Had a kumicho R back in the day from ironhorse. It was fun and worked well... I don't remember the swing arm being two pieces though so maybe you guys are talking about something else?
Cheap Cheap - Airborne Pathogen
- Thread starter Sandwich
- Start date
Most people can't test-ride DH bikes, therefore they tend to buy what they see on the World Cup or in videos. "If rider XXX can win races on this, at least I know it's probably not ****".Could be worse. Imagine buying an Airborne Butsecks!
Seriously blows my mind that people don't realize how phenomenal that frame is. I love my DHR, have had it for two + seasons and there's not a single wiggle, issue or flaw with it. It sucks that people are wrapped up in the carbon trend, because the Turner DHRis one of the most incredible rides on the planet.
Just goes to show you that marketing sells bikes, not necessarily performance.
HAHAHAHA Azonic customer service! That's a riot! Good luck with that!
The kumicho was the same (as the IH 2007 model) when it hit airborne in 2009..ish. They just cracked really easily, which is why I was making the joke. I have/had one, thought it rode really well, but it cracked everywhere. I spoke with a couple of people who own Airborne Takas and they also cracked, but were replaced by Airborne, but that apparently didn't happen because internet and transition is better (at sourcing catalog bikes).
Never had any issues with them myself. Then again we were sponsored by them BITD, so maybe that made it easier.
Point was, they HAVE a US-based CS department....didn't specify whether it was good or bad. I simply meant you weren't ordering a frame direct from a Taiwan warehouse with no post-sale support whatsoever.
Last edited:
i'm starting to think sandy andy won't be happy with a company's CS until they have strippers deliver his replacement frame and fellate him
I don't buy new stuff, because the gap between a 1 day old used frame and a brand new one is too large. I was strongly considering a new turner frame, because their CS is awesome (and so is the dhr). Hell, even SRAM's CS is awesome, because they just replace your part instead of building it right the first time. Of course you're going to think Crank Brothers are great when they replace your post for free the third time...there just shouldn't be a first time.
Quite frankly I find it kind of funny that you're whinging about customer service as an On-one/titus rider. Airborne can be found on facebook and they frequently post on MTBR. I don't know how you can get better than having a conversation with a person without even having to pick up your phone. And considering they replaced other peoples' kumbichos for free under warranty sounds pretty good to me.
Quite frankly I find it kind of funny that you're whinging about customer service as an On-one/titus rider. Airborne can be found on facebook and they frequently post on MTBR. I don't know how you can get better than having a conversation with a person without even having to pick up your phone. And considering they replaced other peoples' kumbichos for free under warranty sounds pretty good to me.
Good on Airborne if what you say is true regarding their CS. And I honestly hope it works out well for them, and like I said earlier, maybe the bike will prove to be every bit as good or better than an a Tr450. But in order to verify that, we'll need some profoundly stupid sheeple to buy them new and actually ride them.
Hopefully their FB bros will help them out.
It sounds like you have your heart Sette on an Airborne frame. Right when you saw it, your heart put an astrix by it, and said buy me!
transition doesn't have catalog bikes. The tr450 was designed by kevin. 2 years later at interbike, there were copies of the bike in the taiwan area. There are many copies of bikes made(literally any you can think of). Please don't bash transition because their design was used as inspiration
Last edited:
Put a hole in my front triangle of my FTM carbon...had a new one on my doorstep 2 days later, no questions asked.
What's your point again?
Last edited:
lol.
I'm just saying, it's good to see options, especially when everybody else seems to be in a race for $4k, to see a cheap taiwanese frame sold for a cheap taiwanese price.
so what you're saying is that you're really glad you sprang for a US-built, high priced, us-owned and dealer distributed frame, rather than something that was built in taiwan and sold for cheap direct from the nameless factory/owner?
i was pretty sure this was the case as well.
so why did you buy an infiniti when you could have gotten the same quality from a hyundai?
I paid $1,000 for the frame new last winter....in fact, they're $800 now:
http://www.planet-x-usa.com/product-p/frtitftmcarrs.htm
Why would I go nameless factory/owner, non-CS Taiwan-direct when I could do that? To me, $800 (or even the $1,000 I paid) is pretty cheap for a full-carbon, well riding, CS-backed do-everything trail bike....but then again I could have built up 17 Sandwich DH sleds with that money.
EDIT - and as a background to this, my days of keeping up with the latest/greatest bike gear is behind me. When thinking of what to replace my RFX with, I had grand delusions of a fully decked out SB66C, Carbon Covert, Carbine, etc.....then it dawned on me....I really don't give a fvck what I'm riding, as long as I AM riding. Why spend $3k for a frame, when I can build up an entire bike with top-of-the-line, last-year's-model/color/graphics/teal-knob-instead-of-seafoam-green-knob parts for the same price? Therefore, whatever I can find that's reasonably priced, will hold up relatively well/ride well, AND be replaced in the event it breaks...I'm all for it. My brand whore/Keeping Up With The Gnardashians days are over. I ride bikes to ride bikes, not enter a popularity contest.
\rant
\getoffmylawn
Last edited:
wait wut? you're telling me that you're happy there was an option to buy a nice frame that maybe wasn't as high end as the best on the market, that was available for less than half the price of one of those frames, that was readily available and distributed by the brand, that had good warranty support, and rides well?
That's a crazy idea, and like, totally not what I was getting at, at all. It's almost like you totally got my point. Almost. Now I just need you to tell me how you bought nearly the same frame from another company that's more "core" because you're ridemonkego told you that you needed to do so.
Hyundai has never made a RWD based AWD vehicle with lane departure warning and intelligent cruise. Plus there's the whole apples-oranges thing, with car insurance, auto financing, taxes, etc....but you don't care about that, you're making a point!
and your entire point about this thread was that the plague frame is a cheap version of a transition from the same factory... based on the flawed argument that the tr450 was a catalog frame, which it has been pointed out, is very much NOT a catalog frame.
Last edited:
No, it's not. Not all all. My point from the beginning has been that it's great that there's an affordable option on the market, and if it comes close to 80% of the performance of those other frames, then it gives us "middle classers" an option that won't break the bank for a sport that's already so ridiculously expensive.
I'm sorry that I gave you the impression that I think this is identical to a TR450. It's clearly not, it's just a single pivot with a rising rate linkage that should perform quite similarly without all of the features...but giving up adjustable geometry in favor of a large difference in price tag seems like a win in and of itself. Don't get your nipples twisted, I know that the transition had its own design effort go into it. I just don't know that I care if you're looking for the best value per dollar.
See post #15 supertrucker.
when it comes time for you to buy another dh bike, $5 says it's gonna be from some other obscure soon to be defunct company because its the most absolute dirt cheap option you can get your hands on
I told you, I haven't paid attention to sh1t in years. I just know a medium quality, overseas, all-aluminum DH frame for under $2k is nothing earth shattering.
Last edited:
Oh, I was not complaining, just having fun. I agree with you. And that price on the DHR is awesome especially when you consider the service that you get from them.
derp.
I just checked the website and the RC2 version is only 1700. That's just crazy for a new frame like the turner...but still, closeout does not equal new retail.
Is it too early to start a 2014 Pietermaritzburg WC race thread?
Taiwanese grammar, I guess.
sam hill on his overpriced taiwanese catalog bike by $550 followed by urn gwarn on his overpriced demo with 15" chainstays and a 20" rear wheel
Seriously did you photoshop that just to prove how much righter you are?
Only in the DH world do you get people who are unhappy that there's a cheaper option for similar quality. Maybe in the wine world. Are DH bikers the wine snobs of the bike industry?
No, I photoshopped it to help fight boredom until I can leave work early-but-not-too-early and go ride my....gasp....OVERPRICED BIKE.
I think you're reading betreen the rines too much.
I think you're reading betreen the rines too much.
Last edited:
Where my statement is correct is pertaining to welded aluminum bicycle frames - which is what was being discussed. I also said "typically", which I figured would cover the fact that its not 100% true all of the time.That's entirely dependent on process and heat treatment, and if done right, 7 series is stronger with regards to tensile, shear, fatigue and elongation properties. Also, since there are various 7 series alloys, some proprietary, their individual mechanical characteristics are also different (for instance, 7020 provides slightly better mechanical behavior over 7005 post welding). So, as someone not an armchair type, who's worked with both types of aluminum weldments, in a aerospace and defense application (where these things get LPI'd X-rayed and destructive tested), and studied metallurgy as a tool and die maker, I'll say your statement is a half truth. True because it can exhibit worse fatigue life if the manufacturer doesn't take into account variables like creep, proper filler material, heat input, etc etc, which can cause issues like precipitates that are not coherent with the matrix, causing voids and thus poor fatigue life. But also can be stronger and have a better fatigue life if done right, with the correct weld parameters, precipitation evolution, etc. There are MANY variables when it comes to fatigue life, like how polished the test specimen is (seriously), and the charts for fatigue on aluminum (which is funny, because aluminum, unlike steel follows an exponential wohler curve) state that 7 series can in fact have better fatigue life. Just don't leave it up to most of the bike industry to figure out how
7 series is also more expensive to buy, pound for pound. Where your statement may be correct with regards to price, is the fancy swooping, hydroformed tubes that are popular with designers. They both require heat treatment (although 7 is a lower temp, still requires a jig) but 6 is definitely more expensive there, consumables are about the same.
Just wanted to clear that up, from a guy who probably produced several million worth of aluminum aerospace parts with my own hands.
Just wanted to clear that up, from a guy who has produced 7000 series and 6000 series bicycle frames in bicycle factories domestically and overseas.
ROR, i never said ya bike was overpriced..
what's that? i can't hear your facts and experience over the rest of the nonsense rabbling
You should check porsche-forums for the time the gt-r came to the market. So much butthurt...
In europe we are over it as there are many established direct sellers that don't have to deal with us-patent-law but it was ridiculous to see how people lost their **** back when yt started the limited-deals.
Sorry to burst your bubble but you lost the bet
So while I think the above bikes seem like legitimate options (using my magic interwebz-eye that is basically an x-ray FEA system combined with a kinematics algorithm), I'm not sure they're orders of magnitude less than say a complete 450. In fact, if I used the current euro to dollar conversion correctly, the Propain is actually more expensive than the 450 - although I didn't get too far into the spec options. The Canyon however does appear to be less by ~$600, but I'm not sure if that includes shipping to the Murika. I couldn't make out the bottom one's name with my Benjiman Franklin edition iPhone 3, so no comparison there. And speaking as a Murikin Freedumber, I'm not sure about dealing with a small outfit out of Yurp vs. someone on this side of the pond who always returns my emails and answers the phone. And for all I know, the guys running the company's you listed are super stand up guys and there would be absolutely no issues with CS and frame design characteristics, but I do know the Transition guys are good dudes who even claim to be capable of drinking more sh!tty bourbon than me (of course, I remain highly skeptical of this claim). Again, I honestly hope to see more of the bikes you listed here in the States and reading more about long term experiences with them.
People will stfu if a Taiwanese catalog bike wins a WC race someday.
fyi, Athertons used to raced catalog bikes branded as mudddy fox in the UK.
check this out:
http://www.macmahone.com/dt_catalog/killmeister/
fyi, Athertons used to raced catalog bikes branded as mudddy fox in the UK.
check this out:
http://www.macmahone.com/dt_catalog/killmeister/
Attachments
Last edited:
That's not a bad looking frame, but nothing i'd take a chance on. It would be great if a reputable site/magazine tested some catalog frames. If it turned out they are up to snuff and people started buying them we'd all profit.
Someone at that company is harboring a strange linkage obsession though:
...and this is just straight from 1998:
Some of their frames and especially Astro's look pretty good though. Does anybody know who is selling rebranded Astro frames atm?
Some of their frames and especially Astro's look pretty good though. Does anybody know who is selling rebranded Astro frames atm?