Ti 456 any good

Is the on one 456 Ti as good as the reviews say? I had a steel one and sold it but I did like the way it rode. Thinking if i had a bit of a clear out I may scrape together enough for a used Ti frame. Any horror stories of cracked tubes etc?
Anyone got a spare 16″ frame kicking around to tempt me?

Recently got one of the lynskey ones. Like it but TBH find it quite harsh. And that’s coming from a Kobe ti which was a fairly harsh ride too. Not at all convinced by the “Ti spring” feel. Good old steel wins for comfort IMO. That said nice geometry, light and responsive (and of course bling too).

Conclusion: buy one if you like light weight, responsive bike. Don’t be taken in it’ll take the sting out the trail.
Still glad I got mine tho.

Cue contrary views……..

Thanks thats the kind of info I`m looking for. The steel one i had rode well, but could be a bit harsh, was kinda hoping Ti was all the good points of handling etc with less weight and sweeter ride.
Would prefer to find a Lynsky frame too as i love the look of the curved top tube. But thats probably me being a bit odd!

Did you think about the carbon 456?

Does just what you want re. light and sweet ride.

Really impressed with mine. Just seems to smooth out the bumps magically.

That deal on the on-one site for the Ti 456 and full XT and decent fork for 2K looks a good deal to me. Pity I’m about 1.9K short of the funds.

Unless you need to run 140mm+ forks, the Inbred rides lovely at 120-130mm. Soaks up bumps as good as the Cotic Sould I had a while ago. Very capable bike, & rides far in excess of what its cost suggests it should. Recently swapped mine for a 29er version & loving that even more.

takisawa2 – Member

the Inbred rides lovely at 120-130mm.

I had a Scandal- same geometry as the Bred- amd thought it rode s**t at anything over 110mm. Felt long, tall and bargelike. Lovely down short though but that wasn’t what I wanted it for so out it went. I’d have another now but only for a short fork.

May be worth checking out a Cotic Soda, to be honest – it’s perhaps not as good on the downs as the 456, but it takes a bit more sting out of the trail.

Got mine (lynskey) a couple of years ago and it still amazes me at the kind of cr@p it can pull off. For me, the reviews were right on the money. I’ve been chasing (high level downhiller) mates on their 5″ Commencals etc down rocky tracks and holding them as well as I could if I was on a 5″ meself..(and on 2.1 tyres to their 2.4s!- I’m on 140 TALAS forks). Yes, it’s still a hardtail, so it puts the effort (and skill) back into riding hard, but just seems to love it. I noticed a lot of give in the rear end over my previous scandium Kona. It’s been enough to convince me that the new 29er I want will have to be a Lynskey. That’s gonna hurt the wallet, but it’s worth it. The 456 will never be sold (even though the headtube looks sooo skinny compared to everything else these days).

Another Lynskey built Ti456 owner. I cant compare to any other Ti bike but I still remember the first time I rode it, couldnt believe how comfortable it was over rough stuff. Kind of feels like you have a slow flat at the back. I use mine for winter and is always the bike of choice for weekends in the Lakes or Spain with a Talas fork. Great to climb on obviously and I need 140mm on the front coming down.

Bikes come and go but if it got pinched or broken I’m pretty sure I’d go buy another one, or if funds allowed maybe a Lynskey proper.

brilliant.

mine replaced my hummer and the hummer replaced the kobe ti.

he ti456 is longer, lower and has superb trail geom.

they are comfortable, but tyre pressure makes more difference. 2.35″ UST Fat Alberts on mine.

Sublime bike.

Another vote for the Carbon 456. Having ridden both that and the new Ti 456 I prefer the lower weight and snappier handling of the carbon, plus it’s cheaper too. Ditto on the Inbred with 120mm forks- loved that…

I love mine.
Still smoking super gnarr riders with there full body armour and FS bikes. 😉
Ridden some long rides on it and don’t end up feeling beaten up at all. Mine is a VN built one.

therezzz only enough clearance for 2.1 nevegals out back

the bb tends to be too high unless you put one of the newer generation (53cms crown/axle) forks on it then it kinda evens out and you feel more secure…then you compromise climbing ability

never ever felt entirely at home on it going downhill…my sanderson blitz and pace 303 feel way better

does not have the ride comfort of other ti frames I’ve ridden

very capable and engaging but after two years with it therezzz no way I think it deserved the 10/10 that WMB/MBUK etc gave it

If comfort is your number one priority then you should be looking for a full suss. If you want to balance speed, comfort, dh ability and weight then the ti456 is a great bike. But the ragley Ti is even better.
The Van Nicolas built ones are actually made in the far east hence why they are so cheap but the geometry is identical to the Lynskey built ones.
I have owned a Lynskey built one and now own a Ragley Ti. The 456 was stiff under pedaling which made it a good ‘stomp and go’ bike uphill but it still had that Ti compliance that people talk about. It’s a wonderful trail bike and not what I would call harsh when compared to something like the Dialled Alpine, Cotic BFe or a Nicolai Argon FR. These bikes are much stiffer and much ‘harsher’ than the 456ti while the 456ti is probably a bit harsher than say a Cotic Soul. But then it pedals more efficiently than a Soul.
Expect to pay £550 for even a second hand Lynskey built frame. The new version (reviewed in this month’s What Mountain Bike) sells for not much more at £799.
456ti is every bit as good as they say. But for real hardcore aggro trail attacking the Ragley moves the game on quite a bit. The 456ti can keep up for the most part and you need to very willing to commit to the front of the Ragley but if you trust it and get your weight forward on it you will be blown away by what the Ragley can do.

Hi thanks for all the info. Geetee, perhaps I should have put more detail in regarding my current bikes etc. I have riden full sus for years and decided I should try a hard tail (as well as, rather than instead of the full suser) So built up a 456 with 130mm vanilas etc. I was really impressed with how well it rode, and how much I needed to improve to get the best out of it. Long story short. Still own a Turner 5 spot and a Ragly mmmbop (built to replace the 456), just kinda missing the 456. Thought the Ti version might be the sweet spot between the mmbop and the steel 456. Maybe I should just ride the mmbop a bit more cause it is a blast!

Having ridden both that and the new Ti 456 I prefer the lower weight and snappier handling of the carbon

I’m sure you really noticed the circa 100g difference…

Yet another Lynskey Ti456 owner here.

Its light, it carries a certain cachet amongst certain groups and it rides really rather well.

As Ti hardtails go, its a stiff one at trail bimbling speeds – my previous steel 456’s were like this too. However, pasting it through chop at speed shows its silky nature. This must be a function of the design, but its really rather forgiving (as hardtails go) in these circumstances. This is something the steel 456 didn’t do.

I’ve said previously on here that its difficult to describe, and I’m still struggling. You know those photos of water where its all smooth and blurred because of the long exposure? Thats how it rides when pushed.

I’ve run mine with 145mm nixons, 140mm pikes and 120mm Rebas, all with bolt through axles. IMO its best at 120mm for all round thrashing, although I’ve set mine as a singlespeed the last two years, so there may be some influence on my opinions there.

Guys! I love my ti456

But I now prefer riding its big 29er Bros!

In my humble opinion, and I don’t want to start the 29er debate again, the 29er is a better experience!

geetee – how many hours / miles did you ride on your ti456 ?

mine’s over 2 years old and is still simply the best hardtail i’ve had the pleasure of riding.

the only downside is the lack of iscg 🙁

the new chinese one’s have iscg + maxle !

30 to 40 miles rides off road most weekends and 20 miles an odd weekday around Yorkshire and now the same routes on the 29er and still a better experience. Smoother over the lumps and it just doesn’t feel as hard all round! You also seem to ride a heavier gear on the 29er making you work harder, hence going faster!

TK46hal :-)The ti 456 looks really good.

They are great so long as they don’t break. Mine did. Twice.

Be careful second hand with Lynskey built ones without the brakeside brace.

Lynskey Ti456 here, brake brace version. Non brake brace versions break, apparently.

I absolutely love my ti456. I’ve had five On One’s, an 18″ white Inbred, 20″ single speed, a 20″ red Inbred, a 456 summer season and now the Ti.

Its just a bike. It rides better than the steel ones everywhere but at an extra £600+ over them, it isn’t that much better.

I love it though and wouldn’t ever sell it. Thing of beauty that rides perfectly for me, so it was worth the £800 I paid. I’ll probably not be buying another hardtail in the next five years anyway!

its not quite as hooligan as the summer season was though.

Re other comments

As Ti hardtails go, its a stiff one at trail bimbling speeds – my previous steel 456’s were like this too. However, pasting it through chop at speed shows its silky nature. This must be a function of the design, but its really rather forgiving (as hardtails go) in these circumstances. This is something the steel 456 didn’t do.

+1 , problem is, its rough when you get tired! great when you’re fresh.

I’ve got the non-brace version and its been fine since I’ve owned it. I am running ‘only’ a 160mm rear disc though.

yeah, i have a non brace version, also with a 160 on back. was thinking of upping the disc size, but maybe not now.

does ride real nice 😀

TLR – I owned it for four month, rode it may two dozen times in total. It’s a brilliant bike and for a lot of people will be better than a Ragley Ti because the Ragley Ti requires a certain commitment to the front to get the best out of it. But a skilled rider will be able to push the Ragley just that bit harder and faster down hill.

Having ridden both that and the new Ti 456 I prefer the lower weight and snappier handling of the carbon

I’m sure you really noticed the circa 100g difference…

Depends if he rode the new one as the weight seems a bit variable on the On One site:

Weight: 1925g (18″ size, including swapouts).

That is about 425g more than the carbon and the perceived weight can be different due to the feel.

I kind of wish I had got a Ti456 but it was double the price. Think I will go for a Ti LT 29er when it comes out 😀

Think I will go for a Ti LT 29er when it comes out

Any updates on eta on these? I gave up waiting and went elsewhere.

I’ve had mine since april 08 and love it, for me its the best bike i’ve ever owned! done everything on it from downhill days to 24’s totally versatile bike!Had a ragley ti for a month and good as it was it is nowhere near the all rounder that the ti456 is.
I think the number of broken frames is really small(so someone at on one told me!)and have run mine with 160/180mm rear disks without issue.
Great frame end off.

Depends if he rode the new one as the weight seems a bit variable on the On One site:

Weight: 1925g (18″ size, including swapouts).

That’s almost the same as a 17.5″ Soul!

So how many people have broken the “Non braced” Lynskey Ti 456’s or is this a rumour that has little substance. I hope so as i’m planning to pick one up this weekend! 🙂

So how many people have broken the “Non braced” Lynskey Ti 456’s

3yrs of rough treatment and no problem, 180/160 rotors, 89kg……lots of big hills ridden badly. Still looks lovely too.

As above, mine broke. It was replaced under warranty and I sold that as a new frame. The guy I sold it to rang me after a few months when it broke. In the same place.

Of course, when asked On-One said it was the only one they’d seen. Then they slapped that brace on. The second hand Hummer that replaced it has not broken.

Depends if he rode the new one as the weight seems a bit variable on the On One site:

Weight: 1925g (18″ size, including swapouts).

That is about 425g more than the carbon and the perceived weight can be different due to the feel.

My large Lynskey brace version weighed 1743g, on my scales, so it sounds like the ‘same but cheaper’ isn’t quite true of the VN version…

DAK what does a large carbon ACTUAL weighs?

My 20″ 456 carbon frame without dropouts weighed 1.38kg on my LBS’s Park tools scales yesterday. Build is ongoing so not sure on final weights yet!

If anyone is interested in a non brace Lynskey ti456 18in full bike build I could be persuaded to sell, mail in profile

I suspect its the dropouts that add the weight. That was certainly the case with the Ti Pipedream Sirius I nearly got, before a Lynskey Ti bargain reared its head.

to answer the op question, yes they are …very!

here’s mine. i love it 😀

Update to the above, dropouts plus mounting hardware were 125g on my digital kitchen scales, making bang on the 1.5kg mark quoted by on-one for the 456 carbon. Carry on!