1Lieutenant

Hello all,

Been waiting since February to receive my Lynskey R300. Have spent the better part of a year reviewing post and bike reviews about this company and decided to pull the trigger despite being happy with my current carbon fiber bike, a Look 765. Always wanted a titanium bike.

I chose Lynskey due to all of reviews, but also because I could get a semi-custom bike for 1/2 the price of the more esoteric builders. I looked at the others such as Seven, Moots, Independent Fabrication, Firefly, etc after following many of your recommendations.

I ordered this bike directly from Lynskey during one of their many X% off sales. Mine was 30%. Spoke directly with one of their representative via chat or email. Fortunately their frame dimensions worked perfectly for me so no full customization was required. My body has pretty ordinary dimensions!

So, here is my "semi-custom" order:
1. R300 disc
2. Brushed finish
3. Bronze anodized label etching versus black decals
4. Bronze anodized headtube shield
5. Vision 30 wheels (which I upgraded with my previously purchased Mavic Kysrium Pro Carbon wheels with Yksion Pro 28 mm tubeless tires)
6. Internal cable routing on the downtube. This was a customization as the internal cable routing is only available on the gravel GR300 bike
7. SRAM Force 1x with 42 chainring and 11-42 rear cassette. This was a customization as this drivetrain is only available on the gravel GR300 bike
8. Gravel flared handlebars

Despite the 30% off, they included a titanium setback seatpost (this I knew about beforehand) and upon opening up the box, I found they had upgraded to the ENVE front fork (this I had no idea would be happening)

The bike was shipped by UPS and arrived in three days from notification. The thick and sturdy box was largely intact with only a few dented corners and some minor punctures. Upon opening the box, the frame, wheels, seatpost and seat arrived well protected with foam pipe tubing covering the frame and foam wrap on everything else. Massive amounts of bubble wrap filled every available space. Kudos to the shipping department

Assembly was minimal. Attach handlebars. Replace Vision 30 wheels with my Mavics using the 11-42 cluster that came with the bike. Attach seatpost and seat. I replaced the seat with my Selle SMP Drakon which I have had for years and is well formed to my derrier. I did remove the chain and clean and dunk into molten paraffin wax. I just like to have non-greasy chains. Checked the torque on all the bolts. The ones Lynskey did were spot on. Checked the brakes. Even with changing the wheels, the discs were spot on as well with no rub. Shifter was adjusted perfectly as well!

Bike weight with wheels, pedals (Speedplay stainless steel spindles) seat, etc is 18#. No featherweight but not a slug either. This frame is a medium. I have not had a chance to ride it yet due to weather but will update soon.

Some pics. Sorry for the phone quality.

1Lieutenant

Boatdriver

Very nice! Were you able to ride one before pulling the trigger?

1Lieutenant

Wish I could have. No shop nearby carries them. Just went by the reviews (could be a crapshoot)

MoAlpha

Badass! Ride it in health.

1Lieutenant

Thanks!

TakingMyTime

That is one great looking bike.

SethAZ 

I'm looking at the photos of the R300 trying to figure out what improvements have gone into it since the R260 I bought. I'm seeing some nice refinements in the chainstays and where the rear wheel mounts, for one thing. Looks like a great bike that just keeps getting better as things get tweaked.

Anyhow, grats! I hope you enjoy it.

texbiker

Congratulations on the R300. Like you I bought one when the discount hit 30% back in December. My first ride was 2/1/2020. I never owned a titanium bike before and wanted to experience that. I did not customize mine choosing items offered. My main bike is a Canyon Endurace CF SLX riding the R300 2 or 3 times a week. I have 458 miles on it so far.

1Lieutenant

Your bike looks great! I wanted a bit of customization to “make it mine”. I had the SRAM 1x on my Look and love it so I wanted to be sure I could get the same on the Lynskey. I never gave the Vision 30 wheels a chance. How does your bike ride?

Boatdriver

Texbiker, how does the ride of the lynskey compare to your Canyon CF? Comfort/responsiveness?

Rage

Sweet

Litespud

Looks great - Lynskeys make quality stuff

InvertedMP 

Looks awesome!

texbiker

It rides smoothly. The tires on the R300 are 33mm while I ride 28mm on the Canyon. I put 85 psi in the R300 tires versus 90+ in the Canyon. The ride is similar but not as sharp over bumps on the Canyon. There is a section of cobbles I ride over on a route and the Canyon handles them smoother than the R300. The big difference for me is the handlebar shape. The Canyon has an aero shape while the R300 a small diameter round bar and fingers wrap around it much more. I may look at an aero shape bar for the R300. Carbon handlebar might get the ride closer together in feel.
Not sure why yet but when I pedal out of the saddle on the R300 the bottom bracket makes creaking noise. It goes away when I sit. I checked for tightness and it seems correct. Also If I put more weight over the front wheel it lessens too.

1Lieutenant

Lynskey R300 in its natural habitat


Went for my first ride with the bike. My ride was only 20 miles but was on the same route I have ridden for several years. Since I am using the same wheels, drivetrain, tires and similar handlebars (flat top flared) and saddle, differences should be due to the frame.

First: Despite similar geometries with my Look 765, the Lynskey R300 is not as upright. A little more towards performance rather than endurance, if that makes any sense. Despite being 67, I felt the position to be comfortable.

The bike itself rides smoothly with no evidence of twitchiness. Very stable with high speed downhills. Of course, my high speed may not be yours.... Acceleration and hill climbing were on par with the Look. What was most notable was the smoothness of the ride. The carbon fiber Look, with flax layers for vibration absorption works great, but the titanium frame is an order of magnitude improvement. Background vibrations that would normally be noted on the Look were completely absent with the Lynskey. Basically felt like I was riding on perfectly smooth asphalt. More severe shocks (like uneven pavement, potholes, etc) were much less jarring.


20 miles is not enough to formulate a definitive conclusion, but things are looking positive. One downside. the Lynskey is 1/2 pound heavier than the Look. Never seemed noticeable even on some seriously steep hills.

BCDrums

Helluva photo. Is that the Bikeforums.net membership in the background?

texbiker

No, that is not the membership. Although after some rides I feel like being there. That is where my wife is buried and I took the photo on my last visit riding the R300.

BCDrums

Apologies

deacon mark

I lost my bride of 32 plus years 1 year ago today the picture says it all. I have not ridden my bike by the cemetery as such but I could although in town a bit. How long has it been since she passed? I too have thought about a R300 but my Habby is tremendous but if I went to disk brakes this might be the one.

texbiker

My wife and I were married 43 years. She passed away September 3rd, 2019. Each time my route goes by the cemetery I stop and visit her grave. I am happy with R300 and usually ride it 2 days a week.

CharcoalBiscuit

Hi texbiker,
i have a Lynskey R300 that has a creak around the non drive side bottom bracket when I’m pedalling out of the saddle. It’s not there when I’m riding in the rain. All bolts/BB are at correct torque and grease used.
It’s a SRAM GXP BB and has done maybe 500km. I can’t remember if the noise was there when the bike was new.

Did you end up working out what was causing your creak?

I’m thinking of fitting a Chris King BB.

texbiker

I have not noticed a creaking sound for many miles. On other bikes a creaking sound from where you hear it has meant a problem with the bottom bracket. One bike many years ago I returned to the bike shop because they couldn't find the solution. On another new bike I had to replace the bottom bracket because the bearings were defective.

CharcoalBiscuit

thanks texbiker. I will replace the BB and hopefully that will be the end of the creak!