Specialized Langster singlespeed

[Nuthatch]

Hi, new member to the forum. I've been looking to buy a new bike and liked the review of the 2010 Specialized Langster Aluminium s/s (member - iendicott). I'm looking to buy the 2011 Alu model (evans cycles £399). Does anyone have any experience? I also like the look of the Felt Brougham 2012 (black). I only have a short ride to work (2 miles through B'ham City Centre) and a limited budget of £500 max. BTW is a S/S (freewheel set up) easy on a newcomer? All views welcome.

 

[al-fresco]

Just bought a 2011 Langster - lovely bike. Light, fast - riding single speed has been a real revelation. Others have said the brakes aren't up to much but I find them fine. The short drop handlebars encourage you to get down out of the wind and it's amazing what you can pedal up on a SS when the only alternative is to get off and push. I got mine from J E James of Rotheram with £100 off in their clearance.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I had a 2010 Langster Steel, superb bike and I rue the day I sold it TBH. I'd get the Langster over the Felt everytime

 

[al-fresco]

Sorry, I was in a bit of a rush earlier - after a bit of thought there are a couple more things you need to know about the Langster:

1) There's no provision for mudguards - this may be important to you if you intend to use it for commuting.

2) Tyre choice is limited - it comes with 23mm tyres as standard and I think you can go up to 25mm on the rear but that's the limit - there's simply no more clearance.

The Langster's great asset is low weight for the price. This might not be the most important aspect for a 2 mile commute. Great fun to ride though!

 

[smokeysmoo]

Sorry, I was in a bit of a rush earlier - after a bit of thought there are a couple more things you need to know about the Langster:

1) There's no provision for mudguards - this may be important to you if you intend to use it for commuting.

Not a problem, you can use Race Blades or Race Guards

2) Tyre choice is limited - it comes with 23mm tyres as standard and I think you can go up to 25mm on the rear but that's the limit - there's simply no more clearance.

You don't need larger tyres. You could run 70x25 Schwalbe Durano+, jobs a good 'un


3) Great fun to ride though!

Amen to that

 

[Nuthatch]

Thanks for all your comments. They were all appreciated. Well I took the plunge and bought the 2011 aluminium langster as I saw one on ebay for £299.00. It was only 3 weeks old and came with fitted straight bars, brakes and a new pump (£100.00 of extra's apparently). All of that aside, what a bike! I've not had a lot of time to take it out, what with Christmas etc... but I'm really impressed. The single speed which I'm running reminds me of being a kid. Get on, pedal and go. No gears to worry about. Really simple and great fun. I commute and ride through B'ham City centre so no major inclines. I also get to use the extensive canal tow paths through the city. So far I've been lucky in that I've had no punctures. Saying that I've picked out a lot of crap from the tyres so an upgrade is imminent. Plenty of potential to upgrade (brakes,tyres & bars) but a good buy and really pleased.