My first Ti or the Lynskey Review

I'm not afraid to admit, I've never ridden a titanium bike before.
I've always wanted to give it a try though so I was very stoked when George said that we'd be building up the small Lynskey Pro29 in my size. And if it wasn't enough that I'd get to test out this cool new bike, George also got it into his head that this would be a Ridiculight build. What started as a straight part swap from my Niner EMD to the Pro29 - became an exercise in shaving grams.

He weighed every Schwalbe Racing Ralph in stock to find the lightest pair in stock. The front was a not very heavy 551g, the rear 547g. All in the pursuit of Ridiculight.

The Mother's Day Royale wheels were deconstructed and rebuilt to go tubeless using the 355 rim.

Every part was carefully considered for it's weight contribution. Of course, in order to have it ready to roll up at the Kingdom Trails over the weekend, we had to make a concession or two. For example, the new Easton bars and stem didn't arrive in time to make the initial build.

Completely built, with Speedplay Frogs but without a water bottle cage, the bike weighs a respectable 22.6 pounds.

But how does it ride?

Fantastic.

It's light and zippy. Very responsive - but not twitchy in any way. It handles like a dream on singletrack. I was very pleased with it's ability to scale technical steep sections, and since it hardly weighs anything, you feel like you're just flying up the hill.

The curved top tube offers a lot of standover - I've said it before, although 5'6" isn't that short, I have short legs. This frame has plenty of standover and could definitely accommodate a much shorter rider than myself.

The Ti frame is stiff, but soaks up a lot of the trail chatter, making this bike inherently more smooth and pleasant than aluminum hardtails that I've ridden recently.

The only negative for me is occasional toe overlap with the front wheel. This is probably peculiar to the small frame, and happened only randomly on tight switchbacks, but nonetheless it was a little disappointing for a fame of this calibre.

Other than that, this bike is fast and solid. It would be a fantastic choice for racing and I hope to be able to test it out at some off-road tris, one of these days.

Jet 9, Long Term Update

I've spent the last couple of weeks really getting to know the Jet on my local trails. It is by far one of the most "flickable" bikes out there, but it can come at the expense of mental comfort. By flickable, I mean it has the ability to go wherever you point it at a moment's notice, whether you are ready for it or not. It can be challenging at times, especially when you are feeling rusty. It has been my primary ride, although I do change it up for the RIP from time to time. That comparison is forthcoming...

There is no better way to describe it, the Jet is an animal. Definitely a race bike.

I have mine set up with a 100mm Fox, and it is still a very quick handling bike. It shines in the really tight stuff if you are on your game. If you are slightly off your game though, it will quickly wake you up.

It is very capable. It is very fast. Stand up on the pedals and it goes. I have not found even the most minuscule amount of flex in the rear end. Power up and you go. Mid turn course correction at any speed is not a problem.

It is most certainly a Jet, the sort that should have controls and devices that "dumb it down" for us mortals, similar to the way an F-16 has to be reigned in so the pilot doesn't die for blinking. I spent the weekend up in East Burke VT riding the Jet and a few other bikes, and, much like an F-16, I'm convinced that you should not be hungover while riding it.

While it is a demanding ride, you will be rewarded with speed, agility and quickness you've never thought possible.

I'm working on the grace part.
I would imagine, that if I was in the sort of shape to put this bike to real use, I'd be winning a couple of races...

Lynskey Pro 29er

(Mandy, guest blogging for George who is really doing his best to take the whole weekend off of work)

So, the size small Lynskey Pro29 is built and ready for it's first ride this weekend. Royale tubless wheelset. XTR cranks and front derailleur. x-0 rear. Magura Marta SL brakes.

22.4 lbs with pedals.

There aren't many days off when you're a small shop, especially when you add in the internet business. But finally, after a crazy two months of opening up the new location and getting everyone's bikes set for the season we have a couple days off for the holiday. We're headed up to the Kingdom Trails in East Burke for a weekend of riding and camping. Hope to see a lot of folks we know and meet some new folks as well. Lynskey ride report to follow when we return.

Wow, more than a week now...

It isn't that things aren't happening, I assure you.
Many great things are currently in transition. New 09 Fox Forks are coming, Jet 9s, I9s, the Lynskey factor, it's a lot to keep in check.
I have a very sweet Lynskey build on deck that will make your mouth water. I wish I could ride something like it.

I am taking a DAY OFF!

I am taking the whole Memorial Day weekend off as a matter of fact, but I will be up in East Burke riding bikes. Wanna come? Look for the B29 banners at the Burke Mtn campground. My plan is Sunday and Monday rides, punctuated with meals laden with bacon, cheese and beer. If you show up Saturday night, I may even make you a pre-ride breakfast on Sunday...

Titani-yummm!

This just in...
I received our first batch of Lynskey Pro 29 frames today. All productivity in the shop ground to a halt the moment I opened the box, and we all held out breaths as the first frame was carefully removed from it's packaging.


oooooohhhh!

Amazingly beautiful.
The first one I grabbed was a small, satin finished frame, weighing in at 3.39lbs, with the Paragon style dropouts (both drive side types are included). The second was a beautiful brushed finish, size large, that came in at 3.59. I imagine that the medium will arrive at 3.49. Very respectable indeed.

The brushed finish does come at an upcharage though, but in my book is worth it. I'm a shop monkey at heart, and I got the satin finish printed up in no time at all. The brushed finish seems to resist grubby hand prints, and has some sort of a machine like hue to it.

Both finishes come with die cut decals, which are available in a variety of colors to match any build. If you want to go all the way, you can have your graphics laser etched. If you are a techno dork like I am, this is worth the extra coin. I had one of these in the shop last week that was finished in this way, and I was immediately smitten.

matte finish behind the brushed

run it a single speed

or geared!

This is no doubt a very versatile frame.

Rolling with the Squadron

Mother's Day.
Three guys, out in the woods. The spouses had first dibs on the singletrack for the day, and fortunately, they were kind enough to leave some scraps for us.
Trail conditions were awesome. Dry as dry can be.

Nat, JayPro and myself headed up Perry Hill for some great riding today. Nat logged some flight time on my RIP, while Jay and I spent some time fine tuning our Jet 9s.


While the shop continues to be very busy, I did manage to get out for a ride last week, and I actually rode my RIP. I had a great time riding it. With any luck, I'll be able to spend a bit more time on trail, and now that both bikes are set up just the way I like them, I ought to be able to get a good comparison between the two. They are very different bikes.


I thoroughly enjoyed my Jet today. However, I took some time pre-ride, and swapped the Conti Mountain King tires for the Schwalbe Racing Ralph (2.4s). I think that I will go back to the Contis when it is a little colder and wetter, but for now, I am enjoying the high volume and very round profile of the Schwalbe much more. The tire swap was a good move. Cornering is very predictable, rolling resistance is lower, and I dropped .5 lbs in overall weight.

It was nice to let the Jet loose on some familiar, yet rugged terrain. I maintain that it is a quicker bike than the RIP. While not as sure footed at times in certain scenarios, it more than makes up for in maneuverability. You can change your mind at any point and switch lines at will. It outclasses the RIP in it's ability to climb technical sections with ease. We made the climb to the top of Joe's in no time at all.

I remain steadfast in my thinking that the Jet is a race bike. There have been some folks out there on the interweb that have complained about the weight of this frame, but I built Jay's bike at a respectably raceable 24.6lb (with pedals and bottle cage folks - real weights here). Take weight out of the equation, and what you have is a bike that can outclimb, out corner and straight up out perform the competition. The rest is up to the rider...

Lack of Posting = Too Much Work!

As some of you may have noticed, it's been a while since I posted. Over a week!

The shop has hit ludicrous speed. Repairs and sales are way up, and I mean WAY up. The new location has already proven itself as a good move, and continues to perform in a way I couldn't have imagined.
In addition to our screaming retail business, Bike 29 continues to gain momentum. Last week I filled our Outback wagon with packages just to go to the post office. That's a lot of boxes.
The weather has not been the best for riding, so we've been keeping our head down and grinding on.

Here are some important updates.

Schwalbe Racing Ralphs are in stock in both sizes.
Niner Jet 9s continue to arrive, but I am almost sold out of my entire order, not just the ones I brought in early.
09 Fox F29s are here, update soon.
Several sets of I9 wheels have arrived, with more on the way. Call for details.

Bike 29 is proud to announce the addition of Lynskey to our catalog. The Lynskeys are the family that originally brought you beautiful titanium frames under the name of Litespeed. While what happened to Litespeed was truly tragic, and out of the Lynskey family's hands, they pulled themselves up by their boot straps and rose from the ashes under the Lynskey Performance Designs name.

And guess what?
They have a 29er that will blow your socks off.
Look for more on that very soon.