rideBjj

When I was shopping around for a frame (about 6 months ago), I spent a lot of time researching the various materials and brands. I'd settled on titanium because it was the one material I'd never had before, and I wanted to give it a try. Since Lynskey is such a predominate name in titanium, naturally they made the short list.

I also spent some time reading about their frames supposedly being susceptible to cracking, especially on the chain stays. There was a pretty long thread about it on weight weenies:

*Edit: NOT weight weenines. Different forum.

Lynskey or Moots? [Archive] - The Paceline Forum



Now, personally I don't really put much stock into any reports about mountain bikes. Those bikes are subject to so much more abuse than a road frame, especially if ridden hard and often. I used to be a mechanic, and I've see broken MTB frames from every single manufacturer, and every material.

But a road frame really should never ever suffer frame failure if it is ridden normally, not crashed / abused. So, the reports about Lynskey road frames did give me pause.

Nevertheless, I found a smoking deal (listed on ebay, but sale conducted privately) on a used R230 in my size. Frame, fork, seatpost and headset for $1175. You can't beat that, and I figured, well if it ends up breaking then so be it - since there's no warranty on frames for the non-original owner. If it breaks then I'll just suck it up and deal.

I built it up with Record 11 / Sram Red and DuraAce wheels. All from Merlin. The finished product weighs 16.4 lbs and cost about $3400. You really can't beat that value, IMO. It's been just fantastic. I get comments and questions about it all the time. It's really beautiful and pretty unusual amongst the crowd of yuppie carbon that everyone else around here has. I brought it into a shop for a new saddle a few months back, and everyone in there (5 employees and a dozen customers) all ended up standing around checking it out and asking me questions. It got a little awkward when I was asked the price and where I was able to get the parts so cheaply.

Anyway, I inspect the frame very closely every time I wash it, and so far, so good. I'd even go so far as to say if it did break, I'd probably just buy another brand new one, and/or send this one back and pay for repairs. Otherwise, I will be keeping this bike until I can no longer ride.

Is it possible that since Lynskey churns out many more frames than other Ti guys, they just have a proportionately higher rate of failures? I'm not really sure what to say to the perceived higher than normal incidence of reports. It is interesting that the vast majority seem it involve the chainstays, and AFAICT, are clustered around just 2 or 3 model years. Perhaps they were trying something new with the CS tubing for those years? I think I read somewhere the chainstay shape started out as oval, then they went to a different shape (round?) and now are back to oval?

There is also a very high incidence of extremely happy owners with no problems. I'm one of them.

NMHillclimber

Stories of cracks are concerning. As this will be a 60th b'day present to myself, I'm hoping a high end steel frame will also be "the last frame I need."

halfspeed

It's not the first time I've heard about issues with broken Lynskeys.

NMHillclimber

Interesting thread thanks rideBjj. Sure, if money was not object I think I'd looks at Moots or Seven. We'll see

halfspeed

The only reason to go with non-oversized 853 would be if you're an especially light rider more interested in squishiness than stiffness. That's kind of a small market.

rideBjj

Right. The conclusion I came to is a Moots or Seven frame would be twice as expensive. But, they're probably not twice as good. They likely are better, but not that much better. Or, maybe they are. I'll probably never know for sure.

Jarrett2

The one thing about buying a new Lynskey is that they will fix your frame if it breaks. They seem to really stand behind their product. They said they shoot for 10 business days turnaround.

I've read stories about Litespeed not handling their warranties as well.

I spoke with a dealer that sells both and they said that a few years back both were having breaking issues, but lately they've been solid.

Ritchey has a 5 year warranty on their frame. No idea how quickly they get theirs turned around.

Gunnar is another relatively lightweight, inexpensive steel frame option. They have a lifetime warranty on their frame as well.

Wilfred Laurier

I have no knowledge of the big Ti manufacturers current warranty practices or durability, but regarding the Ritchey - Asian made frames are likely not repaired at all in the rare occasion that one is defective - most companies will have two dozen more in boxes and they usually send you one out as soon as the claim is approved.

rpenmanparker 

It is more about tig welding than about being made in asia. With brazed lugs or even a lugless brazed frame it is easy to remove a tube to replace it. A welded joint is different. The two members become One continuous body of the same material at the joint. The temperature required to take them apart would also destroy them.

Jarrett2

So I went pricing Ritchey's today and was told they were unavailable due to this:

Ritchey Road Logic Saga, read before purchase!!!!

I'm also starting to wonder if the Ritchey Road Logic would be a step from from my 2009 Jamis Eclipse Reynolds 853 frame.

Bandera

If you are buying another steel frameset in the same size, with the same geometry, BB type, in the same tube diameter/wall thickness/butting/heat treatment, construction method and quality control about the only difference would be in the decals.

-Bandera

Wilfred Laurier

The discussion was about repair of welded Ti vs welded steel. If a tube is damaged on a welded steel bike, you could cut the tube out and grind away any trace of it from the adjoining tubes then weld in a new one. Besides, isn't one of the [strike]myths[/strike] benefits of steel that it can be repaired? I would guess that most companies like Ritchey are importers rather than manufacturers of the vast majority of their stuff, if not all, and don't have the capacity to repair a frame for less money than a replacement costs them.

Wingsprint

After 14 pages of discussion, have you made up your mind?

If it was me and I wanted a "nicer steel frame" than the Jamis or Richey, I would go for the Gunnar. If I wanted Ti, I would go for the Lynskey.

dr_lha

The cable guide issue? I thought that was resolved a long time ago. Has it come up again?

Honestly, having ridden a Gunnar, I'm not particularly convinced it's better than the Ritchey, other than the cachet of "USA made" and perhaps custom.

Jarrett2

Yeah, I'm down to the Ritchey, Gunnar and Lynskey at this point. Not sure I'm ready to dish out the cash on titanium yet.

BikeDoctor said hold off due to brake cable thing until next shipment of Ritcheys hit.

Can you elaborate on the Gunnar v. Ritchey?

dr_lha

I'll be completely honest here: You already have a really nice steel frame bike. Another one might be slightly better, or maybe not. It may end up being much of an improvement. Unless you want to significantly alter the geometry, or you feel that there are obviously inadequacies in your current frame, I'm not sure if I were in your position I'd be looking for another bike. But owning bikes is all about scratching that itch eh? N+1.

dr_lha

That's weird. I ordered mine back in January and at that time everyone was talking that the guide issue was thing of the past. Certainly I had no issues with my frame.

Without wishing to p*ss off the Gunnar owners, I found the Gunnar Sport I tried to be somewhat unexciting to ride. I'd describe it as solid. Maybe a Roadie would be better? Plus you have to pay a lot extra to get a paint job that doesn't look boring as well (*IMHO* as that's a clearly personal preference).

Do you have a local Gunnar dealer? You see if you can take one for a test ride if so.

Jarrett2

Yes, but no one that stocks them. As with any good steel bike

dr_lha

I guess I'm lucky in that 2 LBS in town have steel bikes in stock. One is a Jamis and Gunnar dealer, and the other a Surly, Salsa and All-City (all QBP brands in other words) dealer.

Jarrett2

There's nothing wrong with my Jamis. Just some paint chips, rust spots and the fact that its too big for me. Also, that its running a 5-6 year old groupset and carbon fork.

Aside from that, its my favorite bike I've owned.

Just thought it might be fun to get one sized right with a new groupset on it built to my specs with a warranty. Whether that's steel or titanium, I'm still debating. That and I'm still saving up. I could pull the trigger on the Ritchey right now, but the others require a little more saving time.

Jarrett2

There are Surlys around but... those have not impressed me much. And its rare to find anyone with a steel 58 in stock. It's usually a 54 or something.

Bandera

The #1 Requirement in acquiring a frameset to ride is not the manufacturer, country of origin, material type, geometry or even the color: Does it FIT?
Anything else is an irrelevant waste of $/time. Quintana's TdF machine is no doubt a fine state of the art machine, but useless for someone of a different stature.

Close enough is not good enough, buying the right frame size for you and your requirements and fitting it out properly does matter.
Paying close attention to fit matters more than anything else in performance/comfort despite the hype of TI/CF/Steel/AL.

Good luck.

-Bandera

Jarrett2

I'm going into my LBS on Tuesday to do one of those robo fit deals. Hoping to come out with some hard numbers about the exact size I need.

Jarrett2

Had an interesting discussion with Adrenaline Bikes today. They said they thought the Road Logic would be a softer bike than my Jamis due to differing steel types.

They suggested going to titanium for a step up from the Reynolds 853.

ZippyThePinhead

I have not bought from them, but from what I know, they are good people and I'm sure they know their stuff. If I were in your shoes I would be inclined to trust their judgment.