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Lynskey Introduces UrBANskey, Commuter Smarts with Road Bike Speed

Written by Zach Overholt
28 Comments
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urbanskey-08

If your idea of a commuter is drop bars with bigger tires and a fast ride, Lynskey would like to present the UrBANsky. Previously, Lynskey had offered their Cooper CMT or Cooper Commuter which was basically their Cooper CX bike dressed up for work. Built with new road specific cable routing, the UrBANsky combines tire clearance for 33mm tires (when running fenders), plus rack and fender mount compatibility.

Check the video break down from Lynskey, plus the modular dropout system next…


urbanskey-09

urbanskey-02

Continuing in Lynskey tradition, the UrBANskey is built in Tennessee out of  3Al/2.5V squared titanium tubing. Included in a number of customizable options, the frames are either offered in bare titanium or painted Level 1,2, or 3 finishes with 3D Riveted logos. One of the biggest changes is the addition of road specific cable routing along the downtube with built in stops, instead of the full cable housing with top pull front derailleur routing found on the Cooper CX.

urbanskey-001

Available with either their 1 1/8″ straight steerer Endurance Cross fork, or the Pro Cross Carbon fork (+$300), the rear end can be ordered to your liking as well. Thanks to the replaceable drop out system, the frame can run 135mm quick release wheels, or step up to a 12x142mm rear thru axle. Rear accessory mounts are welded into the frame and include separate mounts for the fender and rack.

urbanskey geometry

Built with an identical geometry to the Cooper CX, the bike should still be a versatile ride for spirited commuting, gravel, or even the occasional cyclocross race. Pricing starts at $2,395 for the frame only, and $4,335 for an Ultegra 6800 build with mechanical BB7 brakes or $4,475 for a full SRAM Rival 22 Hydraulic build.

lynskeyperformance.com
Zach Overholt
5,631 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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28 Comments
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MissedThePoint
MissedThePoint
9 years ago

That would get jacked in a NY minute.

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MissedThePoint
MissedThePoint
9 years ago

Also, LOL @ the photoshopped out excess steerer. Looks like the stem is clamped onto air.

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bostonbybike
bostonbybike
9 years ago

So Lynskey’s idea of a commuter bike is a standard racing bike with added rack?

Please, make any bike you want but if you aren’t going to “spoil” its looks by at least adding fenders and lights, don’t even try to call it a commuter bike.

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Champs
Champs
9 years ago

Almost a nice upgrade for my Litespeed Blue Ridge commuter. I just don’t agree with ditching the full housing or putting the disc tab on the seatstay.

At least this one has more than a single set of eyelets, and they’re not set so close to the dropouts that if you have a long bolt, it will touch the small cog on the cassette.

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Frank
Frank
9 years ago

Looks like the perfect bike to commute to a dental office.

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Zach Overholt
Author
Zach Overholt
9 years ago
Reply to  Frank

@frank, funny thing about that is that I have a friend who happens to be a dentist who owns a Lynskey. He also recently rode 940 miles in 67 hours and 38 minutes. Total bad ass.

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Dolan Halbrook
Dolan Halbrook
9 years ago

For a commuter I would have stuck with full cable housing and instead dropped the BB to a more road-ish 7cm. Otherwise, looks nice enough, though very similar to quite a few other offerings at the moment (my current favorites are the Sabbath September disc and the Ren Waypoint). Also, tapered HT into non-tapered fork?

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Cheese
Cheese
9 years ago

Nice looking frame , but I agree that a 66 mm BB drop is tall for a road bike.

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sss
sss
9 years ago

Not a mudguard in site. No true commuter would ride without them.

The bottom bracket sits too high as well.

And whats the point of an oversized steerer?

Oh thats right, it’s so you can use a totallly pointless carbon fork when a steel fork with a normal steerer diametre would have done the job with infinitely more comfort.

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Craig
Craig
9 years ago

Yeah the bb drop really would be better at 75mm. My Civia Kingfield has that, it’s awesome for many reasons, not least stopping at lights and keeping one foot clipped in and one foot on the ground. There is no reason for this bike to have such a high bb.

Also with a carrier that high above the rear wheel the bike would handle crap with any weight on it.

I can see where Lynskey are going with this bike but feel they just haven’t got it right.

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Devin
Devin
9 years ago

I will just point out that knees pretty frequently track closely to the top tube, and you don’t really notice this until there are sharp edged logos riveted in the space that was previously smooth Ti. This would be a total deal-breaker for me, but it looks like it’s an optional finish; so if you ride knees out, rock on.

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thesteve4761
thesteve4761
9 years ago

@every BB argument above
1) BB height from the ground and drop are two different things, you realize that right?
2) you are arguing over +- 7mm, or a touch over 1/4″. Are you really astute enough to notice the difference? It’s a cx bike adapted, what would you expect???

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gringo
gringo
9 years ago

check out that suuuuper high C.O.G. with that ill fitting rack.

the extra 5 INCHES of air under your rack platform and resulting wobbly feel is gonna be way more important than and BB drop arguments going on here.

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Matthew
Matthew
9 years ago

@MissedThePoint: I’ve been riding a previous generation Cooper CX as my commuter in SEA, DC and NYC. No issues with theft. Like anything else, a good u-lock, good locking technique and a good lockup location (avoid repeated lockups)… You don’t have to have the impossible to steal bike, just the one that’s harder than the bike next to you. The bike is actually pretty unassuming if you get it done with a basic etched finish.

For the BB height: the bike is actually pretty stable. It won’t take a massive load (a couple of fully loaded Ortliebs is about all I ever take). I agree with the qualms about their rack. I opted for a Tubus Airy Ti rack, which fits really well.

For the fenders: totally agree there. The demo bike should’ve had a fender set. But the eyelet setup they have works pretty well for full coverage fenders on the actual bike. Just get a Problem Solvers spacer so you can get around the rear disc brake mount (true for pretty much any disc brake bike with fenders).

For the head tube and fork choice: they went with a 44 mm tube so that you can choose either the tapered carbon forks, or you can go with a straight steerer fork. A standard 1 1/8 head tube doesn’t give you that choice. Personally, I went with a Wound Up fork over the three OEM choices, and I’m glad I did.

My two complaints about this model: I think the name isn’t very good (especially their insistence on capitalizing the BAN in the middle), and I don’t like the ascetic of the riveted 3D printed name badges. Their old stickers were delicate to say the least, so I know why they switched. But I still think for a bike that’ll take abuse, a brushed finish with etched details is the lowest maintenance option.

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Colin McCarthy
Colin McCarthy
9 years ago

Why is there only a 1″ difference in reach from the smallest size to the largest?

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mudrock
mudrock
9 years ago

They made some odd choices, but to me the worst was the seatstay-mounted discs, which require the high and unstable mounting of the rack. That also left the bike with cable routing under the top tube – using cable ties – not something a crosser would appreciate. Also not cross-friendly is the riveted-on name plate.

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craigsj
craigsj
9 years ago

“2) you are arguing over +- 7mm, or a touch over 1/4″. Are you really astute enough to notice the difference? It’s a cx bike adapted, what would you expect???”

Yes, absolutely, of course. As a bike specifically targeted at commuting, I would expect a design appropriate for the task. I don’t care that it was “adapted”, is Lynskey so incompetent that they can’t fix the BB drop because it used to be a CX design?

It’s not “+- 7mm” either, it’s greater than that. A bike intended for larger tires and the road could easily do with a 75mm or even 80mm BB drop. Don’t like 80mm? Shorten your crank. With a 65mm BB drop I’d have to run 190mm cranks to get the pedal where I want. I’ve tried that before and it sucks.

For road riding you do not need, or want, massive pedal clearance. You want to be lower. The extra BB drop has other benefits from a frame building standpoint. (deleted)

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Loki
Loki
9 years ago

I commute on a Cooper CX through the winter in Toronto. I don’t run fenders in the snow because it packs up and that bugs me more than any spray. I don’t run a rack because of the snow and road crud. I like the CX higher BB and clearance plus the better steering position for slippery, tricky situations, easy to hop a curb or negotiate a snowbank. I don’t find it a problem on clean days as I can still comfortably hold road cruising speed. Never felt it was anything other than a great tool for the job I had at hand, my set of criteria. That’s the point.

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Veganpotter
Veganpotter
9 years ago

My SEVEN has a 8cm BB drop(custom with the intent of running 25s most of them time…although that was 75,000 miles ago and I rarely run less than a 28mm wide tire). When I go from 25mm tires to 30mm tires I can definetely feel the difference. Its worth it for the comfort but I’d rather it be even lower(with speedplay pedals…I’ve never striked my pedal on the ground). If I was on this bike with 33mm tires…I’d be almost 2cm higher!!! That’s insane on the road. Any bike intended to run tires over 28s ON THE ROAD should never have less than 7.5cm of drop!!! This bike comes with 33s…it should have anywhere from 7.5 to 8cm of BB drop as a commuter. Obviously, a cross bike would require less drop but that’s not what this bike is for. They’re very different animals. I guess you’d only not notice if this were your only bike or if you only had a 29er as reference. When I ride a 29er, I feel like I’m driving a mini van rather than a Honda Civic…drastically different ride feel for different reasons…hence…this bike has lousy road geometry

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Will
Will
9 years ago

Man, you guys are a bunch of A*^% holes, you never have anything good to say about anything. It is a sweet bikeand guess what: if you want a specific road/cross/tour/mtb lynskey makes that too. The post specifically says it is a commuter based on their cross platform, so guess what? It is going to be mostly cross with a few commuting conveniences. A lot of people only have 1 bike so buying a platform around your most used but could do some other things is pretty nice. For all of you thatcan clearly critique and buy 6 bikes for every sub-specialty go ahead and quit picking on the do it all bikes.

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Psi Squared
Psi Squared
9 years ago

Those are some compact bars. Which ones are they?

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Dog
Dog
9 years ago

At the end of the day it’s still a Lynskey.

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Slow Joe Crow
Slow Joe Crow
9 years ago

The guy next to me in the bike rack appears to have beaten them to it. His daily commuter for the past year or so is a Litespeed road bike with a rack and fenders, and SRAM Red components.

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Veganpotter
Veganpotter
9 years ago

@Will

The geometry of this bike is really just OK for a cross bike and TERRIBLE for a commuter. I’ve ridden a lot of bikes over my many years as a bike shop employee. I wouldn’t be happy paying for a bike like this(I’m a huge fan of titanium).

Most would be better off cross racing a slightly higher BB than normal touring/road bike vs. commuting with a SUPER HIGH BB cross bike. Hell…a lot of brands are beginning to lower their BBs on the cross bikes. Few people jump barriers anyway and with the trend to go to a single ring up front…bashing a chainring is less of an issue. As for striking a pedal…you’d have to have a hell of a lot of confidence to pedal into a corner with enough lean to strike on a cross bike. If you have a lower BB…you’d likely be able to hit the corner faster and coast through with the lower center of gravity.

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John
John
9 years ago

@PsiSquared: FSA Gossamer Wing Compact (@2:04)

@mudrock: The Cooper CX is the same frame, but with cross-specific cable routing:

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Velo
Velo
9 years ago

Wow, the haters really popped out of the woodwork. This bike ticks all the boxes for me… except price. Hopefully bikesdirect.com will come out with a Ultegra version for $2,500. 🙂

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Jayry
Jayry
8 years ago

@Matthew, just ordered one of these -despite the hate here- and I’d like to see a picture of your tubus rack on yours, can you post a link to a pic? Thanks in advance

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Darren
Darren
2 years ago

I’ve been an Urbansky for years build up as a mtn bike for commuting and city touring, excellent ride.

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