2017 Lynskey Pro GR

donavan wrote:

Just wondering if you upgraded and whether you managed to hit mid 20's?

Also, what are your impressions of the fork? I'm building one up in the same size, but have yet to buy a fork.

Upgraded with wheels built by Mill City Cycles (see my other posts in wheels section), 1x force crank, XX1 cassette and it's just over 19 lbs.

I love the way the bike rides. Very stable on high speed, rough descents. The only thing that I don't like about the Lynskey fork is that the axle is a proprietary design so aftermarket axles do not work. Check with them and see if the axle is still 2.0 thread pitch. If so then you might want to go with another fork.

Great info!

That’s one thing I didn’t consider with the Lynskey fork so thanks for that.

Just over 19 lbs is very impressive

I was going to get a size M/L GR260 as well. I have to admit that I'll be riding on paved paths and roads most of the time, riding on unsealed paths and roads less often. Was also considering the Lynskey Urbano... Not 100% sure atm. 

In two minds about teh Lynskey fork, mainly because it's 12mm thru-axle, whereas the 3T Letues fork has a standard mntb 15mm axle, which would broaden your wheel options. Still, you can get adaptors most to convert a lot of 15mm to 12mm, and vice versa. 

The Lynskey fork seems an attractive option if it’s bundled into a deal with a frame. I didn’t consider the axle, but as others have pointed out the thread pitch is an issue as you can’t use 3rd party axles plus 12 mm also means adapters required if you have existing 15 hubs.

I’ve seen a few other options.

Otso Hiili fork has massive clearance. The negative for me is the lack of mounts for accessories.

Fyxation have a new fork set to be released in November. All carbon steerer so lighter weight, but tire clearance max is 42. Mounts for everything are the plus.

Rodeo Spork would be my first choice. Their current fork has a recommended max clearance of 42. Can’t run 650 2.1 though. I’ve been in touch with them and they have a new fork in he works which will address the clearance.

And then there is the Salsa Waxwing prototype. Looks like this is the one, but no info on dates/ availability.

I’m running flat mount so the 3T, Whiskey etc are not contenders.

Sounds like the current Spork could work for you though, but depends on your brake mount.

You may also look at the Curve GXR Carbon Fork https://www.curvecycling.com.au/collections/forks/products/fork-gxr-12mm-flat-mount. You can get it with eyelets for racks.

I got one for my Why R+. Used it with 700*40 and 27.5*2.1 both on pavement, on gravel roads and on some singletrack. It is stiff and has lots of room to spare. A very good choice in my opinion.

cyclostf wrote:You may also look at the Curve GXR Carbon Fork https://www.curvecycling.com.au/collections/forks/products/fork-gxr-12mm-flat-mount. You can get it with eyelets for racks.

I got one for my Why R+. Used it with 700*40 and 27.5*2.1 both on pavement, on gravel roads and on some singletrack. It is stiff and has lots of room to spare. A very good choice in my opinion.

Thanks for that handy info.

That fork has clearance deluxe!

Just curious as to the handling with 51mm rake. What size Why R+ are you riding? That bike looks sweet too!

Handling is just fine. The R+ is built around the ENVE cross fork which has a 47mm rake. So, the 4mm difference is unnoticeable with the tires I am using.

I bought a Large frame. With the Sram Force 1x groupset and i9 AR25 TRA alloy wheels and 40mm tires, the bike weights just a bit over 18 lbs. It is fitted with a 10-42 cassette and 40t chaingring. My second wheelset (Hope trail 27.5) is heavier, bringing the bike around 20lbs with an e13 9-46 cassette.

I almost bought a Lynskey (I already have Lynskey road and mountain bikes), but they didn't have the size I was looking for, I didn't like their fork and they charged an awful lot of money for a Sram Force 1 groupset. I am sure I would have been happy with the GR frame, but for just a bit more, the Why seemed like a better option.

A R+ with a Fox AX fork will be my next build.

cyclostf wrote:Handling is just fine. The R+ is built around the ENVE cross fork which has a 47mm rake. So, the 4mm difference is unnoticeable with the tires I am using.

I bought a Large frame. With the Sram Force 1x groupset and i9 AR25 TRA alloy wheels and 40mm tires, the bike weights just a bit over 18 lbs. It is fitted with a 10-42 cassette and 40t chaingring. My second wheelset (Hope trail 27.5) is heavier, bringing the bike around 20lbs with an e13 9-46 cassette.

I almost bought a Lynskey (I already have Lynskey road and mountain bikes), but they didn't have the size I was looking for, I didn't like their fork and they charged an awful lot of money for a Sram Force 1 groupset. I am sure I would have been happy with the GR frame, but for just a bit more, the Why seemed like a better option.

I just ordered a Curve GXR with eyelets.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Will post an update once I receive it and get it fitted. I'm hoping to come in under 20lbs with Di2 1x. 

Right now I only have 1 wheelset which is currently seeing duty on my MTB. I'll likely look at a 27.5 wheelset in the future. DT XMC 1200 have been on sale for a while in Europe. I just need to pull the trigger.

I ordered some WTB Reolutes for the current wheelset and received 2 tires with mismatched treads. I'll likely never notice, but decided to return anyway. Pretty weird that they were both mismatched and WTB didn't pick it up in QC. 

 

Hi guys,
very nice pictures and very nice bikes.
I was hoping you can help me with the decision what size i should choose with the Lynsky Gr 260.
I think you have quite an experince with that .
I am 180 cm ( 5″11) and my inner leg height is 34.
I will us  it mainly for bikepacking , so i was not quite sure if i should choose the L
Thanks so much for your help,
all the best
dom

If it's any help, I'm 5'11", 32" inseam, and have ordered the M/L GR260 with 25mm set back seat post.

Can't tell you how it fits yet, haven't received it, but all my other road/CX bikes are 56cm, as is the M/L (56.5cm).

Hi ,
does anybody know something about the salsa 110 firestarter carbon deluxe fork.
would it be a match for the lynskey , or is it more Mtb.
thanks for your thoughts .
greetings
dom  

pieteraertsen wrote:Hi ,
does anybody know something about the salsa 110 firestarter carbon deluxe fork.
would it be a match for the lynskey , or is it more Mtb.
thanks for your thoughts .
greetings
dom

The axle to crown length on that fork is 483mm which is almost 100mm longer than a std gravel fork.  That would throw the geometry and handling out of whack.

Completed my build this morning. Took me a few too many days, but thats mainly due to lack of a work stand and I had some issues with Di2 and getting my front brakes setup.

My build is as follows:
ML frame with Curve GRX fork (more on the latter in a bit)
Wheels DT350 hubs with WTB i19 rim rear and DT XR361 22.5 front
11-40 XTR cassette with 54 star ratchet = LOUD
Ultegra crankset with Wolftooth 38t chainring 
Ultegra Di2 hydraulic shifters and brakes
XT Di2 derailleur 
FSA disc rotors
Syntace P6 seatpost
Fabric saddle
Salsa Cowchipper carbon bars 440mm with Fizik 3mm bar tape
Race face stem 90mm.. I might try a slightly shorter stem
Maxxis Ravager 700x40 tubeless 

And what everybody wants to know....

WEIGHT 9.5kg or 21lbs

Had my first ride this afternoon. All I can say is WOW. Very compliant. Soaks up gravel. The Syntace has a tendency to give you a slight bobbing feeling, but I'm hoping to get used to that. I ran the tires at 35psi front and 37psi rear which ended up being great for gravel, but a little too soft for where I ended up. I rode a stretch of singletrack that I normally mtb. Rocks and roots. Chose my lines a little more carefully and only had to dismount twice! I could feel the tires working at their limit with the lower psi. A really good test and the bike really passed with flying colors. I see a 27.5 wheelset in my future.

A note on the Curve GRX. These guys are in Australia. I placed my order on the 14th and 6 days later DHL were at my Midwest US door dropping the fork. I think it worked out around $450 USD total. No customs duty. The fork is awesome. Triple mount on each side. I had 2 small issues although they really were minor. There was some gummy glue residue just where the crown race needed to be set. I rubbed it off with my finger and managed to seat the lower race with a 1.5 inch PVC pipe. Took a few whacks, but got a good seat in the end. When it came time to set up the brakes I struggled a lot. Eventually I took off the caliper and realized that there was excess paint on the mounts. Took a flat Stanley blade and carefully faced them smooth. Brakes are perfect now.

Note that its a 12mm thru axle. I bought adapters for my DT hubs. My rear axle is a DT with the removable handle. Bonus is its the same size hex for the front.

How does it ride. Pretty damn well for my first impression. Highly recommended. 

  Looking forward to shredding up my grass in the next few months. My wife is gonna hate me.    Great clearance!        I cleared those roots no problem although I do mtb so have 'advanced' skills.  Bluetooth in the left side and EW RS910 in the right. Modified handlebar.

Nice build, looks great.

A few questions:
1. How tall are you? Inseam?
2. What crank arm length did you go with?
3. Why didn't you want the Lynskey gravel forks?
4. Where did you get the Cowchipper bars, and how much?
5. 90mm stem already seems a tad short, wouldn't the front end feel twitchy?

I've got an M/L GR260 coming, with Lynskey gravel forks. I'm 5'11", 32" inseam. 

Awesome Donovan,
Happy for you, looks great.
Good choice think with the curve.
Hope I can order this week.
All the best .
Dom

Hi Donovan,
One thing what would interest me is a longtime review on the handlebar and the fork feelings.
As well about the seatpost.
I am currently thinking about the same 3 parts.
Would be great if you can share experience about drive feelings and behavior.
Thanks again.
All the best and have fun.
Dom

m0ngy wrote:Nice build, looks great.

A few questions:
1. How tall are you? Inseam?
2. What crank arm length did you go with?
3. Why didn't you want the Lynskey gravel forks?
4. Where did you get the Cowchipper bars, and how much?
5. 90mm stem already seems a tad short, wouldn't the front end feel twitchy?

I've got an M/L GR260 coming, with Lynskey gravel forks. I'm 5'11", 32" inseam. 

1. I am the same height. 5'11 or 181cm with a 33" inseam
2. 172.5mm. I can't tell the difference between this and the 175mm on my mtb
3. A few reasons. No mounts on the legs. Axle thread pitch isn't compatible with 3rd party axles. Price. There are plenty of other options out there for cheaper. If you buy it as a package from Lynskey then that last point is moot.
4. Westernbikeworks. I think i got 20% off over 4th July. Reg $215
5. This is a hard one for me as I come from a mtb background. My mtb stem is 70mm and I could probably go down another 10mm. Bar width plays a role here. I ride with 780mm mtb bars. The cowchippers are 440mm. Wider bars stretch you more hence the shorter stem. Keep in mind that the bike has slack geometry. For me I felt a little too stretched out. I rode a stretch of technical singletrack that I felt the bike handled very well. You're going to have to ride your bike and see how it feels and then tune it accordingly. 

One thing I can you is that those tires I rode were amazing. Grippy and the bike felt very smooth at mid 30s psi.

Enjoy!

Wow, you're like my doppelganger, from your size, crank arm length, mtnbike background, even stem length... Lol. 

I've got two Thomson X4 mtb stems to try, a 100mm/0 offset, and a 90mm/6 degree offset. I've also got two seat posts to try, a Lynskey 400mm/25mm setback titanium, and a Thomson Masterpiece straight 330mm. I'll start out with the 100mm stem and setback seat post, see how I go.

A few years ago, I got an amazing deal on an XL Santa Cruz Highball 29 CC, with Enve M50's, XX1, etc, which was slightly too large for me, but I stuck a 70mm stem on it and just got used to it. It reminded me of my old 1996 M2 Stumpjumper, which also had a long top tube, roomy cockpit. Subsequently, my 56cm, 2014 Crux Expert felt slightly small, thus I've retained a longish stem for the GR260, and setback seat post. I don't think I have the height or leg length to step-up another whole size, to 58cm. 

Been difficult sourcing a decent set of adventure bars. I've bought and returned two drop bars already, without even trying them on the bike. The first were 46cm Thomson carbon road bars, really liked the oversized, oval shape and feel of the back part of the bars, but the drop was massive, too much for my liking. I then bought a set of 44cm 3T Ergonova LTD Stealth carbon drop bars, but found the size measurement was taken from the bottom of the drops, which meant they were actually 42cm at the top, looked small, I want wide bars. Then I bought a set of 46cm Easton EC70 AX carbon adventure drop bars, which failed to arrive, got all the way here to Melbourne, only for the carrier to send them back to the US. So, yeah, haha, not easy.

I've got a Mavic Allroad Pro UST wheelset, which comes with their 40mm tyres. Always wanted to try a Mavic factory wheelset, but their hubs were renowned for being made of cheese in the past. Haven't even used them and I'm somewhat dubious, as they've got some rubber inside the freehub, which makes them almost silent. Being a mtnbiker, I'm used to Chris King, Hadley, and Hope hubs, which sound like a machine gun as you're coasting through the forest, haha. 

Cheers mate.