Airborne Seeks New Flight Crew Members

 I think you guys are forgetting what mountain biking is about. Sure, they may not be Demos, Glorys, or Bottlerockets, but I think we're forgetting the fact that the sport of mountain biking, in general, is about having a bike and riding wherever, whenever you can. I guess I'm just trying to say that it doesn't matter what kinda bike you have, as long as you can pedal and it can get you from point A to point B, it's worth it. Rather than selling it, you can always donate it to a local charity that can offer the bike to someone who can't afford one or whatnot. Not trying to be a douche, but just saying that one man's poison is another man's gourmet meal

 When I was 15 and wanted a mtb I'd have killed for this. My dad dropped $400 for me to have a cromoly nishiki hardtail with an rst elastomer fork, tektro cantilevers, and an alivio drive-train. Sounds like crap now, but it was what got me into the sport. These bikes are a better start than that

This deal puts kids in a way better position to get riding for real.

This is a huge leap forward for kids with parents who can't afford to spoil their little brats, or parents who don't understand the sport but want to be somewhat supportive.

Well done Airbourne. Stuff it all you snobs. I know kids on crap bikes who could out ride half of you.

 I like the idea. I actually think it is great. I see alot of people who like biking but aren't 100% passionate about it as most of the people here are (yet). Or people who just simply can't afford a proper freeride/dh bike. They don't claim to build top of the range bikes for wc but to offer "tickets to ride". I think this will help mountainbiking to become more and more popular and maybe end up as a sport for everyone like skiing and snowboarding.

 if this bike can take you up the mountains, down , riding with your mates on the week end and start to build confidence about what MTB is about , i always welcome that type of ride !
i started with a shitty claud butler, suntour fork, cable disk , not the best but i had a cracking time for years before to buy a top spec DH and now AM with 5 years of racing locals and national .
you know what, it made me lazy, selective about my ride and started to read magazine too much. at the end i can t be bothered to ride alone or in the flat aera, shame, ...my bikes is looking part of the living room, never riding as much it should really.
i did join biking cause just to pedal was freedom, discover and explore my aera , meeting new people , trekker, walker or senior citizen in those places that, even my walking shoes could not take me there.and of course going down like a fireball on that single track.
i prefer to ride with nice people with a good attitude , with bikes like this or decathlon rockider 6.1 instead of top rider/equipment that know it all , and actually are a pain in the ass to ride with ... . most of them don t even know north, name of those mountains or accepting that people are slower or newer to the sport. it made a big difference in my riding buddies, we are all here to have fun, not a lesson in design, looking cool just because
biking and MTB is what it is about, to enjoy pedal and breathing , scenery, challenge . regardless of the equipment, weather or state of mind. it s the best way for me to be alive and satisfied with the world around me. any bikes have done it so far with basic maintenance , well most of them anyway. let s go and ride ! ..., where ? ...anywhere , you coming ?
http://v3.cache1.c.bigcache.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/30783273.jpg?redirect_counter=1 />http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/2206352/

 AdaskoKG, you don't understand why Air Bourne is doing this. There is a huge consumer market for entry level bikes whether it is parents buying kids their first bike, or parents buying themselves a bike just to have fun with their kids. Air bourn hit the nail on the head with this one! Great honesty coming from this company as well.

Its not about the part specs that your are getting from these bikes, these bikes just want to be ridden, and they want to make someone happy, and a fan of the sport.

 i cant belive all the haters , a bike company gives the public an open invation to be part of their program and because they dont have the best product on the market people talk shit , i hope the shit talkers compete against someone on a airbourne and get smoked or even just skooled on a trail. maybe it will be me. see you soon haters!

 All you haters stop crying and admit daddy bought you your super expensive race ride. What is the big problem to have some cheap bikes on the market? This is the only manufacturer who offers the cheaper option, so this way we (customers) have every option available to make our choice. You want a better build? Go buy another bike, there are 200 better builds yes, so why complain? You want an expensive ride? Got get a Trek, it is also on the market for you brand-marketing-eating customers, or just if you like it and you have the money, and you just want it because you do, NO ONE can tell you you are wasting your money, it is your choice. It is the same if you just want your cheap 8in bike, what is the problem?

I owned a Yakuza Kumicho (which is now an Airborne bike with some other name, with many many similar components) for 2 years, and I beat the SH!T out of it, and it gave me NO problems, AT ALL. 2 years and I weight 205 pounds, and I hit 2 to 3 meters drops every ride. It was the BEST learning and entry bike I could get, and I just paid $1350, with 8inches of travel on both ends. Could just adjust rebound at each end, just that, but it was reliable and accomplished its mission perfectly. Now I have my expensive virtual pivot (bla bla bla) ride which I DO LOVE, but without the cheaper option I would have never entered the sport.

 i have been ridin bikes all my life. got myself into the dh/fr crowd back in 1996.ever since then it has alwayz been a dream to ride for a factory team or even just to race for the hell of it.From spring time all the way till the first snow fall i live, breathe, sleep, and sumtime even dream about being on my bike rippin hips and takin big drops.so none the less i know alot of people who ride and lots of people who are intrested in riding. so hence..i would luv to ride for Airborne Bikes...pls make my dream come true

 If I didn't have to work for a living I would be all over this opportunity. It's a shame to see a bunch of you kids bad mouthing this bike when chances are that the high priced bike you own was purchased by your parents. I would encourage any of you youngsters out there who think this is a good idea and want to work towards a career in the bike industry to start here. This will definitely show as some great experience in marketing and customer relations for a bicycle manufacturer, and most of all YOU HAVE FUN AND GET FREE STUFF!! P.S. My first mountain bike was an old diamondback sorrento with cantilever brakes, gum wall tires, and no suspension at all. I was like 12 and I never even thought about adjusting my travel, or compression. I never thought that there was a section I couldn't ride because "my bike wasn't good enough". I just charged it, and when I crashed without a TLD D3 carbon helmet, I was still smiling!! GO AIRBORNE!!

 Good riders make good bikes. I've seen lots of guys ripping on very modest bikes, and lots of guys struggling on cutting-edge stuff. I'm betting most riders could enjoy riding these bikes, so long as they didn't get too up in their head about the experience. I like seeing more entry-level stuff like this pop up.

 An incredible opportunity for the entry-level average joe looking to get into the sport. Nowadays, everybody wants something for nothing, or they want an additional something for free just because they make a purchase. The sport has become such fashion show, enough already. Are these bikes on the same level as Intense, Transition, Specialized, Giant? I dunno. Craftsmanship may not be the same. But I'm applying for the program, and if accepted, I will be riding these bikes with a group of riders that do ride the aforementioned brands. I bet I'll do just fine... Thanks for the chances Airborne!

 I think a lot of you are missing the point, this is a great opportunity, I know I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to represent this company. If you're hung up on the fact that they're re-using Ironhorse designs, then you're looking at the glass half empty. Think of it this way, the frames are clearly proven. Ironhorse is a legend, and now, combined with this competitive pricing and updated parts with better specs why would you be less enthusiastic about these bikes hitting the market? If that wasn't enough for you, don't forget the cherry on top...THEY'RE AFFORDABLE! I think this company has a great mantra and is only going to do great things for the world of mountain biking.

 I met the airborne crew last year at sea otter and they are some of the chillest people ever ! they are honest about their product it is what it is. There are plenty of other companies that make mid range bikes who act like they are the best of the best, airborne just wants people on bikes. All and All high tech low tech who cares when the rubber meets the dirt you forget the machine and enjoy the ride.

 i started with an affordable bike. if it weren't affordable, i would never have tried the sport coz i find mountain bikes too expensive other than the ones in the department stores. but now i understand and i could never have understood why some bikes are expensive and some bikes are just simply fun to ride.

kudos to airborne for making affordable bikes. and for people who just find airborne bikes to be crappy, i hope you guys are the best at what you do coz one of these days, a guy on an airborne will smoke you and your so called top notch mountain bike.

 bikes for a nice price, that can really do something
http://www.yt-industries.com/shop/index.php?page=categorie&cat=21

 Let's not forget that most people who are thinking about buying their first bike aren't looking for a $4K bike just to get started on. I think Airborne is serving an underserved market of making capable, entry level bikes at around $1k and below. You have no idea how many times an interested rider comes into the bike store I work at, and walks away discouraged without $1500 bucks to blow on a mtb.

Also, just because there is a photo of a bike posted on PinkBike doesn't mean it needs reviewing. This post is about getting people who would actually be stoked to have and Airborne out and riding and spreading the word.

 I have seen the DH version in person and for like $1300, it was O.K.! A young kid that was getting into DH, his dad bought it to ride with his son.Perfect starter/weekend warrior bike!

 I grew up riding a crap Bauer, hitting all sorts of stuff not realizing how sad my bike was. I had to keep replacing forks cos I could only afford rst's. I now ride GT and Giant jump bikes and the only thing holding me back is myself. I still aint got a dh bike though. Why? Because I have had to work for everything I've got. No parental support, no rich uncles, just a stupid paper run etc. I know I aint the only one who cant afford decent bikes. In fact my local park is bang smack in the middle of a low decile area. You should see the shoddy setups the neighbourhood kids ride! Department store bikes only fit the dump. Yet they still have a blast, they still ride most every trail and some of these guys are only 8! So when they do finally get enough dough to buy a used Scott Voltage FR etc. they will so fast and solid cos they learned how to ride on a piece of trash, just like I did.
My point is this: If everybody quips on, 'never blame the bike,' then why are we so damn obsessed with having the latest and greatest! huh!!

 "The gig includes a year-long Flight Crew membership, free trip to Sea Otter in April, free Airborne bikes, and assorted kit and schwag"

You can keep the Airborne bikes. I'll pass.

 No one should be hating this company, I love biking, aspecially freeride and downhill. But when you were trying to get into the sport at 15 you don't exactley have 4000 dollars, and my parents aren't retired downhillers or something so no support from them. I scraped together my life savings to get a freeride bike, if i had the oppurtunity to get one of these I would have jumped on it. And I'm gonna jump on this oppurtunity to ride for them.

 The bike is the same exact build as my Iron Horse Warrior. I have not had a single issue with my IH (nor the components) over the past four years of riding it harder than what you would expect. I expect this frame is exactly the same (as are the components) with a different name. Are all of you who are knocking on Airborne so brand loyal that if it doesn't have an Iron Horse or Kona logo that you think it's a piece of crap?

 Looks like these are the remaining Iron Horse frames.

 Does anyone else get the impression that these bikes just look old? ..... I dont know man, maybe its just me, but they look like something that someone found in a few old shipping containers full of cheaply made bikes meant for western markets

 so are you guys just selling the rest of the ironhorse warrior frames under a different name? that isnt cool... just paint them and write a new name on them and sell them for twice as much..

 Sounds like a great opportunity to me.

 It looks like special-tubing ASTRO ASSPA frame.
http://www.astroeng.com.tw/products.asp

 Is this the same company that made those ti bikes?

 Its a good start-and never mind clips or flats. This shouldnt be an elitist sport. Fun is fun!

 hey i would glady ride for them if i get free bikes and stuff

 Finally, somebody is giving us all a shot

 Go Airborne!

 the frame is the same as a ironhorse warior 6.0

 I meant 40% to the distributer.

 so how do i enter??

 Yes! Looks like IH Warior....