Lynskey GR300 Project

The spirit of Grav-lo-cross. No but seriously, cyclocross and gravel go here!

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Volsung
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2021 5:08 pm

by Volsung

I've heard of endurance riders switching to shorter cranks to reduce knee strain. There's less leverage but the circle your foot moves in isn't as drastic. I'm 6' tall and use 170s on my mtb.

JGolds- if your heart isn't set on the zipps you could save weight and money with some Chinese rims and berd spokes. My DT Swiss 240/Nexties came in at 1180g for a few hundred bucks less.

by Weenie


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JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

thewoodsman wrote:
Sun Mar 20, 2022 6:35 am
Love the Lynskey. Ti in general is my preferred frame material, and this is well made, love the geometry, and Lynskey has phenomenal customer service. I have ridden a few other Ti bikes...did not notice a difference, but so many parts it is hard to tell sometimes. I came from a carbon Giant TCX with most of the same components and that I did notice, especially on rougher roads. Sizing is spot on for me, running setback post and 80 or 90 stem. A little closer reach than previous bikes because I have a wider bar. Not an agressive position; I think my saddle rails are 68cm from bb, 30mm stack.

I have not spent enough time on carbon wheels to get a solid feel for the differences, less than 300 miles road/gravel, maybe 150 miles mtb, but if I cannot feel a difference with hard riding over that distance, not hyped to spend so much for it. I do care about hub durability, and the stiffness of i9 straight pull spokes, especially the aluminum spokes, is really nice. Rarely have to true them, never feel like they are letting the surface tell them what to do.

Cane Creek is great stuff. You used to be able to upgrade the headset that comes with a Lynskey to the Cane Creek 110, but not necessary; the 40 is solid. I have used CK or CC 110/hellbender for the past 15+ years--durability first, support bike companies with great people, never have to worry about it. They are also easily serviced, which I do about once a year. I have definitely thrashed a cheap bb or three. Managed to wreck one headset, but that was a lot of beach riding.

I like the simplicity of 1x, and I have always been comfortable with a wide cadence range, so the tradeoffs are not so bad for me. I have appreciated 2x at times, but never stuck with me. I noticed you got the 10-36 cassette, does that mean you have the XPLR der? If you cannot run a 10-44, 1x might be a stretch unless you go pretty small with your chainring. Of course that depends on your elevation and surface conditions.

You really cannot go wrong with Rival. The drivetrain wear parts will not last as long as Force, but I do not think the difference is that much (unlike the mtn side, where x01 is giving me ~3x the life of gx). The derailleur is probably more of a preference than a durability gain at this point, especially with AXS and not having to worry about cable tension on the rear mech. The levers never go bad; that was mostly a feature thing for me.

Availability is rough. I got my order to my lbs in early Feb, hoping to have it all here by late April. Also building up a hardtail this year...already have some parts in, ordering others, unlikely to be done until mid summer.

Quick note on crank sizing: I have had two bike fitters and a physical therapist tell me to get shorter cranks, specifically 165. There are several articles online that suggest different ways to measure (some function of inseam or tibia/femur length), and the fitters/docs echoed those formulas, which put me in the 160-167.5 range. Not that I am having issues, but as I swap parts, I am going smaller. Tried 165s for a month last fall on a borrowed gravel bike and really liked it. Subtle, but felt good. My hardtail will have 165 (coming from 175, as is standard on most M mtbs). Gravel is 172.5 and just waiting to upgrade until next year, assuming I find a decent 165 road option.
This is all great info, Thanks...I didn't get the XPLR since my intention was to run the 2x...can't wait to get the frame, suppose to ship next week.

JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

Got the frame and I am super happy with it!

I was debating on the badge color but since my name has 'gold' in it, I decided on the "bronze" which actually looks more like gold and I love it! I think it adds a very classy touch.

My wife is N. Irish so she definitely appreciated the shamrocks on the badge and on the chain stay; very cool touch.

While installing the BB, I rubbed the torque wrench and "scrapped" the frame, took a Brillo pad and brushed it completely out...already justifying raw Ti. The color is much nicer in real life, raw Ti is just beautiful.

I don't know anything about welding but to me they look great. One little thing was that there was a rattling noise in the seat stay tube. The tube is sealed at both ends but fortunately it has two rack mount screws. I took them off and was able to get out a tiny piece of metal shaving, probably from making those holes, and the problem was solved.

As you see it in the picture with the seat tube clamp and all the screws it weighed in at 1956g vs the stated 1816g which I used in my estimate, forgot to include the seat post clamp.

The bike was shipped with 4 grommets to cover up the holes not in use, Cane Creek 40 and an FSA carbon steer tube compressor cap, the latter which was appreciated.

I installed what I could, as of now, I have everything ordered except with Right Shifter. I ended up going with Rival because I was able to find one. I went with the Zipp 303 Firecrest.

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- Uncut

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- Plan on replacing these.

thewoodsman
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 7:08 pm

by thewoodsman

looks good man, keep posting pictures as you build it. i got the bronze badge on my hardtail; much better compliment than the standard badge. what are you doing about the axles? i do not care for the quick release and plan to replace mine as well. if you have a color scheme in mind, Chris King has the Robert Axle Project lineup with their colors on their website (availability is iffy for now).

JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

I noticed as I wrote this and previewed the posting was a bolt missing on the rear brake caliper. On further inspection, I found that the aluminum piece wasn't flush with the frame. When the aluminum piece was flush, the bolt wouldn't engage. I spoke with Lynskey, sent them photos and they sent me 2 new aluminum pieces along with extra bolts. All within a couple of hours, so far very happy with the customer service. The issue is due to the tight tolerances which does occur often in manufacturing. When I recieve them I will post the fix.


-Issue found as I posted this.
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JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

thewoodsman wrote:
Mon Apr 04, 2022 5:53 pm
looks good man, keep posting pictures as you build it. i got the bronze badge on my hardtail; much better compliment than the standard badge. what are you doing about the axles? i do not care for the quick release and plan to replace mine as well. if you have a color scheme in mind, Chris King has the Robert Axle Project lineup with their colors on their website (availability is iffy for now).
Thanks! I was planning on going with the Robert Project axles, got to check out the colors. I really like their locking mechanism option.

JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

Some updates, Lynskey sent me 2 aluminum blocks with the screws that worked. Essentially they just filed down the interference and polished them. I ended up just filing down the original one I had in an effort to keep the install as tight as possible and keep as much material as possible. That issue was solved, happy with Lynskey's response.

I was able to get a good price on the Zipp 303 Firecrest rims from ProBikeKit. The rims came in perfectly trued and in the original box from Zipp's factory in Indianapolis. I was happy to see that ProBikeKit didn't repackage the rims as the box from factory has the best protection. Unfortunate that the rims were shipped from Indiana to England then to Michigan, a waste but it is what it is. My impression on the rims is that they are crazy light. So much that if they didn't have life-time warranty I would be concerned. I do love they way they look. I don't have tires so I haven't been able to ride them. With what I saved on the rims I was able to bring down the bike below $7k, which is awesome. I will post the final worksheet later.

I was able to find the Isocore Pro Bontrager handlebar for $80 off (& tax free) so I jumped on it. Initially I wanted 40cm width but they only had 42cm. I currently ride 42cm and my shoulder width seems to be 44cm so figured 42 should be the correct size. Though measuring your shoulder width is tricky but viewing many videos and online instructions, my wife was pretty confident I am 44cm. Apparently the "rule" is to match your shoulder width but I actually wanted to go narrower based on some online research. But figured for $80 and based on my measurements and current setup, 42cm was the way. I chose this handlebar for comfort. I wanted to reduce the stress on my shoulders and neck. This handlebar has the carbon layered in a way meant to reduce vibrations, also comes with foam pads. The bar is formed for the foam pads so they don't make the bar any thicker. Online reviews also supported the comfort claim.

I found the shifters!!! The right one is meant to arrive tomorrow. I got the left from backcountry and the right from MyBikeShop. That will be my next update.

I did hot wax on the chain and installed it. Initially following the instructions of big and big, I didn't have to remove any links (114) but the chain had too much slack on small and second small. I decided to remove 2 links. The result is in the pictures below. There is still slack on small / small but no slack on small / second small. Since AXS locks out small / small, I am not concerned with the slack. I don't want to stretch the derailleur any further on big/big, which I know I won't be using either. Waxing the chain wasn't too bad. The hard part was removing the factory lube from SRAM. I first did my wife's chain (for practice, lol). I used mineral spirits and denatured alcohol multiple times and for my new chain, I left it over night because that one was much harder to clean. After it was cleaned, the waxing was easy enough. I used Silca's hot wax mix. I love that I can touch the chain without getting grease all over, this will be awesome for transporting the bike, very happy with it.

As of now, I am waiting on the Grand Prix 5000S TL tires from Germany. Got a decent price buying from there even accounting for the shipping cost. They haven't shipped them yet but I hope they do so soon because that is the last piece to get the bike ready for riding. Eventually I plan on buying Canyon S15 VCLS 2.0 CF Seatpost but it is not available in the US until fall. For now I will just use my current seat post. This will also help me decide on buying the seatpost with or without the setback. I want this seatpost, again, for comfort. Really want to isolate vibrations as much as possible.

Bike:
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Zipp 303 Firecrest Rear XDR Weight:
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Zipp 303 Firecrest Front Weight:
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Bontrager Isocore Pro Handlebar 42cm:
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Isocore Foam Pads:
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Cane Creek 40 headset weight:
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SRAM Rival Left/Front Shifter weight:
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112 + Powerlink Force Chain on Lynskey:
Small-Small:
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2nd Small - Small:
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Big-Big:
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thewoodsman
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 7:08 pm

by thewoodsman

Looks great so far. Chain slack is not ideal, but like you said, no small/small or big/big. Guessing Sram built the system around maximizing the derailleur wrap knowing those combinations are not available.

I have had the same experience with Lynskey customer service...always on the ball, quick turnaround.

JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

95% Complete!!! I know I said I was going to build it over the year; however, who was I kidding, no way was I going to wait :D .

Items still to install are the stem, seat post and Robert Project axles. I wanted to hold off on the seat post and stem until I rode it to know if I wanted a set back and what length stem.

I found my saddle offset to be about 20 so I ordered the Ergon CF Allroad Pro Carbon Setback seat post. Has a 13 or 25mm offset, depending on orientation of the flip head. Initially I was looking at the Canyon version but couldn't find it in the US. Ergon is the same company and was able to buy it from them, although more expensive but with a 10% coupon and no tax and free shipping it came out to about the same if I had bought it from Canyon. Decided on this because of the leaf spring technology and its comfort.

I was also going to wait on the thru axles but I was able to get them for $75 for both on PerformanceBikes and I really dislike the QR thru axles.

I was finally able to take it on a ride, did 2 x 40km rides. Initially the bike felt compact but after setting the seat post back to about 30mm offset, and with my old 90mm (7 deg) stem, it felt perfect. Though, after the first ride I felt a little lower back and shoulder discomfort. So I moved the saddle forward to 20mm offset and lowered it by about 3mm and on the second ride I had no discomfort. I performed the balance test to confirm the 20mm offset kept me balanced and it did. Though, on the second ride with the 20mm offset and 90mm stem I felt a little cramped, so I decided on the 100mm stem. Purchased the Zipp Service Course SL because of the +/- 4, 6, or 8 degree adjustability and because it matches my rims and looks awesome. Haven't received none of these yet but they've all been shipped.

From a ride prespective, it was awesome! More so on the first ride because of the fit and the full battery, more on this later. It is hard to explain the ride quality to others. The way I explained it is like comparing it to driving a luxury car vs a standard car. In a luxury car, everything feels tight, high quality, smooth, quiet and just bit more comfortable. The upholstery, the damping of the rough roads, changing of the gears...just nice! Same with the bike...everything just felt luxury, I loved it. I am happy with (almost) every component decision I made thus far, including reducing the crankarm length (170), keeping the 42cm handlebar width, the titanium, the zipp wheels and 32mm GP5000S tires, tubeless, etc... The only thing I will change in the future is the bottom bracket. In the smaller (11/12) cogs, high cadence and higher power, the pedaling is not as smooth as I would like as I feel some small vibrations in my feet. The only thing I did cheap out on was the BB and to my surprise, I actually feel it. I thought the difference would be more in durability between the $35 Sram BB and say Chris King BB but I was wrong. Not too worried as this is an easy upgrade, though it will probably be next year. The other thing I will probably buy, is a wider set of gravel tires. The 32mm are great for road and light gravel, but I did a few miles on dirt roads and the ride was still very harsh. I love the 32mm for my riding, which is pretty much rough sucky roads (Michigan roads) and light gravel. But if I ever go on an off road trip, I will swap out my tires for some wider gravel tires.

One thing I did notice both on my second ride and while dialing in the rear derailleur is that if in low battery (solid red light (5+hours left) not blinking red), the rear derailleur does not shift well. It still works but it is not as crisp. On my second ride it wasn't smooth shifting from the 11 to 12 small cog. It was frustrating me however, when I got home I realized it was in low battery mode. I then remembered a similar experience when I was dialing it in a couple weeks earlier. I posed this question on a forum and it seems others haven't experienced this. This was only noticeable in going from 11 to 12, and I was only in this gear because I was doing high power intervals. Normally, I don't see myself in that 12 gear much, not that that is an excuse, I expect perfect shifting with a full battery. In either case, I plan on not riding in low battery mode again. One thing I would add is that Sequential Shifting is awesome. Wasn't sure I was going to like it, but I love not worrying about what gear I am on and potentially cross shifting the chain. Not that I did that before but I did keep an eye on what gear ratio I was in. Now it doesn't matter as the system takes care of it. And I can override it by shifting the front gear whenever I want.

I will post next week with the final photos and parts list. As of now, would I say it is 3-4x times better than my current bike (based on cost)...not really. But would I do it all over again...absolutely!!! I love it, and it is not even fully finished.

Comparing this e-shifting to my previous 105s, I would say the 105s are just as good to be honest. But I love the 2 button setup, sequential shifting and effortless front shifting. As a side note, I tried the Tiagra on my brothers bike and the difference between Tiagra and 105 is night and day.

The hydraulic disc brakes vs my old 105 rim brakes: in dry conditions I found no difference. Though rim brakes sucked in the mountains of Colombia when I got caught in the rain. So I am sure I will appreciate these at some point. I will say though, that installing the brakes sucked. Though I learned a lot about hydraulic disc brakes in the process. I ended up bleeding the rear one at least 10+ times and still couldn't fully match the front. After much research I found it is common for the rear brake to have more spongy feeling due to the longer hose and more difficulty to remove all the air than the front brake. The difference is minimal and not noticeable while riding, only off the bike. I posted pictures below to show the difference of the bite point. Again, while riding I felt no difference. And the fact that most stopping power comes from the front brake, it is actually a benefit for the rear to be softer. Though still was a bit annoying off the bike, lol!

For the tubeless tire setup, it was much easier than I had read. The GPs are tight, I had the GP 4000s then the 5000 and now the 5000S. All were very tight on first install. Though, these were by far the easiest of the 3 to install. I didn't use a lever to install the rear one, I did end up using a lever (lightly) on the front one. I think my hands were just exhausted from the rear one. But once on, I inflated with my standard floor pump with no issue. I little more effort but got it on the first go. I inflated to the max 73psi, then deflated and took off one side, added the Silca sealant, reinstalled (lever free) and pumped to 48/45 psi (based on Zipps online calculator) and had no issues. I saw some sealant in the creases but not much, I rubbed if off with my nails onces congealed. The initial Silca sealant shouldn't be poured through the stem, only the following replishments can.

32x700 GP 5000S TL:
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Front Shifter Lever Bite Point:
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RearShifter Lever Bite Point:
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JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

Received the Robert Axle Project thru axles, Ergon seat post and Zipp stem to complete my build. Eventually I will get a computer/light mount to replace the bootleg mount I have on the aero bars. But that is in the longer run as I want to get the Garmin 1030+ and it is pretty costly.

Zipp Stem Service Course SL: I was wrong about the stem, I thought the stem came with the inserts to vary the degrees. This is only the case on the OS version of which I didn't realize it is a different stem. In either case, I recieved the 100mm 6degree stem with the top cap and it looks awesome. Love the black on black and the top cap doesn't need a top spacer as it has 3mm depth so works as a spacer itself. Though I couldn't use this with the FSA compression plug that Lynskey provided. I interchanged it with my current bike plug and with some modification got it to look perfect. I did end up putting another 2.5mm spacer below increasing the spacer length to 37.5 from 35 (excludes the Cane Creek bearing cover space of about 7.5mm). Lynskey says 35mm spacers max on top of the headset cover. I decided the 2.5mm extra was acceptable seeing that I am using a 100mm stem and the 35mm limit should account for longer stems in worse case.

The seat post does dampen the ride significantly. Easy to set and I like how the tilt, fore/aft, and height changes can be done independantly. I put on the carbon paste but it wouldn't fit in the tube. Eventually I cleaned the paste and the seatpost does insert with pressure. It hasn't slid, if it does I will try to put the carbon paste again. The Lynskey seat post hole is pretty exact.

I like the robert axles though their labeling is black letters on a white background. I don't really like this so I put black tape on them. They are light and much better than the quick release. Eventually I will buy the hexlox locks too.

Rival Axs Problem: I had an issue on Sunday, on my second hour the right shifter froze. Had to pull over and troubleshoot but couldn't get it to work. Eventually nailed down that it was the shifter, when I got home I uninstalled/reinstalled the shifter battery and it now works. Went on a ride yesterday and had no issues. I hope this was a one time issue, in either case, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Mechanical shifters never left me on the side of the road.

I had shuddering with my front brake. I sanded the rotor and pads and re-did the bed-in process. This almost fixed the problem. I don't feel it on my normal riding but when I diliberately try to find it, it is still there. I read this has been an issue with the stock brake pads and centerline XR rotors. So in the future I will probably replace these with MTX brake pads and Gafler rotors as I heard that solves the problem. As of now, it is not enough of an issue to spend more money.

I noticed the chain is louder than my shimano setup. The wind and tire noise is louder but still noticable. I read that hot wax dry lubricant doesn't help. But I rather use the hot wax and deal with the noise than to use a wet lube.

From a weight prespective: Before I jumped on this project, I was going to buy the Domane SL6 Etap. So for this project I used that as my bench mark. This bike is better spec'd, weighs 0.82lbs less and cost me $1082 less so it was a success. That being said, it is a heavy enough bike. The "spec" weight is 8.5kg. The weight including everything I typically ride with is currently at 10.34kg. If I remove the rear saddle bottle cages, the aero bars and lights, I can get to ~9kg. But I prefer to have enough water, the safety of the lights and the extra comfort option of the aero bars instead of reaching the top a few seconds faster. I also prefer the durability and comfort. I weight 83kg so loosing a kg on the bike makes little to no difference to me apart from paper.

As I make updates I will post them here. Also, if I find issues I will post them here. Until then, thanks for reading.

Zipp Service Course SL 100mm 6deg Stem:
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Zipp Top Cap:
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Robert Axle Project LIG511:
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Robert Axle Project LIG603:
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Ergon CF Allroad Pro Carbon Setback Seatpost:
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Parts List:
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stalkersk
Posts: 76
Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:44 pm

by stalkersk

Rear brake may not be aligned very well, the lever travel is influenced by pistons, usually if one piston is further out, the lever travel will lengthen. Got Force and Rival levers on bikes and both front and rear travel same. It's a but finicky to center and set up the caliper properly.

JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

stalkersk wrote:
Tue May 17, 2022 8:31 pm
Rear brake may not be aligned very well, the lever travel is influenced by pistons, usually if one piston is further out, the lever travel will lengthen. Got Force and Rival levers on bikes and both front and rear travel same. It's a but finicky to center and set up the caliper properly.
This worked! Based on your comment I decided to play with the pistons some more and got the right to slide equivalent to the left by pushing it out a little further then cleaning. I now got them to be the same! Thanks for the info.

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thewoodsman
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 7:08 pm

by thewoodsman

sweet bike. glad you like it.

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FIJIGabe
Posts: 2241
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:07 pm
Location: The Lone Star State

by FIJIGabe

Thanks for posting this. I've decided to get a Lynskey, based on the recommendation of a friend of mine. I recently completed Unbound (100) and saw so many Ti bikes, it really made me question my devotion to CF. Anyway, I appreciate your build. I'll be transferring most of the parts off my current build, so we're going in different directions, but I like the look of the etched decals, and your explanation of 6/4 vs 3/2.5 ti was interesting. I'm still on the fence about a GR300 vs. Pro GR, since the geometries appear to be the same, just the materials and dropped seatstays.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



JGolds
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2022 3:02 pm

by JGolds

FIJIGabe wrote:
Sun Jun 12, 2022 3:03 pm
Thanks for posting this. I've decided to get a Lynskey, based on the recommendation of a friend of mine. I recently completed Unbound (100) and saw so many Ti bikes, it really made me question my devotion to CF. Anyway, I appreciate your build. I'll be transferring most of the parts off my current build, so we're going in different directions, but I like the look of the etched decals, and your explanation of 6/4 vs 3/2.5 ti was interesting. I'm still on the fence about a GR300 vs. Pro GR, since the geometries appear to be the same, just the materials and dropped seatstays.
Thanks for the feedback. Only quick comment is I would recommend you order an extra derailleur hanger with the frame (or 2), you get to save on shipping in the future and you get the 25% off of it too (I think). Friday I found a hairline crack on my hanger, no real reason, I haven't dropped it or anything on about 500 miles on it. Shifting was off, that's how I found it. I notified Lynskey Friday but they are out of office. Also, I did have to align the hanger even though it was new, (it's typical but just fyi). Unfortunately this Rival AXS system requires everything to be EXACT, a bit annoying. But when it works it's awesome. It's just so damn touchy.

Have fun with the build.

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