NEW BIKE DAY! Lynskey R210 with Shimano 5700 105

Let's say you're looking for an excellent bike to train with on the road.  You already have a triathlon bike for racing, you already have a cyclocross bike, but you want that one single go-to road bike that will do anything.

You need your road bike to cover century rides, it needs to keep pace in a pack, it may see some gnarly road conditions, probably see it's fair share of winter, it has to do everything.

When you come to us with something like that, we recommend titanium.  It's durable, beautiful, timeless, easy to maintain, but most importantly, it rides oh-so perfectly.

This bike was built just for that person.  Someone who will log long miles, group rides with friends, commute, it'll do it all.  And after a quick wipe-down 10 years from now, it'll look brand new.

Here's another breakdown from Lynskey on what they say about the R210:

Ride in any condition, anytime, anywhere with comfort and style while enjoying a geometry that puts you in a slightly less aggressive riding position yet maintains neutral, stable and predictable handling.

The tubeset consists of double-butted round 3AL/2.5V aerospace grade titanium that will give you the look and lines of a true classic U.S.A. handmade ti bike frame, providing you an all-day supple smooth ride.

Worried about tire clearance? Don't be. There is plenty of clearance for a set of durable and comfortable 28c tires.

The hooded wright style dropouts provide the classic look and strength while allowing you to easily replace the derailleur hanger if need be.

A small from Lynskey has great dimensions and their geometry lends itself well to 700c wheels.  Some bikes this small ride and/or look funny with 700c wheels instead of 650c, but we've had great response from the shorter riders.

Have to love the classic hooded Wright-style dropouts.  The welds are top-notch as always, even on an "affordable" hand made frame from Lynskey.  Don't let their pricing fool you, their products are incredible.  Finish is always the best and the ride is dialed.

I may be wrong, but the matte satin appears a little different than it did when we started with Lynskey.  From our early days with them, we strongly recommended the upgraded finishes, but the matte satin that's rolling out these days has been getting rave reviews.  I've had a number of customers who've recently seen this finish comment that it's their favorite.  It's very similar to another titanium builder out of Steamboat Springs, CO.

Easton EC70 fork really helps the ride of this bike and helps to keep the price under control with it's alloy steerer rather than the carbon one that's becoming more and more popular.

Mavic Aksium wheels and matching Mavic tires complete the rolling stock on this bike.  Incredible durability and great performance for the price many brands try to get for just a rear hub.

Shimano shifting, especially the front, is the best in the business.  105 doesn't disappoint with light-action and accuracy day after day.  For someone who is using their bike for training miles, 105 is the go-to gruppo.

Welcome To My World....

I have seen some of the beautiful views my friends have posted from their offices downtown. Perched in a high rise, overlooking the lake or the loop, through huge windows sitting in fancy office chairs.

Here I sit, on the ground floor, on a Park Tools stool, at a desk I built. But I have an incredible view of two custom Independent Fabrication frames I designed, a Lynskey Cooper and a Ridgeline monstercross, a Boo cross frame, a handful of Niner bikes and frames, and the first publicly available Cielo Sportif Racer SE.

It doesn't get any better than this.

NEW BIKE DAY! Independent Fabrication Ti Factory Lightweight

This one is getting ready to see it's day.  But, one last teaser of one very fun project....

(Soon to be) NEW BIKE DAY! Independent Fabrication TiFLW

More details and complete build shots coming soon.  In the mean time let me tell you: this thing will be SICK.

Enjoy....

NEW BIKE DAY! Lysnkey R210 Matte Satin

Only a frame for now, this one is being built with Shimano 105, Mavic Aksium, Easton EC70 fork, and an FSA cockpit.  Seems strange to say, but this made-in-America, titanium frame is affordable and approaching "great deal" status.  When compared to mass-produced carbon with similar components, the prices are very comparable.

For now, enjoy the pictures.  Complete build shots coming soon....

NEW BIKE DAY! Lynskey Helix with Ultegra 6700

We never tire of building these bikes.  Lynskey is one of those companies that can be so easy to deal with, or so tough.  Depending on their current work load and schedule, you can sometimes get your bike in 2 weeks.  Other times though, if you catch them at the wrong time, it can be 12 weeks.

Luckily this time around, we called at the right time.  This large Helix was ordered as a part of their special for a complete bike with Shimano Ultegra 6700 for about $5000 a mere 16 days ago!  This frame had been produced and was waiting for it's brushed finish and white decals then it was ready to roll.

Lynskey has a whole pitch on the Helix tubing and it's advantages.  I'll divert to their expertise on the actual tubing, but after spending more than a year on one I can tell you it's super stiff but retains the magical Ti ride.  It's extremely compliant on rough roads but still very snappy.  It doesn't have the low-speed, high-torque sprint of an oversized carbon bike, and it's slightly heavier, but since I rarely race on the road those qualities all sit fine with me.

Nice touches on the bike, like this brake bridge, are something many custom builders are known for.  Lynskey doesn't stop there, though....

They also use these beautiful Ti dropouts with the Lynskey clover and bullets ending the stays.

The Lynskey headtube badge is also available separately as a key chain for the Lynskey-lover in your life.  It's a nice touch as a gift as well to remind someone how much they love their bike.

Welds are top-notch as always from Lynskey.  I always expect to find something less with their pricing level, but they continue to impress.

Decal application is always perfect from the factory.  I've had to install a few replacement decals over the years, and it's shockingly difficult.  The decals are terribly thin and fragile until applied.

ENVE fork is always a staple on a new custom build.  I was happy to see Felt placing ENVE forks on their high-end framesets such as the F1x as well.

Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheelset makes for a killer training and racing wheel.  Not the more aero, but incredibly durable!

Shifting that's head and shoulders above all else, Shimano hollow front chainrings are the best in the business.  Until you've used it, you just can't know.

In Paint: Independent Fabrication Ti Factory Lightweight

We have a little sneak peek of a very big project: an IF TiFLW project that's coming together nicely.  She's in paint as I write, and should be making her way to Chicago before we know it.

It'll be dressed appropriately with all sorts of nice bits, the details will follow.  Until then, check out the frame in progress.

New IF Shots

More new paint shots rolling out of the factory in New Market.  I swear, these guys keep getting better and better, and I never thought it possible.  Well done fellas.

A beautiful blue/white scheme on a Crown Jewel.  Maybe a little busy for my taste on a classic steel bike, but I can certainly understand why someone would like this.

This shot just opens a new world of ideas.  I'm a pretty toned-down-paint-scheme kind of guy, but a row of bikes showing color like this makes me yearn for something bright.

Personally I wouldn't ride a bike with the Lion of Flanders prominently displayed like this per my request, but for the right person this could be really cool.  Of course it's done well, and much like the blue/white Crown Jewel, I can appreciate it.

Lynskey Cooper - Stars and Stripes Edition

This is a special build that we partook in, though we can't lay claim to the entire bike.  You may recognize the wheels from a few weeks ago, which we were thrilled to be a part of building.  Rims are Velocity A23, hubs are White Industries H2/H3.

Let's backtrack a little.  This bike belongs to a friend of the shop who has served out country in the Army.  From the get-go this bike was to be loud and scream patriotism.  But at the same time, we didn't want to go down a route that lead to a bike that crossed a line TOO far into being gaudy.

The fork was painted locally by a great friend of ours, Duane over at Chester Cycles.  If you need something painted, this is your dude.  Turnaround has always been totally acceptable, his pricing is great, and his work is top-notch.

It's clear that in as many areas as possible, choices were made to stick with US companies, and preferably US-made products.  Of course, it's pretty much impossible to completely pull that off, but Ryan got damn close.

The frame is one that hits close to home for us, a Lynskey Cooper.  I've spent a ton of time on an identical frame, Chase still sports his, and we have a few more team people riding theirs, check them out here, here, here, and here.

The drivetrain is a mix of SRAM Force and Red.  The headset is a Chris King, the stem and post are both Thomson, tires are the wonderfully plush and grippy Vittoria EVO CS.

While the Cooper is considered by some as the "budget" Lynskey, it's far from it.  The tubing is still shaped, the frame is light, and it has one very nice feature some of the other Lynskey frames don't: a replaceable derailleur hanger.  Don't take that the wrong way, a Ti derailleur hanger makes for excellent shifting, but in the case of a serious crash isn't it nice to know that hanger is replaceable?

Nothing "budget" about this bike.  Built with care, each part chosen for a very specific purpose.  I can't help but to assume this bike rides as well as it looks.  Enjoy it, sir.

Lynskey Cooper - XS with SRAM Force/Rival mix

Here's a sweet "little" build.  An x-small Lynskey Cooper with a nice SRAM mix of components, HED Bastogne wheels, Vittoria EVO CX clinchers, and a Salsa cockpit.

This one was built up for a rider at roughly 5' even, with the intent of beginning the journey into road riding.

Titanium frame, Alpha-Q carbon fork, 700c wheels on this x-small.  Normally on a bike this size we'd really lean toward a 650c, but if you already have wheels and want to make it work, we can.

Beautiful decals are easy to replace.  One of the great aspects of Ti and Lysnkey's finish specifically is that we can take care of it in-house.  We have a few tricks to handle scratches, though you'd really need to do some damage to leave a mark on your Ti frame.  We can also order replacement decal kits in a number of colors to customize the frame.

Lynskey uses a beautiful head badge on all of their bikes.  It's also available as a key chain, a nice touch for the cyclist in your life who has "everything".

SRAM Force, a bit of an unsung hero of the SRAM lineup.  The vast majority of the performance of Red at a much more affordable price.

Independent Fabrication Adventure Bike

Subtle, beautiful, functional.

Independent Fabrication Picture Collection

I wish I could say I had built all of these, but this is just a random collection of photos from around the web.  Enjoy.