Expedition / Adventure / Backcountry Touring: Lynskey Fatskey Fat Bike with Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 XL

A customer from Hickory, NC called us to discuss building up a new bikepacking rig. He wanted to use 29+ wheels with a maintenance-free and dependable Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and Gates Carbon Drive belt drivetrain to take on the Great Divide and other adventure touring routes. 

There are limited options available for dedicated 29+ bikes to begin with, and he wanted something lighter than the popular Surly Krampus and ECR steel options. Fortunately, most fat bike frames will accept 29+ wheels, so he was able to use the lightweight titanium Fatskey frame from Lynskey. He sent us the frame and Carver O’Beast carbon fork that he had already picked up, and we worked with him to pick the rest of the components for the build and put everything together.

Lynskey is a company out of Tennessee that has a long history of building titanium bikes for all types of riding. Their fat bike is named Fatskey and has a unique looking frame thanks to Lynskey’s signature twisted tubes. It offers clearance for tires up to 4" wide, has slider dropouts for belt or chain tension adjustment, has a tapered head tube with integrated bearing cups, and comes with rack mounts for fat bike adventures.

While they are mostly focused on production bikes, Lynskey does offer a custom program for those times when their production versions don't quite meet customers' needs. We worked with them to make a special version of the Fatskey that has Rohloff-specific cable routing, belt drive split point, and meets the Rohloff rear triangle stiffness requirement for use with a belt drive. To achieve the needed rear triangle stiffness, we omitted the plate material that is normally installed on the right chain stay just behind the bottom bracket shell and used a complete chain stay tube like the left side; we also had them increase the wall thickness.

The build began in our Wheel House with a set of custom wheels. To keep weight down, we used a pair of carbon rims, Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes, and alloy nipples. Front hub is an Industry 9 Torch and rear hub is a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 XL. Both wheels got Maxxis Chronicle tires setup tubeless.

This customer came to us wanting a light and comfortable bike for long days in the saddle to tour off-road with. He wanted the ultimate drivetrain so he could head out without worrying about mechanical failure or trail born damages. Once finished this Lynskey Fatskey took him from Canada to Mexico on the Great Divide route without fail. The Fatskey came out just how we'd hoped and gave him everything he was looking for in a new ride.

Do you like the look of this Fatskey? We have some in stock. Give us a call to get your Lynskey Fatskey dream build started.   

Build Details:

• Frame: Lynsey Fatskey

• Fork: Carver O’Beast

• Headset: Cane Creek 110

• Stem: Thomson X4

• Handlebar: Jeff Jones Loop H-Bar

• Shifter: Rohloff Twist Shifter

• Grips: ESI Extra Chucky 

• Seat post: Syntace HiFlex

• Saddle: SQ Lab 611

• Front Hub: Industry Nine 19 Torch

• Rear hub: Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 XL

• Spokes: Sapim CX-Ray

• Nipples: Sapim Brass

• Rims: 29” x 50mm Carbon 

• Tires: Maxxis Chronicle 29+

• Cranks: Race Face Next SL

• Pedals: Acros A-Flat

• Bottom Bracket: Hope

• Chain ring: Gates Carbon Drive

• Rear Sprocket: Gates Carbon Drive

• Chain/Belt: Gates Carbon Drive

• Brakes & Levers: TRP Spyke

• Rotors: Magura