The Lynskey Performance blog

Lynskey Performance at Rocky Raccoon's Revenge - 8 Hours of Raccoon Mountain

noreply@blogger.com (Mike V) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:19:00 +0000

We spent the past Saturday at Raccoon Mountain here in Chattanooga, TN for the Rocky Raccoon's Revenge - The 8 Hours of Raccoon Mountain. Not only were there several Lynskey's being raced we had several titanium cyclocross, mountain, and road bikes on display and available for test rides.

Racers battled an extremely dry course conditions and rising temperatures that led to an unexpected high. Local Mike Reardon continued his stellar season with a strong second place in the single speed class and sixth overall on his Pro29 and Allen Binkley put an end to a long road season by taking his M230 to a solid top ten overall.

We're planning on being at a lot more events this fall so keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook to see where we'll be next.

Say Hello to Lynskey Performance at the Six Gap Century

noreply@blogger.com (Mike V) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 13:37:00 +0000

We're starting to get bikes ready and our bags packed to head to Dahlonega, GA this weekend for the 22nd annual Six Gap Century. We'll be leaving from the factory Friday afternoon and setting up a big booth first thing Saturday morning. There will be clothing and accessory for sale including some items yet to be featured on our website. In addition we'll have a wide variety of complete bikes with us from a Cooper and ProCross to David Lynskey's personal Pro29 Lefty and Helix OS.

Not only will you have the opportunity to see what we ride at the factory, meet David, and swing a leg over some really cool bikes there is the chance to win a R340 frameset through a Dahllonega Chamber of Commerce raffle.

Stop by and say hello, we look forward to meeting you this weekend!

Jason Asleson takes 2nd at the 24 Hours of Leadville

noreply@blogger.com (Mike V) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:20:00 +0000

After a hard fought battle Jason finished sencond in the Solo Single speed catagory, by only nine minutes, this weekend at the 24 Hours of Leadville.

Having only ridden a mountain bike for about 4 months in the last 12 years, I really didn't really know what to expect with my first mountain bike race . I got a fortune cookie the night before the race that I taped to my handlebars that sums up the last few months pretty well. I says, "Winners forget they're in a race, they just love to run." That applies to my "training" as well. I never feel like I'm training when I'm riding on the trails. It's just been a blast.

Paolo Aste wins the Italian 24 Hour National Championships on his Lynskey Performance Pro29

noreply@blogger.com (Mike V) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:23:00 +0000

Congratulations to Paolo Aste on his win this weekend at the Italian 24 Hour National Championships!!! Full race report and more photos coming soon...

Elizabeth Anne Stevens takes 3rd at the 2010 TriUtah Jordanelle Triathlon

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Richardson) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:43:00 +0000

Congrats to ElizabethAnne Stevens for her 3rd Place finish in her age group at the 2010 TriUtah Jordanelle Triathlon. This was her first outing on her new T230! View Results Here: http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/final_list/division/114100

Leadville 100 on a Lynskey Pro29 Lefty

noreply@blogger.com (Mike V) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 20:35:00 +0000

Mathew Davis competed this past weekend in the fastest edition of the Leadville Trail 100 to date on his Pro29 Lefty. Instead of trying to speak for Mathew I'll let him speak for himself. Below you'll find his race report and thoughts on his Pro29 Lefty purchased through Bike Etc in Bossier City, La.

Well another Leadville 100 MTB in the books….here’s how it went down.

Adrienne and I woke up at 4:45am (never sleep well before this event), eat, load up, and head out for Leadville. I got to the starting line about 5:50 and found a good spot on the second row of the top 100 starting area for my new Lynskey Pro 29 Lefty. I went back to the truck, said my goodbyes, grabbed my camelback, and headed back to the start line, next to JHK, behind David Wiens, and Levi. A guy next to me asked, “What’s with the tape on your handlebars?”, and I said, “That’s my redneck aerobars!”

6:30am, Shotgun start! The first few miles are neutral and downhill, and I stay towards the front. When we hit the dirt I expected the sh-t to hit the fan like it did last year, but instead it was pretty mellow. The pace just increased gradually on the first climb (St. Kevins). I did not try to stay at the front, but instead just found the riders who were holding the pace I wanted. I went over St. Kevins just fine and cruised down to the start of Sugarloaf climb, about 1/3 of the way up I gave my vest to Butch. Over Sugarloaf and then down Powerline, I gave this descent a lot of respect and took it very easy to avoid punctures and crashes, which I had experienced in the past. When I came off Powerline a spectator went walking down the middle of the course right before a technical section where you can either go through a big water crossing or chicane through some trees and cross over a board bridge. I lost my concentration and tried to tackle a tree, ouch, trees still don’t move! I bounced into the water over the board bridge, meanwhile still trying to keep moving and not clog up the line.

Off the dirt and onto the pavement, I worked with a small group to the next dirt section, past the first checkpoint (Pipeline 1), and on to single track. I knew I was not as fast on the single track as the others, so I let them go first, thinking I would just follow their lines. The first off camber turn I wash out, wham, on my left side, same one I hit the tree with? Up and going again, regain contact with the guys I was with after the single track, and drive on to the first Twin Lakes check point (40mi). I picked up a bottle, plow through the madness, and continue on to Columbine (10mi and 3000ft of climbing). I settled in to a good pace and hoped I had enough for the steep stuff at the top above the tree line. About 2/3’s of the way up there was guy chef’s uniform cooking hotdogs and handing out PBR, I did not partake. I was able to climb up all of Columbine, which is very steep and rocky at the top, less than 3mph. Near the summit the helicopter came alongside and filmed me while I waved and smiled back, pretty cool!

Down Columbine, what a relief, over halfway, I go through Twinlakes 2 (60mi), pick up food, a couple of bottles, and dump my camelback and arm warmers. Going back through the single track (which is uphill this time), I was much better and began catching other riders. After the single track there were a series of 3 gullies the first of which it very, very, steep, and I had never made all the way up before, until this year! On to the last checkpoint (76mi), 3 more bottles, gels, and lube my chain. I hit pavement, about 18^th place, and caught back up to 3 guys I had been riding with. I think they actually waited for me because I was doing most of the pulling, ha. We continued driving on towards the Powerline climb, and as we turned off the pavement onto the dirt and I was 3^rd in line. I went really slow on this 160 degree turn, but as soon as I was on the dirt, I washed out, crashed really hard on my left side and hip. I slid head first, on my back down the little hill, and for a second I did not really know what was going on. I got back up, sore, and with trail rash on my left side. The good thing was that I absorbed all the damage from each crash, while protecting the bike!?

I started Powerline behind the guys I was with, but pass them in no time. I climbed the whole Powerline, something I had never done before. People were going nuts when they saw I was going to make through the first, steepest, and hardest section of Powerline, but it did not end there…. It went on, and on and on… If Columbine is the first chapter of pain then, Powerline is the final one.

I came off Powerline solo, and an official said, “Tinker Juarez is a minute down the road.” I got to the base of St. Kevins and started driving really hard, big chain ring, knowing I could catch Tinker. I catch him at the top of S. Kevins, but he disappears on the descent. I took it easy, not wanting anymore crashes or flats. Once off the descent, I pushed all out on the gravel road, and catch him just as we hit the pavement. As I pass I say, “come on man, hop on, we’re almost home.” He did not say much and did not try to hop on, I kept driving, thinking I may make it under 7:30, but I didn’t know. The last 4mi was mostly on dirt again and uphill to the finish, this can be really tough and demoralizing when you think your almost home. I stayed bent over the bars all the way to the line, 7:29:35, 15^th! PR by over 30min! Hell Yeah, It’s over!! This race never gets easier, but it is always Epic!!!

Bike Setup:

Lynskey Pro 29 Lefty, w/ BB30

Sram XX, 39/26 Chainrings

Industry Nine XC wheelset

Stans Raven 2.0 tires, tubeless

ISM Breakaway Saddle

Super fast, super stiff setup, best tracking mountain bike I have ridden. I am good about finding weaknesses in bikes, and with this one I can find none. After 100mi of racing and just under 7.5hrs in the saddle I had no problems with fatigue or comfort. My only complaint is that the bike is in need of a better pilot, ha, ha!

Mathew Davis

Congratuations on a great performance Mathew!

Charles McCarthy: Helix OS Racer

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Richardson) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:16:00 +0000

Latest with Charles McCarthy:
Charles widens his lead.

Charles scored another second place at Equinox. He and last year's Equinox winner, Jake Hollenbach, led from the gun. Charles comment on second was a modest, "Jake can sprint, and I can't." Charles now leads Ian Gordon for the B.U.M.P.S. overall by 515.6 to 512.4 points. This is definitely turning into a two-horse race, with third place almost 20 points behind. Charles has to pass up the next event, the Mount Washington Auto Road Hill Climb, to attend his brother's wedding. With none of the previous two years' sub-hour finishers on this year's start list, this may be Ian's best shot at taking over the lead, which is based on each rider's best five finishes. If Ian can make the podium at Mount Washington -- we'll see. Thanks to Charles and Ian, American hill climb fans are being treated to their own season-long version of Schleck vs. Contador.

Stay tuned!

Lynskey Photoshoot

noreply@blogger.com (Mike V) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:36:00 +0000

Ever since starting my job at Lynskey Performance I've had to put my international modeling career on hold. So, naturally, I couldn't have been more excited to take my Pro29 and head up to Raccoon Mountain with Matt to shoot for our new website and distributor's websites. Chances are you already do but be sure to keep checking out website as we start to roll out some pretty cool new product for 2011 and work towards launching a new and even easier to use site. We'll also be updating this blog on a regular basis with new product news and general happenings here at the factory.

Local CPA Tom Russe and his custom Helix!

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Richardson) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:09:00 +0000

Our local CPA Tom Russe, received his dream custom Helix today! Thanks Tom!

Lynskey Performance Natural Titanium Frame Finishes

noreply@blogger.com (Mike V) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:33:00 +0000

We get a lot of questions here at the factory about the differences between our various natural finishining options. Matt and Jack recently shot a video explaining the differences between our four offerings.

Lynskey Peformance Out on the Town

noreply@blogger.com (Mike V) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:41:00 +0000

Saturday July 10^th we headed over to Outdoor Chattanooga to rub elbows and raise glasses with SORBA Chattanooga and the local cycling community at the first annual Ales for the Trails fundraiser. This event is one of two bi-annual fundraisers SORBA Chattanooga is using to raise money to complete the nationally renowned trails at Raccoon Mountain. Not only do we at Lynskey Performance use these trails for pleasure but we also do much of our R&D on them so it was only natural that we partnered with SORBA Chattanooga to help the cause.

For each hour given at a SORBA Chattanooga workday each Volunteer earns one entry into a raffle for a Lynskey Performance Ridgeline 29 SL frame with an upgraded Industrial Mill finish in the size of their choice. The harder they work and the more they give back the more chances they have to win a hand made titanium frame next at the sister event Wine for the Climb event.

Procross Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Pillsbury) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:20:00 +0000

We came across a great review of our Procross on a customer's blog. It is great to hear that other riders out there are putting our bikes through the race paces and enjoying them as much as we do. Many thanks to Dave for his thoughts and we wish you a wonderful cross season.

Check out his blog here.

Walk around the new 2010 ProCross Cyclocross bike from Lynskey

noreply@blogger.com (Don @ Lynskey) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:47:00 +0000

This is not necessarily a “How we make a Lynskey” episode but more “How we designed a Lynskey” episode. Enjoy learning more about the ProCross in reviewing this video then call us and let’s talk Cyclocross season and titanium Cross Bikes. 423.499.5815

Lynskey Donates R230 to SpeedGoat Cycles for Breast Cancer Research

noreply@blogger.com (Don @ Lynskey) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Check out the online post at www.BikeRadar.com .

"The bike this year started with a donated Lynskey R230 titanium frame and carbon fork featuring custom purple and gold panels to go with gold hubs, headset, and bottom bracket, courtesy of Chris King. With a nod toward the original Pink Bike concept, Cateye donated three pink Strada wireless computers. For a modest charge, Velocity offered up purple rims and George Yoder, Speedgoat's custom wheel builder, has given his time to build up the wheelset. Speedgoat donated the balance of parts and labour."

Cross Country on Lynskey's

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Pillsbury) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:28:00 +0000

We just received a brief update from two customers that are riding across the country and then some. From what we know, Margaret and Leigh left from the Chesapeake Bay area and are heading to Portland, OR, then traveling North up the coast to Alaska. Here are a few shots of them at Frisco, CO. We wish them safe travels and cannot wait to hear more from these two adventurers about their travels. It is great to see people taking full advantage of what their bikes were meant to do.

LYNSKEY Titanium PROCROSS Cyclocross Racing Bike Bicycle

noreply@blogger.com (Don @ Lynskey) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:51:00 +0000

http://www.lynskeyperformance.com is located in Chattanooga Tennessee. We build a Titanium race bicycle to go very FAST. Many of you have anticipated the incorporation of the Helix downtube into the new 2010 Procross Cyclocross frame. We are happy to introduce it to you as we walk thru the drawing, fine tuning in the weld jig, welding and finally a brief walk around by David Lynskey, the developer of the Helix technology. Contact us anytime to order, to ask questions, or just to talk titanium bikes!!

noreply@blogger.com (Don @ Lynskey) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:33:00 +0000

http://www.lynskeyperformance.com is located in Chattanooga Tennessee. We build Titanium race bikes to go very FAST. This video is more than the standard How we Make episode. A brand new CycloCross Bike for a brand new 2010 season. The new Cooper CX is the Lynskey Performance Value-Cross model built with a racing competition tubeset at its core. The addition of Rack and Fender mounts dramatically increase the functionality of the Cooper CX as well. More episodes to come! Contact us anytime to order, to ask questions, or just to talk titanium cyclocross bikes!!

Lynskey Performance Titanium Bicycles Finish Process

noreply@blogger.com (Don @ Lynskey) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:38:00 +0000

http://www.lynskeyperformance.com is located in Chattanooga Tennessee. We build Titanium bikes to go very FAST. This video is one episode in a series of How we make a Lynskey So many fans have asked us to start a youTube series filming the manufacturing process. Walk thru the finishing process with Tim Lynskey, as he shows us exactly how the Blasting, Brushing, Facing process works. Great care goes into every Titanium Bike frame we build. Its more than just about building bicycles to us. More episodes to come! Contact us anytime to order, to ask questions, or just to talk fast bikes!!

Lynskey Performance builds a Titanium Fit Cycle bike

noreply@blogger.com (Don @ Lynskey) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:27:00 +0000

http://www.lynkseyperformance.com and http://www.atlantacycling.com This is a brand new prototype Titanium Fit Cycle built by Lynskey Performance in Chattanooga for Atlanta Cycling. Made in Tennessee and built to go VERY fast. Contact Lynskey for more information. 423.499.5815

One for the Ladies

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Pillsbury) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:39:00 +0000

I just wanted to thank you for the amazing job you guys did making the frame. All the girls in our club were completely taken with the flowers subtly etched into it. As for the ride, it's unbelievable what a difference a few centimeters here and there make. I no longer get a pain between my shoulder blades on long rides. The bike feels very smooth on our pothole-ridden roads, and it corners extremely well. But the best part is that I can fly up the hills. My only regret is that my current fitness doesn't really do justice to having such an impressive machine, but it certainly makes riding fun. I always used to lament the lack of top-end bikes to fit women. Thanks to you, I'm now able to ride the best road bike available!

Thank you
Kaaren

One Nice R430

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Pillsbury) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:46:00 +0000

I received my R430 frame from you fellas on 5/6/09. Now, after 2 1/2 months and 2,300 miles I must say that I am more then happy with this frame. It has exceeded all my expectations and then some. After, riding an Aluminum frame for the past 5 years I had forgotten what a difference a well built Titanium frame could make. My last one was a 1996 Litespeed Obed. My new R430 is now my everyday commuter Bike as well as my weekend worrier and Century Cruiser. I just finished the 100 mile Live Strong Charity ride here in San Jose and I could not be happier with the bikes performance. It is Stable, Stiff, and Comfortable. It climbs and descends with ease. And this is saying a lot, because I am a very fit 6'2" 225lb boy who is not easy on my bikes. Not the typical 165lb cyclist. I look forward to many thousands of miles ahead on my new Lynskey. Keep up the good work.

Thanks
Richard John M.

Another Happy Customer

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Pillsbury) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:14:00 +0000

"Just wanted to let you know that I've just returned from a 820 mile ride from Baltimore County Maryland to Bar Harbor Maine on some of the roughest back roads around. The Lynskey R330 carried my 200 lb frame all the way fantastically. Not even as much as a single flat for me. The trip up took 8 days, over 820 miles with 45,000 feet of climbing. The bike performed flawlessly, climbing, descending and accelerating as you would expect, like a champion. Much of the riding was in torrential downpours. The bike never failed me, which is more than I can say for my 2 compatriots on high end carbon frames. I could not imagine a carbon frame carrying me over all those rough roads without a failure. I have the utmost confidence in my Lynskey. Happy to continue riding my titanium friend". JS Werner

Thanks for the kind words and we are always glad to hear from satisfied Lynskey customers. Keep the positivity coming and the rubber side down.

Lefty and BB30...say it isn't so!

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Pillsbury) — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:54:00 +0000

The latest quest in component integration has gone another step forward for us at the titanium bicycle foundry. The last post was in regards to a Lefty on a PRO29 and it has been reported from the customer that all is well and she rides like a dream. Well here we have stepped things up a notch by building a PRO29 that will accept a Lefty and BB30 cranks. While I am really sure that we were the first to build a titanium bike that accepted the not completely released Shimano Press-Fit, I know that we were not the first on the BB30. But being our obsessive selves, we took the high road and made our own bottom bracket shells and head tubes to guarantee that you get the best possible tolerance for the fore mentioned components. There are a few avenues to purchase the materials and then weld them together, but the heat during welding makes the nice round pieces not so round and when dealing with bearings and such, that is not good. So with a killer new custom designed fixture (that I cannot show), we have nailed the BB30 production and are going to work it up as an option on existing frames and we are talking about some new production bikes that will use the BB30 exclusively. More to come as that project develops.

A little to the Lefty

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Pillsbury) — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:10:00 +0000

After some time and countless requests later, we have wrapped up the last few details on our Lefty compatible head tube. So now you can upgrade any one of our Mountain Hardtails to accept a Lefty fork and there has even been some talk about a Houseblend model that would utilize this head tube. No specific details have been nailed down as of yet, but I would be on the lookout for this new model to be showing up soon. This is great news for our dealers that also carry Cannondale products as well, especially since they are moving their U.S. based production over-seas. I am sure that they have a good reason for going over-seas, but if you still want a top notch, U.S. made bike that utilizes Cannondale's componetry, we can hook you up.

Back from the Drawing Board

noreply@blogger.com (Jamie Pillsbury) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:25:00 +0000

The beauty of being the master of your own domain is the ability to change your mind... sometimes there are minor reasons, but most of the time it is because we have found a way to make something better. This mindset hold true when designing bikes and just about anything else we do around here. When we rolled out the Ridgeline 29 earlier this year, we felt that we were going to build a line of bikes around this platform. Well, we changed our minds.

So behold the recently re-designed Ridgeline 29. The new design stays true to what the Ridgleline was intended to be, but we have added a few new elements that make this the best titanium 29er on the market for less than $1500. By starting with a cold-worked 3al-2.5v titanium tubeset, we have increased the stiffness, performance characteristics and durability of this frame. Then by utilizing our proven 29er geometry and adding a new XL size, we have opened the door for even more riders to take advantage of the big wheel movement no matter how big or small you may be.

A new feature is our custom designed slider style dropouts. Not only do the look great with our signature clover machined into the dropouts, but they allow more adjustment than any other slider out there due to the increased length of the slide platform. We initially came up with this design when working with belt-drive compatible frames which require very precise adjustments due to the static belt lengths.

And finally, on a functional basis, we re-routed the disc cable stops underneath the seat stay for a clean look. This new frame is in production and is available, just give us a ring and we will hook you up. We have built one that we have set up single speed and have been riding like we stole it, so we will post some pictures once we remember to bring it back to the shop.