Specialized Langster

[peatbog]

I have been looking for a low-cost single speed road bike to ride to work. At first, I was looking for a steel bike (I like steel) such as the Redline 925 ($500), the SE Lager ($500), or the Kona Paddy Wagon ($650), but then I thought, “I have two (geared) steel road bikes.” Screw the steel. Give me an aluminum bike with a carbon fiber fork. I am only going eight miles at a time. I want a lighter weight bike. I don’t care how it looks (sloped top tube vs. straight, etc.), I don’t care about traditions, or brand names, or that it may ride a bit rougher. I want speed, and the ability to go up hills (which are high enough to hit 40mph on the way down coasting).
I found the Van Dessel Country Road Bob, but, alas, $900 is too much. I found the Cannondale something or other, but $800 is more than I want to pay also. I found the Giant something or other, but didn’t like the dealer. I found the 2007 Specialized Langster—aluminum, carbon fork--which I can get for $600, and with 42/16 gearing, seems like a good choice for the hills I ride on. Also, a dealer is three miles from me.
Anyone have a Langster? Any problems with it? Any reason something with a similar price is better?

[ss29mtb]

the langster is a great bike, but if you can wait a few weeks specialized is coming out with a single speed
cyclocross bike. around the same price point I do believe
and better suited as a commuter bike.

[grizphrog]

I bought my Langster in the Fall of '05, and probably have close to 7500 miles on it. Mine came with the old (but super burley) aluminum fork, kind of rough with the tires @ 125psi, but takes a butt kickin'. I replaced the wheels this year with something nicer, but would buy another in a heartbeat, or maybe try a C-dale Capo. The new Tricross SingleCross is going to be a cool bike, but they are also coming out with other Special Edition City versions. They are painted with colors/designs that kind of match the city. London in the Union Jack, NYC in taxi cab yellow, Chicago like a gangster, and Seattle with a special coffee carrier and fenders. So maybe those are something you could look into also.

[peatbog]

Wow! I am glad I asked here. I will wait a few weeks and see what Specialized comes up with. I like the idea of the cross bike, and if not, maybe check out the new "City" versions. I wasn't thrilled with the current color choices anyway (clear coat or brick red). Thanks again, both of you.
By the way, how do you find out that kind of stuff?

[peatbog]

Well, I guess I have to go to plan 2. Checked out the new “City” bikes—didn’t like them, and certainly won’t pay extra for them. Decided on the standard Langster. Went to local LBS with cash in hand to order one in red. LBS checked with Specialized who told him “none available” (in the size I wanted anyway). Okay, how about the silver one? Nope, none available. How about the new standard one. Nope, none available. Bummed out the LBS as he had to turn away a customer with cash in hand. Oh well, going to the SE dealer tomorrow to check out a Lager. Ain't waiting on Specialized to get a bike made.

[ss29mtb]

good things come to those who wait.

did your LBS give you as time line? I have the understand they should be shipping mid june.

Trust me the Specialized is far and above the SE.

[peatbog]

I have to get back with the LBS. He was looking to see if he could find a 2007 somewhere. I much prefer the one color paint scheme of the red or the clear coat 2007 paint over the new 2008 green and white, but I can live with green and white. I just like bikes that are all one color.

I don't really like the "city bikes" at all, although I can see why many people probably will.

I have been told that the 2008 fork is now steel instead of carbon fiber and the cost is higher and etc...blah, blah, blah. I have to find out all that too. But you are right, I need to be more patient.

I have to find out what changes have been made, what the new price is, and when they can get one. I have enough bikes that I can wait and see what the new Langster brings to the table. Although, I was at a bike shop Saturday to look at a Kona Paddy Wagon (two hour round trip). If they had one my size, I probably would have bought one. They didn't. Would have ordered one, but I'd rather deal with a bike shop closer to me. Anyway, since good things come to those who wait, I'll wait a week or two.

[wooglin]

I bought a Bianchi San Jose yesterday. Singlespeed cross bike. Steel. Green (also come in blue) with white panels. Eyelets for fenders. $600.

[robcycle]

I bought a Bianchi San Jose yesterday. Singlespeed cross bike. Steel. Green (also come in blue) with white panels. Eyelets for fenders. $600.
HOT! :)

Jus' sayin' :o

-Rob.

Oh, and celeste, too.

[Cressers]

So the new Langster fork will be made out of good old steel? So much for carbon fibre!

Perhaps Specialized, and many others, are now realising where they've gone wrong. Hopefully we can expect an all steel Langster followed by a 'cross version with canti's and a rigid steel MTB SS.

Come on! You know it makes sense!

[peatbog]

Sorry, a check with my LBS tells me the new Langsters will have a carbon fiber fork (that will teach me to believe bike websites written by people who pretend to know what they are talking about).

However, the new Langsters won’t be here for 30-45 days according to what my LBS was told by Specialized. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to NOT have bikes that people want to buy during the spring, early summer bike season—you know, when a huge number of people are looking to buy bikes! Seems like a bad marketing plan on Specialized part. I’m thinking I ain’t waiting 30-45 days. Summer’s a wastin’.

Moving on to plan “B”.

[ss29mtb]

Sorry, a check with my LBS tells me the new Langsters will have a carbon fiber fork (that will teach me to believe bike websites written by people who pretend to know what they are talking about).

However, the new Langsters won’t be here for 30-45 days according to what my LBS was told by Specialized. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to NOT have bikes that people want to buy during the spring, early summer bike season—you know, when a huge number of people are looking to buy bikes! Seems like a bad marketing plan on Specialized part. I’m thinking I ain’t waiting 30-45 days. Summer’s a wastin’.

Moving on to plan “B”.


They are waiting for the early release 2008 models,
There should be 2007's available.
We are not allowed to sell via the internet, but I certainly check availability for you.

If you were to walk in and say I want a langster,
a 58cm. it is available in the west warehouse
please order it for me.

....

[Cressers]

Still carbon? Damn! I thought for a moment that common sense was about to break out in the bike industry!

Where did all this model year crap come from anyway? 'This year's' bikes are 'out of date' because 'next year's' have been announced.

MAD! MAD, I TELL YOU!

[peatbog]

Cressers, I've seen aluminum and steel parts painted to appear to be carbon fiber. Maybe you could paint the carbon fiber to look like steel! Paint a dent or two on it to really fool people. I agree with you about model years. What the heck sense at all does that make, especially since the 2008 Langster is made in the first half of 2007? Why not call it a 2006 model; that's closer than 2008. Or call it a 2010. It doesn't make any less sense, since in either case, the bike isn't built in that year. I'm going to call it a "May" since that is the month I wanted to buy one. "Give me a May Langster, please." By the way, common sense won't break out in the bike industry until buyers demand it with their buying habits.

ss29mtb, I talked to 5 different Specialized dealers. All told me that no 61cm Langsters are available (those 2007 ones). One did say the Tricross should be out toward the end of June at a price of around $750. That is a decent looking bike which I would consider if I haven't bought anything else by then. It has a carbon fork though that I might have to paint "steel" so Cressers doesn't hunt me down.

[ss29mtb]

I'll check for you myself...
and let you know.

[Hand/of/Midas]

1. most companys are dumb and release their bikes in summer. it annoys all us lbs's to no end.

2. how can you not like any of those new langsters? i want to order at least 3 of them. im guessing you have lots of bikes that are all black and dont stand out?

3. i just built up a fixed for cheap. and they can turn out really really nice. my 53-17 gear is kinda hard though.

[Cressers]

I won't hunt you down, I'll just hope that your carbon fork is up to the sudden stresses caused by pothole encounters. I heard a report on French radio about how the riders in this years' Paris-Roubaix feared carbon component faliure more than the pave! I made me wonder...

[ss29mtb]

I won't hunt you down, I'll just hope that your carbon fork is up to the sudden stresses caused by pothole encounters. I heard a report on French radio about how the riders in this years' Paris-Roubaix feared carbon component faliure more than the pave! I made me wonder...

riders fear the failure of carbon bars stems and steerer tubes, I have seen collisions were the steel frame bent
beyond recognition and the carbon fork was fine.

as for companys being dumb and releasing bikes in the summer and LBS hating it???? HUH?

never heard of it being a problem before?
when do you think new bike models should be released

[ss29mtb]

07 langster comps are available in both 58 and 62 cm.

they are available in both the east and west warehouses.

[peatbog]

Thanks for the info on the Langster Comps, but they are more than I have to spend right now. You did provide me more information than my own LBS however!

No, I don't have a bunch of black bikes. I just like single color bikes without graphics, unlike the "City" bikes. And I like shiny bikes, not flat paint (like the Chicago bike). If I do end up with a Langster, it will be the standard green and white one (I like the one color 2007's better, but I'll go with what is available that is the closest to what I like).

That is why they makes different ones, I suppose, because different people like different things.

And thanks for not hunting me down, but if you see me laying out in the road with carbon splinters all around me, please help me up.

[Hand/of/Midas]

as for companys being dumb and releasing bikes in the summer and LBS hating it???? HUH?

never heard of it being a problem before?
when do you think new bike models should be released


us lbs's dont like bikes being released in the summer cuz....

1. how do you like having last years sold out, but next years not out? in the busiest time of year?

2. how do we like not being able to sell people the bike they want cuz its been sold out for 2 months already, and they dont like the new colors? so they just look around the country for something you cant get.

3. in illinois here, summer is crazy, but winter is suck. it would give us, and the other northern half something to do in the winter, and one less thing to do in the summer. ive been working a few 10am-2am days so far this summer.all in all its a big transition at the busy time of year. so winter is best time for release.

sorry....back to the subject.....

yea everyone has personal preferance, i just think its crazy you dont like ANY of them. but i guess they do stand out, i like that, i spray paint my bmx something crazy every few weeks. right now orange/green. you could always get a custom paint job, powder coating is pretty cheap someplaces around here. 50-70 bucks i think. then it'd be single color no graphics.

[peatbog]

I don’t dislike those “City” Langsters so much as I just like the standard color one better (well, the London bike about made me puke--but it's just my opinion). So, there isn’t any possible way I would pick one I like less that cost more. Actually, I like the single color 2007’s even better—either the red or the clear coat.

Anyway, your points 1 and 2 were exactly what my LBS told me in his irritation at having a customer standing there with cash in hand and him with no bike to sell. He says it happens quite a bit with Specialized. I don’t know the truth of the matter, but that is what he said, and he wasn’t real happy about it.

[Hand/of/Midas]

i actually think the london is the best. i called our rep to order one today but they already over sold them. its the best selling one besides the seattle from what i hear. they already ordered more seattle ones from the factory due to demand is what i hear. we just called in for 2 chicago ones also for 2 of our guys at the shop. gotta rep local chi-town.

and specialiozed isnt really worse than any other company as far as stock, i mean,its not easy forcasting how a bike is goin to sell 18 months before its available. unless your trek and you keep selling last years same bikes over and over.


ps. and over and over. i can say that, i sold them. trek is mean btw. they dont support lbs. they support themselves and no one else.

[ss29mtb]

i actually think the london is the best. i called our rep to order one today but they already over sold them. its the best selling one besides the seattle from what i hear. they already ordered more seattle ones from the factory due to demand is what i hear. we just called in for 2 chicago ones also for 2 of our guys at the shop. gotta rep local chi-town.

and specialiozed isnt really worse than any other company as far as stock, i mean,its not easy forcasting how a bike is goin to sell 18 months before its available. unless your trek and you keep selling last years same bikes over and over.


ps. and over and over. i can say that, i sold them. trek is mean btw. they dont support lbs. they support themselves and no one else.

^^^ interesting,

First question... define ""support of an LBS""

[rockhound]

trek is mean btw. they dont support lbs. they support themselves and no one else.

As far as I remember, Trek was always better to the shop than Specialized ever was.

[Hand/of/Midas]

sorry to hijack the thread btw. trek dosent really do warranties, its up to the dealer to pay for it, though we did recieve a minor credit to offset the cost, it wasn't ever enough.in 2006 we saw our rep twice. he lives 20 miles away. despite calling trek many times telling them we wanted to see him to take care of issues and update us on new things, we rarely saw him. this happend for about 18 months. we found out when he stopped in to tell us we "Wouldnt be a dealer in another two months cuz weve been planing a concept store down the road for over a year now behind your back but didnt want to tell you cuz we wanted you to keep buying our stuff till we snaked you like that and opened our new store, so good luck finding another brand to replace us 2 months before summer. sorry bout the short notice. but thanks for being a high level dealer with almost all our extra programs for over 6 years, i meant nothing."
The short version.

ps. we could ask for nothing more from specialized. except a 29er epic. wait a second!

[peatbog]

I bought a Trek road bike several years ago. It had a suspension seatpost which squeaked and made me crazy (-ier). I went back to the dealer who told me basically “They all squeak. Too bad, live with it.” I took the seat apart and oiled, un-oiled, greased, un-greased, cleaned, tightened, loosened, and adjusted it in all manners, and even threw it on the ground. Nothing worked, not even throwing it on the ground, but that did make me feel better.

Anyway, it still squeaked—squeak, squeak, squeak with every turn of the crank. Small children ran in fear when they heard me coming. Dogs barked. Mice chased me thinking I was their momma. I whistled when I passed other bicyclists, hoping they wouldn’t notice it was I on the squeak machine. But since the bike was new, it seemed to me it should be covered under warranty, but the dealer had no interest in getting me a non-squeaking seatpost. So I shot him…ha, just kidding--just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

Anyway, instead of shooting him, I wrote to Trek. A Treky wrote back and told me the post shouldn’t squeak, and so they would send me a new one. However, that model seatpost was no longer in stock and wouldn’t be ever again. They asked me what I wanted to make me happy. I told them a new Pontiac Solstice. They told me to quit being a wiseguy and answer the question like a sensible person would. Okay, I made up that part too.

Actually, I just asked them to replace it with a non-suspension seatpost of reasonably equal value. They sent me one of their best aluminum seatposts, which would have only originally come on a much higher priced bike. What could I say? My LBS sucked, but Trek made it right. I guess different people have different experiences with the same company—different situation entirely though, I guess.

[davkatreb]

Squish seatpins have no place whatsoever on roadbikes. Marketing gimmick, I'd say, to sell new bikes to the geriatric hybrid riders who have copious wads of cash to flush.

[peatbog]

You are right. All the squisher offered me was a squeak. When I sat my 225 pounds on it all the suspension was gone anyway. I had to convince Trek that I REALLY did want a regular seatpost instead of a replacement suspension seatpost.

[ss29mtb]

Some reps are good, some are bad.

I will not share my thoughts here, you never know who
might be reading :cool: and then I have to deal with
dissing him when he visits.

all companys have different ways of handling warranty.
one company makes us wait for the rep to visit, to confirm it is warranty, and then processes the issue.

one company will send out what we need ASAP, charge our account and we ship the part in question and then they credit the account.

bike shops run on extremely tight budgets, big or small, successful or not.. the budget is tight.

the easiest way to deal with warranty items is to take care of the customer and hope like hell the suplying company takes care of me...

[peatbog]

Ss29mtb:

So far all I have seen of the Tricross SS is a somewhat blurry picture and information from one bike shop telling me it will cost about $750 (which was more than my original intent, but I guess I raid my camera fund). That picture has me interested however. Do you know anything else about the SS Tricross?

[ss29mtb]

Ss29mtb:

So far all I have seen of the Tricross SS is a somewhat blurry picture and information from one bike shop telling me it will cost about $750 (which was more than my original intent, but I guess I raid my camera fund). That picture has me interested however. Do you know anything else about the SS Tricross?

:-( I know the availability date got pushed back.

its army green, i'll have to get the other info from the pre release catalog....

[peatbog]

Hmmm, still no bikes forthcoming from Specialized. Thanks for the info, ss29mtb, but I give up. Methinks if Specialized is as poor at supplying warranty parts or service (if I need it) as they are at supplying bikes, then in the future I may never have a bike to ride!

Considering all options, I am ordering a Redline 9.2.5 tomorrow. Thought about the Kona Paddy Wagon (and liked the looks of the straighter top tube better), but couldn’t see where the 1/4 more in price came from (that and the nearest dealer is far away). Besides, I am very happy with the Monocog 29 I bought several months ago.

I know there are many differences between the 925 and the Langster, but the BIGGEST and most important is that Redline has a bike to sell me whilst Specialized does not.

[Hand/of/Midas]

ok,but ive been able to get the new langster for about a week now.
thought bout getting one myself actually.

[Hand/of/Midas]

see, this is from warehouse inventory, maybe your shop is dumb, its been like this over a week.


Availability of items shown on this page is accurate as of
June 20, 2007 7:08:38 PM PDT

Part #: 9084-9158
58
Details...
East: 5
West: 20

Part #: 9084-9161
61
Details...
East: 1
West: 8

[ss29mtb]

see, this is from warehouse inventory, maybe your shop is dumb, its been like this over a week.


Availability of items shown on this page is accurate as of
June 20, 2007 7:08:38 PM PDT

Part #: 9084-9158
58
Details...
East: 5
West: 20

Part #: 9084-9161
61
Details...
East: 1
West: 8


Work on your reading comprehension buddy, If you take the time to read this thread you will see I already informed him of that, The langster available is not the langster he wants, we have already clarified that.

[nogearshere]

I am ordering a Redline 9.2.5 tomorrow.

Well???
Done yet?