Lynskey Sportive Di2C

ledeev

I know this is very similar to the other Lynskey Disc build, but I didn't want to hijack the thread and this one is different anyway.

Here's my build so far:


Frame: Lynskey Sportive Di2c
Forks: Lynskey Endurance
Bars: Ritchey / Deda (TBA)
Stem: Oval 900 Carbon
Headset: Chris King
Bar Tape: Fizik Soft Touch

Shifters: Ultegra 6700 Di2
Cables: Ultegra 6700 Di2
Front Mech: Ultegra 6700 Di2
Rear Mech: Ultegra 6700 Di2
Brakes: Hope V-twin on floating 160mm SLX rotors

Saddle: Selle Italia SLR
Seat Post: Van Nicolas Titanium
Seat Post Clamp: Lynskey

Crank: Ultegra 6600
Chain: KMC
Cassette: Ultegra 6600
Pedals: Shimano SPD
Bottom Bracket: Ultegra 6700

Wheels:
Handbuilt by me
Rim: Mavic A317 32H
Spokes: Sapim Laser
Hubs: XT M785 centrelock
Tube: Continental
Tire: Continental GP4000s








Basically this is a winter training / commuter bike that allows me to brake when it's wet and change gear when it gets muddy. Titanium to resist the salt and bike shed knocks. Don at Lynskey waived the Di2C conversion charge - nice one Don!

ledeev

I fitted the Di2 wiring harness, headset, rear mech and offered up the Hope bracket and stem tonight. Feeding through the Di2 harness was a seriously fiddly operation. I wouldn't want to have to do that again.

matt-h

Looking forward to reading more of this.
Looks lovely

Matt

declan1

Ledeev wrote:

Basically this is a winter training / commuter bike that allows me to brake when it's wet and change gear when it gets muddy. Titanium to resist the salt and bike shed knocks.

Yeah, yeah...

noiseboyfeetman

Looking good and I like those forks, shame they've had to beef up the drop outs and lose the clover leafs though.

ledeev

I'm really not sold about those cloverleafs. It would have put me off slightly if the frame had them as to me, all they add is weight. Personal thing I guess, they're certainly unique! One thing I do like about the disc dropouts is that the Lynskey logo is NC-machined into the metal, rather than stamped. Impressive and a really nice detail. The fork is a nice bit of kit - the clearance is unreal, must be a CX fork I think.

I managed to get a few more bits on tonight - the BB went in fine, as did the cranks. I made sure that the shifters still worked throughout to ensure I hadn't pinched a wire. Not so with the brake system, I have a big box of caliper adaptors somewhere, I just don't know where. My Turner has had to give up one of its adaptors to allow me to fit the front brake. The cables will need shortening too, which is yet another job to do. The black calipers look seriously menacing. The 5spot might be giving up its silver X2s as well. Have to try them I think to decide.

I'm having a few doubts about the bar / stem combo now - it just doesn't look right. Maybe I'll have a look for a cheap 120mm OS setup instead.

ledeev

My new oversized USE race 'man' stem arrived through the post so I embarked on fitting that and the V-twin brake system last night. I decided that I wanted to reuse some Nokon cable from one of my other bikes to get a good tight radius to keep the cables out of the way. All in all, the system isn't hard to fit and seems to work well. The stem sets off the V-twin nicely too. I followed the excellent video that Hope have produced and even learned a new word - 'gigs' which I think means eyes in Cumbrian. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RyOIPNSTU8




My 160mm mount arrived too, so I fitted that. One worry was that the brake connector banjo stuck out and was in the firing line of my heel on the pedal upstroke. I contacted Hope who suggested that I reverse the hose ends and swap the banjo and bleed nipple ports over, which neatens up the hose routing and moves it out of harms way.

RideOnTime

Thanks for sharing.
Good pics...

ledeev

I spent a good three hours shortening and generally tidying up the brake hoses last night.  I made the rear one a bit too short after the brass olive snagged, which is annoying but won’t make too much difference.  As I’d swapped the ends of both brake lines, they both needed bleeding.  The front one was easy, but the rear one was like one of those awkward challenges from the ‘Krypton Factor’.  As the bleed nipple is now on the side of the caliper, and the caliper is mounted on the chainstay, the only way to do it is to lean the bike over at 45 degrees so that the fluid doesn’t run out, take the reservoir cap and the caliper off, then pump the brake lever with one hand whilst holding the caliper and opening and closing the bleed nipple with a ring spanner with the other hand.  Tricky.  It does work though and both brakes are now bleed.  It’s unusual feeling to pull a road brake lever and have the feel of a hydraulic system, but not one that’ll take more than a minute to get used to out on the road.
 
I also tidied up the Di2 cables, whacked on the SPDs, wrapped the bar tape and now, finally, the Sportive is road-worthy.  So it’ll be out for a road test tomorrow I hope.
 






 
Next task is to fit the mudguards and lights.  Mudguards are easy, I have a set of SKS thermoplastics off my old commuter, but the lights are a bigger challenge.  I have a set of LED lights that have served me well, but because they’re light, their endurance is useless.  2 commutes on full power and without any warning, they go out and need recharging.  They’ll do for now, but I’d like a dynamo system.  My current thinking is to rebuild the front wheel with an SP PD-8 and use a Supernova E3 Pro 2 headlight and matching rear light as I could run the wire internally all the way up to and through the seatpost.  Usefully, the spoke lengths necessary for the XT and the SP hub are the same, so I won’t even need new spokes.  The lights come in grey or black cases (and a range of other colours) so I’ll have to decide which looks best.  I think maybe grey for the headlight, black for the tail light.  I’d value any experiences that people have regarding hub dynamos or Supernova lights, good or bad.

housemunkey

I'm really liking these setups. Wish I had the money and the space for one, might stop me being so fair weather :oops:

ledeev

I took the bike out for a ride today. I rolled off the drive and SNAP, the chain went. Not a problem really, it was a chain that I found in my parts bin so I was a bit suspicious of it anyway. I fitted a new one and off I went. The performance from the brakes going into the first roundabout was very poor, like a sub-Sora caliper with old pads in the rain.

The gears take some getting used to, the paddles are in a different place to the DA and Ultegra mechanical systems that I'm familiar with and I haven't fine-tuned my system yet, so will be looking forward to getting that set right and getting used to it.

Getting the Lynskey up to speed was a real pleasure. The geometry is quite relaxed so it doesn't feel like you need to get your nostrils touching the stem bolts for it to feel nice. With the -8deg stem I could ride on the drops easily. A couple of saddle adjustments made it even better. The Deda RHM02 bars are very comfortable. I've got some Deda Newtons on my other bikes, but the curve of these suit my hands much better. After dragging the brakes and doing a few stops the pads started to bed in so that when I arrived at the Severn Bridge where the power from them was so much that the beefy fork started to flex.




Hammering it at speed with a tailwind, I arrived home thinking, 'I really like this bike'. It looks how I wanted it to look and it rides like I wanted it to ride. It's no race bike, but I think that it's a bike that'll be good to ride.

wastegate86

Daaamm you ride alot of post dude ha
its supprising how subtle the hope box looks under the stem
Had a chance the use it in the wet yet?

Hate to criticize a fellow lynskey rider but im not totally sold on the silver crank
It was a choice i wasnt sure about when i built mine but think the dark grey gives a better flow


But hey each to own looks great, good to hear your enjoying the bike

ledeev

It's an XL but I still need that amount of seatpin! My original Ti VN seatpost wasn't long enough so that's back in the parts bin. I am quite tall though.

I was careful how I installed the V-twin cylinders, I've seen some shocking setups on Google and wanted to avoid that. It does make adjustment a bit of a torture though. Nokons certainly help and I'm a bit surprised that nobody has picked up on their gold colour yet.

Know what you mean about the cranks, but the silver was a deliberate choice - I've worn through the anodising on the sides of black cranks down to the metal with my big boots in only a few hundred miles in previous winters which to me makes them look really worn and tatty. It's amazing how the small things make a difference, my other Ti bike has a Ti seatpin and gun metal hubs, bars and stems and it looks totally different.

I managed to get home before the rain yesterday - but the forecast doesn't look good for the commute home tonight so it may well get a wet weather test.

amey

I have a very similar bike like this for the winter duties: http://www.pedalroom.com/bike/tokyo-fix ... photo91335

Not a weight weenie in any sense; made out of 4130 tubing.

meagain

About as good as a bike gets IMO. Nicely designed and built - 10/10!

ledeev

Amey: Your Barclays bike is lovely - excellent attention to detail. Impressive that completely independently we came to almost the same conclusion.

I fitted the mudguards last night - a bit of a fiddly operation as the massive mud clearance and front caliper means that numerous spacers need to be employed. I fitted the reinforcement piece from one of my old SKS guards to bring the front mudguard down nearer the wheel and had to use an M8 nut to space out the rear one. I've ordered some nylon spacers to tidy it all up as it looks a real mess. Anyway here is the Lynskey now:




I've also ordered my dynamo lights, so I'm really looking forward to getting those!

ugo.santalucia

Right, now it's stopped raining and you can take those monstruosities off again?... please...

PS: don't worry, it's just me... can't stand mudguards

ledeev

Personally, I think the mudguards add to the 'sleeper' look that I'm aiming for. Makes it appear even more understated and keeps the incredible amount of horsemuck that there is on the roads near me from getting in my drivetrain.

spasypaddy

out of interest, how come you didnt take an internal battery?

ledeev

The main reason for no internal battery is that the 2012 10spd Di2 system was going cheap (cheapish) on Merlin Cycles and that came with an external battery. According to Don Erwin at Lynskey, having the battery on the down-tube is what they had in mind when they designed the Di2 modification. Personally I think they'd have done better putting it on the non-driveside chainstay, but never mind. The external battery hurts my eyes to look at it, but to swap to an internal would (as far as I can tell) require a new charger, new junction A and the battery itself, which is going to cost at least £250 and it doesnt seem worth it.

I could of course butcher the battery and make it internal, but I've come to learn from experience that tinkering with stuff like that doesn't usually end well.

Additionally, the bike is going to be equipped with dynamo lights soon, and I was hoping to run the cable to the rear light alongside the brake hose, in through the Di2 battery hole, up the seattube and up out of the top of the seatpin. If this works, then I may do the same with the battery and put it in my saddle bag (also to be fitted) along with my canister, tube and multitool.

spasypaddy

ahhh cool.

on some of the TT bikes ive seen the di2 battery mounted to the underside of the seat!

the only other thing i would have done would have been buying the di2 with hydro shifters

However the bike is lovely, perfect winter bike!

ledeev

Thanks for the comments - I'm still trying to work out how they've mounted it to the saddle rails - looks as though people have hacked around a saddle bag mount for some.



I wanted the Di2 hydro shifters, but I've still not seen any for sale anywhere. I expect that when they do go on sale they'll be quite expensive (I've seen quotes of £500 for the pair with calipers!!). Initially I thought that I'd use the Hope system as an interim then sell that and get the full Shimano hydraulic, but the way that the V-twin installation has turned out, I think I might leave it as, to me, it looks quite neat. I calculate that there's only a 35g weight penalty too over a full hyd system and the support from Hope is really good.

A further hidden benefit is that it'll be far cheaper to replace a standard Di2 lever over a hydraulic Di2 lever should I crash it on ice / snow / mud / etc. - I've found in the past that it's the STI units that take the brunt of the impact.

spasypaddy

ive seen comments where people have rivetted the di2 battery mount onto the seat tube, you've got enough saddle showing.

from that picture it does look like a build it yourself job.

fair point about the shifters, the vtwin is a lovely looking system.

be warned though, my di2 rear mech blew up last wednesday

ledeev

Okay, that is a bit worrying. I have heard a few stories about Di2 failing. Fingers crossed I guess, there isn't much I can do to prevent that from happening.

Riveting on stuff sounds a bit drastic - I don't hate the downtube mount so much that I'd want to get the drill out. After I've fitted my saddle pack, rear Supernova light and battery operated rear light (just in case) there's probably not going to be much room left on the back of my post to hang a battery as well.

The best solution I've seen is to charge the battery from the dynamo: http://www.chapmancycles.com/2012/02/the-oregon-manifest-bike/ I could bury the battery then and never have to worry about it again. It'd be cool to be able to just power the Di2 from the dynamo hub and do away with the battery altogether or to use the hub and battery together as a kind of F1-style KERS system! for lightning traffic light getaways.

Actually, that's not a bad idea.........

spasypaddy

there are two on this forum.

mine and the other one are in here
viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=12944174

the amount of damage my mech exploding has done is substantial:
lots of damage to the frame
chain smashed
obviously no more rear mech
wheel destroyed

ledeev

My Supernova lights and dynamo hub showed up today! Almost, but not quite, as exciting as getting the frame. It's seriously nicely made kit. Almost worth the incredible price. The rear light is tiny, about as big as a USB plug.



Supernova package their products in a neat metal tin with thick foam around it. Overkill in one sense, but at least the kit inside arrived in perfect condition. It doesn't look like it'll be too much of a fiddle to fit, and connectors are included. A job for the weekend I think.

Also a job for the weekend is rebuilding the rim on to the new hub. I'm surprised how much resistance the hub generates when turning. Hopefully this won't be so bad out on the road. The hub is 6-bolt as well, which has meant that I've ordered a matching 6-bolt SLX rotor.

For my own future reference, the wheel numbers are:

A317 rim dimensions
ERD = 600mm

SP PD-8 hub dimensions
Hub length (K)=100
Centre of hub to Left flange (Ka) = 25mm
Centre of hub to Right flange (Kb) = 25mm
Diameter (gear) = 52mm
Diameter (non-gear) = 58mm
Spoke length (3x) L = 292, R = 293

XT hub dimensions
Hub length (K)=100
Centre of hub to Left flange (Ka) = 22.7mm
Centre of hub to Right flange (Kb) = 34.2mm
Diameter (gear) = 44.2mm
Diameter (non-gear) = 44.1mm
Spoke length (3x) L = 292, R = 293

In the light of the above post, I'm also pondering whether to get a rear mech protector, a bit like this one:



Another job that I need to do pronto is chop off the excess mudguard stays. As a guy at work pointed out to me, at the moment they're about as safe as Boadicea's chariot.

amey

What is the price of these? If you dont mind.

ledeev

It depends where you get them from! All in, my hub and both lights were approx £240.

ugo.santalucia

amey wrote:

What is the price of these? If you dont mind.

This is a posh dynamo hub, one of the best in fact, but you can get a pretty decent Shimano one for 30-50 pounds.

RideOnTime

ugo.santalucia wrote:

amey wrote:

What is the price of these? If you dont mind.

This is a posh dynamo hub, one of the best in fact, but you can get a pretty decent Shimano one for 30-50 pounds.

don't ask.

ledeev

I should add that much more expensive dynamo hubs are available as well.

The Shimano hubs are quite bulky and approx 50% heavier than the PD-8. There are only a few that have a disc mount too. They are centre-lock though, which I think is a big plus. I don't like the 6-bolt arrangement as I find those those fiddly M5 bolts corrode and shear.

I chopped off the excess mudguard stay and fitted my rear lights. For dual redundancy I fitted a Smart 0.5W Lunar R1 as well, which somewhat dwarfs the Supernova rear light. I was pleased how neat the wiring turned out.



I think that I might reposition the Di2 battery into the saddle bag too. The downtube mount rattles (as do the brake levers).