Nick Brown

Before I disappeared, (more on that later), I made a new investment.  I am now the proud owner of a loaded Lynskey R330.

I purchased my last road bike right when I moved to San Diego two years ago.  The Felt’s purpose at first was to get my rear end back and forth to work (up and down the “strand” from IB to Coronado).  The triathlon bug bit, we raced together, I bought my P2C, the Felt became a nice complement to my training.  The 2nd bike in my quiver of two was used for climbing Palomar, commuting to work or recovery rides.

The more time I spent riding and training, the more I came to appreciate the sport of cycling for what it is.  The more I learned about cycling, the more I learned about bicycles.  There was nothing wrong with my aluminum Felt, but it left me wanting.  It wasn’t a perfect fit to my body.  It wasn’t truly a racing frame.  Now that I had an “intermediate” understanding of cycling, my taste had become more selective (complemented by my inner-engineer-geekness).

I desired a road bike frame that I would be proud to race on, that was bombproof (I want any kids of mine to be fighting over it when I’m on my death bed), and most importantly, that fit.

The Navy, for some reason, decided to keep me around for another few years.  I must really have them fooled because they also paid me to stay!.  “Here - take this money for keeping your job”.  Regardless of how it came about, the cash would make my road frame acquisition possible.

I give you:  Emma Lee…

…so named after Old Sidecar Doobey’s “pretty round-eyed” wife in the novel Once a Runner. “Woman…we fixin’ to do some night ridin’!”

The R330 has the new Dura Ace 7900 groupset, except for the chainrings and crank.  I also invested in a pair of Quarq powermeters (one for the road and one for the TT - I figured I could by two for around the price of an SRM or for a Powertap and costs from rebuilding two or more wheels) and the Quarq dictated FSA chainrings and cranks.  I’m riding Dura-Ace wheels and Hutchinson tubless tires.  The front fork and the cranks are the only carbon, the seatpost and handlebars are aluminum Ritchey WCS.

I can’t begin to tell you how sweet it is to ride this.  I also can’t differentiate what comes from a good fitting or what comes from the components and frame.  All I know is that everything is smooth, I love how the road feels and I want to go  “strafe the golldanged pigeons” when I ride it.

More pics are below.  I love how clean the bike frame looks and the subtle design intricacies Lynskey included like the oval chain stays and twisted seat stays.

I must make Matt Simpson at Rivet Cyclesport for making this possible.  He put up with me and my persistent questions for weeks before I actually shelled out any money.  Thanks to him I feel good about every piece of the bike we selected.  I know why its there and why its what I want.  He can also take credit for the fact that the bike fits me so well that I feel like the bike is an extension of my body when I’m riding.