Langster / Langster Pro / Langster Steel

First Radio 4 now this.

Wonder how that pie-plate fixxy skidder on current projects is going ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHFK1yKfiGo&feature=related

hah. specialized have always made good bikes, i loved my stumpy sworks back in 1996

i had one of these tooo

yum.

felt soo much stiffer than the bianchi pista concept

much like BS6102 and the kite mark

Although NJS only states how BAD* the frame has to be.

*[outdated]

"The antichrist very soon annihilates the three,
twenty-seven years his war will last.
The unbelievers are dead, captive, exiled;
with blood, human bodies, water and red hail covering the earth."

First Radio 4 now this.

Wonder how that pie-plate fixxy skidder on current projects is going ...

does it belong to melvin brag or alan yentob?
the age of the highbrow fixed gear is upon us.
i can't wait til i spot them making their way from white city to broadcasting house on their fixie

yo! fixie! heard you on radio quiet yesterday, you was dissin the checkov, you is bad you get me bruv, do a skid! etc etc.

i need to get a post cultural apocalypse ride soon, no idea what it will be though? maybe a segway?

I imagine a lot of cheap steel track frames could pass NJS requirements if the manufacturers wanted to pay to have them certified. Does anybody know what the actual requirements are? Just have to be steel, double triangle, no aero tubes, no bosses, and above a certain weight?

just that the builder has to pass on quality, just like reynolds hand out certificates for builder to let them build with tubes like 753,

afaik only 2 or 3 builders in the uk were allowed to build with it?

i think we all go a bit mental about NJS over here when in japan it's just regarded as 'standard issue' kit... if you'll buy an NJS stamped item over a non stamped one when they look the same and are built to the same standards out of the same material for more money then more fool you.

good on specialized for realising what matters to hipsters with more money than sense. (p.s at 650dollars it's gonna be the cheapest NJS frame out there and mass produced so no real street kudos as far as i am concerned)

p.s i think it looks rather nice for the money.

There must be more to it than the builder having to pass on quality, otherwise they'd all be building superlight carbon aero track frames by now. The crucial point on NJS is that it limits performance, just wondering what the requirements are?

Just found this:

*Own the 2010 season Specialized Dokuru Keirin Team bike in full race replica livery. Specialized Dokuru Keirin Team replica bikes limited to 100 units. Available though all Specailized dealers while stocks last. MSRP $1999

Frame & Fork - Specialized Dokuru Langster Team
Headset - Shimano Dura Ace
Chainset - Shimano Dura Ace
Chain ring - Shimano Dura Ace
Hubs - Shimano Dura Ace
Chain - KMC
Rims - Araya
Spokes - Sapim
Tyres - Vittoria
Saddle - Selle San Marco
Handlebars - Nitto
Stem - Nitto
Seatpin - Nitto
Pedals - N/A*

I think Dokuru are some kind of Japanese drinks company a bit like Gatorade???

Can any Japanese forum heads shed some light?

A full NJS keirin team replica. Have Specialized got the Langster from the least coveted to the coolest OTP in one move?

isn't Dokuru a dried clam?

There must be more to it than the builder having to pass on quality, otherwise they'd all be building superlight carbon aero track frames by now. The crucial point on NJS is that it limits performance, just wondering what the requirements are?

oo yes, sorry there are limits... sorry if i am teaching you to suck eggs but the idea of NJS is to make the gambling in japan 'fair' so all the bikes ridden have to built to certain weight limits/geometry(s)/material(s) so that everyone is equal.

NOT because they want super quality pedigree bikes - just equality throughout the racers.

lifted from wikipedia...

"
All bicycles and equipment must be built within strict guidelines set by the NJS, by a certified builder using NJS-approved materials. The products are then stamped by NJS and only equipment bearing this stamp may be used. However, it should be noted that the NJS standard is to ensure that no rider will have any advantage or disadvantage based on equipment, and does not necessarily relate to quality or standard of manufacture[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed]; e.g. 36 spoke wheels are allowed but not 32, and frames must be built by a very limited number of approved builders.
NJS approved equipment often sells for triple the price of comparable equipment because of its popularity in Japan.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed]
NJS-approved equipment is not required for keirin races outside Japan."

guess there must a be list of do's and don'ts in the loop somewhere, where is tomita when you need him ?

I think it's pretty cool that Specialized have managed such a move, but as I've never lusted for NJS stuff, the frame is just a clean looking frame. And to crank up the blasphemy, I think I'd rather have the steel Leader. British Racing Green Bob Jackson Vigorelli is still on the top of my list, mind.

Specialized Langster Steel List:

Nahguavkire - 1 Red please

I imagine a lot of cheap steel track frames could pass NJS requirements if the manufacturers wanted to pay to have them certified. Does anybody know what the actual requirements are? Just have to be steel, double triangle, no aero tubes, no bosses, and above a certain weight?

It helps if your Japanese... according to Italians.

http://www.thebikebiz.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=BK%2DTRK%2DKHS01

That Langster looks just like the new KHS Flite 100 to me.

They're all being made in Colnago's factory following a deal struck before the '08 season.

I'll find the article somewhere..

And it is not coming to the UK.

What's charm there is in a licensing body?? that like saying "shit, my MOT doesn't have the same charm anymore"

that is fucking hilarious, I did a big LOL on myself! A*

Ahh bike colaborations. In the words of the all mighty Bike Snob discussing the deplorable Fuji Obey, "it takes two to rip you off". He goes on to describe the Obey as "perhaps the most contrived collision between a cheap bike and street art since some guy in Williamsburg intentionally ghost-rode his Schwinn Varsity conversion into a Biggie Smalls mural."

This bike is worse. Talk about a contrived collaboration. Specialized has zero interest in Keirin racing. It's not a world market in the way road racing is and it will never be, and last i checked, Specialized isn't Japanese. So they aren't hoping to make strides in that arena. They are hoping to sell more crap to you by teaming up with the NJS stamp of approval. God knows how they got that stamp, because until now, Colnago was the only company outside of Japan with that badge. Maybe this is the answer:

They're all being made in Colnago's factory following a deal struck before the '08 season.

I'll find the article somewhere..

Possibly a rebadged low-end Colnago? A dream come true, because the neon hipster hi-top is dying and now people in the front of the fashion pack want a classic... but they can't afford one and don't have the know-how to actually find one. These front runners can now buy the Specialized NJS Langster. Complete with cookie cutter dropouts. But it's the color that counts. And the NJS stamp.

my 2 cents.

Specialized Langster Steel List:

Nahguavkire - 1 Red please

lol.

Nahguavkire - 1 Red please
Superprecise - 1 Red also please

Ahh bike colaborations. In the words of the all mighty Bike Snob discussing the deplorable Fuji Obey, "it takes two to rip you off". He goes on to describe the Obey as "perhaps the most contrived collision between a cheap bike and street art since some guy in Williamsburg intentionally ghost-rode his Schwinn Varsity conversion into a Biggie Smalls mural."

This bike is worse. Talk about a contrived collaboration. Specialized has zero interest in Keirin racing. It's not a world market in the way road racing is and it will never be, and last i checked, Specialized isn't Japanese. So they aren't hoping to make strides in that arena. They are hoping to sell more crap to you by teaming up with the NJS stamp of approval. God knows how they got that stamp, because until now, Colnago was the only company outside of Japan with that badge. Maybe this is the answer:

Possibly a rebadged low-end Colnago? A dream come true, because the neon hipster hi-top is dying and now people in the front of the fashion pack want a classic... but they can't afford one and don't have the know-how to actually find one. These front runners can now buy the Specialized NJS Langster. Complete with cookie cutter dropouts. But it's the color that counts. And the NJS stamp.

my 2 cents.

fuckin' hell dude, get off your high horse and stop getting in such a tizzy.

Specialized has been making amazing quality bikes since way back when and in doing so have made them arguably the best and most prolific brand in cycling. Despite snobby jibes on here likening them to BMWs (the cars of course), they undeniably have become a part of cycling history and culture. like them or loathe them, comparing their products (that you have zero actual knowledge of beyond the internet rumour mill) to your ideas of hipster superficiality adds little to the discussion. your comparison to the fuji obey is not only laughable but tenuous in that it's assuming the NJS mark as, from Spesh's point of view, a purely fashionable commidity.

and while i'm at it i'd like to declare that the common langster is a really great bike.

my 2 cents.

EDIT: on re-reading this was probably a bit rash. I agree basically with what you're saying, I just don't like that Specialised etc. aren't taken seriously because they're a 'big corporation, man'.

i love specialized. seriously. The Tarmac is a beautiful machine, and the Demos are arguably the first truly remarkable "big bikes". No one builds a meaner XC machine, either. And their P.series bikes are no frills gorgeous fun bikes (although a bit over built). But all of them stand alone and serve a purpose. Even the original Langster unapologetically served a purpose. This bike serves no purpose other than bandwagoning. It isn't even a specialized apparently.

ANd for the record, i know i'm being a bit loud here, but I wouldn't have even chimed in if this board wasn't popping over the thing.

NJS is PURELY a fashionable commodity. In fact it's worse, because not only does it jack the price up, like all fashionable entities, It's actually limit on performance. It's a joke. And better yet? Most NJS frames out there are not just used, but RACED and sold. It's a terrible sickly black market. "Good condition, minor rust, needs paint, only one dent in the top tube, 600 bucks". Smoke and mirrors.

NJS is PURELY a Casino.

Fixed...

What's charm there is in a licensing body?? that like saying "shit, my MOT doesn't have the same charm anymore"

in NJS there is*, i like alot of the keirin frames and i used to be a bit of a *JapanGuy***™

***was