"It's fifteen minutes to start, and we're still looking for someone to drive a wheel van.  Any volunteers should report to the staging area immediately."  

This is the world most of us race in.

If you are a weekend warrior who plans to race and train on the same bike for the next three, four, or even five years, give us a call and arrange to test ride a Lynskey Level 3 or Level 4.  We have the terrain to put a bike through its paces --- we are just twenty minutes by bicycle from Middlebury Gap, and less than an hour from Appalachian Gap, the two main climbs in the Mad River stage of the Green Mountain Stage Race.

If you read Velonews, you've probably seen photos of carbon team bikes lying on the road in pieces after a crash.  In Division I, riders get a spare off the team support car, and they have a back-up bike ready for the next stage.  The broken frame won't cost the rider anything, except for a little road rash.

Take a look at the domestic pro circuit, however, and you'll see more metal.  Team Rite Aid didn't just ride Merlin in 2007 because Merlin was a sponsor, they rode it because Ti is the most impact-resistant frame material.  The minor "weight penalty" for riding Ti didn't keep Rite Aid from taking 1st and 3rd in the 2007 Fitchburg Stage Race, New England's other premier event.

Even Division III pros don't have to buy a bike, however, while you do.  Carbon frame manufacturers like Trek and Cannondale have crash replacement programs, which allow you to replace a damaged frame at a price that's near wholesale.  But even the wholesale for a good carbon frame is well over a grand, and meanwhile, you need a bike to ride.

Are we anti-carbon?  Not at all.  We can offer you two of the top carbon road bikes on the market, the Trek Madone and the Cannondale Super Six.  But we want to give you an opportunity to consider all options, before you commit to a major purchase.

As a racer, you may qualify for a substantial shop discount on frame price, through Lynskey's Grass Roots program.  If you're Cat I or Cat II and you like the idea of racing a bike you can't break, spruce up your race resumé and consider Lynskey's Factory Sponsorship program, which will begin in August, 2008.