Airborne Bikes Marauder - Sea Otter 2010

Apr 27, 2010 at 14:56
by Mike Levy  
Airborne Bicycles has been reborn and their lineup is filled with well thought out and price conscience models. They had their 6" travel Marauder on display at this year's Sea Otter Classic and we took some time to have a closer look at it.

Read on...
photo
Airborne Bicycles 6" travel Marauder


Airborne's Marauder is built to suit the aggressive all-mountain and light duty freeriders who want a burly bike, but are on a budget. With an advertised retail of $1199 and a sale price of only $899, the Marauder will certainly appeal to those who want to hit the trails hard yet don't have a money tree growing in their backyard. It's no coincidence that the Marauder resembles a model from a certain no longer existent equine bike company. In fact, Airborne had made only minor adjustments to the original version's geometry in order to tune the ride slightly. While certainly not groundbreaking or revolutionary, what is means to the consumer is a proven and reliable chassis that they can ride hard on. While the spec list is nothing that dreams are made of, the parts are all solid performers.

photo
A Marzocchi Coil shock controls the Marauder's 6" of travel

The Specs

FrameAirborne Marauder
•6" of travel
Rear ShockMarzocchi Coil F
ForkSpinner CARGO 340 w/34mm Stantions, OX-Valving, 150mm Travel and 20mm Axle
HeadsetAhead 1 1/8"
CrankarmsFSA Dyna Drive
Chainring22/32t with bash guard
Bottom BracketFSA Dyna Drive
ChainKMC X-9
CassetteSRAM PG-820 13-32t 8-speed
Rear DerailleurSRAM X-7
ShiftersSRAM X-5 Trigger 8-Speed
HandlebarKalloy Alloy 31.8mm Dia., 640mm Width, 30mm, 6 Deg
StemKalloy 2D Forged Alloy, 31.8mm Clamp Dia., 50mm, +/- 10 Degree Rise
BrakesTektro Novela Sport Mechanical Disc
Front WheelWTB FX-28 32H Disc Specific SV
•32h Alloy QR Disc Specific
Rear WheelWTB FX-28 32H Disc Specific SV
•32h Alloy QR Disc Specific
TiresKENDA K877 Front 26X2.6/Rear26X3.5
SaddleWTB Pure-V Sport
SeatpostKalloy Alloy 30mm Dia., 350mm Length


photo


Visit Airborne.net to see their entire lineup.

Author Info:
mikelevy avatar

Member since Oct 18, 2005
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32 Comments
  • 10 1
 lol its an IH yakuza
  • 4 0
 Top tube's a bit different, but otherwise, pretty much. I'm sure its loads lighter though.
  • 3 1
 Yes the lighter version// the ironhorse warrior 4.0! omg its the same! hahah. i know i used to have one

look...

media.photobucket.com/image/ironhorse%20warrior%2040/treefrog35/warrior4-0.jpg?o=1
  • 1 0
 SERIOUSLY!!! Took the words right outta my mouth. At this point any upstart brand needs to do better than a simple Single Pivot aluminum frame. That's been done 20 times over by reputable brands.
  • 2 0
 the IronHorse that this replaces was neither "proven" nor "reliable." I worked at an IH dealer for years and the only thing you could count on was that if you actually took a Warrior or Yakuza off-road it was gonna break.
  • 1 0
 Its true! I had the warrior 4.0, and that's it. In its defense, I replaced the fork and shock and rode the crud out of it for 2 years. It was after two years that the frame developed play.
  • 1 0
 Nearly.. its a yakuza aniki and a sachem 4.0 mix up with 6" travel Smile
  • 8 1
 Ctrl+C Ctrl+V Bike
  • 2 0
 No no.... its a Sachem 4.0 not a Yakuza, an those XC/All Mountain models from them are Warriors in new paint! However.... does this make them a rip off or a rescue of a simple and reliable design to live a lil' bit longer? I also notice that their price tag is about $200 or more than the original Iron Horse's with little(if any) improvment over them on the equipment side. If they are commited to their customers with a solid warrenty I'd be so inclined to recommend one of these to someone looking for a reliable affordible rig.Becouse I love my IH versions!
  • 3 1
 basically the worst bikes you can buy. but for a good price. well maybe not the worst, but they are pretty low end. and yes, they are Ironhorse warriors and yakuza frames which are mass produced now that IH went out of buisness.
  • 2 1
 its unashamedly cheap, good value for money. id ride this over a similar priced kona. actually you wouldnt get a kona for this cheap...
  • 5 0
 If it's a good price, and you are getting decent quality, then it's not so bad, right? There is definitely a market for budget bikes. Not everyone can afford or WANT TO PAY for high end boutique bikes. There's not many 6" full-suspension bikes out there for under $1000, so if you can open the AM/FR market to more people, all the better.
  • 2 0
 So very sad. For those of you that don't remember, Airborne used to have a line of pretty dope ass titanium bmx and mtb frames. Basically a top end gone shit. BUT, remember Iron Horse people. Airborne is trying to make a come back. I can guarantee if these bikes sell, they will eventually be back to where they were. I can see these being offered for rental bikes and resorts if the owners of Airborne are smart enough to go that route. Would give the company some good exposure.
  • 1 0
 I don't know; I remember seeing a few of their ti road bikes...they were still "budgetastic" looking. Exotic material does not a nice frame make. Mass-produced will always be obvious versus "hand built."
  • 1 0
 great bike. value that cant be beat by any company still in existence (6 in. for $700). i love it. dont talk sh^t unless you ve ridden one. and yes it pretty much is an IH sachem. who cares, its a proven frame with a company thats still around.
  • 1 0
 All wrong. Its a iron horse yakuza aniki 150mm travel not a sachem 4.0 (weaker) and not a warrior (120mm) it is most definitely a yakuza aniki i have the yakuza ojiki 177mm so i know my iron horses.. i have been in contact with airborne bikes and they confirmed this. Sorry to bring up a dead post but i have ocd! I am 100% that this bike is a pre 08 iron horse yakuza aniki repainted and rebranded as airborne marauder (it does have the cut outs in the rear arm to add to confusion as this is what airborne stated were the only other (than paint and decals) to change, for weight issues. . Cheers Smile
  • 1 0
 Additional: weaker sachems means the rear tri was made thinner.. (ih confirmation) and the warrior could accommodate 140mm.. (ih confirmation) the rear arm design is from the sachem 4 but as beefy as a yakuza aniki. It is most definitely a pre 07 as in 08 they went with a bent top tube (no 09 as stated earlier)
  • 1 0
 If you love your bike dont go cheap on it you'll just regret it. We dont buy our kids dog food so why must we ride inferior vehicles? Love yourself and love your bikes. Buy an old ford fiesta and an intense instead (gotta get your priorities straight).
  • 4 0
 just buy on the secondary market, simple as that.
  • 1 2
 This is actually the IH Warrier 5 or 6 or the Sachem. Airborne is FAKE! They buy out the remaining stock of Randal Scott's Iron Horse fleet and re-paint and re-name it with their name. That is soo damn bogus! They are great bikes all hands down, but they are not Airbone bikes, just a shadow image of IH.
  • 2 0
 Wow, I have this bike in the iron horse form, allbeit completely rebuilt with new parts. Man . . . I need a new frame.
  • 1 0
 Same here. I had the warrior 4.0 frame with everything upgraded. I upgraded my frame to the Sette Flite for under 500$. After two years on the IH it was about time. The Flite is a great frame especially for the money.
  • 2 2
 You could DH a DJ bike for less money and i bet it'll last longer!! And probably feel just as horrible on the trail. Way too expensive for that parts package it has on it too
  • 2 0
 Beefy. Nice.
  • 1 0
 somebody know if i can put a shock with 7.5" travel?? instead of the 6.5"?
  • 1 0
 Unfortunately you can't. The way the frame is set up you can only put a shock that measures no more then 8" eye to eye. You can't give the bike more travel in the rear. You can still get a nice 7.85 x 2 rear shock for it.
  • 1 0
 Any ideas on the price of the 'taka'/zakuza kumicho downhill bike?
  • 1 0
 its around $1400 USD, decent entry bike considering the price, most difficult thing is setting up the rear end so it is progressive enough to be plush and not bottom. Check it out here



www.giantnerd.com/airborne-taka-mountain-bike-freeride-downhill.html
  • 1 1
 too bad they couldn't offer a budget DW bike if they were using old Iron Horse jigs.
  • 1 1
 still expensive for that spec list...
  • 1 3
 haro extreme series, non?
  • 1 3
 rip off iron horse ojiki







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