[Eagle]

So in my pursuit of a single speed bike, spending hours looking at all kinds of sites and makeing my eyes go all buggy, I belive I have narowed my search and am looking for any coments or advice.
Complete bike is what I am going for (gonna put the old 10 speed back to orig).
I have long been a fan of Specialized frames ( have had many a stumpjumper and Allez's).
Looking at eather a Langster like $900 here+tax, and can be got at a variaty of local shops ( I don't mind paying a little more to keep my local shop in buisness)
or
Wabi "classic" which is $700 on ther site +shipping + exchange rate.

Any others I could look into or thoughts on the above would be great

Thx

E.E.

P.S. Hack feel free to fix any spelling errors haha

[Industry_Hack]

A Langster costs more than the Wabi? Crazy talk. I looked at two Langsters before I got my Wabi. No contest. If you want a smooth riding steel bike that truly does have that classic look of a fine Italian road bike, get the Wabi.

[SprocketGirl]

the Wabi rocks... but it is cool to support the local boys. this is tough because the specialized is of course a good bike. is the Wabi a lugged steel frame? i think it is if so, that is pretty cool. the other thing is the langster comes in all the city styles... the tokyo is my favorite. it for one thing has track bars. others have flat bars if you like or the original has road bars.
either way i would be happy... both are nice bikes.

[DirtyBobbysBikes]

I'm very pleased with my langster.

[SprocketGirl]

my bad the wabi special is the lugged one... it is 950.00 but if you can swing it i would get that....

[Eagle]

Thx all for the info

Hack- How did you find the customer service and such when ordering your wabi?
Sprocketgirl- ya I like track bars much better on the road, the "city styles" are cool, trick would be finding one though.
Bobby- How do you find it?

I also like the idea of being able to take the bike for a spin before purchasing can't do that with the Wabi.

[DirtyBobbysBikes]

I work at a specialized dealer. I ordered my london before it even came out. My rep gave me a heads up and I jumped on it. The first year of the city editions was a bit more exclusive, they had numbered plaques on them in 08, which the 09s didnt have nor do the newer LA or Moscow models. Chicago would have been my second choice in a city langster, if not that i would have just got the green one they had in 08. My coworker and a friend of his rode a couple pretty much stock langster from sf to la one summer. The bikes went the distance.

[Industry_Hack]

Originally Posted by Eagle

Hack- How did you find the customer service and such when ordering your wabi?

You will not find better customer service anywhere. Richard, the owner, answered the phone when I called. We probably chatted for about an hour, discussing not just the bike and my needs, but also his history in the industry. If you would like me to explain that in detail, I can. In the end, we went over the frame size, cranks, bars, stem, and gearing. I've owned two custom bikes, (as in custom-built frames) and my Wabi is at least as nice as one, and better than the other. Yes, it rides great for me - you can find a couple of reviews on my blog. But it's been twenty years since I had such an emotional attachment to a bike. The last was my Basso.

[Industry_Hack]

Originally Posted by chibibike

i don't understand...

There is a lot you don't understand.

Originally Posted by chibibike

why would someone want to ride a single gear bike? is it just for the less weight?

I had a fully geared road bike that weighed 18lbs, so buying a single speed that weighs 18lbs isn't really saving me much.

It's a simple bike, built for the pleasure of riding. It's far more comfortable and responsive than something like your Trek, and handles much better too. And there's no clutter - my bars have but two brake levers,

[Industry_Hack]

If you only had one gear, and rode a lot, you would be faster and a better hill climber.