First Look: 2016 Airdrop Edit 16

​Airdrop Bikes was born out of one man's passion for mountain bikes and his desire to break away from the 9-5 grind. With 12 years of industrial design experience, Ed Brazier took a leap of faith, quit the day job and went about building his dream. The Edit is Airdrop's first bike, and judging from what we've seen of it so far, it appears to tick all the boxes of the modern all-mountain, trail, or enduro slayer; 66-degree head angle, 435-mm chainstays, 76-degree effective seat tube angle, and a long front-centre optimized for use with 35 to 50-mm stems. In order to keep costs down and stay in touch with their customer base, Airdrop sell direct to the consumer.

Airdrop Edit Highlights

• 6061-T6 Heat treated alloy tubing
• 150-mm Horst Link rear wheel travel
• 27.5” (650b) wheels
• Built for 1x drivetrains
• Tapered headtube
• 142x12mm rear axle
• Threaded BB with ISCG05 tabs
• Replaceable dropouts
• Replaceable hanger & brake mount
• Frame only, frame bundles, and 3 full build kits available
• Designed and assembled in Sheffield, UK

The Edit features a classic Horst Link rear triangle layout, which Airdrop says has been tuned to provide a good balance between plushness, progressivity, and pedalling efficiency.

Airdrop Edit Geometry

The Airdrop features bang up to date trail bike geometry, starting with the slack head angle, low BB, and short stays. The medium's reach of 453-mm is more or less what would traditionally be considered a size large, which is in line with the current trend towards longer front-centres and shorter stems. The steep, 76-degree seat tube angle should provide an efficient and comfortable climbing position.

Airdrop Edit Pro Build Kit

There are 3 complete bikes available in addition to a frame-only and a frame bundle option. Airdrop also offers custom orders for those extra special requests. Here is the mid-level Pro build, which features a classic SRAM portfolio of proven parts together with Joystick finishing kit. Note that the current version of the Edit does not support Stealth dropper post routing, but they say it is likely to be added at a later stage.

• Fork: Rockshox Pike RCT3 Solo Air 150
• Rear Shock: Rockshox Monarch Plus RC3 Debonair
• Headset: Cane Creek 40 ZS44/55
• Rear Axle: Rockshox Maxle Ultimate 142x12mm
• Seatpost: Rockshox Reverb 125mm
• Rear Derailleur: SRAM X1 1x11
• Shifter: SRAM X1 1x11
• Cassette: SRAM X1 10-42
• Chain: SRAM PCX1
• Cranks: Raceface Turbine DM32
• Bottom Bracket: Raceface Cinch 73mm BSA30
• Brakes: SRAM Guide R
• Rotors: 35 Classic Wave 180mm
• Wheels: SRAM Rail 40
• Tyres: Maxxis High Roller II 27.5x2.3 EXO/TR
• Stem: Joystick Builder 35/35mm
• Handlebars: Joystick 8-bit Alloy 800mm
• Saddle: Joystick Analog
• Grips: Raceface Half Nelson
• MSRP: €4,133.25

More information available at www.airdropbikes.com.