# Lynskey M230 Pics



## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

I just finished building her up last night. Snapped a few pics, and thought I'd share them.

Cheers!'s bike was a big inspiration. His thread can be seen here:
https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=499645&highlight=Lynskey+m230

This isn't a super-light build, I simply didn't have the budget to go very exotic on the components. The frame is a 19" and weighed 1463g w/ the bottle cage bolts. According to my spreadsheet the bike as shown should weigh around 21 lbs.

As of yet, I haven't even taken this off-road. The weather is being uncooperative  I'll report back after its maiden voyage.

And for anyone wondering about the weight of any component, I'll post my build spreadsheet later.

Thanks for looking!


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## Aquaholic (Jan 13, 2004)

Sublime!

Look's fast just sitting there, B!

Vroom Vrooom!


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## amillmtb (Jun 24, 2005)

Looks really good! Now lets hear about those Maxxis tires you have in the works!


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## moto367 (Nov 20, 2006)

Nice and clean looking build. :thumbsup:


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

amillmtb said:


> Looks really good! Now lets hear about those Maxxis tires you have in the works!


I have no idea what you're talking about. 



moto367 said:


> Nice and clean looking build. :thumbsup:


Thanks! I'm really not liking Mother Nature at the moment.


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## Smart Sam (Jul 12, 2008)

Awesome, the only change I would make would be the grips. Some red or white ESI Chunkys would be sweet. Other than that.. Brilliant.


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## limba (Jan 9, 2004)

Awesome. Hopefully you get some nice weather soon and get to try it out.


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## FoShizzle (Jan 18, 2004)

wow! that looks insanely fast! that bike is serious art!


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## Mmm Bubble (Oct 10, 2009)

Wow! That's all i have to say too.


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## thefuzzbl (Jul 5, 2006)

"I simply didn't have the budget to go very exotic on the components" your right, that thing is probably a porker. surly you arnt going to ride it with that modest parts spec are you? looks crazy fast.


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## Severum (Sep 9, 2003)

Really love anything made by Lynskey.


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## bmf102 (Aug 27, 2007)

very nice bike, super clean !


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## Diamondhead (Nov 2, 2007)

Nice bike! looks solid, and fast, couldn't help but notice all the Titec Pluto bits on the bike. IMHO the Titec Pluto line represents a better value then another brand that sarts with a T.
I have to admit, I'm now suffering a case of "bike envy".

Cheers :thumbsup:


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

Thanks, all!



Diamondhead said:


> Nice bike! looks solid, and fast, couldn't help but notice all the Titec Pluto bits on the bike. IMHO the Titec Pluto line represents a better value then another brand that sarts with a T.


I agree. Of course I haven't really ridden the components, so the jury is still out on 'em. The stem is nothing to write home about, although it looks really nice. I really like the ergonomics of the bar, and the seatpost seems nice w/ a respectable weight (229g, 350 x 31.6).

BTW, I really like Thomson MP seatposts (I have one on my FS), but I wanted something with a little more give for this build.


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## Cheers! (Jun 26, 2006)

Looks plenty exotic to me. Amazing bike! It turned out great. The crank bros headset matches that frame perfectly!

But why - o - why did you use the boat anchor cassette? Sram PG990 cassette in 11-32 is 275g to 280g. XTR M970 11-32 is 224g. 

Please don't tell me you like the anodized red spider in the sram cassette. The color is not enough of an excuse to add 50g. That is 1/8th of a pound.

I love the bike!


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

Cheers! said:


> But why - o - why did you use the boat anchor cassette? Sram PG990 cassette in 11-32 is 275g to 280g. XTR M970 11-32 is 224g.


Haha, I went with the pg990 because it's cheap! (About 110 bucks cheaper for me.) I'm lucky if I get 2/3 a season out of a cassette. Do the Ti XTR cassettes last longer than the XT's /pg990's? The red you can't see after a couple rides, anyhow. I was trying to get the "SRAM" laser etching in that photo- didn't show up too well.

Are you still enjoying your Lynskey?


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## pernfilman (May 24, 2007)

bholwell said:


> Haha, I went with the pg990 because it's cheap! (About 110 bucks cheaper for me.) I'm lucky if I get 2/3 a season out of a cassette. Do the Ti XTR cassettes last longer than the XT's /pg990's? The red you can't see after a couple rides, anyhow. I was trying to get the "SRAM" laser etching in that photo- didn't show up too well.
> 
> Are you still enjoying your Lynskey?


I thought I was the only one thinking that about the PG990 cassette.

Tip top on the build bike looks great let us know how it rides.


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## Cheers! (Jun 26, 2006)

bholwell said:


> Haha, I went with the pg990 because it's cheap! (About 110 bucks cheaper for me.) I'm lucky if I get 2/3 a season out of a cassette. Do the Ti XTR cassettes last longer than the XT's /pg990's? The red you can't see after a couple rides, anyhow. I was trying to get the "SRAM" laser etching in that photo- didn't show up too well.
> 
> Are you still enjoying your Lynskey?


You gotta start surfing Hong Kong ebay or any ebay. XTR CS-M970 cassettes can be had for 150 USD. Unfortunately the USD has been hit hard against foreign currency. Do they last long? For me they are about the same as long as you are wise about your shifting and is diligent in keeping your chain cleaned and lubed.

I'm still loving my Lynskey. However my creaked really bad from day one. The ID of the Titanium tubing for the seat tube is bigger than 31.6mm. 31.6mm is your seat post outer diameter. How lynskey solves this is how they did it when they ran litespeed; they used an aluminum sleeve that is pressed into the Titanium tubing. My started to creak like many litespeeds did in the past. You will know of this sleeve/insert by inserting your finger into where your seat post goes and feeling for a ridge.

The old trick was to flip your bike upside down with the seat tube perpendicular to the floor. Get some thin plastic tubing and feed it through the water bottle bosses on the seat tube. Douse the inside of the seat tube with red loctite (loctite 262). The loctite will run into the gap between the sleeve and the Titanium tube and fill it. The loctite will harden and it will stop the sleeve from creaking. You need to let the frame sit upside down for atleast 3 days to ensure the loctite has successfully wicked into the gap between the sleeve and the tube.

I rode with it creaking like crazy for months. I thought I had a crack in the frame but could not find any. I forgot about this trick until a fellow racer mentioned he did the same thing in the 90s. I had thought about sending it back to Lynskey but I didn't want the bike gone for weeks for Lynskey to evaluate and repair.

So far the creak has gone away.

Just some FYI for you if you encounter this creak. What Lynskey should have done was make the sleeve A LOT longer so it wouldn't be a pivot point for the seatpost to rock it back and forth as you sit on the saddle.


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## BunnV (Sep 7, 2005)

Most excellent. I love how the tires have NO markings to compete with the graphics on the sweet Reynolds wheels. Nice touch. :thumbsup:


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## dragonq (Nov 5, 2006)

wow nice one


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## FoShizzle (Jan 18, 2004)

BunnV said:


> Most excellent. I love how the tires have NO markings to compete with the graphics on the sweet Reynolds wheels. Nice touch. :thumbsup:


good point! not that I am into how a bike looks...but i cant help but coming back to this thread to czech this bike. its outstanding and may very well be the nicest bike ever, or second nicest anyway next to my forthcoming Lynksey


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## ohadamirov (Jun 26, 2008)

WOW ! Preatty nice and exclusive bike! Enjoy :thumbsup:


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

Cheers! said:


> Douse the inside of the seat tube with red loctite (loctite 262). The loctite will run into the gap between the sleeve and the Titanium tube and fill it. The loctite will harden and it will stop the sleeve from creaking. You need to let the frame sit upside down for atleast 3 days to ensure the loctite has successfully wicked into the gap between the sleeve and the tube.


No creaks while riding on the road. We'll see Sat. morning- thanks for the tip.



FoShizzle said:


> good point! not that I am into how a bike looks...but i cant help but coming back to this thread to czech this bike. its outstanding and may very well be the nicest bike ever, or second nicest anyway next to my forthcoming Lynksey


Thanks, Fo. You're going completely custom, right? So what abomination are you having made?


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## cadre (Dec 18, 2007)

*My 17" Custom Lynskey Rigid Commuter (6760g) PICTURES INTENSIVE!!*

Hi there, really nice bike u have there! Didn't realised that I've just high-jacked ur thread. Apologised...


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## limba (Jan 9, 2004)

Now that's how you hijack a thread! 

Nice bike.


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## wannabeRacer (Feb 9, 2004)

SWEET, I want one!


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## FoShizzle (Jan 18, 2004)

bholwell said:


> Thanks, Fo. You're going completely custom, right? So what abomination are you having made?


haha...why do people think i cant do things like normal people? 

Well, put it this way...my guess is that my abomination will be about 9 lbs more than yours, honestly.

I have my XC bike already so we are doing a Lynskey AM 29er hardtail and yes, definitely custom all around, with pretty funky parts selection too. I call it the FoSkey and my obsession ended about 2 weeks ago at which point I finalized the drawing :thumbsup: so yeah, right now its an e-build, though all parts ordered too

And you will be happy to know I went with Maxxis, ordered from the first batch available of the Ardent 29er 2.4s...front and rear....booyah! So yeah, definitley won't be showing up on the weight weenie forum and in fact may be amongst the top 10 heaviest Ti builds around


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

For anyone who might be curious about component weights:










BTW, it looks like my bike might be Lynskey's "bike of the week" next week!


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## Cayenne_Pepa (Dec 18, 2007)

Bholwell, it would be well worth it if you went to the XTR ti cassette. I got 1900 miles on my similar Dura Ace 12/27 cassette and it looks and shifts like new still. Also, upgrade your Eggbeater SL spindles with titanium and save another 80g...in fact, I would include as much ti stuff as possible. Sick bike, BTW!


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## Cheers! (Jun 26, 2006)

how did you get selected for bike of the week?


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

Zachariah said:


> Bholwell, it would be well worth it if you went to the XTR ti cassette. I got 1900 miles on my similar Dura Ace 12/27 cassette and it looks and shifts like new still. Also, upgrade your Eggbeater SL spindles with titanium and save another 80g...in fact, I would include as much ti stuff as possible. Sick bike, BTW!


Thanks, Zachariah. I'll most likely do both of the upgrades you suggested (plus a headset replacement  )



Cheers! said:


> how did you get selected for bike of the week?


I simply emailed a picture of the bike to Lynskey. We'll see if it actually happens.


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

*My Build is Lynskey's Bike of the Week*

https://www.lynskeyperformance.com/a/


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## Diamondhead (Nov 2, 2007)

Congrats on making B.O.W.!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## FoShizzle (Jan 18, 2004)

bholwell said:


> *My Build is Lynskey's Bike of the Week*


very nice!

by the way, you should be embarassed by what an attention whore you are...how DARE you!?


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

FoShizzle said:


> very nice!
> 
> by the way, you should be embarassed by what an attention whore you are...how DARE you!?


Yes, Mr. Pot, I am. Anyhow, the guys at Lynskey deserve all the attention. I just bolted the damn thing together.

Sincerely,

Mr. Kettle


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

*WeightWeenie-itis*

Yep, I've caught it. I've made a few changes to the bike since I've first built her up. They include:

- Chris King Headset (CB Opium had a slight creak I couldn't get rid of)
- Control Tech Ti bolt-on skewers
- 140mm Alligator Windcutter rotor (rear)
- Titanium spindles for the eggbeaters
- Maxxis Modular Valve System Tubes (front and rear)
- Ti and Al bolt tuning

These changes have brought the weight down to 20.95 lbs.

Planned future upgrades include:
- Lighter brakes (XX?)
***Edit- XX brake set on order!
- Cassette (new SRAM XO when available)
- King Ti cages
- Lighter seatpost
- ESI Chunky grips
- New lighter tires 

I'll try to snap some pics later. Here are the weights, if anyone is interested:


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## pernfilman (May 24, 2007)

Pics for sure, I love your bike, Titanium hotness. I am almost done with my Litespeed, last piece comes in today.


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

pernfilman said:


> Pics for sure, I love your bike, Titanium hotness. I am almost done with my Litespeed, last piece comes in today.


Sweet. I'm looking forward to pics of your build :thumbsup:


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## lactatofilo (Jul 6, 2008)

Is that a standard frame? Seem to be the industrial milled finish option, right?
It looks a w e s o m e ! ! ! ! !


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

lactatofilo said:


> Is that a standard frame? Seem to be the industrial milled finish option, right?
> It looks a w e s o m e ! ! ! ! !


Thanks! Yes, it's the M230 frame with standard geometry, 19" seat tube. I went with the Hand Brushed finish, which is similar to the Industrial Mill but maybe a little brighter. I think it may be easier to buff out scratches on the HB finish.

http://www.lynskeyperformance.com/a...titanium-mountain-bikes---houseblend-m230.php


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

*Pics as promised*

At first I didn't like the looks of the XX brakes, but they're starting to grow on me. Other upgrades include:

Control Tech Ti bolt-on skewers
Chris King headset
Ti eggbeater spindles (www.titaniumspindles.com)
Maxxis MVS tubes
Ti stem bolts, Al cage bolts and headset bolt


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## bikerboyj17 (Dec 18, 2007)

*MVS tubes?*

Ive never seen those tubes before... anything special about them?


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

bikerboyj17 said:


> Ive never seen those tubes before... anything special about them?


Yeah, they're new (the distributors don't have them yet), so I'll try to elaborate.

The actual tube material is butyl, the same as our regular tubes. The entire valve stem is removable via special threading at the base of the valve stem. The valve stem is constructed of aluminum alloy and titanium, so it is a little lighter than a regular brass valve stem, and it has a removable valve core. The valve stems are sold in pairs, with multiple colors and lengths to choose from (60mm, 80mm, and 100mm). The individual tubes are sold separately, and are available in both Flyweight and Ultralight thicknesses for both 700c and 26" tires.

The benefits are:
- No finicky valve stem extensions for those with deep dish rims
- When the tube needs to be replaced, just replace the tube and keep the valve stem
- Ability to color coordinate ("bling") your bike
- Slightly reduced weight

If you have any more questions, please let me know.


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## raceer2 (Jul 21, 2007)

WOW ! Sweet build man ! 

Riding impressions ?

What do the rim/wheels weigh ? Can they be run tubeless ?

Thanks


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## bholwell (Oct 17, 2007)

raceer2 said:


> WOW ! Sweet build man !
> 
> Riding impressions ?
> 
> ...


Thanks, raceer. The bike handles great. Much more supple than my old Al hardtail, yet I can't detect any BB flex. The shifting is amazing with the grip shifters, too. I'm thinking of converting my FS also.

The wheelset is the older Topo C model, and it weighs 1521g. It can be run tubeless if you add a rubber rim strip or split 20" tube, but I haven't set it up tubeless.


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