# 2008 Langster



## Minus (Jul 17, 2007)

hello All, just back into riding after a 5 year break. recently i got a job thats close to home and so i thought id start riding again. after pulling my dads old '72 motobacane out of the rafters and saw the bike needed alot of work, i decided to head dow to my lbs. i end up ordering a langster to putt around town on and was wondering what parts you guys recommend upgrading.

thanks, Minus


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## Kung Fu Felice (Apr 17, 2007)

Upgrade the wheels to a pair of Zipp 360 rims with Zipp T2 track hubs and Phil Wood stainless steel cog. Upgrade the chain to Izumi. Put on a pair of comfortable tubulars, like the Vittoria 700x28 Pave.

Replace the handlebar with a nice comfy Zipp Contour bar. 

A sweeter ride now, for only $1500 more if you shop judiciously on Ebay.

Or, a cheaper upgrade would be to replace the bar tape with a nice leather one for $50 from Brooks.


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## Minus (Jul 17, 2007)

Kung Fu Felice said:


> Upgrade the wheels to a pair of Zipp 360 rims with Zipp T2 track hubs and Phil Wood stainless steel cog. Upgrade the chain to Izumi. Put on a pair of comfortable tubulars, like the Vittoria 700x28 Pave.
> 
> Replace the handlebar with a nice comfy Zipp Contour bar.
> 
> ...



ha thanks, but im looking more for performance than cutting weight. im not racing competitively, so 1500 is a little out of my range. is there anything that is goig to last me a long time for cheap, but helps performance on my bike?


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

A new saddle maybe. The Langster is spec'd just fine....Ride it for a while and see what you don't like


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## 24601 (Jul 4, 2005)

I've put quite a few miles on my Langster (2007). I love it. The only changes I made were saddle and tape.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=82828


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## Kung Fu Felice (Apr 17, 2007)

Minus said:


> ha thanks, but im looking more for performance than cutting weight. im not racing competitively, so 1500 is a little out of my range. is there anything that is goig to last me a long time for cheap, but helps performance on my bike?


Only three things helps "performance", besides you improving yourself:
1. better comfort
2. more aerodynamic
3. significant weight loss

3 and 2 are out as they are the most expensive and since your bike is not going to experience a tremendous weight loss anyway, improvements to these factors are really not noticeable by you as the improvements are measured in terms of seconds over a distance of miles.

That leaves 1, so here are some suggestions to improve comfort:
a. Make sure the bike is fitted properly, and the right adjustments are made to the saddle, stem, handlebar, cleats. You can do it yourself through trial and error, or pay $125 for a really good LBS to measure you down.
b. Upgrade saddle so you can pedal harder longer
c. Raise your stem for more comfort, lower stem for more aero position, remove stem to impress friends.


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## Minus (Jul 17, 2007)

thanks, i dont know if it was me not riding for a while or the saddle, but my rear end was sore for a few days resulting me to post the whole time riding to and from work. needless to say, it put a bad taste in my mouth about riding to work on that bike. can someone tell me if i need to break the saddle in or if thats always how its going to be? if i need a new one, who makes a good saddle for the price?


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## Dr. Placebo (May 8, 2007)

you need to break in YOU  or get another saddle. It seems like trial and error to find one though.


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## Mark16q (Oct 19, 2004)

My '07 Langster has everything original other than the brakes and pedals. I had some old Campy brakes I threw on just 'cuz they looked cool, and wanted pedals compatible with my mtb's so got some cheap shimano double sided. Seats are personal, but I love the stock seat. If anyone doesn't like theirs, I'd be happy to take it off your hands.

Just be sure to check all the nuts and bolts for a few rides, as everything loosened up. Everything....especially the crank bolts. But with a few hundred miles now, things are settled in and I just ride it.



mg


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## dankilling (Aug 27, 2002)

Minus said:


> thanks, i dont know if it was me not riding for a while or the saddle, but my rear end was sore for a few days resulting me to post the whole time riding to and from work. needless to say, it put a bad taste in my mouth about riding to work on that bike. can someone tell me if i need to break the saddle in or if thats always how its going to be? if i need a new one, who makes a good saddle for the price?



Saddles are a pretty personal thing, they either fit or they don't- unless it is a brooks, a break-in shouldn't be necessary. That said, you do have to give some time for your butt to get used to riding- it usually takes a few weeks if you have been off for a while, and padded riding shorts help tremendously. Good luck!


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## Normbilt (Jan 26, 2005)

I got my 07 Langster in March. I Stripped it down and put most of my stuff from my Steamroller. I had a pair of wheels I built for a Pista Concept that I didn't keep.
I got about 2000 miles on it already


My 08 Langster is on it's way


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## ric426 (Jul 23, 2004)

Here's a few driveline questions for you Langster owners. I just got an '07 Langster and the chainline at the cranks doesn't seem right. It's got the stock Sugino RD cranks, Zen Messenger chainring mounted on the outer side of the spider and what appears to be the correct bottom bracket, but the chainline at the cranks is 46mm and 42mm at the freewheel. Is the RD crank just a double with a single chainring and shorter BB spindle? That's what this one looks like. The mismatch seems to be causing some binding and noise under load. Is that 4mm difference enough that it needs to be corrected? Is your chainring mounted on the inner or outer side of the spider?


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## Normbilt (Jan 26, 2005)

ric426 said:


> Here's a few driveline questions for you Langster owners. I just got an '07 Langster and the chainline at the cranks doesn't seem right. It's got the stock Sugino RD cranks, Zen Messenger chainring mounted on the outer side of the spider and what appears to be the correct bottom bracket, but the chainline at the cranks is 46mm and 42mm at the freewheel. Is the RD crank just a double with a single chainring and shorter BB spindle? That's what this one looks like. The mismatch seems to be causing some binding and noise under load. Is that 4mm difference enough that it needs to be corrected? Is your chainring mounted on the inner or outer side of the spider?



I never ran the original set up. But the BB spindle should be a 103 which is almost the narrowest out there beside Campys 102.
Are you running it Fixxed or Free? I run a Race Face Cadent with a Fixxed cog on a Pauls hub with a 12x3/32 8speed chain. Multi speed chains are quieter a you can run with chain line out a bit.


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## ric426 (Jul 23, 2004)

At this point I'm running it with a free wheel. I've got a new set of wheels coming but I don't think there will be any significant change in the rear chainline. I think I'll pull the cranks and double check the BB spindle length. Everything I've read says that the Sugino RD should have a 42mm chainline, so unless the BB shell is offset on the frame ( I certainly hope not. There's not much that could be done to fix that) I
ve got to assume that the BB isn't right.
The stock BB is cheap enough that I even thought about grinding down the lip on the right BB cup to give it a little lateral adjustability ala Phil Woods BB's, but that seems a little extreme and who knows what other problems I could introduce doing that.


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## Normbilt (Jan 26, 2005)

I just put a Regular Green 2008 Langster together today for a customer.

Number 1 the chainline is off
Number 2 The Stock Chain Sucks

He wanted to run fixxed. I pulled the BB and it is like a 105 spindle.
You might want to pull your BB and Lubed the shell. I forgot that when I pulled 
my BB out it was Dry as a Bone in there and same with the 08 I built today.
Then I turned the Chain Ring around and installed it on the inside of the crank.
I test rode it and that was better...But recomend a better chain


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## ric426 (Jul 23, 2004)

I just pulled the crank arms to verify that it is in fact a 103mm spindle. Go figure. I did the same thing as you and switched the chainring to the inner position and came up with a 40mm chainline. I guess that's better than 46mm. I'll try it like that and get a better chain as soon as I can. I suppose if I ever need to replace the BB I could get one with a little longer spindle and keep the chainring on the inside.


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