Straight Gauge

74 Main Street Middlebury Vermont (802) 388-6666

We guarantee your fit

Use of straight-gauge tubing eliminates STEP 3 from Lynskey's manufacturing process. By not butting the tube set, Lynskey significantly reduces the cost of manufacture. The trade-off is that the frame retains the 100-150gms of titanium that are removed during the butting process.

Lynskey's straight-gauge Houseblend frames sell for prices we haven't seen in quality titanium since the early '90s, but they are not '90s vintage frames. Lynskey straight-gauge Houseblend frames are shaped with the most advanced cold-working process in the industry, creating tube shapes that mimic the performance of their butted siblings, with a slight weight penalty.

A Lynskey Cooper is essentially an R340 with two changes, with a BB30 option available:

	No butting
	Oversized round seat stays instead of Helix seat stays

Effective July 1, 2010 (the beginning of fiscal '11), the Cooper becomes our best buy for a U.S.-made, race-quality frame. Cannondale aluminum road frames are going overseas for production, so the made-in-the-U.S. CAAD9 will be replaced by the made-in-Taiwan CAAD10.

Current Straight Gauge:

	Lynskey Cooper Houseblend road, $1395 satin
	Cooper Special -- own the finest straight-gauge tubing titanium frame on the planet, built with SRAM's hot new Apex group, for just $2599!
	nskey Cooper BB30 Houseblend road, $1595 satin
	Lynskey Cooper CX Houseblend 'cross, $1395 satin
	Lynskey Ridgeline 29 Houseblend hardtail, $1495 satin
	Lynskey Ridgeline 26 LT Houseblend hardtail, $1495 satin
	Lynskey Ridgeline 26 SS Houseblend single-speed, $1495 satin

Cooper Straight Gauge/BB30 Hollowgram: The Dynamic Duo

Do you want a metal bike that can compete with carbon for stiffness, but the Helix and the Helix OS are out of your price range? Consider our demo Cooper BB30, size medium/large, specked with Cannondale's state-of-the-art Hollowgram crank, the Edge 2.0 fork, a SRAM Force gruppo, and a Bontrager/FSA/Fizik cockpit.

Complete with pedals and water bottle cages, the bike weighs:

	14.95 pounds with Edge 1.25 wheels (prices start at $6000 w/Hollowgram)
	16.25 pounds with Topolino CTR 2.0 wheels (prices start at $5100 w/Hollowgram)
	16.75 pounds with Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels (prices start at $4400 w/Hollowgram)

After over 1,000 test miles on our demo Cooper BB30, here's what we think:

	Stiffness: Reminds of us of a 5 series Trek Madone with Dura-Ace 7900 cranks. No noticeable flex when climbing out of saddle. This mustang accelerates like a thoroughbred.
	Stability: As with all Lynskeys, no-hands at speeds exceeding 40mph, the bike tracked straight.
	Ride Quality: We don't feel beat-up at the end of a ride -- titanium still works its vibration-damping magic, even when not butted. The Cooper BB30 does not, however, have the magic feel of a Helix -- this is the sacrifice you make for a performance titanium frame that retails for 53 percent of the price of a Helix
	Race-worthy? Without a doubt. As specked, this bike comes within a pound of the top carbon models offered by companies like Trek, Cannondale, Cervelo, Felt, Giant, and Specialized. The Cooper BB30 offers the stiffness to respond when carbon-equipped riders attack on the climbs, and the stability to leave these guys behind on a technical descent.

The Cooper BB30 is a worthy platform for the most exotic road groups -- its relatively low price encourages you to think big when it comes to components and wheels. And because of titanium's unmatched durability and longevity, your Cooper BB30 will be back year after year, feeling as good as it did the day you bought it.

Lynskey Finish Options