So...I had my heart set on a Trek bike. I had always associated high quality mountain bikes with the Trek name and knew they came with higher end components, but you tend to pay more for it. Naturally, I started my search with Trek's website. Now I went into this knowing I had a limited budget (around $500 or so), but still wanted to see what I could get for my money. I quickly learned that most entry level mountain bikes start around the $1000 price point...and most decently equipped bikes go up quickly from there. Luckily, Trek took their XC hard-tail model the "X-Caliber" and broke it down into 7 trims ranging from their full-fledged model ($1700) down to the "X-Cal 4" which comes in at a modest $550.
As I spent time glossing over the specs of each model and comparing them, it became clear that the more bike I could afford now, would lead to less of a need to upgrade the "barely trail capable" components of the lower end models. This landed me on the X-Cal 8 model for $730. It would get me close to what I wanted without blowing my budget and leaving room for upgrades in the future. I pretty much had my mind made up until I did some research on the MTBR forums...
I ended up running across a newer bike manufacturer called Airborne Bicycles. They make and sell bikes that cut out the "middleman" (local bike shops) by only offering their bikes through their website and mailing them directly to you. This means a few things....
1. Your purchasing a bike sight-unseen. You can't take it for a spin around the parking lot at your local shop and see how it feels or contemplate frame sizes.
2. There is some assembly required. To be honest, it's really minimal and pretty much requires you to be able to turn an Allen wrench...but I know there are people out there who cringe and gasp at the idea of doing a tune-up on their bike.
3. There is no "authorized" retailer if you have an issue. Since it is online based only, you will have to deal directly with Airborne through email and their website. Again, to some people this may or may not be a deal breaker.
Ok, so now that that's out of the way...what caught my attention? Airborne has their own section on MTBR forums and they are constantly being talked about in the "beginners corner" as well. I read a ton of great reviews, info, and excitement about Airborne's bikes...so I went to their site to look. At the time, they made a handful of XC bikes, but what was astounding was the value! The prices were great, and the components they were including for those prices was even better! I jotted down some of the specs and prices and compared them to the Trek models I was looking at...the Airborne models were shaping up to be even better deals that I had thought.
Taking the Trek X-Cal 8 model I had wanted and putting all the specs in a spreadsheet side-by-side to Airborne's Seeker model really opened my eyes. The Seeker was roughly $200 more than the trek, but the components were a definite upgrade. To be honest, many of the features/specs of the Seeker were found on Trek's full-fledged model X-Caliber that retails for $1700!!! The Seeker...$929 (plus shipping).
Needless to say...I bought the Seeker. More info to come. Stay tuned.
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