The Langster London is a special 'pimped' edition of Specialized's popular production fixer which has slowly evolved since landing on these shores a couple of years back. Like Kona's Paddy wagon, the Langster derives its name from its creator - in this case Specialized employee and US track champion, Dan Langley. Frame Imagine taking a road frame, grinding off all surplus gear bosses and cable guides, replacing the road drop-outs with substantial track offerings, add some colour coordinated carbon forks and finish in durable white livery. In essence you have the Langster. The butted aluminium frameset is well finished with some very nice detailing. Braze-ons are minimal but adequate, two sets of bottle bosses and a four point carrier fixing ensure greater versatility than a track bike with road forks. Clearances, whilst not fag paper, prohibit rubber wider than 23mm (although at a pinch there's just enough room for 25 at the rear) limiting its potential as a year round commuter/winter trainer.
The Langster London is a special 'pimped' edition of Specialized's popular production fixer which has slowly evolved since landing on these. Up for grabs is my 2008 langster (boston edition). Its a 56cm frame (specialized size L). All the components are the same as when i bought it, so for all the info. Sectional Title Act South Africa.
I would have preferred to have seen a front facing seat tube slot, although keeping the post well greased and placing a home made boot made from old inner tube over the seat collar will go a long way to eliminating dirt and ingress thrown up by the rear contaminating the seat tube. At 3.5lb, the frame is substantially robust enough to resist accidental denting and shouldn't fall victim to premature fatigue. Welds are as neat as they are uniform, having a very raw industrial beauty - especially around the bottom bracket area. But the one big disadvantage of aluminium is difficulty in repairing it.
Equally, you could argue at this price you wouldn't bother. Attention to detail is impressive, removing the carbon-wrap post revealed a cleanly reamed seat tube and bottle threads had been chased properly after painting. Track ends have stainless inserts to protect them from premature wear and contribute to the overall feel of a frame fitting on bikes costing twice as much. On the subject of finish, the special edition graphics are very eye catching and for this reason I'd feel nervous about commuting duties unless I had 'Sits with me in the office' secure storage. In these bold colours it raises its front wheel and screams 'steal me!!!!!' Carbon forks are hardly a rarity these days but coupled with the integrated headset give a very clean, seamless appearance, shave a few grams and coupled with the butted tubeset deliver a surprisingly supple ride through lumpy lanes and potholed streets alike. Equipment The overwhelming use of own brand components keeps the price low and performance high.
Aside from the KMC chain and slightly agricultural freewheel, I couldn't fault and wouldn't immediately upgrade any of the spec. A 7deg four-bolt front loading stem makes for a super-stiff cockpit when paired with the oversize chrome plated track bars.
I prefer more width but their narrow profile make it easy to negotiate tight gaps around town and allow a very low position into headwinds. Being oversized made it difficult to mount the headlamp for my lighting system and whilst oozing retro track cool, I wasn't totally sold on the Keirin grips and would probably tape the bars instead.
Whilst the transmission forms part of the braking, top mounted mini-levers worked better with the unbranded dual pivot callipers than I had any right to expect and aside from some initial stickiness, gave powerful and progressive braking no matter how late I left things. Flight Planning Software S. Square taper bottom brackets are a bit old hat given the popularity of ISIS and hollow-tech designs but this is a sensibly sealed, fit and forget unit which is cheap enough to bin when it finally gets the rumbles. Polished 170mm 5 arm Sugino cranks host a very sexy CNC 'Zen messenger' 42 tooth ring - a very harmonious combination that translates into a surprisingly stiff and rewarding drive train. The colour co-ordinated KMC chain might look fetching but I'd be changing it for something smoother. Oldest Person To Compete In Olympic Games. Saddles are the most personal of contact points but I found the comp road saddle a very comfortable perch.