Black Langster / street

Oh, I didn't know that.. so is it legal to ride with a fixed cog and just a brake?

Yes

Some track forks don't have the correct material in the fork crown necessary to withstand the forces from braking (because on a track you don't brake, obvs). I had this issue with some proper track forks that I wanted to have drilled. No shops would drill them for me, for fear of increasing the likelihood of failure in the fork. Tifosi do a Pista fork, which is black. Failing that, have a look around, Condor also do a drilled Pista-type fork. Don't fuck around with the structural integrity of your bike, not worth it.

I'm 99% sure the Langster Pro fork is just a Langster fork with the hole covered. The bog standard Langster fork comes drilled anyway so I don't think drilling a Langster Pro fork would be an issue.

Will email Specialized and see what they say. Other than that, how would I find out before attempting to drill it?

I wish it was that easy in my case but this guy's fork wasn't drilled apparently. There's an image with a Langster fork pre drilled and a Pro fork drilled.

I understand that very well, thanks for making me aware of it. WIll also consider your advice.

I am mainly driven by aesthetics and by the fact other people have done this with no issues and I also know that the Pro fork it's not really a proper track fork .

That's cool, but try to get official assurances that it's possible. Just because other people might be riding around on compromised bikes, doesn't make it safe. Just looking out for you.

Specialized will almost certainly tell you not to and that it will void the warranty, it's in their best interests to do so.

Either get the pro fork drilled by someone who knows what they're doing - or just buy a bog standard langster fork, which will come pre-drilled.

I've emailed them asking whether I can purchase the fork separately if this one I have it's not drilled then covered.

Any road bike fork with a straight steerer would be fine, the Langster fork rake is 45mm which is actually more than some road bikes. Even if specialized would sell you a fork, it'd probably cost you an arm and a leg.

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/13408972/

Ooph... <3

Bumpy tyre fixed yet?

If not try lubing it- take tyre off and rub something soap based around the tyre beads, something that will not harm the tyre and will dry off in a day or two, even plain water can help but not anything oil or grease based. Liquid hand soap is good.

Then pump up to max pressure, and if that does not work you can safely go up to +50% of max pressure temporarily.

Also the kevlar bead on folding tyres will stretch out a bit over a couple of removal/refit cycles which will help.

Forget buying a new fork for this build. Buy a regular Langster frame or get a Dolan FXE, especially if you intend to commute on your bike or ride it around London. That single front brake configuration is dangerous and makes even less sense on a bike designed to move quickly.

We're in agreement that the frame is amazing, but you intend to use it well outside of the parameters for which it was designed and you'll likely be disappointed.

Their reply:

"As the Langster Pro is a track race frame, it does not have a hole for a front brake in the fork. The standard Langster does have a hole in the fork, but it is designed for road use rather than track race and so has a different geometry which may compromise the Pros handling. I would suggest searching for an aftermarket fork to suit that is compatible with a front brake and going from there."

No, it's not, I have the same issue on both wheels now. Been away for the weekend, but will try again tonight, thanks for the advice.

As others stated already, it's the same exact fork with the Langster's one.

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All that guff about machined brake tracks, you can easily use a brake on a non-machined rim if you happen to want to. BITD all rims were non-machined, you machine your own brake track by braking on it.

Forgot to say don't use washing up liquid if you can help it, but KY Jelly would be ideal if you have any 'to hand' ;-)

Exactly like I said, Specialized will tell you not to use it, but it's the same fork. Buy a langster fork, or drill the pro fork and go ride your bike!

Done.

Thanks to the guys that took the time to advise me to get another fork.

I did consider it but a new fork would have been around £100, not exactly a matching colour/design, and I already spent too much on this bike.

Plus, I personally don't think is that big of a deal. I definitely understand why are they not meant for street/brakes but others have done it and whilst I've seen a few people advising against drilling a fork, I yet have to see someone that'll say 'my fork broke whilst riding my bike'.

That being said, as @finger_jockey mentioned, this wasn't really a proper carbon fork as the crown and the dropouts are aluminium, just the legs are carbon.

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Did you diy or get a shop to do it? How's the build going?

I've used all the lube so all I had left was the liquid soap :).

Don't know what to do anymore, have taken the inner tube out and put it back several times, but whatever I do, I can't get it right (see top of the attached photo).

To be fair, I've used a hand pump so far so first thing in the morning will go to my local bike shop and pump the hell out of it maybe it falls into place.

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If you've pumped it up to say 100psi at least and it's still not sitting right, pumping it up more wont help. Best case, nothing changes, worst case, tyre or tube blow out. Whenever I've had a bulge in my tyre or the bead not seated correctly I've noticed almost straight away, with maybe only 30-40psi in the tube, refitting has always solved it.

By all means take it to the bike shop and see i they can reinstall it to make it fit, if it still won't go I'd suggest either tyre, tube or rim is defective.

Have you tried marking the point on the tyre / tube where it happens and swapping the tyres between the two wheels and seeing if the problem follows the tyre or stays in the same place on the rim etc?

FWIW, I can't really see what it is you're referring to in the picture.

Tyre is done, just inflated it properly (120psi) and it's now sitting properly. Bit silly to think a small hand pump would be enough, that is a joke, would have never gotten 120psi in the tube.

All that's left is to find out whether I need a lock ring with the Sturmey Archer freewheel (don't think so) and do the handlebars tape.

And find a nice area/sunny days to take some photos :).

And oil the chain.. and remove the freewheel to grease it, and.. ffs, quite a few small jobs left :). Mark the bike, insurance, hmm, what else.