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Any of your broken frames been steel? Better fatigue characteristics of the material might help.
Toasty, thanks for the Specialized link.
I didn't realise the Rockhopper and Stumpjumper had adjustable dropouts.
I'm currently down to one usable frame, the Kona Big Unit, for both racing and commuting.
If this one breaks, I'm in trouble.
It might be worth buying a Specialized frame for £200 or £300 as an emergency back up.
TJ, one steel, two aluminium, one titanium.
Supposing I had had a Chumba and emailed you pictures of the crack on Sunday night, would you have got a replacement frame to me in time to build it up and race it at Bristol the following weekend ?[\quote]I would hope so! I always have a few of each size in stock so can turn frames around quickly.
That's the sort of sales attitude I like. Why can't Lynskey and Nicolai do that ?
I know it means the retailer has got to trust the customer that there is a genuine fault with the frame to send a new one out before receiving the old broken one.
Although, I'd be prepared to pay for a new frame if I got a refund once the old one was returned if it meant getting the new one by the next day.
As was suggested, you written to any companys yet offering your destructive services as a test rider?
That On One Lurcher looks nice, but I bet it's going to need someone to test it! 😉
Or I'd take Si from Progressive up on his offer quickly...
I like the idea of being a test rider, but I would imagine they would want to do it under more controlled circumstances and with someone who's got closer connections with the manufacturers.
One other thing I've thought of, is that [i]if[/i] I buy a Nicolai, the Lynskey will become my commute bike.
Strange as it may seem, I do higher total mileage at a higher average speed commuting than I do racing & trailquesting combined.
If I killed it in 11 months racing, it's not going to last 6 months commuting. 🙁
Nicolai will build almost anything you want.
A number of people on the Nicolai forum on mtbr have 'hybrid' bikes e.g Helius AM large rear triangles with medium front triangles for standover or extra sloping geometry but with upgraded downtubes and gussets for longer travel forks etc, lower BB's for descending...
What Si is offering seems like good service. I can't comment on the frames never having used or tried one.
Why not discuss requirements with a Nicolai dealer/Nicolai themselves.
That's the sort of sales attitude I like. Why can't ..... Nicolai do that ?
We can't do it because all frames are built to order - there's no way to 'pull one off the shelf' or quickly build another (without causing a delay for a load of other customers).
If you want that sort of service you either need a framebuilder local enough that you can take it round to be rewelded (ie in the UK) or a frame mass produced enough that there is stock around.
I don't think you're expectations are unrealistic - you *have* to sit to pedal for the sort of riding you're doing - but you're at the outer edge of the bellcurve these bikes are being designed for.
Your choice becomes disposable (good warranty/cheap/mass produced) or custom/repairable (expensive). There's no doubt we, or someone else, could build you a bike that will last - there's not something fundamentally unsound in the design of a hardtail - but you obviously need more reinforcement than most.
Whoever you get it from the only approach I can see is a combination of a thicker walled seat tube extending above the top tube, a brace, and a long, strong seat post (which is how we build an XL Nicolai anyway).
Click on Fit Chart.
I'm 6'1" and I bought a large. Which one do you think I should have bought instead ?
Looking at the geometry, a different frame altogether, with a seat tube longer than 18.5in.
scotia - Member
timc you are a muppet! there is no more to say on the matter.
Not really, just taking a similar approach as OP did on illegal downloading! 🙄
messiah - Member
I've broken almost every non Nicolai frame I've owned. There was a large Argon FR in the for sale recently... don't let the FR tag put you off, angles are not radical by it will be strong.
you wont break one of those, didnt find the ride very comfortable myself!
Update;
I went to my local bike shop on Friday 1st and ordered a large Chumba HX2.
I went back on Thursday 7th to see how things were progressing. (Progressing/Progressive Bikes, geddit ?)
He'd been unable to get through on the phone and could remember having similar trouble with a distributor a couple of years ago. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was the same people.
I rode home and tried the number on the website, thinking maybe the LBS had an old number. I couldn't get an answer either.
Having a promise of a replacement frame, if needed, within a week doesn't mean much if no one answers the phone.
I went back to the LBS on Friday and cancelled the order.
I've more or less decided to get one of those [url= http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Stumpjumper-HT-Comp-29er-Frame-3008-92-0.html ]£300 stumpy frames from BikeScene[/url] now, I'm just trying to decide whether to go for the 19", which is closest to what I'm used to and what other manufacturers recommend for my height, or go for the safe option of a 21".
Meanwhile, the emails continue...
Hi Jack.I've been in touch with CRC and they have told me that they have returned the frame to you for repair.
Please can you answer a few questions for me.1. Have you received my frame yet.
2. What date do you expect me to get it back ?
3. Will you be repairing or replacing it ?
4. What size seatpost will it need ?
5. I'm thinking of buying a Nicolai Argon belt drive Rohloff.
If I do, the Lynskey will become my commuter bike.
Strange as it may seem, I ride a greater distance at a higher average speed commuting than I do racing.
If you look at my log on BikeJournal http://www.bikejournal.com/profiles.asp?rname=VeganGraham you'll see I only rode the Lynskey 1200km since I started recording my rides this year, which means it lasted about 2500km from new.
Once I start riding it every day, I doubt it will last 6 months.
Wouldn't it be better for everyone if you arranged with CRC to give me a full cash refund and you keep the frame ?
That way, I haven't paid £1100 for a frame that I can use for less than 11 months a year and you don't have to spend the rest of my life constantly repairing it.Graham
GrahamYou will need to get your question answered through CRC
I do not have the answers your questions
They said it has been sent, it will be repair and ship back to them
You purchased the frame through CRC and they will ultimately have to help you with your frame questions
JackIf you can't answer my questions, wouldn't it be common sense to find someone else who works there who can ?
I spent £1100 on a Lynskey frame and got only 11 month's use out of it. I haven't seen it for over a month. Don't you, as Lynskey's sales account manager, feel you have some responsibility to at least find out where it is right now and how long it's going to take to get it back to me ?
Graham
As you can probably tell, I'm getting a bit fed up with his "We've got your money, now **** off" attitude.
From the Lynskey website; [i]"These bikes are perfect for all mountain riding and endurance events."[/i]
From wikipedia [i]"All Mountain...these bikes are intended to be ridden on all-day rides involving steep climbs and steep descents..."[/i]
As anyone who's ridden with me knows, I'm a two wheels on the ground at all times rider, I get off and walk the dodgy looking bits.
When I get the Lynskey back, I'll be using it as my commuter and race bike, with the Stumpy as an emergency spare. That means I'll be doing about 700km a month on it.
I'm tempted to have ago at "all mountain" riding just to see how long it takes to break again using it exactly as intended instead of just racing it at weekends.
Meanwhile, I've posted on their [url= https://www.facebook.com/lynskeyperformance ]Facebook page[/url]. That'll probably get deleted when they come in to work on Monday morning.
[i]"...there's no way to 'pull one off the shelf' or quickly build another..."[/i]
Yeah, I realise it must be difficult to hold spares of every frame in every size you make ready for immediate despatch as "courtesy frames".
I was hoping maybe you'd have a few ex-demo bikes around to have something near enough the same if needed.
How does the custom build option work then ?
Supposing I said I want a Large Argon, but with the stronger seat tube of an XL Argon and the extra gusset on an Argon FR, could you do that as a no cost option ?
I've got my LBS making enquiries about getting me an Argon frame as there's no dealer near me. Can he do that, or should I use the Order Generator on Nicolai's web site ?
I'm still not sure that's what I want to do though. Whether to buy one good expensive frame that should last a few years, or just keep looking for bargain mid range frames and always keep a spare in stock.
Is buying new with a "warranty" more hassle than its worth?
Scratch Lynksey of my shopping list for Ti frames after reading the OP's experience.
I think that Jack at Lynskey is doing a very poor job with his communication skills. Who'd want to buy into the Lynskey brand with a potential like this, then to be faced with Jack... oh dear. 😥
I think the problem is that I'm dealing with a salesman.
Once he's got his bonus for shifting X number of units per month, he's got no further interest.
You'd think there would be someone there who could take the longer term view and realise that a 95kg rider riding 700 mostly off road km a month is outside the frame's performance envelope and they'd be better off taking the one off hit of a full refund than forever repairing it.
Buy midrange and keep a spare.
lynskey sound like a nightmare that i will be avoiding.
Graham's top tip for owners of broken Lynskey frames; email Don, not Jack. 😉
I got it back today, complete with FOC Thomson 27.2x410 seat post, new sliding drop outs for derailleurs and single speed, a new seat post clamp and new bottle cage bolts.
[img] 
[/img]
I think it's a new top tube, unless they have reinforced the old one internally and polished the welds out.
That's the original seat tube up to the weld, still with my Midland Trailquests sticker on it (did I mention I ride trailquests ?).
The top section is 95mm long and machined down from thicker walled tube to spigot inside the original tube by 15mm.
glad to see you finally got that sorted! hope this one lasts for you!
Fixed but damn its ugly !
Yeah, it looks like a very neat bodge to me.
It's not a very good advert either. Everyone who looks at the frame from now on is going to ask "What's that extra weld there ?"
Oh well, I'll get it built up tomorrow and commute on it, then it's SITS in less than two weeks.
Interesting read that!
Glad you got sorted and some shocking service from the sales guy at Lynksey. Your attitude to Si at Chumba leaves a little bit to be desired though...
Well glad you got the frame back, I doubt the repair could have been economic for the maker vs a new frame and TBH I think the weak point is now transferred to the position of the spigot weld - but credit to Lynskey for taking the time and effort to make the spigot join. Even though IMHO it's wrong headed!
Will be looking for you at SITS.
Keep us (seat) posted.
http://www.aricycles.com/aricycles/ari_cycles.html
Mmmmm custom steel. I ride hard and got myself a hardcore hardtail.
Built for 120-140 mm forks.
83mm bb
150mm rear spacing
BMX downtube and true temper tubing of different sorts.
[img] 
[/img]
More pics:
http://terrythemessenger.pinkbike.com/album/Ari-29er/
Good choice Terry, Aris are lovely frames. If i was in the market for a steel custom he'd be on the difficult-choice shortlist.
Well I know him personal, so it wasn't that difficult for me to choose.
Everyone needs steel.
Ah ok, I hadn't heard of them until a ride with a bike shop where his brother worked (ben-ben in copenhhagen). Nice guys, nice bikes. The local guide for the day also had an Ari.
Graham, just looking at 29er pic thread and saw you in Vegancyclist get up, kept meaning to say hi at various 24s we seem to have done together but I didnt know what you looked like..turns out we've chatted regularly on course but I did not know it was you!!
Have you decided what to go for yet? Nicolai, Chumba??
I am talking to Nicolai about a lightened AC29er at the moment but you were lookng at the Argon I guess?
Anyway, I'll know next time to say Hi properly 🙂
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, especially this one ;0)
My Ridgeline 29SL has just gone in exactly the same place as the OP. 2010 model.
[img] 
[/img]
Standard question - when the seatpost is in place, does it extend past the bottom of the seat tube / top tube join?
Does the 29SL use a shim in the seat tube?
Standard answers.....
Yes
No
:o)
Try losing some weight lol....
oh yeah, 10.5 stone!
Does the 29SL use a shim in the seat tube?
It does
Thanks Doug. Do you know far down the shim is inserted? With a proper length shim and a seatpost in there, you'd think there would be little stress on the actual frame.
Its quite short Colin, just measured mine and there is only 85mm in the frame. Mine is a 2011 so its shimmed to 27.2mm, the 2010 frames were 31.6mm. Think the wider/stiffer posts of the earlier frames are contributing to the failures.
Looks familiar.
Had the same happen with my Hummer.
Just can't see a connection between your Ridgeline and my Hummer that wasn't built by Litespeed though.... 😛
Only just realised I've got some replies on this thread.
John, you're about 2/3 my weight, so it does look like there was a design fault with Lynskey, it's not just me overloading it.
I've done about another 4000km on my Ridgeline since the repair with no further problem.
It seems strange to me that Lynskey have kept quiet about this. They've obviously built up a reputation for frames that crack, although they appear to have got it sorted now.
I'd have thought it would be better to admit there was a fault with the design, they've changed it now and will do a free repair on any older frame that cracks, than to hope that no one bases their choice of frame purchase on a reputation that is no longer deserved and lose a sale.
Where did you buy yours John ? CRC ?
I don't know if you've followed the whole story, but CRC weren't much help at all, taking 5 days to reply to emails and ignoring my request for a free seat post.
Avoid Jack at Lynskey, he's got the worst customer relations attitude I've ever seen.
Don was OK. He got it sorted and arranged for CRC to include a new Thomson 27.2mm seat post FoC when they returned the frame, so it's probably worth contacting him to see if he'll do the same for you.
Anyway, back to the original topic, I've ordered this in my attempt to win the Most Niche Bike on STW award.
[img] 
[/img]
In case you can't make it out on the drawing, that's a titanium 29er with Rohloff drop out and cable guides, split seat stay for a belt drive and Lefty head tube.
It seems strange to me that Lynskey have kept quiet about this.
Maybe they're just relying on you to do it for them? 😉
Interesting thread, I'm the same size as you, heavier and have a similar riding style...offroad roadie if you like. Looking at the pictures you've posted and scanning the Lynskey site, I have a couple of questions:-
the alloy frame that you had repaired, that looked to have a fairly lengthy ST extension above TT without support. Any chance of extension length and overall ST length on this one?
the Lynskey frames - your original, and repaired frame, seem to have different above TT extensions. The extensions also both seem to be longer than the latest version of the Ridgeline 29SL. Though I'm only going by the piccie on the Lynskey site here.
Regardless, the ST on the Lynskey does seem rather short, 470mm CtoTop. According to my calcs that would only give me about 126mm of a 410mm Thomson seatpost in the frame. I'm also not so sure about shims and butting on the ST.
Looking at the geometry of other similar hardtails Lynskey do seem to be particularly short. Niners are all 12/13mm longer at your size range and the likes of Singular/Salsa/Surly are all 500mm+. If you go up a size then you get to the 530-550mm range.
I know that the min insertion is covered but I'd be looking for a straight gauge ST, at least 500mm and either minimal above TT extension or gussetted. Obviously the former will increase the standover but how important is that to you? I have no issues at 850mm on standover and don't see the need to push any boundaries to get the 800mm Lysnkey offer.
If they want to make a big bike as small as possible then they have to beef up the right bits. I would have been surprised to see the same sort of failure on a Surly, Swift or the Salsa steel or Ti.
Have to say titanium is looking like a pretty poor frame material, stories of them breaking seem quite frequent.
Nothing exceptional about the Op's weight or mileage (if there is Im in trouble!) more like duff bikes.
I snapped an 853 kona explosif there using a shimmed post in the extended seat tube.
Hi Graham - that looks like an XACD drawing, I'd be interesting in seeing how it turns out and doing a bit of a write up for my blog [url= http://www.spanner.org.uk ]www.spanner.org.uk[/url] let us know how it goes...
macb, I like the phrase "offroad roadie", I wonder if it will become the next niche market. 😀
The seat tube on the White Gary Fisher Rig is 450mm (BB centre to top) with 85mm above the centre line of the top tube.
The seat tube on the repaired Lynskey is 475mm, about 5mm longer than standard for a large frame.
The repair appears to be a 95mm length of thicker walled tube spigoted in to the existing seat tube, so, as far as stressing the frame goes, there would be no advantage to having more than 95mm of seat post in the frame.
I *think* the new frames have got a built in shim, rather than being thicker walled tube. I don't know how long the shim is.
If, say, the shim is 100mm, then there is no point having more than 100mm of seat post in the frame. The excess will simply poke down in to the open space below.
The Qoroz I've ordered has a 508mm seat tube (BB centre to ST top) with only 45mm from TT centre to ST top, so I've lost a bit of standover height, not that it bothers me if it means the frame is stronger.
I mentioned my frame breaking history to Chris at Qoroz and suggested they add a gusset at the ST/TT junction with an extended ST. He was confident that even with the thinner walled ST for a 31.6mm seat post, I wouldn't break it.
He did add a brace between the left hand seat stay and chain stay at my request though to handle the torque reaction of the Rohloff hub.
pushbikerider, I thought the drawing style looked familiar too, although I wondered if it's just because everyone uses the same CAD software.
I know I probably could have saved a fair bit by cutting out the middle man, but I wanted the reassurance of dealing with a UK "manufacturer" in case I ever have to make a claim on the lifetime warranty.