Hi all, I just picked up a SS/Fixie today on craigslist. It is a 2011 Specialized Langster (Steel Version) in 58cm. I thought it would be too small for me as i'm 6'4" but this bike certainly rocks and fits me perfectly! I am very happy! Previously, I had a Nashbar Hounder that I didn't get to ride much due to financial issues and had to sell it. Now i'm back into it.

I'm still a Fixie newbie and I live at the top of a hill. I know some of you may know where this is going so yes, I had some difficulty going down my steep hill in fixed gear. As I am learning, I would like the peace of mind with a brake set. Is it as easy as slapping on some cantilever road brakes with road levers? Anyone know if a really cheap brake set I can slap on my bike for the mean time? Thank you all in advance!

lucky bastard

go to walmart or target and pick up a bell bmx brake they are el cheapo and work well especially if you aren't planing on keeping it
or you could get a cheap tektro set for around 30

Road caliper brakes, not cantilever.

Bell BMX calipers might have too long a reach for the Langster.

Measure from the center of the hole in your fork and rear brake bridge to the center of your rims' brake tracks. Those measurements will dictate the caliper reach you need to get. Hopefully one or both of your rims do actually have brake tracks, some sweet fixie rims do not.

They do have brake tracks. They are Mavic CXP22 wheels.

I put a Dia Compe front brake on my Langster I purchased off Scrod/Retrogression. It was only like 20 bucks and it works well.

So if I purchase some old Campagnalo road brakes would I need some type of special brake levers?

Heres some pictures by the way:

Nice bike, how much did you pay for it?

https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...38_-1___202421

Got to your lbs, sometimes they'll have bins of brakes that you can root through for cheap.

Would something like this work? And if so, do I need special brake levers? Could I just use BMX style levers or do I need a specific kind? Thanks

You could use a mountain bike/bmx lever. You just need the correct type of brake cable that's compatible with the levers - not to insult your intelligence.

What bars are you mounting these onto? If you're thinking of mounting onto the drop bars, you might have a incompatibility issue with diameter of the levers and the bar.


Some sites, like Nashbar, will specify if the levers are only compatible with a certain type of brake, and give the diameter info.

It's a sweet bike by the way.

No insult taken what-so-ever; that's why i'm here and trying to gather the necessary information. I saw this set on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/COMPLETE-FRO...item43b13b0161 probably too cheap?

Yes. Do not want.

i want a langster steel

We have a 54 in red at the shop I work at. I think it's like $495. Could ship it to you if you really want it.

gaah ive already got crankset bars seat and stem. was looking for a frameset. what color is it??

It's this one:

dont be a cock suck, i missed it. **** happens i was reading through it quickly.