slowgo

So I just bought my giant tcr, which I am enjoying thoroughly. I figured I would go ahead and sell my allez, as it is a little small for me. It went quickly to a coworker. He really dove in headfirst. I met him at the shop this morning where he had spent over $1000 on all of the para bike necessities. Garmin 510, helmet, shoes, etc. Nuts. But cool. I digress.
So I've got a little cash and figured I would look for a nice second bike around $1k. Kind of slim pickings seeing its the end of the model year. There's a small shop that opened up recently by a former pro rider. He advertises being a pinarello and focus dealer. Both too nice for my $1k budget for sure. Went in and he had an fp due, my size, on clearance for $2050. So my price range in mind for this second bike starts creeping up. Then I see a Lynskey Cooper hanging up on the rack. Brand new, he had built it up with a 10 speed 105 group, Easton EC70 fork, shimano r500 wheels. It's the industrial satin finish with the lynskey ti seatpost. Selling it for $2150. Rode both the pinarello and lynskey. I've never really liked pinarello's look. A little over the top. The fp due rode so nice though. But I just bought a great carbon bike in the giant. So the Lynskey is very appealing to me. It rode nice, I think a ti bike would be a nice compliment to my carbon and the price seems outstanding. Any thoughts on the lynskey cooper?

sbxx1985 

Buy the Lynskey.

fstshrk

Lynskey for sure (provided it fits you well).

And they keep their value.

rpenmanparker 

You're right Ti is a nice complement to CF. I have a TCR Advanced and an Everti Falcon, set up identically: group, cockpit, reach, drop, the whole nine yards. I love switching between them both ways.

Nachoman

I cana't think of one reason not to buy the Lynskey.

t595

I have a Kestrel full carbon and an older Lynskey R230. Both great bikes. I ride the Lynskey more - it feels a little better. Do it you will not regret the Lynskey purchase

slowgo

I'm going into the shop in the morning to put the lynskey on hold. Gotta sell a guitar to top off the purchase and keep my wife from killing me...anyone in the market for a great electric guitar?

slowgo

Put the Lynskey on hold this morning. Its a 2013 Industrial Mill finish frame with the Lynskey Ti seatpost that they had originally built up all Ultegra with a full carbon Easton cockpit and Kysrium wheels. They had it priced at over $4500 and it didn't move. So he rebuilt it, all 105, with a FSA Gossamer crank, FSA bar, Most stem, Most branded Selle Italia saddle, and R500 wheels. I priced out a Lynskey R350, built out with 105, Mill finish, Lynskey seatpost and no other upgrades and it is over $4k. I think this bike is a steal, knowing full well that I'll probably be tinkering with wheels, saddle, etc. But I cant wait to get it rolling.

a1penguin

Stop.... taunting.... us. I am so jealous. That's a great looking bike! Soooooo sexy.

PhotoJoe 

Great choice! I love my R230/105/FSA.

rpenmanparker 

If you can afford it, you may want to go with a slightly better and lighter crank. I am one of the rare fans of FSA cranks, but the Gossamer is nothing to write home about. See what kind of deal you can make on a 105 crank (if the BB shell allows it) or an FSA SLK Light.

slowgo

I figure the crankset and wheels will be quick swaps. The stem will be swapped as well, as it's a 90mm. The shop owner will fit me w one. Not sure what brand.

slowgo

Brought the Cooper home today. It's a typical summer afternoon in south Florida, so rain is keeping me from taking it out for a spin. Swapped out the headset for a Chris King Nothreadset, put a SSM Concor saddle on, Shimano R550 pedals and some S Wrap Roubaix bartape. Still need to swap the crank and BB for a 105 (to make it an all 105 build), wheels and tires. Also didn't realize until I got it home and unwrapped the bartape that it has a 40mm bar on it. I'll have to see how I like it, used to a 42mm.

DrPete 

The Cooper is a nice ride. I've been really happy with my R230/Red. I'm a full-on Ti grouch now--haven't even been interested in the carbon frame du jour anymore. It's just pure joy to ride, and made right here in the USA by some great people.

beatlebee 

Nice find.

too bad about the bar tape...

moppeddler

Lol, I just bought a Lynsky MTB just because I've always wanted a Ti bike. Not really a mountain biker, but it sure does look good in the garage!

moppeddler

Yeah, I think the red would be OK if it wasn't so bright. It'll look better when it gets dirtied up/ sun faded

slowgo

Too bright? It's not really that bright. It was low light and I was using aperture mode on my DSLR. But it does stand out a bit.

a1penguin

I like the red, but in the pic it's a tad bright. I makes the bike pop!

knobd

Sweet bike and good decision. I have an FP Due and love it. However in your case getting it would have been redundent. If I was in a situation currently owning the FP Due and had a choice between the TCR and the Lynsky the Lynsky would be a no brainer. Good luck with it.

slowgo

Took it out for the first ride early this morning. Had an early flight so was out the door at 5. Started raining really hard at about 4 but none when I was out, but a really wet ride. Had planned on putting my clear lenses in some tifosis I bought, but the nose bridge broke off while changing the lenses. So I was stuck wearing my prescription glasses. But they fogged up so I took them off. So in the end, first ride on a new bike, getting used to how it handles and the fitment, wet, dark and half blind. Got my normal 13.5 mile weekday ride in and the lynskey was great. It really feels compact with the narrow bars, and I think I'll be sliding the seat back about a centimeter or so. But overall, it's a great bike.

Munk69

Nice Bike!

bt

might need a setback seatpost.

thunderworks

The more you ride the Cooper, the more you'll probably like Ti bikes. I've owned 3 different Lynskey bikes and all have been truly wonderful (I currently have my medium R330 for sale if anyone is interested). Unless you're a go-go racer athlete, I think Ti is a fabulous compromise between efficiency and comfort and will last virtually forever. Congrats on the bike. Have fun.

slowgo

The Cooper is still a work in progress, but is coming along nicely. I got a great deal, and i have been feeling the effects of getting a good deal since. The bike really didn't fit well when i got it home after picking it up over my lunch break in my work clothes, but no worries, the shop owner said just bring it back in and he would dial it in for me. Shouldn't be too big of a deal, as he measured me up and tweaked the bike with a longer stem and dialing in the seat height and reach according to the measurements. Got it home, took it for a spin and realized real quick that the bike needs more than just a tweak. The standover height is right for me, but the reach is way too short. I thought the longer stem would have alleviated that, but it didn't. Don't want any more stem length as I'm already out over the front wheel and this isn't a race bike, and I'm certainly not a racer.
I pushed the seat back as far as i could on the rails after that early morning ride and figured i would take it out for my saturday morning ride of about 26 miles. it was torture. Way too tight, so i decided to take it back as soon as i had a chance and see about a wider bar, possibly a setback post, etc. Happened to drive by that shop during work a few days later, and the shop was closed down! Not a mention from the shop owner or his employee who i dealt with about them closing this location while i was buying. There goes any tweaking or other service after the sale. they do have another location, but its about 45 mins from me. He also told me during my discussions with him that this is "this year's frame". I knew it had been in there for a while, as he mentioned he had built up with ultegra first and tried to sell it unsuccessfully, so i figured its probably a 2013. After contacting Lynskey about swapping the seatpost for a setback one, i came to realize this is a pre 2012 Cooper frame, as it has a 31.6 seat tube. New ones have a 27.2, and they only make a 27.2 setback post. But Don and Michael at Lynskey were helpful and willing to swap it if i wanted to anyway. Wouldn't work of course, but I appreciated their willingness to help. I figured I'm on my own with this bike, no more help really available from the dealer, so I'll just make it a project to really change it into the bike i want it to be. Digging into the virtual parts bin and seeking out deals on bits that I'm looking for.

Changes so far-

Easton EC70 Aero bars, 42mm
Easton EC70 stem, 100mm
Mavic Cosmic Elite wheels and Yksion tires

Still to come

Thomson Elite setback seat post (the lynskey stock post is for sale)
Shimano 105 crankset and bottom bracket (to match the rest of the 105 group, don't care about how much of an upgrade it is over the FSA)