ElTejon

Hi, I'm thinking about getting a Lynskey Cooper CX or their "road" version of the same frame, called the Urbano, to use as a touring bike. (Would be for commuting and general riding, too, but I know it would be great for those things.) Not planning to carry heavy loads, about 15-20 pounds maximum. For short tours, up to a week, staying in motels. Has anyone toured on a Lynskey or other titanium frame? What has your experience been as far as load handling, stability, flex etc.? I have read some reviews by folks who tried and didn't like the Lynskey Viale. They said the chainstays were too short (caused interference with rear panniers). But I have found nothing about how the Lynskey frames (or other Ti frames) actually handle while loaded. My concern is that titanium frames, even fairly stiff ones, may not be suitable for even light to moderate touring. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

robow

Titanium frame characteristics vary greatly just as aluminum or steel frames can vary greatly depending on how they were designed. You can make it stiff or supple depending on the desired use. I've been touring on a ti frame for about 3 or 4 years now. Actually the frame was originally designed for cyclocross but I built it up with light touring in mind. Though that was my original intent, I have found that I use it for all of my touring including my full on unsupported touring. The photo below shows my typical load of 23 lbs. which includes the rear panniers and their content, along with my bagged tent bound to the rear rack. The rear triangle and bottom bracket were built stiff enough for me to use it in this manner and I really enjoy touring with this bike, but I have ridden other ti bikes that were not up to this task. I also have a steel fork with brake and front rack already attached and can interchange it within just a few minutes if I want to carry front panniers as well, though generally I don't find them necessary for 7-10 day tours that are more typical for me. Again, ti has its advantages and disadvantages, and so there is not yet a perfect material when it comes to building bicycle frames.

saddlesores

you're going light enough you don't need panniers.
save the weight of the heavy bags and rear rack by
doing the bikepacking thing. that would also solve
your potential short chainstay problem.

you could also try adding a lowrider to the front,
(would you need a steel fork?) with a set of
small panniers. weight up front is not for
everyone, you'll need to try it and see.

PDKL45

You could also look at the Kona Rove Ti frameset for a tourer. It has disc brake mounts on the chain stay for racks, which, along with fenders, have eyelet mounting points on the frame. It is actually made by Lynsky in the USA for Kona.

I was looking at it the other night, fantasizing about a really high end Ti light touring bike that you could build with it.

Squeezebox

Does the fork really need to be steel ? The Trek 720 & 920 forks are AL, with 2 mid fork bolts each blade, allow for the 14 L /pr dry bags that you see on Trek bikes/720.
By the way I do not think Trek is god. I bought the 920. I would not buy a 720, too many better things out there. But I do really like the look of the fork bags.
IMHO

robow

No, it doesn't have to be steel, aluminum would be fine if designed properly with the necessary braze ons. I could even leave that carbon fork on my bike and just add my Old Man Mountain front rack with front panniers as well. It's not the material so much as how it is engineered.

ElTejon

Thanks, saddlesores. I've been looking for carbon forks with low rider mounts and have found a couple. Niner makes one for its RLT (gravel/adventure bike), and Co-Motion makes one for its touring tandems called the, I think, T390. I think both of these can be bought separately, although I'm not sure of the price. The Specialized Diverge also comes with a carbon fork with rack mounts, but I doubt Specialized would sell the fork separately. Anyway, I think that sort of carbon fork together with a titanium frame would be an awesome lightweight touring set up.

alan s 

I've found the Lynskey Urbanskey, which is the predecessor to the Urbano and the same as the Cooper CX, makes a fine touring bike. The tube shaping on the frame stiffens it up enough to eliminate most flexing. My fully loaded steel Surly Troll is much more flexible. Here are a couple photos of my bike in medium and light touring setups. The only issue I'm now addressing is getting low enough gearing with the Ultegra drivetrain. Not too many options. I can run an 11-40 on the rear with a compact crankset and MTB derailleur, but for expedition touring or serious climbing, even that is not low enough for me.

Tourist in MSN

A friend of mine used the Habanero (possibly the same model as Robow above). He liked it. But he had a little trouble trying to get his panniers as far forward as possible to reduce shimmy while also maintaining adequate heel clearance. He used a Bontrager carbon fork that had rack fittings, but did not use a front rack on that trip. His rear rack was a Bontrager copy of the Tubus Logo. If you go this route, get the stiffest rack you can find, I think the Tubus Logo is very very stiff, that is what I use.

If I recall correctly he got one with 130mm dropout spacing. But if you go light, that should be adequate.

Unfortunately I do not have a good photo. In the photo, he is standing next to his bike, but it is not very easy to see.



Did you look at the Lynskey prices at Nashbar?

fietsbob

Built for that : https://lynskeyperformance.com/road/...ting/backroad/

antokelly

That is one class bike and set up i love it. what make is the bike have u a link to the website thanks.

antokelly

Alan all i can say is WOW .love the look of Lynskey bikes pure class.

ElTejon

Alan, thanks! Your "medium" touring set up looks like it's carrying as much or more gear than I would be carrying. If you think it's as stable and solid as the steel Surly, that's good to know.

I hear you about the gearing issues. Such a pain. Seems like only solution is to piece together a drivetrain and shifters/brifters with a triple crank.

alan s 

You'd have to pry my hydraulic disc brakes out of my hands before I'd go with a triple or anything else on that bike. Have an S&S coupled World Troller on order for an upcoming trip this summer, and hopefully many more in years to come. That bike will have a mountain triple to get me up anything, and hydraulic discs for the ride down. All I need now is to repurpose my 2011 Troll. Not sure what to do with it. Maybe a 1x11?

As I said in my earlier post, the Lynskey is stiffer under a comparable load than the Surly, which is a good thing. Titanium done right is a great material for a touring frame, because it is light, can be made reasonably stiff, completely rustproof and very durable, with a ride similar to CF or steel in terms of soaking up bumps. Probably doesn't hurt that the fork is CF.

ElTejon

Yeah, MTB drivetrains seem like a good way to go. You would not have brifters, though, right? Mountain levers and trigger shifters of some kind? And so upright bars instead of drops right? I was thinking maybe Jones H bars ...

antokelly

On my now sold Thorn Sherpa i had Shimamo xt771 groupset and Tiagra sti leavers worked perfect,i fitted an on line adjuster for rear mech the xt doesnt have a barrell adjuster.

Tim_Iowa

If you want to use drops and brifters with MTB gearing, you can use 10-speed Shimano brifters with a 9-speed MTB RD; they'll work perfectly together to index 10 gears across a wide-range cassette.
You have to use a road FD, though, MTB FDs have different cable pull than brifters. Using a road FD works with a 46-48t or larger big ring, but not much smaller.
10 and 11 speed MTB and 11 speed road aren't cross-compatible; just 7-10 speed road and 7-9 speed MTB.

I currently have a 3 x 10 setup on my Rivendell, shifting an 11-34 cassette with a RD-M772. Huge gearing range.

If you want to use flat/MTB/trekking bars, I highly recommend the Jones Loop bars. Some folks really like the butterfly/trekking bars, but I've never tried them.

ElTejon

Thanks, Tim. So you have a 3x10 set up with brifters? What brand/model? 105?

Tim_Iowa

No, I use 10-speed BS79 bar-ends. They use the same SIS standard as 10-speed brifters (except for 4700 Tiagra). Ultegra 6700, 105 5700, or Tiagra 4600 are all decent options, but you'll have to find the 6703/5703/4603 versions if you want to use a triple crank.
@antokelly makes a good point: Some 9-speed MTB RD's do not include a barrel adjuster (because there is one on the MTB shifter). Like him, I added an inline adjuster.

2 Piece

Well its not a Linksys, but here is my new Titanium frame Motobecane. I have been commuting with it for the last couple weeks and I really like it. It rides a bit stiffer but at the same time a little softer than my steel frame bike, if that makes any sense. I am planning a little 360 mile ride first of next week. I have no doubt it will make a decent touring bicycle.
I have a Axiom road bike rack mounted to the bike and it is rock solid. I used a mounting arm from another rack to attach the rack to one of the seat stay braze ons. I did not use the metal strip supplied with the rack that is suppose to attach the rack to the brake caliper on a rim brake road bike.
This bike has hydraulic disc brakes with briffters. I love hydraulic disc brakes, had them on one of my other bicycles- no comparison to rim brakes. It also has an 11 speed Ultegra cassette and derailleur.

rex615

I like your bike. I have a similar one with lesser kit. 105 SHimano 11 speed and BB7s. It has been great for overnighters and all day rides, it is very comfortable and climbs well. It is also fun to take on offroad explorations. It fits 40mm tires with room for fenders, which happen to be my next upgrade.

Squeezebox

Check out the Planet Bike Casscadia. Wide enough for 2" tires. plastic.

rex615

Thanks for the suggestion but I have already purchased a set of SKS Longboards. I still need to install them though.

2 Piece

Thanks rex615, I really like your bike as well, I'm digging the handlebars and brooks saddle for sure!

CentralCoastCA

@2 Piece which Axiom rack did you get. And, did you need to make any modifications are will attaching the rack? I like your comment, "Rock Solid". Thanks