Tourist in MSN

My suggestion to anyone building up a new touring bike is to decide if they will do enough touring that they might want a way to charge batteries later. Cost of a dynohub out of the box is not that much more than a quality front hub. But the cost to upgrade later to a dynohub is much higher. So, if you might want a dynohub later, get it now.

I am not sure what the story on front forks will be for the Backroad. Mine works quite well with an old steel LHT fork.

jspurlin

I am very interested in getting a dyno hub. On a recent 4-day out and back tour without any recharging capability, I lost significant time when I had to stop to charge up my phone at an outlet and it caused me problems later when I lost daylight before reaching my intended destination.. Any recommendation on brands, models? I'd like one that would power a light and world also charge a Garmin, phone and battery pack. I've done only a little research so don't know much about this.

I still don't know what fork I'm going to use. A Surly rep recommended the Straggler fork.

Tourist in MSN

I have two SP hubs, one of the higher end Shimano dynohubs and a couple of the low end Shimano hubs. I think the SP hubs are the best of that group. I have no experience with the SON hubs, can't comment.

Regarding wiring, the Shimano hubs are grounded to the frame, the SP hubs are not. I find it easier to wire things with a frame that is not grounded to the hub, in other words I think the SP is better in that regard.

Headlamps - there are a wide variety of headlamps at different price points and different manufacturers. i won't suggest a specific one but I will suggest you get one that has an asymmetric beam, a low and wide beam that does not waste a lot of light above the horizon. Some of the lights are like a flashlight, half the light is above the horizon and not very wide. Somewhere on Peter Whites website there are photos of some light beam patterns. Peter White also has a lot of very good information on dynohub lighting, but that is all slightly biased towards the stuff that Peter sells. You could probably learn a lot by spending some quality time on Peters website on lighting.

Taillights - for several years I stuck to battery powered taillights. I recently bought some dynohub powered taillights too, but I consider the hub powered lights as a suppliment to my battery lights, not a replacement. I often use a flashing taillight in daytime, dynohub powered taillights do not flash. Also dynohub powered taillights are wired to the headlamp, are only on if the headlamp is on. And when the headlamp is on you are not charging batteries. That is why I mainly rely on battery powered taillights.

Chargers - There are several options. I have two that are combined with headlamps, one that is charger only. More on this below.

My last several tours I almost never rode my bike in the dark, thus I am tempted to not even bring a dynohub powered headlamp on future tours, might just use a battery headlamp for the few times I might need it. The dynohub on my tours is used a lot but almost exclusively for charging devices.

Several days ago I wrote a very long post on another forum about my charger experience. I am too lazy to repeat it all here, look at this post:
Charging iPhone on the road

If you are putting this on a Lynskey Backroad, that suggests to me that you can spend a few more bucks and not mind doing so. I have a Luxos U headlamp and USB charger. Expensive, but I think it is a very good way to go. I bought my Luxos U from an internet vendor in Germany for a much lower price than they sell for in USA. The Luxos U is on my Lynskey.

Tourist in MSN

A good article here on light beams.
https://janheine.wordpress.com/2018/...-better-light/

jspurlin

Thanks, Tourist for all the great info about lights and dyno hubs. I haven't started my buildup yet, haven't bought a single piece of it yet. Have been busy at work an with other things. The info you provided will be very helpful.

Skinnybike

Paul Barnard

I think the cockpit is spacious. The reach for me is just about ideal, but tending just a tad to the long side. The truth is that you could probably go comfortably either way. If there are any more questions or measurements I can make for you, let me know.

Tourist in MSN

Keep in mind that if you are using flat bars, you usually want a longer top tube becuase your hand positions on the bars is not very far forward of the steerer tube. But if you were using drop bars and you usully rode with your hands on the hoods, then your hand positions on the bars is much farther forward. You did not say what kind of bars you plan to use. And, do you lean very far forward or not?

Skinnybike

Tourist in MSN

I can't really advise on that. In my case, I measured the top tube on my other two touring bikes and decided to get the Backroad that had the closest fit to that. Mine fits just fine.

When you cited a good price, were you looking at their "loft" page on their website? They used to sell off frames on ebay that were dealer returns or were otherwise overstock, that is where I got mine. But they have nothing on ebay right now, so maybe they decided to keep it all in house?

Mine is Industrial Mill finish. The base matt finish shows scratches where the Industrial Mill hides them pretty well. Photos of mine are in post 33 of this thread.

Keep in mind you need to budget for a fork too. I used a LHT rim brake fork since I had one in storage and it had about the same axle to crown length and similar rake as the fork they sold for the Backroad when I got mine. Thus, I have rim brake front, disc rear.

I mentioned above in post 43 that I got some cheap resin brake pads to try on my Spyre brake. They work much better than the stock semi-metalic pads that came with it.

seeker333

Reach is a little short on Backroad, and stack is taller than usual - intentional choices by Lynskey for the intended purpose of touring. Longer stem and/or handlebar with more reach should rectify.

Lynskey has them on eBay again now @ $925 shipped. Act fast if you want the size M-L, as there is only 1 left and they usually go first:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/163372092115
https://www.ebay.com/itm/153259709919
https://www.ebay.com/itm/153259708552

forks: https://www.bikeforums.net/showpost....3&postcount=35

Tourist in MSN

That is a great price. I think I paid about $25 more (total with shipping) and I was really surprised that I got it for that, and that was on an auction instead of buy it now price.

And it looks like they include the Industrial Mill finish in the price.

KFC

I have been going back and forth between a Lynskey Back Road and the Urbano, or frankly if I need a titanium bicycle at all. Currently I am riding my 2010 Trek 520 with a little over 42000 miles on it. I have no complaint with the Trek. I use it for touring and also for virtually all my recreational riding. It has been a fantastic bike, but I am getting to the age where I think I need disc brakes. I recently completed a ride across America, and there were several occasions where I had to stop and rest my hands from squeezing so hard of the brakes. I would be very interested in your thoughts on the Back Road, the Urbano and the advantages and disadvantages of touring on titanium. I too tried contacting Lynskey, but I did not give any comparative information or opinion. They said that any product I asked about was 'just what I wanted'. Hope you enjoy your new bike.

fietsbob

Not a miracle..

mass in the panniers changes how a bike, loaded, feels ..

You minimizing the load you are to be carrying..?


somebody else makes the brakes [you did not specify]

you may have been death gripping them too much, issue technique..
V brakes advance was braking power.., reducing hand effort hydraulic rim brakes did better


I can Only comment on my recent disc brake caliper change..
BB7 to TRP Hy Rd,
without changing levers and cables...

Saw 1 here * ... because the metal is less dense,
the tube diameters were huge , to compensate..

*End point for many cross continent tours and on the pacific coast route.




..

Tourist in MSN

First of all, if you want one of those new Backroad frames on Ebay right now, they said that the sale ended two days ago but they are still there. I have no clue how much longer those Backroads will be there. But they could disappear in an instant.

I have never seen an Urbano. I think Alan S has one, maybe you should send him a private message? He has posted photos of his on this forum on other threads. He is more of an ultra light weight rider than I am, I think he often uses bikepacking gear instead of panniers. And I think he is quite happy with his. He (like me) also sometimes tours on an S&S coupled bike, so not all of his touring is on the Urbano. More at this thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...ium-frame.html

I have three touring bikes. Nobody has ever accused me of being an ultra light packer. I consider my Thorn Nomad to be my heavy duty expedition bike, my Thorn Sherpa to be for medium weight touring and my Lynskey to be more for lighter weight touring.

There are photos of mine above in post 10 and 33. I like the way it rides, I am quite happy I bought it. When I got mine, I was not looking for another bike, but in teh back of my mind I had been dreaming of having a Titanium bike for years. And when I saw my frame on Ebay at a good price (mine was auction, not buy it now), I thought about it for a couple days and then put in a bid - and won it.

Titanium, you usually think of that as being a really light weight bike. After all before Carbon frames, Titanium won races. But, mine is a touring bike, touring weight wheels, Brooks saddle, etc. My rear wheel with tire weighs more than my frame (without fork). So, yes Titanium is light, but it only trims off a few pounds, it won't make your wheels lighter than they were before.

This is a fairly long thread, but most of my experience with building up mine is listed above if you go through the thread. I have drop bars on mine, but the OP of this thread used flat bars.

I built up the bike myself, built my wheels, etc. I have some used parts on it but mostly new. I think I had ten years of use on my shifters that I put on it. And my rear dérailleur is from the 90s. I set it up to be reliable, robust, easily repairable, basically what you want in a touring bike. That is why I am using eight speed cassette, bar end shifters and square taper triple crank. You can use more modern stuff if you want but I wanted to have as close to a trouble free bike as I could make.

I think I have run out of things to say, but I know I touched on many other topics in other posts that I already made in this thread. I never rode a 520 so I can't comment on that. A friend of mine has a 520, he has been quite happy with it but he never toured on it.

One last comment - the weight of a lock on a Titanium bike is inversely proportional to the weight of the bike.* Translation = a lighter bike needs a heavier lock.**

steinercat

Congrats on a successful build.

If I may ask, how tall are you and inseam?

I'm also looking at the Backroad, and while I'm 5' 10" with a 31.5" inseam, which would size me up to an ML, it seems like even the M would work. I prefer a shorter frames and then just add length via stem/bars, rather than having to deal with a longish top-tube.

Thanks!

Paul Barnard

5'11. I wear 32x34 jeans. I just went out and looked at mine, imagining making the slight adjustments if I were your size. I'd go with an ML if I were you. Of course an M can be set up to fit you, but the ML is a better match. I have a 7 degree rise 120 stem on mine which likely accounts for some of the roominess. My seat has plenty of room to go down as well. A lot of the roominess comes from the wheelbase.

Tourist in MSN

Think about the types of bars you want. My Backroad has drop bars, Paul has flat bars. In general terms drop bar means shorter top tube than you would use with flat bars.

The photos of mine in this thread are of the Lynskey size Large. I am just a hair over 6 foot, you can see me riding on mine in post 33.

steinercat

Good point! I will be using drop bars.

I just checked the geometry on my custom Ti road bike, which fits me perfect, and the ETT is 555cm (I have a longer torso and shorter inseam). So it looks like the geometry of the M would be good for me, as I would be more upright on a touring bike.

Good suggestion on the dynohub also.

Thanks!