jamesdak 

I've been on the search for a more comfortable ride for awhile now. My Madone 5.9 and Scott CR1 Pro just don't cut it for the long rides on the roads I have to use. Rough chip seal and all, smooth pavement is a rarity. I test rode some of the CF "comfort" bikes but none of them were even as smooth as my 2003 Lemond. So I decided to finally pull the trigger on a Ti sportive bike.

Enter my new Lynskey R265. I went the bang for buck route and had it built up with a full Ultegra setup. I also chose the Lynskey CF fork upgrade for it. Other than that it's a basic setup. It was ordered with the low end Mavics wheels because I have a light and strong set of Zen Cyclery wheels I plan to use on it. But the Mavics were on backorder so they asked for permission to build it up with FSA Team 30s.

They told me it would be around 19.5 lbs built up. As you see it in the pic with no pedals or bottle cages I weighed it at 18 lbs, 7 ounces. A quick comparision of my front Zen wheel to the front Team 30 showed the Zen with a 10 oz weight advantage. So I expect swapping out the wheels will easily save another 1 off the total build. Not bad in my book.

Sadly though, winter has arrived with a vengeance. Close to a foot of snow has fallen since Monday. So even though I still ride outside each day I will not subject this bike to the winter chemicals. So a test ride will have to wait until spring.

I'm hoping to use GP4000s sized 700 x 28 on it. They advertise room for a 28 tire and just looking as it sits now with the 700 x 25s I think 28s may just fit. Anyway, I haven't found much on the internet about this model so I'll share what I can about it as time goes along and I get to thoroughly go over it. And most importantly, ride it.

A quick cell phone pic:

dr_lha

Sweet ride.

shelbyfv

Nice! I expect you will be pleased. My budget model Lynskey Peloton will take 28s that actually measure 28mm on Open Pros. With wider Pacenti SL23 rims, the 28s measure closer to 30mm and clearance is minimal under the front brake (7800.) I use 25mm GP4000s that measure 28mm on the Pacentis.

ThinLine

Very Nice Bike.

garciawork

Nice. I am very interested in how that sucker would ride compared to an R240.

jamesdak 

That's good news. I'll do some test fitting soon to see which tires I can fit on the existing rims. I'm hoping the frame is comfortable enough that I don't need to get another wider set of rims. Of course I'll have to see how it does descending too. It's not unusual for me to run in the high 40 to low 50 mph coming back down from the mountains. Usually the limiting factor is wind and my tuck position. But I'll have to see how this thing handles at those speeds.

cale

That's a very nicely built bike. Congratulations!

jamesdak 

Well, I hope it's the more comfortable of the two. That is what I was after when I bought this. My Lemond is actually a pretty sweet ride but I'm hoping to get a bit more comfort for those longer rides over 50 miles or so. Of course after a winter on the Kona and it's harsh frame anything will probably feel smooth. The Kona has 700 x 30s that I run at around 66/78 yet your still feel every imperfection in the road. The Lemond pretty much glides over the same rough roads that beat me up on the Kona.

hueyhoolihan

was the set-back seatpost a personal choice, or a recommendation? i ask because it looks like the saddle is set as far forward as possible as if to minimize the set-back.

anyway, i don't think i would worry about the TI vs chemicals. but it can ruin a drive train, IME and components in no time if not cleaned more often than i would want to clean it.

shelbyfv

I normally use a zero setback Thomson, but found I needed a setback post with the Lynskey. Same eff TT as my other bikes, but I think the taller headtube makes the saddle to bar distance shorter.

jdjones

I think it looks great! I love Ti.

jamesdak 

Oh, I just threw it together to weigh it, LOL! The saddle is actually still loose. But I normally need a setback seatpost. With my 33" inseam and bad knees the saddle sweet spot for me is normally 29/5 inches high with the front of the saddle 3 3/8 inches behind the center of the BB when using 172.5 crank arms.

And yeah I'm not worried about the frame but I know fully well what the winter chemicals do to a bike. As does my MB which sees most of the nastiest weather. So much corrosion on all the hardware bits, etc...

rpenmanparker 

It is more likely a steeper seat tube. Each degree more upright seat tube translates to about 1 cm the saddle is pushed forward. As for the taller head tube, that only matters if you are actually placing the bars differently with respect to the saddle, IOW if you aren't making up for the taller head tube with fewer spacers or a different flip to the stem.

hueyhoolihan

gotch'a. makes sense.

Secret Squirrel

Question : how is the brake lever positioned on the bars? The bar rotation looks correct but the lever looks low on the bars. I'm wondering about wrist being too rotated. It just might be me. . Either way., geat looking bike.

jsigone

looks great!!

jamesdak 

Actually, it's just the way it looks in the picture. They are actually pretty much spot on which is a surprise. I did a quick measure last night and the saddle will come up 1/2 an inch still. Then if I go with my normal fit the bars need to come up level and in about an inch due to a messed up lower back. But I've been able to run the bars lower on my Lemond lower than level for around 2000 miles since late August so I may leave these a bit lower and see how it goes. The reach does need to be shortened though.

jamesdak 

Ok, with over 500 hundred miles on this Lynskey I think I can make some qualified observations. The setup is with Vision Team 30 wheels with Continental GP 4000s II tires that measure out at 27.5mm on these wheels. I weigh around 180 right now so have been running them at 80/90 F/R. Currently running a Brooks C15 on it.

Everyday riding on a mainly level course with some rolling hills. Roads are poorly paved with cracked, beat up chipseal. Comfort is really good though. The back end rides really softly over the imperfections and the front is pretty good too. A little harsher than my old school race bikes with their compliant curved steel forks but all and all not bad. It seems to accelerate well despite the heavier wheels in most cases. I don't really feel any major flex on these kinds of rides and my average speed is comparable to any of my "racier" bikes.

Now, in the climbing I notice a few things. On fast descents dips in the road give a very noticeable flexing of the rear end. I suspect that's the curved seatstays doing their thing. On my other bikes these dips would kick back very hard in the saddle so while this feels strange I'm going to say it's a good thing. Stability at speeds up to 49 mph so far has been stable and without any drama. I do get a feeling sometimes while standing and pedaling on the climbs that it's just not as stiff as my other bikes. Hard to say specifically but it just doesn't seem as responsive. Could be the extra weight of the wheels but the bike itself is comparable to most of my race bikes save the 17lb Scott CR1 Pro which was/is my favorite climber.

All and all I'll say it gives just what I expected. A competently fast road bike that doesn't beat me up on the long rides over rough roads. Yesterday's ride with a lot of climbing at around an 8% grade though says the wheels have to go. I want lighter with a lower profile because in the stiff winds yesterday these Team 30s sucked. I really expected to put my 1450 gram Zen Cyclery wheels on this when I bought it but didn't realize they were not 11 speed compatible. So now I'm searching for a good all around wheel that can handle my weight, daily riding, and climb well. The Dura Ace C24 seem the bomb, especially if sourced overseas. Having a hard time finding a comparable handbuilt in that price range.

rpenmanparker 

You have at least two alternatives to buying new wheels. One is to contact Zen to get a replacement freehub body for the rear hub. That should be available and not very expensive. They are easy-peasy to install in most cases.

The other possibility is to buy an 11-speed cassette that fits on 10-speed hubs. Here is an example: Cassette MONOBLOCK SHI-11S / 12-25

It is pricey, but likely not so much as new wheels.

jamesdak 

Well Roland at Zen is on Hiatus and the hub is an Alchemy ORC. They had to develop a whole new hub for 11 speed and then had failures with it so I'm not sure where they are in terms of a business status right now. I'm just going to move these over to the Lemond when I sell the Scott they are currently on.

jamesdak 

Today's ride illustrated the only real problem with this bike. The Enve single bolt seatpost is the worse clamping system I have ever dealt with. It just will not stay tight. I have to tighten it every ride and it has to be at a higher torque than listed just to hold. And if I forget to check it's guaranteed to slip somewhere on the ride. Googling seems to confirm that this is a common problem with this seat post.

spdracr39

I love my Lynskey !!

rpenmanparker 

Loctite?

spdracr39

I would like to have an Enve post to match the rest of the components on the bike but if this is the case I guess I'll pass. Thanks for the info.

jamesdak 

It seems that the solution is to get the redesigned version with two bolts...