[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]

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.

 

[chibibike]

i don't understand... why would someone want to ride a single gear bike? is it just for the less weight?

 

[Industry_Hack]

i don't understand...

There is a lot you don't understand.

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,

 

[chibibike]

yeah i don't know much about bike stuff but i read a lot about it
I guess I see your point about the single gear bikes but it's so nice to have the extra gears for hills and stuff. so people who get single gear bikes don't really care about going fast or up many hills then? I bet you can make a 9 or 10 speed just as clutter free and comfy as a single gear so why not have the extra gears to help you out? the cog and extra chainring won't really get in the way of anything so I'm thinking why not have it there just in case you could use it?

 

[Industry_Hack]

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

 

[chibibike]

so people get single gear bikes as a training aid?

 

[SprocketGirl]

simplicity... that is why! takes one back to the basics, plus no deFailleurs... makes one a better cyclist is added benefit but for me they are just plain fun! i got a world class track bike for my 13th bday still ride the fixed gear on occasion just to do it. plus if you want to go fast in the flats... they are fast.
which one are you leaning toward the Langster or Wabi?

 

[DirtyBobbysBikes]

simplicity... that is why! takes one back to the basics, plus no deFailleurs... makes one a better cyclist is added benefit but for me they are just plain fun! i got a world class track bike for my 13th bday still ride the fixed gear on occasion just to do it. plus if you want to go fast in the flats... they are fast.
which one are you leaning toward the Langster or Wabi?

Pics? Lets see this track bike.

 

[chibibike]

yeah i usually only ride in 48/14 or 48/12 so i guess you wouldn't really miss anything if you normally ride like that but I think you'd really have to have money to burn if you buy a bike that only has a single gear set up when you can just ride your current bike and not shift gears if you have a desire to only ride in one gear. yeah it will make it lighter but I don't think enough to merit buying a whole new bike.

 

[SprocketGirl]

here ya go bobby

 

[Industry_Hack]

yeah i usually only ride in 48/14 or 48/12 so i guess you wouldn't really miss anything if you normally ride like that but I think you'd really have to have money to burn if you buy a bike that only has a single gear set up when you can just ride your current bike and not shift gears if you have a desire to only ride in one gear. yeah it will make it lighter but I don't think enough to merit buying a whole new bike.

This is key. You simply don't understand. The BMX bike that I raced in Australia was $900, for a stock bike. You could buy a decent road or MTB for that. But it was a better bike, even without gears.

 

[SprocketGirl]

bikes handle and respond different i have two high end italian road bikes with the same gearing but they handle different. the Cervelo sprints better to be honest but outside of that my wilier is a much better bike in my opinion and guess what it was the cheaper of the two when brand new. my track bike is honestly kinda scary to ride on the road... too snappy. a slight lean or twitch and the bike changes direction. with an uneven pedal stroke you can turn the bike. but it was made for indoor track racing and the frame has won many world and Olympic medals. does what it should and very well.

 

[chibibike]

is there a pad on the floor under the bike?