Better deal alert: lynskey r350 $2,995



Why buy the Ribble? It will run rings around the Lynskey.

Read the reviews. The R872 has been around since 2013 and Ribble has been in business since 1879. The R872 is a full-on stiff-stiff-stiff frame that builds up to under the UCI weight limit with a 2Kg wheel set. Read the reviews over the last three years and read the multiple magazine articles where it has won Best In Test, Bike Of The Year, etc. The reviews are absolutely glowing on this bike and the standard price.

No matter who you buy your bike from, you're going to pay shipping. Either in the retail price or from any online re-seller. Competitive Cyclist charges $99. Performance does have that sweet $20 deal running right now, but their prices are a bit high for a Fuji Ultegra in store or mail order. And it's Oval-equipped. But, at least it's carbon fiber.

One has Vision 30 alloy 30 MM profile tank wheels. One has Rodi or in my case shimaNO R330 30 MM alloy tank wheels. All three are decent enough wheels for training. None are worth racing on.

Lynskey's shipping charges on the discontinued R350 from Tennessee to Ohio are:
$135.57 UPS Ground, $243.75 UPS Second Day Air and $466.98 UPS Next Day Air.

Ribble offers a standard 6 year warranty on the frame and fork. Lynskey offers lifetime on the frame, 1 year on the fork.

One costs more than 2X the price of the other.

The Lynskey is hardly a 'deal' at three thousand dollars in an era of sub-$2000 Ultegra carbon machines to choose from.

I still own a 2006 Lynskey Litespeed. It's a wet noodle. I rode it for a year and put it in storage. The lifetime guaranty won't be needed.

For the money I could buy two R872's, demolish one in a crit stack up and still be a bike ahead.
 
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Now here's a better deal for the old geezer that's hung up on Ti: http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikes/road-bikes/titanium-road-bikes/

$1400-$1950 on sale plus that 'weird tax' (you don't import much stuff, I take it) that runs 5.5%...less than your local bike shop charges I'm guessing. It's called an "import duty" or "tariff". I've been paying that duty since I was a young man importing shoes and clothing from Italy and later importing bikes from Canada.

800x500px_ti_sportive.png
 
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Another good deal:
http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10053_10052_582332_-1___204687

$1800 with 25% off =$1350.

Ultegra group, shimaNO wheels, FSA cockpit. Free shipping until tomorrow, when regular rates apply again.

And if it really matters to you...Nashbar offers its famous 'Forever Guarantee' on every Nashbar branded product, including the bikes it sells. No need to get burned on something costing 2-1/4 times as much for a product that will be obsolete in a few short years.
 
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Why buy the Ribble? It will run rings around the Lynskey.

Read the reviews. The R872 has been around since 2013 and Ribble has been in business since 1879. The R872 is a full-on stiff-stiff-stiff frame that builds up to under the UCI weight limit with a 2Kg wheel set. Read the reviews over the last three years and read the multiple magazine articles where it has won Best In Test, Bike Of The Year, etc. The reviews are absolutely glowing on this bike and the standard price.

No matter who you buy your bike from, you're going to pay shipping. Either in the retail price or from any online re-seller. Competitive Cyclist charges $99. Performance does have that sweet $20 deal running right now, but their prices are a bit high for a Fuji Ultegra in store or mail order. And it's Oval-equipped. But, at least it's carbon fiber.

One has Vision 30 alloy 30 MM profile tank wheels. One has Rodi or in my case shimaNO R330 30 MM alloy tank wheels. All three are decent enough wheels for training. None are worth racing on.

Lynskey's shipping charges on the discontinued R350 from Tennessee to Ohio are:
$135.57 UPS Ground, $243.75 UPS Second Day Air and $466.98 UPS Next Day Air.

Ribble offers a standard 6 year warranty on the frame and fork. Lynskey offers lifetime on the frame, 1 year on the fork.

One costs more than 2X the price of the other.

The Lynskey is hardly a 'deal' at three thousand dollars in an era of sub-$2000 Ultegra carbon machines to choose from.

I still own a 2006 Lynskey Litespeed. It's a wet noodle. I rode it for a year and put it in storage. The lifetime guaranty won't be needed.

For the money I could buy two R872's, demolish one in a crit stack up and still be a bike ahead.

Your response doesn't surprise me the least bit, after all if a bike company has been around since 1879 then their the best bike company in the world...never mind the fact that the Ribble CF bike is made in China as a generic no brand model, never mind the fact that Ribble's customer service is slacking. But if you're going to buy a bike from Ribble then you might as well save some money and get a bike from Bikes Direct that will be of the same quality for less with free shipping in the USA and no taxes.

Speaking of Bikes Direct, they have the highly favored and reviewed Motobecane Titanium line of bikes that is even less expensive than the Lynskey but it is made in Taiwan.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/lechamp_ti_10.htm same price as the Ribble but without the shipping and taxes, plus at least it says Motobecane and Ribble which would surly affect the resale value. Of course a Lynskey would be far better in the resale department then the Motobecane and especially the Ribble. Oh, and the Motobecane has a lifetime warranty on the frame and factory warranties on everything else.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/lechamp_slti_xiv.htm
 
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I don't sell bikes. They have almost no resale value no matter what decal is slapped on them. I've owned a metric **** ton name brands and a bunch of unknowns. None of them are worth much at five years old...or less. Technology progresses and bikes are quickly obsolete. I buy for speed, not resale.

Motobecane is another 'no name' chicom bike. There is no Motobecane. It's just a decal. The firm has been dead for years. I'm not saying the Moto's from BD aren't good deals. They are. As far as it being cheaper than a $3000 discontinued Lynskey Ultegra...what isn't? $2k has been the price point for years for an Ultegra bike with $1500 being the norm of late regardless of frame material. Anything under that is a screaming good deal. And even Arni Nashbar/Performance is beating the snot out of the $1500 mark as referenced above.

$3 large? It better be blessed by the Pope and have Campagnolo Chorus hung all over it for that money.

Ribble has always given me great service.Two of my three orders are on the way to America. Under $800 each so no import duties and free shipping. What's your *****, again? Oh...now I remember. Buying 2-1/4 bikes for the price of one.

TREK, Cannondale, Spesh...almost every model in their lineup is a chicom-built product be it steel, Ti, aluminum or carbon.

Lynskey's stuff is nice, but nothing special. Merlin, Seven,IF and a ton of others do the exact same builds in the same material. Spiral tubing...now there's a 8th Wonder Of The World...

Maybe we can bring back Hetchin's Diadraent stays or Cantiflex tubing next..wait...you can still buy a Magnum Opus if you're that silly. And yes, owners of both say Cannonwhale carbon AND aluminum ride better over rough roads. Who'lda thunk it?!
 
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I like my R350 a lot, but then I'm an old geezer. I like metal bikes in general, and nothing is more "metal" than a brushed ti frame with bare welds. I just like the industrial look I guess. And the fact it's made nearby, that I could go to the factory see where it was made, and pick it up.

And I like that it has Lynskey laser-etched on the downtube instead of a Motobecane or Scattante decal. And that it doesn't shout Trek, C'dale or Giant in a dozen places.

But at the end of the day, I don't really notice what people are riding anymore. On our regular weekly ride, we've got a Madone, a Litespeed, a Rodreguez/Rohloff or Soma, and me. Doesn't really matter, as long as the guy on the steel bike gives me a good leadout for the speed-limit sign sprint.
 
Not sure why you like to argue CAMPY BOBBY, but I didn't think it was necessary to say directly that Moto was just a decal and not a company any more since most people on this forum already knew that fact, I did mention directly that Moto and Ribble are the same type of operation, just a decal slapped on a bike, but unlike the Ribble we do know that the Moto TI bike is made by ORA which is Asia's foremost titanium frame builder and the welds that I've seen are just as good as even an expensive Serotta, whereas with the Ribble we don't have a clue just some randomly selected CF manufacture that builds the same frame for probably several companies with decals slapped on as orders are filled.

And if you check the internet Ribble customer service to America has not been very good, not sure about the UK.

Lynskey stuff nothing special? you make me laugh with your ignorance. Lynskey is the original owner and founder of Litespeed, another bike that is nothing special I guess, I digest, anywho, Lynskey, when he owned Litespeed, was the only TI builder in the USA that was tapped for doing special work for NASA and because of their expertise in titanium, all the other builders were not selected because their expertise was not as good. Lynskey also created a certain manufacturing techinque that is now used by all TI builders in the US, something of which was on the Litespeed website but I think Litespeed had to remove that history because the new owners were taking credit for this stuff when in fact the credit belonged to Lynskey. David Lynskey is also an engineer not just a frame builder, which other frame builders cannot put on their resumes. Lynskey and Litespeed cold worked their own TI sheets and welded their own seams so they could make the tubes to their specs which again no other TI builder could do. Also the Lynskey family started working with titanium way back in 1962, then they started Litespeed in 1986, this is some serious experience going on with Lynskey that no other TI builder can brag about. Even Lance Armstrong raced and won time trial races at the TDF with the Litespeed Blade, among other races and race teams to numerous to list.

So yeah, you're right as always, nothing special about Lynskey, just another piece of **** TI bike when compared to others. LOL!!
 
And if you check the internet Ribble customer service to America has not been very good, not sure about the UK.

Not 10 minutes ago I received an unsolicited email from Ben Jones, the service manager at Ribble, to advise me that I should NOT be expecting any delay in shipment number three and that a PDI was all that was necessary prior to dispatch. So...should I believe you, the internet or...Ben Jones and my prior experience with Ribble. And with Wiggle. And with Chain Reaction. And with Halfords. And with PBK. And with...eh. Why bother. You already know Ribble and all the others are top shelf.

Yup. Know all about Lynskey. Own one. Not impressed. Doubt if I ever ride it again. You don't see any Litespeed or Lynskey or Merlin or IF Ti stuff anymore...other than when an aging baby boomer comes out for their biannual club ride.

oops...
6882929549_7420f84b71_o.jpg


oops...THIRD cracked Lynskey for this owner...thank God Lynskey is...special.
1005987d1438533866-3rd-cracked-lynskey-ti-anyone-else-broken-one-more-img_2768.jpg


oops...recognize the head badge? Probably covering another crack.
6882920333_5149f73e7b_o.jpg


oops...Lynskey repaired this one under that very much needed lifetime warranty. Guess the owner is glad he didn't buy a no name Ti frame!
Picture%252520177.jpg


oops...Titanium! A bike for life! Well...maybe if your life is only 5-10 years or so...
too_hard-2.jpg


oops...so which has better fatigue strength...carbon or Ti? Never mind. We already know the answer to that question!
IMG_0075.JPG


So...do we really need to keep going with our display of Lynskey awesomeness? I mean, he has experience no other builder can brag about! I'm thinking of turning mine into a lamp, but I'm concerned about it asploding!
 
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I like my R350 a lot, but then I'm an old geezer. I

Ahah! I KNEW it! LOL!

Doesn't really matter, as long as the guy on the steel bike gives me a good leadout for the speed-limit sign sprint.

The sprinting hierarchy:
Steel get passed by...everybody.
Ti gets passed by aluminum and carbon
Aluminum gets passed by carbon.
 
Not 10 minutes ago I received an unsolicited email from Ben Jones, the service manager at Ribble, to advise me that I should NOT be expecting any delay in shipment number three and that a PDI was all that was necessary prior to dispatch. So...should I believe you, the internet or...Ben Jones and my prior experience with Ribble. And with Wiggle. And with Chain Reaction. And with Halfords. And with PBK. And with...eh. Why bother. You already know Ribble and all the others are top shelf.

Yup. Know all about Lynskey. Own one. Not impressed. Doubt if I ever ride it again. You don't see any Litespeed or Lynskey or Merlin or IF Ti stuff anymore...other than when an aging baby boomer comes out for their biannual club ride.

oops...
6882929549_7420f84b71_o.jpg


oops...THIRD cracked Lynskey for this owner...thank God Lynskey is...special.
1005987d1438533866-3rd-cracked-lynskey-ti-anyone-else-broken-one-more-img_2768.jpg


oops...recognize the head badge? Probably covering another crack.
6882920333_5149f73e7b_o.jpg


oops...Lynskey repaired this one under that very much needed lifetime warranty. Guess the owner is glad he didn't buy a no name Ti frame!
Picture%252520177.jpg


oops...Titanium! A bike for life! Well...maybe if your life is only 5-10 years or so...
too_hard-2.jpg


oops...so which has better fatigue strength...carbon or Ti? Never mind. We already know the answer to that question!
IMG_0075.JPG


So...do we really need to keep going with our display of Lynskey awesomeness? I mean, he has experience no other builder can brag about! I'm thinking of turning mine into a lamp, but I'm concerned about it asploding!

Except for one small thing, you're lying to make a point, the second picture is not a Lynskey, it's an El Mariachi made for Salsa by an overseas factory TI bike you took a photo off the image site on the internet and posted here to make your now useless point, really you scream? yes really see: http://forums.mtbr.com/salsa/titanium-breakages-789880.html then scan down to post #21 and note the picture, note who owns the bike, and note which bike brand the owner states the bike was made by.

The first image is a bike that was raced on off road because it was a mountain bike, so know mention as to the abuse that was given it that caused the break, this bike isn't yours unless your name is Shaun Taylor; see: http://shaundoreenevankeegan.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-lynskey-developed-cracked-top-tube.html

The third image isn't even a TI bike, it's an aluminum one that broke, surely not a Lynskey;
cycling_6.jpg

http://www.carrswelding.co.uk/repairs/cycling/ see the fourth picture and click on it.

So whats next campy bobby? do I post thousands of pictures of CF bikes that broke? how about a Ribble bike? https://www.google.com/search?
q=broken+ribble+carbon+fiber+bikes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ0fT4qd7QAhUOxmMKHbSmB3UQ_AUICSgC&biw=1024&bih=516#tbm=isch&q=cracked+ribble+frames&imgrc=dr4RRBIYeesNCM%3A

https://www.google.com/search?q=broken+ribble+carbon+fiber+bikes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ0fT4qd7QAhUOxmMKHbSmB3UQ_AUICSgC&biw=1024&bih=516#tbm=isch&q=cracked+ribble+frames&imgrc=5LQ3q5nkH0dUvM:

https://www.google.com/search?q=broken+ribble+carbon+fiber+bikes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ0fT4qd7QAhUOxmMKHbSmB3UQ_AUICSgC&biw=1024&bih=516#tbm=isch&q=cracked+ribble+frames&imgrc=i1s4yDRmkTMXxM:

https://www.google.com/search?q=broken+ribble+carbon+fiber+bikes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ0fT4qd7QAhUOxmMKHbSmB3UQ_AUICSgC&biw=1024&bih=516#tbm=isch&q=cracked+ribble+frames&imgrc=V70nqKmTDjTWsM:
 
My bad...the caption said Lynskey. Still, you can't refute Lynskey is nothing but the same **** everyone else turns out. The pictures and posts prove it. Nothing special at all. Durability on par with anything else you get lucky with.

They all break. Litespeed/Lynskey's before the buyout were notorious for their failures. The only reason I took a chance on one was the deal. It was dirt cheap because they could not give the damned things away...and I soon found out why. Wet noodle ride. Great for geezers, I suppose, though.

And then Litespeed discovered carbon. Maybe Lynskey will in time also. Old geezers are dying off at record pace.

Nope, no need to convince me that carbon can break. I already had one Wilier crack. No big deal. It was cheap and the freebie was shipped out fast from the no-name factory in China. Unlike you, I KNOW they all fail so I buy them cheap and stack them deep. Emphasis on cheap. Your favorite attribute.

The Ribble R872 is made with Toray T800 prepreg so it stands a decent shot at going into that 6-year warranty. By then, who the **** cares how good or bad it is? It's an obsolete piece of space junk by then. I'll be sure and let you know as I pound the living **** out of it and blow by geezers tooling up the road on their Lynskey's.
 
Here ya go, Froze...I'll make up for the fake Lynsky pic.

http://forums.mtbr.com/29er-bikes/3rd-cracked-lynskey-ti-anyone-else-broken-one-more-947908.html
"3rd Cracked Lynskey Ti. Anyone else broken one or more?
1st Ridgeline 29 SL - 815 miles, cracked.

2nd Ridgeline 29 VF - 3,370 miles, cracked.

3rd M290 (Ridgeline geometry) 1,257 miles, cracked.

4th ??"

According to Froze you shouldn't ride a mountain bike in the...mountains. Poor Ti. 'Lifetime' material is not even good for a thousand miles. And with a lightweight rider, to boot!

"150-160 lbs depending on time of year."
 
CB, stop please. I'm almost afraid to get on the Lynskey now. Will have to start inspecting for cracks every 1000 miles or 10 potholes, whichever comes first. At least I can trust the "Lynskey-branded" CF fork...It looks big enough anyway.

Wait, I googled up images of busted Trek CF frames....that's some scary stuff. Man, I'll take those little Ti cracks anyday over all that shattered CF. So, a couple of those bikes may have been run over/hit by cars, but still, failures! And Trek sells what, a couple hundred bikes a year world-wide? It's truly shocking to see so many broken.
 
Heh! Lynskey is as safe as anything else on the market...although the searches did turn up a lot of busted titanium. Merlun, Airline, Litespeed...a lot of those were busted too.

Yeah, shattered carbon is freaky scary. TREK sells tens of thousands of carbon bikes in a year. Lynskey is one of the larger Ti frame builders and as a guess I would ballpark his production in the hundreds.

My local TREK dealer has maybe half a dozen cut up carbon frames in the back room that were replaced under warranty so their failure rate is as **** poor as anyone's.

There's a difference between me and Froze. I don't expect ANY material to last under me. I beat the living **** out of my bikes. That's why God gave us legs! I've seen with my own eyes steel frames literally lose the front end of the bike...complete separation other than the cables connecting the head tube/fork to the what was left of the frame. There's a couple Ti frames that similarly failed...pics are out there, but they weren't Lynskey's.

I've seen aluminum crack and part company mid-tube. Never witnessed anything spectacular with carbon, but I do not doubt for a second that it happens too often. Froze doesn't believe me, but he can kiss my ass for all I care...I cracked my first Wilier and rode it for weeks just to try and get it to fail. It never did. Wilier replaced that no name Chinese carbon frame (actually made by Xpace in mainland China) with a smile and some freebies on the side.

Wilier also recalled the fork on some of those frames. Not for the carbon blades, but for the aluminum steerers that were folding up like they were made from dried oatmeal. None of the three Wilier's I own(ed) were in the fork recall.

All it takes is a few minutes of searching. Lynskey ain't all that. Neither is Wilier...a company that's been in Italy since 1906 and was an English bike company before that.

I'll take my chances on the $1200 carbon Ultegra piece of **** before I blow $3000 on the same thing, only slower.

oops...this might have made a little noise...
3647817107_5a9c6236e0_b.jpg


Yes sir! 360 degrees of going, going...it's outta here!
3648620328_e7bf6fa293_b.jpg
 
This one freaks me out...and before someone pitches a *****...this and the last couple of pics are NOT Lynskey products. Just showing typical Ti failures.
170424d1149162706-sibex-spicer-fork-failure-broken_fork_2.jpg


2" Ti monotube Easy Racer recumbent...oops...'Lifetime' material Ti is not.
Javelin.jpg


Merlin Team Road Super Ti failure...oops...probably exciting...
tour14ab.jpg
 
The lightest frame in the test...a TREK carbon...was also the most durable.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/frame_fatigue_test.htm

I loves me some Campagnolo, but back in the early 1980's I busted a Record aluminum crank arm clean in two. Lots of other riders also did the same thing. I'm not going to sit here and tell folks they were damned near indestructible. They clearly were not.

I felt a lot like Laurent...mine broke at the pedal end of the vanity groove...
laurent-fignon-broken1-430x622.jpg
 

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