I can't really comment much about them yet but I just picked up this beaut. It's an XL Pro GR with external routing and 2x with 11/34 and HED Belgium + Rims with Chris King hubs and finishing kit. Not ridden gravel yet but will report back.
I received my GR300 3 weeks ago. I’ve only ridden it about 250 miles and it still needs a few tweaks and different bars, but so far I love how it rides.
I've got a GR270 with Ultegra di2. I'm 6 feet and got a size ML based on stack and reach and I'm really happy with the bike, my previous gravel bike was a Devinci Hatchet which felt longer and a bit slacker on the front end. It feels different than carbon but that's expected, my tire pressure choices had to be rethought but I've got it figured out now. I find this bike to be agile but still nailed to the ground and to have a more road bike feeling when climbing. As others have said it's a bit over built, mostly in the back, but I'm good with that despite a bit of weight penalty.You can race on it or bikepack with it. I've ridden it on everything from pavement to easy-ish single track and with tires from 32mm to 43mm it's great all the time. Like many gravel bikes it's one bike to rule them all. I can only think of 3 negative things to say. 1) The handle bar it came with is currently living a happy life on my road bike and the Lynskey now has a Cowbell. The stock bar makes no sense on a gravel bike. 2) I do wish I could mount cages on the fork. 3) I got the Ti seat post and it took me too long to find on their site that the torque specs have to be ignored to keep your saddle from doing very uncomfortable things. The seat post is an entirely aesthetic choice, a carbon post would probably be better but the Ti one looks really sharp.
Zurichman wrote:I am curious o how this bike compares to the T labs x-3 that I just saw JOM reviewed at Gravel Cyclists.
Zman
T-labs isn't as overbuilt in the back so probably a bit lighter but The lynskey has a threaded BB which trumps all for me. I live in Montreal, T-Labs is short drive away, I'd love to buy from them, my wife has a Guru which is what they used to, but on a gravel bike a threaded BB is big for me.
A little late to the party here, but I bought a GR300 with GRX600 (built myself) about 4 months ago and I love it. Like you, my previous gravel bikes were kind of CX and were steel (Gunnar and All City), as well one AL (Specialized Crux).
The Lynskey is phenomenal. Perfect fit for me. Their taller HTs mean I have only little drop from saddle bar, which means I use the drops and hooks a lot more. The ride is very smooth. I don’t find it harsh at all and find the All City Macho Man to be stiffer. I’m sure it’s not as a stiff as the popular carbon offerings these days but that’s fine by me. I ride it on gravel trails and roads, a fair bit of single track, in the Rockies. I’ll take it on a bike packing trip for the first time next week.
Hello, I finished building my GR270 in February of this year. It has the etched Adventure graphics and a Ti head badge. With pedals but no cages, it weighs 20.9 lbs. It features the following: White Industries CLD hubs, H+ Son Hydra rims, 38c Gravel King with reinforced sidewall, SRAM Force 1X crank, Force hydraulic levers and brakes, FSA adventure bars with 6 degree flare, Fabric Scoop saddle with Ti rails. The bike has been great with one exception. The tubeless setup is less than reliable. The tire burps very easily on this rim. I just put together a bikepacking setup. I'm planning a short trip up s240 around Linville Gorge. Why does my picture get inverted when I upload it?
It took a while - due to Shimano supply issues - but my GR300 arrived some weeks ago. I couldn't be happier with it. Has the GRX800 2x build. The drive train lives up to the promise - very smooth and flawless shifting. I miss the ability to do multiple up-shifts in one movement, but I'm a Campy guy on every drop-bar bike but this one. Base wheels are just fine. Stock saddle and seatpost were replaced with preferred parts from my parts box.
It's fun to ride, comfortable, fits me well, stiff where it should be, handles cornering as it should. I'd buy it again!
Am toying with the idea of a 650b wheel set and some fat slicks for winter road riding.
And I'd upload a photo but keep getting some HTTP error...
ed6061 wrote: Am toying with the idea of a 650b wheel set and some fat slicks for winter road riding. .
I'd recommend Schwalbe G-One Allround for winter (that is what I use). They have great grip on the cold wet roads that are prevalent in the winter, and they have surprisingly good grip in snow. Very confidence building (if not riding ice!).
Do any of you know a similar bike with higher stack height? I'd take steel or titanium. The goal is a less stiff and less heavy duty bike than my Sutra Ltd and accommodate my losing height and neck comfort with age. A bike that would still accommodate 45 - 48 mm tires.
I had a new Lynskey GR 270 exactly 2 yrs ago. While I liked the geometry and tall stack, I found it a very stiff ride - particularly at the front end due to the ultra stiff Lynskey fork and head tube shape. I sold for that reason. You'll want to look for a steel or ti frame and fork using as small diameter tubes as you can find and a straight (not flared) head tube.
Black Mountain Cycles makes such a bike in steel at a very reasonable price. I have one and it's much more forgiving and lively than my Lynskey was. They're hard to get hold of, though, because the owner only has a limited amount built each year. Other than that, you might have to go custom with a builder who will make a bike with small diameter tubing - and not all will agree to do so because they believe that high strength and stiffer is always better.
That forgiving "vintage ride feel" is more about tubing diameter than it is material.
nellborg wrote:I had a new Lynskey GR 270 exactly 2 yrs ago. While I liked the geometry and tall stack, I found it a very stiff ride - particularly at the front end due to the ultra stiff Lynskey fork and head tube shape. I sold for that reason. You'll want to look for a steel or ti frame and fork using as small diameter tubes as you can find and a straight (not flared) head tube.
Black Mountain Cycles makes such a bike in steel at a very reasonable price. I have one and it's much more forgiving and lively than my Lynskey was. They're hard to get hold of, though, because the owner only has a limited amount built each year. Other than that, you might have to go custom with a builder who will make a bike with small diameter tubing - and not all will agree to do so because they believe that high strength and stiffer is always better.
That forgiving "vintage ride feel" is more about tubing diameter than it is material.
Thank you.
A friend has a Black Mountain but the shop owner who has them made has no idea when he'll get more frames nor switch to flat mount brakes.
I know a fair amount about the tubing having once worked for a firm that taught things to the bike industry and funding a builder no longer around.
Waterford/Gunnar looks attractive for what I'm after - lots of experience, options, and with relatively decent wait and pricing.
I can't really comment much about them yet but I just picked up this beaut. It's an XL Pro GR with external routing and 2x with 11/34 and HED Belgium + Rims with Chris King hubs and finishing kit. Not ridden gravel yet but will report back.
