WOT

I’m weighing up the pros and cons of the surly disc trucker vs lynskey backroad (2020 model).
Price is obviously a massive differentiator but apart from that, which would you go for and why?

KC8QVO

A lot of it is going to come down to what YOU want.

Are you building up a frameset? Or looking for a complete bike?

The Lysnkey is Titanium whereas the Surly is Steel - so that is about as far opposite in materials as you can get. If you are touring with gear then I don't think weight is going to be that big of a factor for you, maybe it is. However, also consider that if you do develop a crack in the frameset a steel bike is going to be a heck of a lot easier to field-repair on a trip (or, shop repair in town) than a titanium bike is. Just about all car or truck repair shops will be able to get a steel frame stuck together. Titanium?? Only specialty fab shops and those are few and far between.

If you are building up the bike yourself then stock components as part of a complete bike would be irrelevant. However, that having been said - from a "fit" perspective - by selecting your own components (stem, handlebars, saddle, seat post, etc, etc) you can tune the fit how you want anyway - within the limitations of the frame size.

So what do you want? How much do you want to spend?

kingston 

Trucker. What's the point of saving a pound on the frame when you're loading it up with 50 pounds of gear?

Tourist in MSN

I really like my Backroad. But it is the ultimate in bling, you pay for a titanium frame and you are only trimming a few pounds off of a bike that you then load tens of pounds of camping gear on. I have three touring bikes, I consider the Lynskey to be the lightest weight of the three. Yes Lynskey says there is no weight limit, but I have two heavier duty touring bikes than the Backroad.

I had a 2004 Surly LHT. The frame was defective and Surly refused to warranty it. After several frustrating years with it I put the frame in the metal recycling bin. That said, others have had more positive experiences with Surly than I have.

Why did I buy the Backroad? Because I got a great price on the frame and in the back of my mind there was a minor desire to get a Titanium bike. I had a bunch of parts that I could put on the bike, so I did not have to buy all the components to complete it.

I did put the LHT fork on my Lynskey however. When I bought my Lynskey frame, the fork was an extra $300, so I decided to use the fork I had in storage instead.

Lynskey also made a few changes to the frame since I bought mine in spring 2017. My headtube is cylindrical, not conical, etc. I have not checked lately to see what other changes they have made.

Almost all of the miles I have on my Lynskey are unladen, or with one small pannier that I use as a gym bag. I rode it again two days ago for a 20 mile exercise ride. I have 45mm wide fenders on it, 35 or 37 mm tires fit inside those fenders. That is the biggest tire that fits inside the fenders.

It is a Titanium bike, that means it looks like a Titanium bike to a potential thief. I carry a heavy lock that cost about $100. My other bikes usually get locked up with cable locks in a $20 to 30 range.

Being a touring bike that I have toured on, that means it still is a heavy bike when you are not touring. My rear wheel with tire and cassette weighs more than the Titanium frame because for a touring bike I want a wheel that can handle a load. I am assuming that you would use essentially the same parts on whichever bike frame you get. Don't assume that having a Titanium frame will make the rest of the bike that much lighter. You are still using touring weight wheels, etc.

One thing I do not like about the Lynskey is that the rack mounting points are several inches above the axle. That means that my rack platform (using a standard rack like a Tubus Logo or RackTime AddIt) is a couple inches higher than it should be. But, this complaint about the Lynskey design is minor in the big picture, as I noted above I really like my Backroad.

I do not know if it is safe to mount a kickstand on the Lynskey or not. I have a Greenfield rear mount kickstand on my other touring bikes and on my rando bike. But, I do not want to risk damaging the Titanium frame, thus I do not have a kickstand on it. And for touring I really like to have a kickstand, so that is one other minor point.

A tour I am planning for this summer, of my three touring bikes I am leaning towards using my Backroad.

MarcusT

I have an LHT that I built from frame. I'm truly satisfied with the bike and the way it handles, but in the end, it is a steel frame similar to frames made in the 70's and 80's. It has what you need to commute to work or tour the planet.
The Lynskey is a marvel of modern technology, and though I have never ridden one, I stop and stare when I see one.
I see that the frame is on sale for a reasonable price.
The 2 things that make me hesitate on the Linskey; if you damage the frame, how hard will it be to find someone, anyone to repair it?
Second, is the carbon fork. I still do not trust carbon with extra weight and rough conditions, including bumps and bruises.
In the end, if you have your heart set on one over the other go for it. Both are great choices.

DropBarFan

Backroad looks pretty tempting with the 2/3rds discount & about a kilo lighter than the Trucker. On loaded climbs when one is at max effort one can feel that extra kilo. Repair advantage of steel is over-emphasized (for several reasons) IMHO. Carbon fork can absorb some road vibration & surely handles better than the stretchy Trucker fork.

WOT

I had decided to pick up a disc trucker frame until very recently. I spotted a lynskey on a ride recently and it just looked fantastic and the owner was gushing about it.

Today’s pricing on the backroad frame has me thinking that it’s not too great a leap to make from the disc trucker.

If I was going somewhere I was likely to break a frame I’d bring some filler wire in the correct material for any frame, the person who could weld steel could then weld titanium for me. I can carry a lot of filler wire for less than the weight of a spoke.

In terms of loading I am the load per se. I’m currently averaging 20miles per day and pushing on towards 40. If I get to my target weight I’ll still be 200lb+.

My Alu framed Trek Hybrid is harsher than I would like. 700 x 35 up front and x45 at the rear help to smooth things out but I can’t help feel that the ride could be a lot smoother.

Advantages of the backroad over the trucker.
Rear Drop our flexibility gives options for QR and fixed with varying axle widths.
The non tube piece at the front of the drive side chainstay allows for 700c x 45 tyres.

Which will give the best ride for a 325lb load (ruder, bike and luggage)?

Maybe this is a question for Lynskey themselves but I ponder if the oversizing of the tubes on the backroad makes it a harsher ride than desired.

Does Lynskey make that carbon fork themselves?

Comment about security noted. I hadn’t considered that properly.

Comment about rack height noted too, that would bug me, thanks for pointing it out.

Potentially the answer is to buy both but in the short term I want to decide which to buy first with a view to riding it for 4-5 years and then buying the next. I’m a one bike at a time kinda guy.

thanks for all your input and sharing experience.

Tourist in MSN

I do not think Lynskey makes the fork, but I do not know who does. The Lynskey family started out as a metal fabrication company that worked with exotic metals. They did not start out as a bike frame company. I think they know their strengths and stick to what they know they do best which is working with exotic metal welding.

There used to be a magazine called Bicycle Times. They had a good article on Lynskey. I just tried to find it and found that the magazine is no longer on the internet, but the article is now listed here on that authors own web page.
Made: Lynskey factory tour ? Adam Newman

When I built up my Lynskey Backroad, as I noted above I used a LHT fork, not the Lynskey fork. At that time the Lynskey fork was steel for the Backroad, had the mid-fork mounting for a low rider rack, etc. I am ignorant on all things Carbon, except that I really like my Carbon fiber kayak paddle.

Since the LHT fork and the Lynskey fork at that time had nearly identical specifications for axle to crown race and fork rake, I assumed my LHT fork would work well. And I also figured that if it did not, I could buy the fork later. But the LHT fork worked well so I stuck with it.

I have not owned a full size Aluminum frame bike, so I can't comment on ride with an Aluminum bike. (My folder has an Aluminum frame, but the ride on a folder can't really be compared.) I do not feel my Lynskey has a harsh ride, but what one person considers to be harsh, another might consider it to be quite harsh. I have only run 35mm or 37mm tires on it, so I can't say how it would ride with narrower. I think my Lynskey rides about the same as my rando bike (rim brake version of the Velo Orange Pass Hunter) that has a steel frame and 32mm tires. But my rando bike feels more like a noodle if I put 25 pounds of groceries on the back rack, which I did once.

The Lynskey does not feel like a noodle with some weight. My Lynskey handled four panniers well, but as I noted above for heavy loads I have two other touring bikes that I think are more suited for heavy loads.

When I bought mine they had four finish options, mine is the Industrial Mill finish. I think that is best, if you get some minor scratches in it, you will never see them with that finish.

First photo, right after i built it up. Note my comment about rack height is evident in the photo. But some racks might sit lower, my rear rack is a RackTime AddIt rack. Initially I put a suspension seatpost on it because that is all I had, since then I have switched to a regular post.



For riding around town I use a lighter duty Nitto rack in back, no front rack.



I did a five day tour near home with it. I think this was about half way through. I carried all the food and cooking gear for two.



The weather was on and off drizzle and cool, thus the helmet rain cover, rain jacket, long pants, etc. Photo below is near the end of the trip, food stores were down to the point that it all fit in the panniers.



If you get the Lynskey, there are two M4 screws in each rear dropout that hold the parts that the axle fits to. Remove them (one and a time) and put some threadlocker on them and re-install. Blue loctite or similar. You do NOT want those screws to start to unscrew on you later from vibration, happened to me and I assure you that you do not want it to happen to you.

Add a piece of electrical tape to the top of the drive side chain stay, chains are steel and could nick the softer Titanium. Or if you want some other chainstay protector, go for it but I just used electrical tape.

WOT

^^^Beautiful Machine

Paul Barnard

I unhesitatingly say go for the Backroad. Mine is the most satisfying bike I have ever ridden by far. Every single time I saddle up on that bike I feel "ahhhh!" I am not one of those who recommends something just because I own it. Quite the converse. I don't recommend most of what I own. Of course so much of why I like the bike is very subjective.