gettingold

I have ridden a mid level madone for the past 10 years and enjoyed it, but have been thinking about a new bike for a while. I definitely didn't want to break the bank and have been thinking about something a bit more comfortable for doing reasonably fast club rides but also longer distances (50-75). I have been thinking about going back to steel for a while (I have an early 80's lugged cromolly Nishiki I still ride sometimes) and almost pulled the trigger on a Gunnar. Beautiful bike but I was not wild about building it up myself or paying a premium to have a shop do it (no dealers around here). Meanwhile, I have always loved the look of ti but the price has put me off. Recently I stumbled onto the Lynskey website not expecting to find any joy and couldn't believe the prices. A couple of days later, I pulled the trigger and I am now awaiting delivery of a 2018 R260 Disc. Lynskey customer support (Michael) has been fantastic, patiently answering questions by chat, email and telephone. Mentally, this is the best thing I could have done for my riding. I ride 2 or 3 days a week, but just haven't had the passion I used to have. Now, I'm excited and back here lurking on this site and others. Haven't posted in a couple of years!

Banzai

Only 55. You're giving up on yourself early.

A good friend of mine bought himself a fancy Pinarello in honor of turning 65 and still being fast.

Maelochs

You will easily get ten years out of that bike .... particularly because you will be riding one of your other bikes some of the time.

"I am buying more bikes to save wear and tear on my bikes .... you don't want me to wear them out and be stuck with huge repair bills, do you?"
The classic, "Well, first I upgraded the wheels, then the drive train, then the fork, then the saddle, then the cockpit parts .... then the frame. I had so many spare parts left over I built this bike---which just happens to look exactly like and have all the same parts as my old bike. Amazing, isn't it?"

Campag4life

Even though strongly worded, I thought the same thing when a read the OP's open to this thread. 55 and last bike? Really? Don't understand this constraint. And...carbon lasts a long time. I have buddy at my club who is a very strong rider on a carbon Wilier who has 100K miles on it with a repaint and looks new.

Btw Robert, I didn't know you were such an old coot. Now, I am feeling younger and you just put some more spring in my step for my morning ride. As a sidebar, there is a guy who rides in my group...my nickname for him is the Diesel....who is 73 y.o. and he can ride 22-23mph in his own air for mile after mile. The first time I rode with the guy I couldn't believe what a beast he is after he told me his age. The Diesel just keeps going...even coming back from a bad fall a short while ago. In fact, because of his crash, he just got a new bike and with even a more aggressive fit. A remarkable man and bike rider.

dunrobin

I picked up an immaculate bd century titanium frame a month ago. Built it up with some campy 10 speed stuff. Ride is actually nice and no noticeable rear end flex despite the longer stays. I have some tan corsa 28's on order. Total weight as is, with pedals and no name carbon cage is 17.4. Now to figure out what to do with my miyata 1000.
P_20170921_081104.jpg
This could easily be the only bike I would need. The build quality is excellent, and the capacity for tire width is larger than I'll likely ever need. The tektro r559 brakes with sram force pads stop with gusto. I don't care for discs on road bikes, despite their apparent advantages.

dunrobin

P_20170921_081126.jpg those are 23s on the front. Tons of clearance for larger, but I'm looking forward to the 28s when they arrive.

noglider 

OK so we're sharing pictures of our bikes now? OK, here is my Lemond. I'd like to encourage y'all to consider the lie-in-wait approach. I wasn't even looking for a new frame, but if I were, I would watch ebay and craigslist for something going for below value. I got lucky and got this frame for only $400, from a friend who got it off ebay. I was pretty economical with the build, and it came in at $1,000. I built the wheels myself.

It's a very light bike for me, right around 20 pounds. But a road racing bike is not the type of bike that can suit all of my needs, as I do a lot of commuting and a little shopping and traveling by bike, so I have heavier bikes with carrying capacity and fenders.

I can commute on this in good weather, wearing a small backpack.

Maelochs

Just when I was sure I would eventually buy a Lynskey, you make me doubt myself? Have you no decency?

dunrobin

Decency? ME? Now that's debatable!
As for motobecanes titanium frames, they are very decent.

indyfabz

A few years ago I took the put down a deposit and wait approach.

Maelochs

Why do you have a computer-controlled stem?

sfh

I'm not even 50 yet, and I will soon buy my 3rd last bike.

Maelochs

Here is a person who has mastered the system.

noglider 

I mount my iphone on my handlebars and run the ridewithgps app on it. I power the phone with the battery you see lashed to the stem. I keep the screen on all the time, and the battery can keep the phone charged all day that way.

Maelochs

interesting ... I use RidewithGPS with the screen off ... because the battery wouldn't last otherwise. Never thought about a backup.

Wspsux

last bike, a bit melodramatic lol

dunrobin

I know quite a few riders who splurge on a last bike. They are approaching retirement and want they're toys in order. It won't necessarily be they're last bike, but it's proven to be a ridiculously expensive, well appointed, Italian, last bike...2 infinitos and one wilier Centro air so far...

San Pedro

I did that when I got my hybrid and told her I'd use it for at least 5 years, which I'm still using, I just also have more bikes along with it.

I got a good laugh out of that.

TGT1

That's what I did.

The BD Ti frames are made by ORA in Taiwan and are as high a quality as you'll find anywhere. I went with a CX because I wanted a bike that would go about anywhere. It usually wears 42mm tires. While most rides are pavement I'll occasionally explore some fire roads or single track. They have a road and a gravel version now as well.

They go fast and about the only way to get your hands on one, unless you get lucky or need an extremely small frame is to preorder.

The difference in price will pay for a lot of upgrades and customization.

Have a bit over 10,000 miles on it now and have absolutely no desire for another bike.

Nachoman

That's what my wife said when I told her to bury me with my bike if I'm killed while out cycling.

CliffordK

Hmmm...

I bought my previous bike when I was 16, and 35 years later I'm still riding it. I'm having a little fun experimenting with different bikes now, but that old bike is still a workhorse.

So, I could imagine a person in their 50's buying a bike they expected to last the rest of their life.

For me, I suppose one thing that has changed is that for the last 35 years, my riding has maybe been 1000 to 2000 miles a year. I've now hit 5000 miles for 2017, and will probably hit 6000+ for the year.

So the increased riding when I hit the 50+ category may also be associated with desires for different bikes.

BicycleJoe

I just bought a Merlin straight gauge ti bike early 90's Campy Record and Phil Woods, Cinelli, Continental, etc.. Tom Kellogg geometry. Really a bike that was state of the art in the early 90's.
$1100 in cherry condition.

I'm 63. Save those retirement dollars. Craig's list can be your friend.

paste this into your browser

s227.photobucket.com/user/grooveyrecords/library/merlin?sort=3&page=1

SethAZ 

I just bought my "last bike," but what that really means is my wife let me get away with ordering a $6000 bike, and that's something that's not likely to happen again anytime soon.

It can't literally be my last bike because I also need a new mountain bike. I'm currently riding a Diamondback aluminum hardtail originally purchased in like 2008 or so but with thousands of miles on it, mostly from road riding when I was much heavier than I am now (and I'm still a superclyde), but with quite a bit of mountain trail riding on it now too. I've beat the living crap out of that bike, and have already replaced a wheel, the bottom bracket, a chainring, some cogs in the cassette, etc. Now the shifters aren't working that well and I'm not 100% sure it's just an adjustment thing. Plus it's a hard tail, and while that's been sufficient for most of my needs, I went on a much more challenging ride with a friend where it became clear to me that for that area I really need a full suspension bike. The hardtail just wasn't cutting it.

Fortunately I could get a really nice full suspension MTB for much less than my wife just let me put out for this new Lynskey R260 road bike. Also, I've got a friend who checks out Craig's List for mountain bike stuff all the time and has found some pretty sweet deals. I'll save up some cash and tell him what I'm looking for and I have no doubt within a couple months he'll find me something.

Bob Ross

My only observation about Lynskey is really more about the people who buy them than about the frames per se.

I will say I've heard more than a small handful of seemingly-knowledgeable bicycle aficianados claim that Lynsey is a "second-tier builder", a step down from Ti framebuilders like Moots, Hampsten, Firefly, Strong, Seven, Holland, Eriksen, or (when they existed) Serotta. But that's the internet, so you gotta take that with a grain of salt.

But more than a small handful of people I actually know have bought Lynskey frames...and my observation is that every single one of those folks chose a Lynskey specifically because it was more affordable than a Moots, Hampsten, Firefly, Strong, Seven, Holland, Eriksen, or (when they existed) Serotta.

I suspect there are a number of conclusions one could draw from that. The one I find most defensible is that Lynskey has set themselves up to appeal to budget-conscious consumers.

Make of that what you will.

Maelochs

I am looking at Lynskey because it is affordable.

Second-tier? In quality? In customer perception? In reputation?

People who pay a lot for stuff sometimes imbue that thing with qualities--intangible, as a rule--which make their investment a superior investment.

With a sufficiently small sample pool, those intangible qualities are rarely questioned.

I see it as I see BMWs. I know some BMW fanatics---but they are very clear-eyed about the cars, seek out only certain models, and by and large don't like the last couple generations. Then there are people for whom the latest generation is their first BMW. They tend to find the cars filled with those intangibles .....

Then there are people who have owned BMWs, aren't fanatics, and are thoroughly pi$$ed off at long wait times for over-priced parts, snotty mechanics and uncooperative service departments and generally unreliable vehicles ... some, not all.

It used to be the same with Jaguar owners a few decades back. Some folks were taken in by the image, and ignored the crappy fuel injection and electronics.

Not saying Moots or Seven are not top-tier bikes or have maintenance issues---that was car-specific. My point was and is, some folks buy Moots or Seven---or Waterford, or Surly---and somehow the bikes are more than bikes ... they become icons of excellence, they become delivery vehicles for the perfect life, they seem to make the sun rise and set each day. (Isn't it Johnny Mullet who feels that way about his Huffys?)

Maybe for those folks those bikes are those things. But that doesn't mean that those bikes are objectively better than some other bikes.

it is really hard to quantify. is a Moots "better" than a Lynskey? Lynskey has been turning out Ti aerospace components for several decades, as I understand it, and got into bikes only about three decades ago ... so they know Ti, design, and engineering intimately, and have plenty of experience with bikes too.

Are their bikes "less good" than Moots or Seven? How? In any quantifiable way? Or is it that the marketing strategy and the market segment pursued by Lynskey is less snooty and exclusive, and therefore people (potentially, some of them) look down on the bikes.

A Corvette is a Chevy. You can get the same engine in a hot Camaro .... but on some tracks, that Corvette will ace that more "exclusive" Porsche 911. And the Vette is a Lot less money. That doesn't make the Corvette a "cheap" car, or a "second-tier" car in terms of performance. It is ... in terms of image. Only.

Lynskey decided to sell more bikes for less profit because there was a market segment which was underserved, and good business sense said a sound business could be built serving that market segment and that volume would be sufficient to create adequate profit. And so far ... they are still selling bikes, eh?

It is pure marketing. Coach doesn't make better handbags than any other handbag company ... but they are sold as "top-tier, exclusive" accessories ... even though they are mass-produced and sold widely. People buy the marketing hype. People buy and pay for "image."

Not that they are buying crap ... but a lot of the difference between a highly-hyped, pseudo-"exclusive" product and one less hyped and equally widely available ... is the way the customer sees it.

I am not looking at Lynskey because the frames are cheap. They are not low-cost frames.

If I want cheap, I will buy BD Motobecane Ti (and I might.)

I am looking at Lynskey because I can get a very high quality Ti frame from a highly respected constructor with along history for a price I think is commensurate with its value.

If some perceive those frames as "second-tier," so be it. If by now people don't know that most of an object's value is subjective .... why should I be the one to wake them up.

If you have dreamed since childhood of owning a red Huffy with pink streamers, that bike is worth more to you than a brushed-finished custom Seven with a $150 Chris King headset and SRAM Red or DI2.

If I was buying bikes to impress the neighbors I'd run over myself with the lawnmower ..... I don't want to live that life.