mtnbikerva1

Lynskey PRO GR bike? Tell me what the pluses and minuses are. What would you do differently?
What did you compare it to?
Other test rides or bikes you ride, or have ridden?
What is the difference in weight and ride quality vs the 3.2 Ti version? Or even a not fragile carbon gravel bike?
Vertical and lateral stiffness?
Acceleration and braking?
I watched the Lynskey video on finish choices, anything to add?
Would it be better or worse with the Chris King t47 BB? Too stiff?
I am 6’1” 168 pounds.
I hate aluminum for its ride quality: too stiff, wears too easy, denting…
I do not like feeling like I am riding a jack hammer.
I have a Litespeed Vortex from about 25 yrs ago also have a too small for me Obed.
Maybe trade in the Obed, for a gravel 6/4 or 2/3.
Or just buy a Trek with their proprietary front and rear in frame suspension like their Domane? Not crazy about the press fit B.B. though.
What tires do you guys really use and how easy is it to get them and cost?
Any clear winner or looser in tires?
36 vs 40 tires? Tubeless, What seems the best? Quality control, puncture resistance...?
E shifting for offroad a bad idea?
Thank you

Marcus_Ti

A) The Titanium.. Then again I love the stuff. Easy to clean. Hard to harm. Doesn't show wear or grime or dirt much.

See: Carver Gravel Grinder Build: Country Road/Gravel Assault Bike

Also see: Carver Gravel Grinder

Or

https://carverbikes.com/frames/ti-gravel-grinder/

B) Never ridden that specific frameset

C) My own lineup of Ti machines

D/E/F/G/H) Haven't ridden that specific frameset

I) Who knows if T47 will take off or hang around. No one seems really hot and excited over it...then again if you're wanting to run Di2 wires around a 30mm spindle crankset in a threaded BB--it is the way to go.

J) Eww. Pressfit. Hell no. IMHO.

K) Tire choice is based on what conditions you expect to ride on. Not only width, but tread pattern, and pressure. Same as CX. Yours and my gravel roads aren't the same--unless you're in Lincoln, NE. I'm thinking of trying 700x50mm FWIW, as soon as I find someone that sells the tires I want.

L/M) I can get Panaracer 43mm GK SKs for $45 each. From the LBS locally.

N) Not at all. Run Di2 myself. Love the stuff aside from the odd headache I've gotten.

rm -rf

What are your priorities?

Rough, loose gravel?
Less extreme gravel, crushed stone bike trails?
Commuting in all weather?
Fast club rides?
All-day rides?

I don't think one bike does all these perfectly, so you need to decide which is more important.

~~~

A few years ago, I looked for a bike that would fit 40mm tires for gravel, and be great on my fast-for-me club rides, and take fenders and a rear rack for all-day self supported rides. There's a lot of compromises.

Instead, I got two bikes:
a fast carbon bike for club rides and a fun, responsive ride.
A Ti bike that fits 25mm to 40mm tires, rack and fenders, and wider range gearing. (now, I'm wishing I could use even wider tires, and even lower gearing for steep, loose gravel hill climbs.)

Both are fantastic for their designed purposes. I put more miles on the club ride bike, but the Ti bike has taken me on some really great adventures. It's also the bike I pick if the roads are wet, rain might happen, or if I'll need extra layers, food and extra water on a long ride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rough roads
If your bikes are older, you might want to test ride new road bikes with 25mm or 28mm tires. Older bikes weren't designed to handle larger tire sizes.

Tires are way more helpful for rough roads than the frame. Good road tires have very flexible sidewalls that help the tire absorb the bumps. I use Continental GP4000S -- excellent on rough roads, very good on grip in corners, very good on tire life.

At your 168 pounds, try:
25mm tires at 80 psi front, 95 psi rear.
28mm tires at 65 psi front, 80 psi rear. Very plush on bad chip-seal and tar strip roads.

For very bad surfaces, my Ti bike's 38mm tires are at 38 psi front, 45 psi rear. Smooth!

chas58

curious as how you would describe the difference between the two? I'm thinking about getting bike A as I already have bike B (well, aluminum at least - its a little lighter and more responsive than Ti.

Although in my case the fast carbon bike would likely be a CX bike because of its speed and versatility (not good for racks or multi day trips though...

TimothyH

No, it is a great idea. It is the best way to go.

For all other questions, have a look at Gravel Cyclist.


-Tim-

shoota 

Sounds like you want a nice carbon CX bike to me.

chas58

+1

I think that will be my next bike. They make very fast road bikes (with light wheels/tires) and great gravel bikes. One bike to do it all. Most of the modern CX bikes take 40mm tires these days. While some CX bikes are only usable for an hour, others recognize the advantage of comfort during race conditions...

shoota 

Same. I have a hi-mod SuperX frame I'm trying to build up for that very purpose. The only thing I don't have worked out is the pedal situation. I guess I'll just have to use SPD for road rides. Something about that just irks me though.

Metieval

I'd start with what kind of gravel are you riding on. ?

I'd start with, what tires and tread, and size is the general use of these 'fast' club ride riders using that you'll be riding with.

what is your skill & power compared to theirs? can you ride a fatter tire than them and still keep up? Can you run a narrow tire for more speed, but keep it controlled?

Once you step into top tier gravel bikes, domane gravel, Niner RDO, Lynskey gravel, Litespeed gravel, Roker etc It's going to be more about motor.
Do you want a CX geometry, do you want endurance geometry?
Do you need fender/rack mounts for commuting?
Do you need more or less tire/frame clearance?

Bottom line you need a bike that fits you, and you need a bike that gives you a ride that 'you' like.

There is some pretty major differences between the Trek and Lynskey.

You might not be able to test ride a Lynskey but The trek should readily be more available to test ride.

vinuneuro

This guy below did a review comparing his CX and Gravel bike. The Giant TCX is one of the more compliant CX bikes, but he still found the Niner RLT RDO more comfortable and far more stable. For CX bike, as an all-around bike, the current Trek Boone is probably the one to get with it's front and rear Isospeed.

chas58

I look forward to watching that.

I watched this one from him a few months ago:

Why I Sold my Gravel Bike in favor of using my cyclocross bike as my gravel bike and 'cross race bike.

I'm thinking CX vs Gravel is more to do about whether you prefer a road bike or a mountain bike feel - and your choice will reflect that.

I have a fast mountain bike, which would be pretty redundant compared to a gravel bike. So in my case, the CX bike is more of a road, Urban explorer, and gravel day tripper. I'm not sure I always want the easiest most stable bike anyway. Shoot, I still drive a car with a manual transmission!

Thanks for the link.

mstateglfr 

What is the pedal situation?...wanting to use both SPD and SPDSL? or...

shoota 

Yep. I want to use spd on gravel and spd-sl on the road. Switching them out all the time just won't work. The only way I see it could work to use a CX bike for both gravel and road is to use SPD exclusively. Or maybe SPD most of the time but switch to SPD-SL for the bigger road rides. But like I said, it just irks me to use spd (and gravel shoes) on the road..

mstateglfr 

Gotcha, makes sense.
You would be constantly irked if you were me!

shoota 

I know It really is the biggest thing keeping me from selling my road and gravel bike and just using my CX bike.

HTupolev

Have you considered A520 or A600 pedals? I use them on my gravel bike and I think they feel a bit better for road than other SPD designs, in addition to looking the part.

mstateglfr 

Funny, i was going to mention both. I have some 520s on a couple bikes. They are OK, but not my favorite due to how the rest(its a constant flip).

I have a set of 600s for a bike im building right now and they seem fantastic. As light as or lighter than Ultegra SLs, from what i read.

shoota 

Anything less than my <200g Look pedals and super fancy pants carbon Lake road shoes just won't cut it. I'm vain like that.