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Looking for a cheap second hand road bike for a flat cycle lane commute. I like the look of these flip flop hubed bikes, is there anything better than the langster? Quite like the Fuji track as its only about £100 on eBay. Is there an advantage to having the brakes on the drops or the flat part of the bar, I've never ridden a road bike for any length of time.
The Langster and fuji track are both quite aggressive trackish bikes(the fuji being a proper track bike), this may be what you want but if you have never even ridden a road bike they will feel very twitchy. You might like that though, I do on a smooth road. Many other fixed and SS road bike are more relaxed geometry.
Brake position is personal, I never had a problem moving to drops with levers in the correct place, others struggle.
Which bikes offer the more relaxed geometry? Genesis, can't think of many others
One of the best bikes i've ever owned was a kona paddy wagon, I switched the bars to flats with bar ends and a single front brake (rear fixed)
Such a comfortable bike to blast road town/commute and also did a few good rides out on.
Better off with proper drop bar levers in case you need to grab a handful. The problem with the inboard levers is that having your hands close to the stem doesn't give you the best control - I put one on a fixie and swapped back to regular levers as it gave better weight distribution - particularly if you start doing skid-stops.
Charge and Mango also. Mango are fairly cheap, but pretty bomb proof, I know a bloke who does thousands of miles a year on one fairly reliably. Probably get a new one for the price of a decent S/H genesis or Langster.
In the spirit of recommend what you own, Genesis are great though.
I had a Langster for a few years great bikes. Mine was a lot better on 25 mm tyres than 23. I never found it twitchy but I am by background a roadie. I would have a langster over a Fuji or mango, charges have a rep of being pretty heavy. I would not bother with inboard brake levers because of the lack of control and the absence of anything to grab when climbing.
Great, thanks for the advice on the brakes. I like the paddy wagon especially this years 3 speed version but I just want something fairly cheap. I'll have a look at mango bikes
do you have experience of Single speed mountain bikes ? if not then don't go for a SS roadbike, go and get a triban, geared bikes aren't as costly or labour intensive as you thinkI've never ridden a road bike for any length of time
but one gear on the road is great 🙂 I've got a dolan precursa with an inboard and I ride fixed with no rear brake, this is to my mind the lowest cost method of commuting. Inboard brakes are fine for me, you soon get used to it especially if you ride fixed because you use the fixed gear to modulate speed in small doses and use the inboard for things like traffic lights
I would rather have a Fuji for a ton than a mango. The Fuji is a good bike , here hill velodrome had them as there hire bike
No.
If you ride a road bike then you will want hoods as a position. Flat top brakes don't give you that.
Kona Paddy Wagon is a better ride than the Langster, despite the extra wheels. I have one of each. Wheels are heavy on both.
I've got a track classic which is genuinely a pretty nice bike to ride. If I rode it more I'd get some Tektro hooded brake levers to replace the bar-top brakes but for the little I ride it, they're perfectly acceptable at the moment.
It weighs a ton but seems bulletproof. Again, if I was riding it a LOT I'd get a new wheelset but it's not high on any list at the moment. The only reason I've hung onto it is so I can drag it up to belgium to ride on an outdoor track there.
Don't forget to ask your sister for her jeans 😉
I had a Langster as my first road bike and I loved it. Wheels were a bit flexy when youre cranking it up a hill but other than that it was great. Sold it after a few rides with my mate on a geared bike who seemed to be having a much better time of it! Wish I didn't though, I love SS on road.
Standard answer used to be Condor Pista (which despite the name is a road bike with lower BB and brake/bottle bosses), but if you can pick up the Fuji for a ton then I'd go for that
I had a bandwagon they're good bikes .. Equally if you can find one the giant Bowery is also a great bike and light 8)
Ive used an On-one pompano and surly cross check fixed. The advantage being they are cyclocross bikes so;
a little less twitchy,
can fit 35mm tyres for a bit more comfort,
can fit guards (on those models) for ultimate winter commuting,
same high BB as a fixed frame to pedal through corners.
Ive got a 54cm Paddy Wagon for sale at the moment if you're interested [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/kona-paddy-wagon-54cm-with-upgrades ]Click here[/url]
I used to have a langster with bullhorn bars, was fantastic.
Went to gears, them wanted a single speed to build strength after breaking my femur, looked at langsters, but didn't see any I liked, so bought a felt despatch instead. It's great. More comfortable than the langster.
And ive a 58cm paddy wagon for sale! Nice custom build.
I preferred my Paddy Wagon to my Langster, possibly heavier but an easier ride. I now have a Kona Major One, singlespeed scandi-framed cyclocross with 28mm tyres, which I like v much. I use Midge bars for a bit more leverage when climbing.
I had a Fuji, but couldn't get on with it as the ride was very harsh. Probably great on a nice flat road or velodrome, but I used to dread the potholes.
Now on a Surly Crosscheck.
I have been commuting on my Paddywagon for about 4 years now up and down the hills of Edinburgh. Love the bike, it's so great to ride. Currently doing 26 mile round commutes on it, just keeps going 🙂
[img] http://tinyurl.com/hm24ert [/img]
I've had this 3 months now and I'm convinced it's a lot quicker than my flyer. Drop bars are a must though - it was terrifying with brakes mounted on bullhorns
^slack chain