a long ways with cool refreshing ice water.