New Frame Colours

With new batches of Edits and Slackers coming in (Fades just arrived), we've taken the opportunity to freshen things up with new colours.

Every time we produce a new batch of frames (more info on that here), we get the opportunity to change things up a bit. Of course we don't have to, and most brands would only do this once a year. But it's a good way to keep things interesting and it means we get to try out new ideas. And this time around, we've changed the build kits on both the Edits and the Slackers, so we wanted to sieze the opportunity to get some lush new colour-combos dialled in.

Powder-Coat Finishes

Before we get into the new colours, a quick note on how we apply these finishes, because it's interesting (if you're a bike nerd) and a bit unusual. We don't use any wet-paint finishes on our frames. We've done that in the past, and it's a more typical way to paint bike frames. It's also the cheapest and quickest way to get the job done. But we were never happy with the outcome. We could get the frames to look lovely, but the wet-paint finishes wore too quickly and easily.

Personally, I don't mind my bike looking a bit haggard because it gets used. But we felt that we could do better. So all our frames have a matte powder-coat finish applied. Even the Raw frame has a clear matte powder finish applied to it, so it will stay bright even after heavy usage.It's a little more costly (for us) and it's also a little heavier, but it releases fewer VOCs in the process and the result is as tough as old boots. I'm not aware that any other MTB companies exclusively use powder-coating, but maybe some BMX brands do.

The Colours

Let's have a look at what we've got coming. Not everything is new, but it's good to get a run-down of all the options:

Pitch Black

The go-to colour when people want a stealthy bike. for 2025 we're offering the Fade frame and Fade Core bike in Pitch Black, but we've gone a different route for the other bikes...

Raw

I guess this is Airdrop's signatuire finish. We've always done bikes in Raw, since the very first prototype. At that time it was one of very few high-end bikes available in aluminium, never mind with an old-school Raw finish. For 2025 we'll be offering the Fade, the Slacker, the Edit MX and the Edit 27.5 in Raw. That's new to the Slacker and the Edit 27.5.

Elastoplast

Elastoplast is an all new finish coming to the Edit MX. IThe name is probably self-explanatory. Initially I was unsure if it would be a good idea to be honest, but as soon as the sample arrived it was obvious that it was, in fact, a sick idea. It looks amazing whether it's paired with the black fork and spring of the Edit MX Core or the new Electric Red fork and spring of the Edit MX Works.

Purple Drank

A colour so new we don't even have a frame to photograph yet. But we've sampled it on a tube as you can see in the image, and it looks sweet. What's with the name? It's a little known fact that me (Ed), James and Craig were part of the team that launched the On-One Codeine back in 2013. We used the #codeine hashtag on social media, without knowing that it meant something else not exactly bike related :-)

Purple Drank will be appearing on the new batch of Slackers in the very near future.

Dippy Egg

We first teased this idea on a social media post during lockdown when I photoshopped a frame various colorus and asked people what they thought. It wsa only half serious, which is why the colours had silly names like Dippy Egg, Blu-Tack and Apple Nerdz. So many people liked Dippy Egg that we put it into production, on the Fade. Dippy Egg has made a return for 2025 and is available on both Fade frames and bikes.

Purple Haze

It's not the same as Purple Drank. And maybe you're thinking why we have two different purples in the range. I ask you... why not?!? We like them both. The Purple Haze is a semi-pearlescent finish that looks amazing on the Fade whether it's paired up with Pike DJ in Silver or Black.

And there you have it; that's the colour range for this year. Unless we do any limited editions which we wouldn't tell you about until they launch anyway. Probably we will upset one or two people by stopping certain combinations; there's no more Sean Grean for example, and the Edit 27.5 is no longer available in Black. But if anyone really wanted those colours, they'd have bought them by now. The new range is better than ever before, and there's something for everyone. And if somehow we don't have somsthing you like, there's always the next batch...