Even though the company Lynskey Performance Products has only been around since 2006, the Lynskey name has been involved with the bicycle industry much longer. Back in 1986, David Lynskey merged his knowledge of exotic metals, gained through the years of experience that has family had in the metals industry, with his desire to build a lighter bike frame for competition. The result was the beginning of the titanium bicycle frame company, Litespeed. For the next 13 years, David Lynskey, along with other family members, were the faces behind the name ‘Litespeed’ until they sold the company to the American Bicycle Group in 1999. A few years went by and the non-compete agreements expired, but the desire to build titanium bicycle frames never did die. In 2005, with the encouragement of their mother, the Lynskey family decided to jump back into the bicycle business and Lynskey Performance Products was born on January 1, 2006.
Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Lynskeys and their employees are once again cranking out titanium bicycle frames in the same region that Litespeed is still based. While other companies that are in the titanium frame manufacturing business have dove into carbon fiber frame production, Lynskey has chosen to stick to titanium and maintain all of the manufacturing in America. Along with keeping the manufacturing in the U.S., they have also been able to price their frames at a point that is relatively affordable for the avid cyclist. Instead of building each frame in the order that it was received, they batch a number of orders for the same model together in production runs. For example, just this past week they posted a current production schedule on their Facebook page for some of their standard frame orders:
“Just so you know, we build in batches. We can’t sell from inventory. We are just too small to be able to cash-flow large inventories. Therefore, 195 pre-sold Sportives will be in production beginning late March. 180 pre-sold R230s begin early May. 95 Helix’s are running thru now with a ship date of March 26. We’re cutting, mitering, welding and brushing just as fast as our little hands will work.”
Lynskey Performance Products may be ‘small’, but they are big on options. Want an extra water bottle mount or rack mount? Those can be added. Want the frame polished to a mirror finish? That is an option. Extra mounts, customized finishes or geometry changes can be performed to a standard mountain, road, cross, triathlon and touring frame. If those semi-custom changes are not enough, a full-blown custom build can be performed. This is the kind of flexibility afforded to a small, U.S. based manufacturer.
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The dealer network for Lynskey is not nearly as large as other manufacturers, but they have chosen to also make their frames available directly to the consumer. If there is not a dealer close to where you live, just compare your measurements to the information provided on their website or chat with one of the members of the sales team. After the right frame and size is determined for you, a complete bike can be ‘built’, priced out and ordered on their website. The same holds true if you live outside of the U.S. and there is not an importer based in your country.
The frame material, U.S. manufacturing, being a family business and the years of experience all factored into the decision to purchase the new Ridgeline 29-SL. David was not the first Lynskey to be in the metals business, in fact their family’s experience goes back a previous generation. It was his father, Bill, who was in the industrial metals business all the way back in the 1960s, and they have not forgotten him:
“Although the father, Bill Lynskey passed in 1998, he is still very much a part of the Lynskey brand with his signature appearing on the head badge. Also featured on the badge is a shamrock for the Lynskey’s Irish name, and a tethered hunting hawk for the Thompson family crest, which refers to their mother’s maiden name and British heritage.”
There are certainly plenty of choices and considerations when purchasing that next bike frame. Cost, frame material, warranty, ride quality, fit, weight, finish and many more; but if where a product is made also factors into your purchase decision, bicycle frames are one of those items that there are still a number of American manufacturers. Even using titanium. And though Lynskey is one of the few manufacturers to twist or shape the tubes on some of their frames to increase overall stiffness, what sets Lynskey apart from the competition in the customer service area is their Total Satisfaction Policy. If you are not satisfied with your frame, they will work to correct the situation – even if it means exchanging the frame. This is a policy that is unheard of in the bicycle industry and for that matter, just about any industry.
Titanium may not be the ‘in’ material right now with the cycling industry, but for some people, titanium is always the material of choice. Back in 1996, my first titanium frame was a Lynskey badged as a Litespeed Ultimate. Though that frame was the basis of a great bike, it was sold a number of years ago, and at least six other U.S. built titanium frames and one Russian built titanium frame have been in my stable of bikes since then. This year will see the return of a Lynskey in my garage – a 29er single speed. A Ridgeline 29-SL frame is on a truck, headed my way and will be the basis of an upcoming ‘build’ this spring. Made of titanium may not be currently as popular as made of carbon fiber, but made in America is always in style.
Lynskey Performance Products Official Website
Lynskey Performance Products History