Lynskey bikes are made well enough and all, you'll probably love it, have it forever, they will deliver on time and to spec etc etc. They are a good company. But I just don't get the Helix thing. All that crap about differential forces is well, crap. Drive forces are in the back half of the frame but weight transfer from sprinting and pulling on the bars is symmetrical. Any drive torque from the drive train is transferred through where the down tube meets the bb shell. That twisty top tube is just plain goofy.
I feel the same way about Serotta, I lost a lot of respect for them when they strapped those rubber strips onto the seat stays to "tune" the ride. But again, super well made bikes, excellent craftsmanship, great company.
Moots is incredible and would be my first choice. Perfection in workmanship, incredible details, no goofy options or smoke and mirror shows. That being said I'm not a big fan of their stock geometry. It rides nice enough but it didn't make me happy. If you have a solid understanding of fit and geometry I wouldn't hesitate to have them build you a bike. With Moots it's in the details; machined seat reducer made from titanium that's welded in instead of a reducing sleave, welded on seat binder, welded in water bottle eyelets, machined head tube, excellent dropout design, function driven design...etc, etc.
Indy Fab is the same as Moots though I think the detailing on the Moots is nicer. I've owned a stock Indy Fab that was perfection in the details but didn't handle nearly as well as a custom Indy Fab I had made to my specs. I also had them make me a cross bike that I specced the fit and paint (they were perfect on both accounts) but I let them do the geometry and I didn't like the ride as much as other cross bikes I've had.
I wouldn't ride a Seven. Too much hype and not enough substance.
I've never dealt with Strong but I've always liked what he does.
In the end I'd buy another Moots but get them to make it to my spec. In all my dealings with them I never got the impression that they were super interested in fitting the bike for you, that they'd rather get you to go to a shop or somewhere and send them your specs for fit and they'd build you what you want. But it's been three years since I've dialed the number to Moots.
