Buying advice needed
 

I'm thinking of junking my cruiser & buying a Specialized Langster. I can get one from a local shop, buy online, or wait for a used one in the right size on e-Bay.

First question is about who to buy from - I'd favor the local shop if the difference is $60 or less over the internet price. Any pros or cons about this?

Second, is buying a used Langster a viable option?

Third, I'm ignorant of what's available in this type of bike. Is the Specialized Langster a primo choice, or should I look at other makes & models? FYI, I **DON'T** plan on racing in any current or future scenario. I'm buying the bike for exercise, and occasional convenience riding. I want to junk my Dyno-Glide cruiser because the frame style makes the seatpost extend so far that it bends!

I weigh 260# just now (and hope to be 200# by this time next year); so my fourth question is "Is the Langster (or any other similar track-style bike) going to be sturdy enough to handle me for the immediate future?"

Thanks for the feedback!

I can only give the advice I have from my short time of experience, but going though a local LBS is always a good plan. Usually they throw in some free gear or give you a discount on helmets and such if you buy a bike from them.
Other Viable options are the KHS, the bianchi pista, the surly, or an IRO. I know INKDWHEELS on here is weighing in over 200 lbs and he rode a IRO steel frame with no issues. My recommendation would be a steel frame, maybe even an old road conversion to start out with.

Can't answer any langster specific questions, but buy from your LBS if they are a good shop. If not, they don't deserve your money. The bonus is, if you have problems they are local and you can go back to them.

Right! For a lower cost bike like a Langster, you're not going to save that much money by buying used online. I would go to the LBS and order it new. It won't cost you much more and then you will be supporting the people in your area.

A lot of people on this forum complain about the Specialized Langster. I'm guessing that they're good bikes, but purists and elitists b!tch about them.

A lot of people seem to like the Bianchi Pista

http://www.bianchiusa.com/typo3temp/d9d3b3b101.jpg

I would be concerned about the integrated headset. All that wear that normally accumulates on a headset cup? Yeah, that's your frame now, bucko. Besides, unlike external headsets, there's not yet an integrated standard. I don't know if there are aftermarket options for the Mindset or if you have to buy from Specialized.

Don't forget the Fuji Track.

If it's got an integrated headset, I'm with bostontrevor. They are the dumbest idea to come out of the bike industry in a long time.

At 260 lbs. I would not recommend it. A guy who was about your size destroyed the wheelset and cracked the frame on his Langster. His name was lobo if you want to search some of his posts.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...124936407&rd=1

Mercier track bike $347. Alot of guys are saying that its really a KHS complete just rebadged. Either way its a GREAT price. If I could have found that a few months ago I would have gotten it instead of the 2005 bianchi pista.

dont buy a langster, the frame is ug as all hell and the fork looks like a pair of "slacks" my mom used to dress me in b4 i went to church. Its just a really ugly straight fork.

id go for that mercier.

right! I give this bike two thumbs up! :D

The Fuji Track was $100 less than the Bianchi Pista when I bought mine. Don't get me wrong the Bianchi is a good bike too.

Me too! Me too !! :)

Which is also available on eBay rebranded as a Windsor "The Hour" model for about the same price as the Mercier/KHS.

m.

Im kicking my self for not realizing that sooner, I think those drops are the ugliest too.

I really enjoy riding my 05 Pista and ride mine as a road bike. I like the tighter track geometry because I dig quick handling bikes. I spent about another $100 to complete it though like adding Ultegra brake and a Specialized CX lever. Being that brake stuff is sold in pairs, I had to pay for the rear caliper and second lever. So factor that into the price if you are getting a track bike like the Pista, Windsor, Fuji or Mercier.
Langster comes with brakes and levers already, a nice plus.

That Mercier is a good deal. The only thing I would do is swap out those bars and put in some nice curvy pista bars. To put that deal into perspective, the Surly Steamroller is around $350-ish for just a frame/fork.

Hate that damn Langster fork. I understand they were looking for some flare but instead they got some ********. Ugly ass bladed fork. Ugly ugly ugly.

Ugly.

I've got a Fuji Track frame and I like it right nice. I've been told the stock wheels are garbage though. I don't know, I just got the frameset + BB & headset (which I promptly replaced because it was kind of trashed--in retrospect I probably could have just replaced the bearings). Plus mine's a 2001 and after 2002 they relaxed the geometry a bit.

Personally, I would consider my fit requirements before I decided on a particular make, model, or type of bike. Big people like us need to pay more attention to this than others. If the frame geometry is wrong for your body type then it will be uncomfortable for all but the shortest of trips. It sounds like you hope your bicycle will play an important role in your weight loss program and that's good, but if it causes you discomfort (hands, wrists, neck, back, etc) you'll ride it less and probably jump back on the 'merry-go-round' of which bike to buy next.

To that end, I would suggest scheduling a proper fit session at a decent bike shop. It'll cost $50.00 to $100.00 and will take an hour or so. In my opinion, it's weel worth it.

You'll receive a printout of the ideal frame geometry and stem length/height, crank length, seat position, etc. Armed with this you'll be able to choose the right bike for you. Even if you can't find your perfect frame geometry you'll be able to find one close enough so that seat/stem adjustments will get you there.

I'm fortunate enough to have one custom made frame that naturally fits like a glove, my other bike however (Surly Steamroller) is an 'off the shelf' model ... but close enough that I was able to achieve the same fit.

Anyway, that's my two cents and I've kinda' harped on this subject before but there you have it.

Take care and good luck...

Jim

Old thread, but wanted to throw some info in for anyone else looking this up. I'm a "super clyde", 310#, 6'4", and I bought a 60cm Redline 925. It's worked out great, the stock wheels totally hold me fine, and the only prob I've had with the bike was the crap bottom bracket it came with - I replaced it with a shimano ASAP.

i would suggest, like others, that you go with a steel ride, as they're more forgiving and comfortable. whetever bike you decide upon i would say you must make sure not to get fancy low-spoke-count wheels (not that any of the bikes at this price point come with them stock, but in case you come across something used that does). ideally you would want 36 spoke wheels, but as these guys tend to come with 32s that'll most likely be what you get, and they'll hold up ok. but i wouldn't go for anything with less, at your weight.