Now i've got my bargain Langster, any hints??

redddraggon
redddraggon Posts: 10,862
edited June 2008 in Road general
1/8" or 3/32" chain? Sheldon Brown recommends 3/32", others recommend 1/8". 1/8" Chains seem cheaper and easier to get hold of though.

Chainline? Does it need to be perfect? How close do I need to get to be safe?

Rear wheel? These have been recommend previously: HALO track wheels, but do the normal wheel building suspects (e.g Hewiit) build wheels suitable for a fixie?
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Comments

  • robbie the roadie
    robbie the roadie Posts: 423
    3/32 is best and not that hard to get hold of. St John street cycles are very good for fixed/SS stuff (I got my 3/32 chain from there) and also I recomend their thorn single speed chainrings.

    Chain line wants to be as good as you can get it to be safe.

    Most wheel builders should be able to sort you out though check the rear spacing. Track wheels are 120, road hubs are 130. I think the langster is road 130 spaced as it runs a flip flop hub on the production model but I might be wrong
    Cycling - The pastime of spending large sums of money you don't really have on something you don't really need.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    Just measured it, I'd wrongly assumed it'd be 120mm, but it is 130mm. Doh!
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  • robbie the roadie
    robbie the roadie Posts: 423
    on the plus side this does mean that unless your absolutely desperate to go fixed then you can just buy any road wheel and stick a single speed converter on the hub.
    Cycling - The pastime of spending large sums of money you don't really have on something you don't really need.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    robbie the roadie wrote:
    on the plus side this does mean that unless your absolutely desperate to go fixed then you can just buy any road wheel and stick a single speed converter on the hub.

    To be honest, I'll probably do that for the time being, I've got a good few Shimano splined rear wheels sitting around doing nothing now I'm a Campag man.
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  • robbie the roadie
    robbie the roadie Posts: 423
    on one do one for about a tenner. Or I've seen more expensive ones with loads of washers to allow you to tinker with the chainline a bit if you've bought the wrong size BB.
    Cycling - The pastime of spending large sums of money you don't really have on something you don't really need.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    Argh! Just looked at my frame now:

    2583811495_7f61b81292_b.jpg
    2583814873_5d75509c2b_b.jpg

    Not good?
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  • Down the Road
    Down the Road Posts: 949
    Have it faced at your local specialist retailer.

    Should be OK after that
    Racing is life - everything else is just waiting
  • fto-si
    fto-si Posts: 402
    Down the Road wrote:
    Have it faced at your local specialist retailer.

    Should be OK after that

    Surely facing is just a procedure to ensure that both ends of the BB are parallel to each other?
    Redddraggons frame is bent so facing wont help.
    exercise.png
  • meagain
    meagain Posts: 2,331
    Looks like that one has been dropped/smacked on the bottom of the shell - so fto-si is correct! Tell Pearsons!

    I reckon the rear will take down to 120 with little effort. Must confess didn't measure mine - it's running about 124 with a hub that I "custom-sized" for a strangely spaced old Carlton frame! Certainly an old 126 screw on would be no problem IMO.

    I've built mine (for now) with a 1/8th sprocket and chain and (I THINK!) 3/32 ring. My own preference is all 1/8th (best) OR all 3/32 (2nd best) OR 3/32 front and back with 1/8th chain IF chain line not perfect (and with the chainset on offer at Pearsons - which I think you;ve bought Reddraggon? - difficult to get it spot on unless tweak hub to fit).
    d.j.
    "Cancel my subscription to the resurrection."
  • meagain
    meagain Posts: 2,331
    "Chain line wants to be as good as you can get it to be safe."

    +/- 3mm?
    d.j.
    "Cancel my subscription to the resurrection."
  • don_don
    don_don Posts: 1,007
    Oh dear :(

    That definitely needs to go back to the shop. I suspect the frame will be written off; can't see how the alloy shell could be re-shaped without destroying it.

    Shame they didn't see that before sending it to you :roll:
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,112
    don_don wrote:
    Shame they didn't see that before sending it to you :roll:
    How do we know it was like that before it left Pearsons? We don't so idle speculation doesn't really help matters now does it? Especially if the couriers they used were responsible for this.

    Redddragon - have you been in touch with Pearsons directly to see what can be done?
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    andyp wrote:
    don_don wrote:
    Shame they didn't see that before sending it to you :roll:
    How do we know it was like that before it left Pearsons? We don't so idle speculation doesn't really help matters now does it? Especially if the couriers they used were responsible for this.

    Redddragon - have you been in touch with Pearsons directly to see what can be done?

    I reckon it was done at the factory before it was painted, no damage to the box, or the paint on the bottom bracket.

    It was impossible to see as the frame comes wrapped in bubble wrap and stuff.

    They are swapping it with another anyway so theres no problem.
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  • meagain
    meagain Posts: 2,331
    Good guys then!
    d.j.
    "Cancel my subscription to the resurrection."
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,112
    That's good to hear. I think rectifying problems is the litmus test for customer service for any bike shop so it's good to know that Pearsons take this seriously.
  • Lagavulin
    Lagavulin Posts: 1,688
    This fixie/single-speed malarkey, the built-up Langsters come with 42x16.

    The last two days I've been out I've been spending prolonged periods in 39x15. Is this worthwhile an exercise to see if a fixie/single can work for me and/orwhere I ride or are they very different machines?

    I've been able to do 16-19mph on the flat at a decent enough cadence but I've been spinning out at 23-24mph (yes, I have shite legs!). :oops:
    2010 Cannondale CAAD 9
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  • meagain
    meagain Posts: 2,331
    IMO/E can go 2-3" higher with fixed than single free. Presumably becasue of a combination of lighter/flywheel effect/necessity/moral superirity!
    d.j.
    "Cancel my subscription to the resurrection."
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    Red - any sign of the replacement frame yet?
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    gkerr4 wrote:
    Red - any sign of the replacement frame yet?

    Tomorrow apparantly, the courier is going to drop off a frame and collect the knackered one at the same time.
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  • don_don
    don_don Posts: 1,007
    don_don wrote:
    Shame they didn't see that before sending it to you

    How do we know it was like that before it left Pearsons? We don't so idle speculation doesn't really help matters now does it? Especially if the couriers they used were responsible for this.

    Redddragon - have you been in touch with Pearsons directly to see what can be done?

    I hadn't thought about the couriers to be honest, but I would have been a bit miffed at being sent a frame with such an obvious fault. To be fair to Pearsons, I have just bought a Touche from them and their service was excellent - thoroughly recommended :)

    I'm just wondering if I should have hung on a bit for a cheap Langster frame.. :roll:
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    It came today, all checked and it seems fine, phew.

    It's all pretty well wrapped up, to manually unwrap and check every frame and wrap it back up before sending it out would take ages.
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  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    cool - glad you got sorted

    so - whats the build gonna be??
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    gkerr4 wrote:
    so - whats the build gonna be??

    What I've got so far: Cinelli Vai 12cm stem, Deda bars, FSA 48T chainset and BB, Conti GP4000s (they seem to appear on all my builds at one point), R500 front wheel

    The rest (provisionally): R600 levers and Tiagra calipers, Halo rear wheel with fixed and free, one 18T sprocket probably, alloy seat post and Fizik Pave/Aliante saddle
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