Lynskey Helix Ti Now Spinning Disc Brakes

While having been a customer of Lynskey for over 3 years, I could not find a better, nicer group of professionals to deal with. Their frames are strong, reliable and fast!

They mean “break” in the sense that Lynskey’s welders are *NOT* anything like they were in the earliest days of Litespeed. And that there’s a track record of Lynskey’s bike cracking at the HT/DT going all the way back to the Vortex and Ghisallo.

If you want durability in a Ti frame, you’d be better off with Moots.

Promo shots and chain not in the big ring? Have you no shame.

Shown with junk sram hydro brakes that got recalled because they suck. Stay tuned for recall 2.0 when the new stuff comes out.

I never owned/rode any of the older Litespeed or Lynskey bikes but I presently own/ride 2 Lynskeys and a Salsa made by Lynskey and can attest to their build quality. The Salsa (2012 Vaya Ti) and my 2013 Ridgeline-29 VF have beautiful (precise, even, clean) welds while my 2012 Ridgeline-29 SL looks like it was manufactured at 5pm on a Friday before an extended holiday weekend. The difference in welding looks like the scar you might have after being operated on by a plastic surgeon vs. a field medic in an active combat area. Aside from the cosmetics, everything was in alignment and came together without a hitch or snag at the time of assembly. All three bikes ride well with 2 on rigid (steel) forks and the other on a Fox F29 RL (100mm, tapered, 15TA) so, again, aesthetics aside, it hasn’t made a difference in ride quality.

I haven’t had any problems (much less catastrophic frame failure as I was expecting based on so many negative posts floating around the internet) but I’ve only been riding these bikes for a couple years so will see how it goes.

I don’t consider myself an apologist or hater when it comes to Lynskey but can only say from my personal experience(s) that they’ve provided a good product with good (sales) service at a great value. Fortunately, there’s more than one Ti builder out there and if you’re more comfortable getting a Moots, Seven, IF, Strong, 333fab, Black Sheep, or other, it’s your call and I hope regardless of who welds your frame, that you enjoy your ride.

I though seatstay bridges were unnecessary on disk specific frames….is that a stiffness adding feature? Also, I 2nd the chain placement comment – I know it’s a petty thing to squabble about, but it really makes the bike look like a toy.

Also, Rolf rims are notoriously narrow so I doubt a 28+ would fit on any normal, much less something wide.

Rim width is not super wide at 22mm but better then ol’skool 19mm. 22mm should be fine for 28c tires. 25mm would better to modern standards but guessing Rolf will be on this next year. Best alloy clincher rim widths I’ve seen for the money are on the Volagi bikes. However 22mm again is acceptable performance by all means for curb hoping and urban assault.

D:

Haha, good call.

That and the OEM part dumping to online bottom feeders really make a compelling argument to go with this company.

What is the point of the top and down tubes being bent like that?

These welds look large and rather generic. Nothing special there. I have only seen two of these frames belonging to friends and both were out of alignment and one appeared to have a cracked weld at the headtube. I applied some dye to this area and it immediately highlighted a large crack. Sad story.

Also, who offers 30% off of a 2014 product if you buy factory direct??? https://www.lynskeyperformance.com/store/road/bikes-and-frames/pro-series/helix-models.html

Even at the sale price it’s still about as much as other brands, and without being made of questionably sourced titanium…

While a few of the older Litespeed models were nice, that quality is long gone.

Two Lynskeys (one road, one cross) and four warranty returns for cracks. R430 cracked at bottom bracket, welded, cracked again after a few hundred miles, repaired again, cracked for the third time right after. Hassles for warranty repairs, no records of my paint codes on a 2 year old custom bike. Ultimately they did replace it with a nicely painted bike that weighs 300 grams more, rides like a brick, and required a different seatpost size. My ProCross (helix DT) cracked at the head tube after 30 rides. It came back with a ‘repair’ that looked like a 5 year old had melted a silver Crayola in there along with a heavy seat tube insert requiring a new post. I didn’t even bother to rebuild it as it looked like it wouldn’t make it around the block let alone as a race bike. I’m one with them and just dumped this one for pennies on the dollar (with disclosure to buyer). They’re also rough on dealers, selling direct to customers who have already been to shop. I second everything about the helical DT said above. Ask around, look around at people who really KNOW cycling – no one rides or respects these. Plenty of good ti out there, both budget (eg Habanero) and luxe (Spectrum, Firefly, Moots, IF, Eriksen, Engin, Crisp, dozens more) so no reason for Lynskey at any price point.

@topmounter, story straight from the horse’s mouth was that one day they were making square tubing from round with a dual die roller, and the dies were not aligned properly. tube came out twisted, and they thought it looked cool, and welded it to a frame.

Machines brake tracks on the rims? Brake bridge on a bike that doesn’t need it? Chain innate small ring for photos? For a bike they’re saying is worth over $11,000 but will sell you half off if you buy today it doesn’t seem very well thought out.

@badbikemechanic bet they tried to sell you an “upgraded” model that is “dayum fast” so you don’t have to wait so long. Also bet your repair comes back much heavier than it use to be.