Final Delta thoughts, while it's still relatively stock anyways...

If you've been reading this blog you probably know that I've been riding my Airborne Delta ALOT lately which is quite the feat considering I am a mountain biker through and through. Right now I'm hovering around 400 miles on this bike and except for the cockpit, it's been a stock ride.
Because of my enormous size (easy there ladies...) I had to swap out the bar and stem to something wider and longer (again ladies... calm down).

You all know I LOVE this bike and I will gladly recommend it to anyone looking for a new cross ride (What is cyclocross? Look here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZOa_E9Qs8).

But here's a final summery of some small detail stuff and thoughts I have.

Airborne is stepping up to a leadership position with this bike. They're taking a spot at the front of the cross bike line by offering it in a disc brake only version while others are still on the fence by offering disc brake mounts, but keeping canti brakes on it (Canti brakes don't consistently offer the stopping power of disc brakes). Bravo to them, but in this situation it will be really important to be sure the discs are set up properly.
Here's what I mean. Mine stopped descent enough, but offered a horrible noise that let everyone know I was coming. Get rid of the noise, affect the stopping power. For a while I kept asking myself "why bother with the extra weight of the discs?"
I did some research and found and answer. If you take the pads on the BB5's and round out the outer edge just a tad with some sand paper, the "turkey gobble" goes away. Great trick. Now I have mondo brake power with out the noise.

I'm still not sold on the Double Tap shifters from SRAM. STI from Shimano seems more natural to me. Something I'll have to get used to. Also, I sometimes find the shifting to be a bit vague. It shouldn't be but my next step is going to be to upgrade the cables (for the brakes too) and see if that helps at all. That or learn the right way to set up Double Tap.
That being said, the wide range rear end is kinda nice

I hate the hoods on the Apex shifters. Thin and flimsy. Looks like I'll have to get some Hudz that will be sturdier and they come in cool colors to boot.

The FSA post with the side by side double bolt system is rock solid, but a pain in the ass to adjust.

I do enjoy riding this bike on the road alot, but keep in mind it's not a road bike. Did 50 miles on it last week end and noticed the weight penalty and the lower high end gearing. I'm beginning to enjoy the ease of road riding again, so a true road bike will have to be in my future. Maybe Airborne has something cooking? I have a set of wheels on loan from a friend and that made a big difference.

I can't really fault anything much on this bike besides nit picky stuff. For $1200 it's a winner out of the box. Of course, I have to upgrade a few things on it for this fall to bring the weight down a bit, but it's not necessary...