Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Langster project is done (56k maybe)

Thought I would share even though many folks are not into the Langster or single speeds. Certianly not as cool as some folk's bikes here but I am very happy. It rides great, and steers very well at speed. I hit 42mph on a down hill a few weeks ago in the aero bars and it felt solid. It is a hodge podge of parts I have gathered over the years. There is no theme like in other people's bikes. There is Campy, Dura ace, and Suntour all mixed together. I picked what I liked best from each maker and put the together. Hope you like it.

Edited - Added new bits to the bike:
Changed the crank from Chorus to Record
Seatpost from an American Classic to a Thomson Setback
Brakes from Dura Ace to Tektro Carbon 5.0 TT levers

Thanks to those who pointed me in the direction of the TT levers. The work great, look cleaner, and are lighter than my old setup by a fair amount. Thanks for the tips.
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looks nice, but
http://probikekit.com/_img_500x640/K1044.jpg
FTW

Very nice.

Also, +1 on the bar-end brake levers. Very functional, inexpensive too.

Very nice.

Also, +1 on the bar-end brake levers. Very functional, inexpensive too.
I have Dura Ace levers on there now which are really snappy and have great brake feel. I have looked at the Tektro/cane creek/profile TT levers but all the ones I have seen had a lot of play and did not have a very good feel. If any of you have any experience with Tektro's/Cane Creeks Carbon levers I would be interested. I want something that feels good and stops well. That it is lighter than my current setup is just a bonus. Bike as it stands is 18.25 lbs w/ the aero bars and 17.75 w/o. Would not mind getting sub 18 with some carbon,... hmm......

i like the way the brake levers look btw

anything that has the dura ace sticker on it


FTW

and thats awesome that its only 18 pounds

and i actually like this bike, i normally dont like langsters

I ****ing love double-double (double cog, double chainring, no derailleur) set ups.

dude, rad langster. for real.

Hey! I used to have that Langster. Till I broke it :( Now I have the other color scheme... with the exact same bars btw.

+1 on the bar end levers.

I have Dura Ace levers on there now which are really snappy and have great brake feel. I have looked at the Tektro/cane creek/profile TT levers but all the ones I have seen had a lot of play and did not have a very good feel. If any of you have any experience with Tektro's/Cane Creeks Carbon levers I would be interested. I want something that feels good and stops well. That it is lighter than my current setup is just a bonus. Bike as it stands is 18.25 lbs w/ the aero bars and 17.75 w/o. Would not mind getting sub 18 with some carbon,... hmm......

Yah; that is pretty sweet.. I have a 2006 black which is entirely stock; they are pretty nice bikes IMHO. My only gripe is that the hardware they use (like the chainring bolts, seat binder bolts, BB bolts, wheel axle bolts, etc, etc..) are all pretty low grade. My bike looks like it is 10 years old because it gets ridden in all weather and all those parts look rusted to death. In contrast I have a 70's Motobecane that I rode all fall/winter/spring and the hardware looks in BETTER condition; even though it is 30 years old. Sad; but they don't make em like they used to :(

Chry

Why the aerobars?

To be more aero? (Sorry)

Hey what pedals are those? Some variety of SPD?

Why the aerobars?

I use is as a training bike. I ride it at lunch at the office. To do my 20 mile loop in ~55 minutes I guess need a little help from aero bars. Plus I have 3 sets of the same bar/stem setup ( they are integrated, and I have one on my road, one on my SS, and a backup) so no reason to not use it.

Hey what pedals are those? Some variety of SPD?

They are Performance's Forte Rail. They take the standard Shimano SPD cleat. I would have gotten the Ritchey V4Pro but they use a different cleat and I wanted to share the same shoes w/ my MTB bike which has Shimano pedals.

They are 256 grams and feel pretty good. They are cro-mo body and have real bearings (rather than bushings on the Ritcheys) so they should last a while.

HTH

I like it a lot

Real nice job, a great looking bike. Great photography, too.

nice bike, it'll be even nicer after it gets some character.

great build. what's your gear to get that fast? aerobars really make that much of a diff for speed? wow that's awesome, plus your pedal stroke must be silky smooth as well. so far ive maxed at 30mph on a 42/16 on a downhill. i want to get better though.

Does that WI double freewheel require a special hub or does it work on any flip flop hub?
Also, how are you getting away with a QR rear axel? I though that wasn't kosher for SS.

great build. what's your gear to get that fast? aerobars really make that much of a diff for speed? wow that's awesome, plus your pedal stroke must be silky smooth as well. so far ive maxed at 30mph on a 42/16 on a downhill. i want to get better though.

Its a singlespeed, so it was probably just a steep downhill. That being said, it looks great, although I do agree that bar end levers would look sweet.

Its a singlespeed, so it was probably just a steep downhill. That being said, it looks great, although I do agree that bar end levers would look sweet.

good comprehension. i missed that. thanks. i was about to say dang he has a seriously great pedal stroke to get that fast fixed.
* i think that the brake hoods make it look really cool and dangerous. i bet peds would think twice about being in his way

I use is as a training bike. I ride it at lunch at the office. To do my 20 mile loop in ~55 minutes I guess need a little help from aero bars. Plus I have 3 sets of the same bar/stem setup ( they are integrated, and I have one on my road, one on my SS, and a backup) so no reason to not use it.

I can relate. I ride my Nishiki fixed on a 30-mile loop every Sunday for the hell of it. Takes about 90
minutes when traffic doesn't slow me up!
Great looking bike! :D

sweet, great looking ride

Does that WI double freewheel require a special hub or does it work on any flip flop hub?
Also, how are you getting away with a QR rear axel? I though that wasn't kosher for SS.
QR's are fine for SS. Cannot comment on FG. The only QR's you can use are high quality steel ones from Suntour, shimano, or old campy ones. They have plenty of clamping force and mine have never moved. Climbed a 8% grade in a 42x18 and worked great. I wad standing the whole time.

WI freewheel just needs std english threads and will be fine on a flip flop. Actual thickness is the same as their ENO freewheel.


great build. what's your gear to get that fast? aerobars really make that much of a diff for speed? wow that's awesome, plus your pedal stroke must be silky smooth as well. so far ive maxed at 30mph on a 42/16 on a downhill. i want to get better though.

As someone else mentioned, it is indeed a single speed. I max out at 30 on the flats in a sprint.

Can you fit fenders or wider tires on a Langster?

Wow...it's refreshing to see a nice bike on THIS forum. KUDOS!

I have a Langster ('07 brushed aluminum), I ride it singlespeed, and I think your bike is friggin' awesome. It is as cool as any bike on this forum, and what makes it cool is that it is totally customized and personalized to the riding you want to do with it. There is a theme to your bike, and the theme is simply you and your riding, because that's what the bike represents.

Now for technical questions (didn't think you were getting off that easy, eh?).
- So I see you're riding Suntour Superbe Pro hubs. How secure is the QR on the back wheel. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a good stock SS wheelset, much less one made for the open road with QRs. What's the story behind the wheels?

I have a Langster ('07 brushed aluminum), I ride it singlespeed, and I think your bike is friggin' awesome. It is as cool as any bike on this forum, and what makes it cool is that it is totally customized and personalized to the riding you want to do with it. There is a theme to your bike, and the theme is simply you and your riding, because that's what the bike represents.

Now for technical questions (didn't think you were getting off that easy, eh?).
- So I see you're riding Suntour Superbe Pro hubs. How secure is the QR on the back wheel. Unfortunately, it's hard to find a good stock SS wheelset, much less one made for the open road with QRs. What's the story behind the wheels?

Thanks for the + feedback. Much appreciated. The rear hub works perfectly and never slips. Just like old geared bikes on horizontal dropouts always worked fine, so too does a SS w/ a QR. I look for old hubs in good shape and NOS stuff on eBay, but a lot of this stuff I previously owned. Front is an 80's Dura ace 24 hole hub, rear is a 28h Superbe (as you already noted). I wanted a light wheelset but wanted them to be reliable too. I have a 28h/36h Campy high flange wheelset I built up too,... it is stiffer but heavier. My recomendation for those looking for SS is to cruise eBay for freewheel hubs. They come up and are cheap. I wanted a low spoke count front and Superbe Pro only came in 28h that I had ever seen, so I had to wait and find the DA hub.

Wheels are built by Spinlitecycling.com Spokes are Sapim Laser 1x front 1x/3x rear. Rims are Velocity Fusions which have been great so far.

Can you fit fenders or wider tires on a Langster?

wider tires: yes
fenders: no.

The only kind of fenders that will work are the kind that attach to the downtube and the seatpost. There is not enough clearance under the calipers to fit them inside the frame.

DINGLE, YES! If not for the photography alone, this is a hot bike.

wider tires: yes
fenders: no.

The only kind of fenders that will work are the kind that attach to the downtube and the seatpost. There is not enough clearance under the calipers to fit them inside the frame.

Thanks - one out of two ain't bad!

Edited - Added new bits to the bike and a few new pics.
Changed the crank from Chorus to Record
Seatpost from an American Classic to a Thomson Setback
Brakes from Dura Ace to Tektro Carbon 5.0 TT levers

Thanks to those who pointed me in the direction of the TT levers. They work great, look cleaner, and are lighter than my old setup by a fair amount. Thanks for the tips.

Your bike looks well thought over - The only thing I do not get is why you have changed the seatpost to a setback one and then moved the saddle forward on the rails that much.

those welds on the seatstays look absolutely horrendous. jeez. i thought my kilo tt's welds were ugly...


hubs are very nice. the dual freewheel and chainrings setup is very very cool and the first i've seen really. i like it. salsa chainrings are the hotness, too.

i've never used aero bars but they look pretty cool. i was passed by someone using aerobars at 8:15am and i have to say... holy crap was it embarrassing.


the only thing that leaves me thinking is... where are the safety blinkie lights? and only one water bottle cage? and... i know it's specialized's doing, but the skulls really don't echo the concept. if it were mine i'd probably get one of those dual bottle seatpost mounted double cages, get the stickers off of the bike, add some blinkie lights for low light conditions and stick a fork in it. nice build.

I ****ing love double-double (double cog, double chainring, no derailleur) set ups.

mmm in and out burger

i like that dingle cog setup.

nice.

Your bike looks well thought over - The only thing I do not get is why you have changed the seatpost to a setback one and then moved the saddle forward on the rails that much.

It looks that way huh? On the old setup it was shoved all the way back. Now the saddle is in the centered over the post head.

those welds on the seatstays look absolutely horrendous. jeez. i thought my kilo tt's welds were ugly...


hubs are very nice. the dual freewheel and chainrings setup is very very cool and the first i've seen really. i like it. salsa chainrings are the hotness, too.

i've never used aero bars but they look pretty cool. i was passed by someone using aerobars at 8:15am and i have to say... holy crap was it embarrassing.


the only thing that leaves me thinking is... where are the safety blinkie lights? and only one water bottle cage? and... i know it's specialized's doing, but the skulls really don't echo the concept. if it were mine i'd probably get one of those dual bottle seatpost mounted double cages, get the stickers off of the bike, add some blinkie lights for low light conditions and stick a fork in it. nice build.

Thanks. The welds are pretty ugly;) I take off my lights ( I have a Niterider LED Newt and a cateye flasher) during the summer since it stays light out so late. But with a new baby at home, I don't bike commute much anymore.

I wish I could ditch the stickers too , but they are under the clear. I want to get the frame powdercoated and get a different fork (as a new fork will cost about the same as getting this one re-painted with liquid). The skulls are annoying.

Last thing, I mount a seat bag, so no seat post mounted cages. On longer rides I toss on a second cage, but this bike gets daily 20 mile rides, so 1 bottle is enough.

Thanks for the comments.

I ****ing love double-double (double cog, double chainring, no derailleur) set ups.

Same. I'm really surprised I haven't seen more double-double setups with the Dinglecog though.

I decked out my langster all high end like that... then realized how lame it was...

So i got a much nicer track frame haah....

I decked out my langster all high end like that... then realized how lame it was...

So i got a much nicer track frame haah....

Where the **** did you come from?
Just like your post in the Bianchi Pista thread trying show off your Brew.
Quick, before you forget, go post some stupid comment in the Mercier Kilo TT picture thread.

That will show us riders of cheap frames.

Where the **** did you come from?
Just like your post in the Bianchi Pista thread trying show off your Brew.
Quick, before you forget, go post some stupid comment in the Mercier Kilo TT picture thread.

That will show us riders of cheap frames.

Dang dwag you got served. +1 for the response!