Originally Posted by
DangerousDanR
Impolexg:
I found some pictures of the R330 and the one thing that stands out between the R330 and the R350 is the steering head. The 330 looks to be a straight 1 1/8th inch steering head, while the 350 uses a 1 1/2 to 1 1/8 inch tapered steering head. That could make a difference.
Also, mine has a threaded BB with a Campagnolo crank set which is a fairly stiff crank set, so no flex added there. I do have an FSA carbon seat post which should have some flex, but over all, the bike is not even close to as flexible as the 1980 Peugeot CFX-10 I was riding before I got the Lynskey.
My normal noon time ride is 20-25 miles and I often get out for another 15-25 mile ride in the evening with my wife on our tandem. I run between 150 and 200 miles per week on a road bike, so I guess the R350 is not a torture device.
Your bike has a lovely tapered head tube. It certainly looks cool. Not sure how important that is for flex but I've heard some mtb makers claim that the larger base makes for a better joint for downtube. I don't know the purpose. On mtb the tapered fork steer tube helps with stiffness but those loads don't occur on road bikes. My kona raijin has a straight 44mm headtube and tapered steer fork, on the other hand my very stiff cannondale has a 1" threaded fork steer and classic small headtube
As for cranks... I don't think thats responsible for the difference. My very stiff cannondale has the old style square tapered bb and DA7400 cranks.
The flex I see in my R330 is clear to be seen when I press on the pedal: my frame can be flexed to nearly contact the rear tire. My cannondale has less room for the tire near the bottom bracket but the frame can be moved much less than a mm.
All these frame components all interact with each other. I don't think I can reliably tell what is causing my perception of flex. What we really need is a free bicycle fea program, then tune it by comparing with measured loads.
Anyone with an R300 willing to provide frame tube diameters? That would tell us more I think than "it feels fine." Being a gravel bike Lynskey might have tuned in more comfort over stiffness.