2006 Langster refurbishment.

I thought since I was giving my Langster a bit of an overhaul, I'd document it here.

It started off like this, which is OTP apart from replacement wheels (Dolan Navigators) and a shorter stem (an ITM stem I swapped from my track bike) and consumables such as cog, chain, brake pads etc.

This is it just before going on a ride which is why it's dressed up with lights:

So, the strip down:

The original aluminium forks are pretty ugly (and heavy) so, fist job has been to sort out some carbon replacements as per later Langsters.

My geared road bike is a Scott CR1 and when I was offered a swap of a pair of (slightly older) full carbon CR1 forks for a set of Nitto Moustache bars I wasn't using (cheers Malaysian) it worked out perfectly.

He had a set of these in his infinite bike shed:

http://fixiebikemarket.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/scott-cr1-limited-forks.jpg

First job with these was to get rid of the branding as it's pretty ugly!

From this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/johnnyhotdog/20140123_125455_zpshlg9bzkb.jpg

To this, after some sanding to get through the lacquer and the decals off:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/johnnyhotdog/20140123_132056_zpsxhwqp7qx.jpg

I've re-lacquered them but it's not a great finish (if you look closely.) Once I decide just how far I'm going to go and how much work I'm prepared to put into this, I may go back and do it again.

When I took the BB out, I checked the threads and they didn't look great so the frame has been to my LBS (Woodrups, Leeds) to have the BB tapped and whilst it was there, the fork crown race was removed and a new race installed.

I got the frame and forks back this morning.

Taking advantage of the sales, browsing ebay and raiding my parts bin has so far seen this pile delivered:

Chris King Headset
Thomson Elite seatpost
Shimano 105 brakes
New brake cable
Velosolo chainring
Velosolo chainring bolts (velosolo chainrings require shorter bolts)
Andel sprocket
Sram chain
Crank arm bolts (although I've just discovered a new set in the spare parts box)
Sugino bottom bracket
Chain tugs (I had a crash when my chain came off so mildly paranoid about tension.)

this is the bike that got me (back) into cycling, specifically the racing green (2007?) model. Love it.

please spray it black and get an s-works vinyl for the DT :)

this is the bike that got me (back) into cycling, specifically the racing green (2007?) model. Love it.

please spray it black and get an s-works vinyl for the DT :)

It's a great bike, I love it. Despite it being a cheap (and now quite old) OTP, it would take something pretty special to replace it. It rides great.

I think I will give it a coat or two of paint as I'd like to get rid of the skulls and the splodge. I tried gently wet sanding with 2500 grit wet & dry on the areas of silver paint that I wanted to remove but the paint is really thin and it went through to the metal too easily. Thankfully, the matt finish shouldn't need too much prep before painting.

It's not getting S-Works stickers - I think pretending it's an S-Works is a step too far! I am looking at getting some new decals though now a respray is in the pipeline.

So, since this morning, I've polished the cranks, removed the minor scratches and the part worn Sugino logo. Chainring is also now installed:

I've also de-greased the frame and wet sanded it using 400 grit wet & dry:

...and that's up to date.

I think pretending it's an S-Works is a step too far!

Ah comon, they did an s-works roubaix, this will be next.

There's already an S-Works Langster - I think the first one was in 2008.

Edit - maybe even 2007.

Wut!

True story.

Anyway, project has currently stalled whilst I await paint delivery and the repro graphics people have sent me pink instead of white.

Do I go for pink or return them and get white?

True story.

Anyway, project has currently stalled whilst I await paint delivery and the repro graphics people have sent me pink instead of white.

Do I go for pink or return them and get white?

Head says go with your personal choice. Everything else...GO PINKPINKPINK!

Pink.

Pink then?

So, after a few days of delays as I waited for the paint to arrive, today is the day for painting.

I'm using Plasti-Kote Enamel in gloss black. As the frame was already a matt finish I haven't bothered with primer.

I've got the room to the recommended temperature of 21-22 degrees:

...and I've erected a makeshift spray booth:

...and masked off anything I don't want to get paint into:

I'm aiming to get four coats of paint on and, as I'm not expecting a perfect finish, be able to sand back any runs with wet and dry and apply two coats of lacquer by the end of the day. I've chosen the fast drying option for both paint and lacquer so hopefully this is achievable.

Yes! Spray booth in living room is amazing.

Hows it looking? (The frame, not the rug)

There's a couple of runs to deal with but other than that, if you don't look too closely and squint a bit, it looks okay!

I'll try and get some more pictures up and see how I progress over the weekend.

Can we get a weight comparison between the original forks and the Scott's?

As if you painted it in the lounge, ha!

I need to get those bars onto the Hetchins, that can be my mission for next week. I've to give fixie skidding a bit of a rest and I think the Hetchins with the moustache bars on will be a much nicer runabout than the Badman cx. Just realised I've got new wheels,Mechs, brakes and cranks for it too.

Bit daunting, all that work...

The Scott forks weigh about 2kg less than the originals! I'll weigh them both properly before I put it back together.

The Hetchins will be ace once it's built up - although you can't beat the Badman CX Super Commuter for solid do-it-all bike.

Forgot to say, cranks look great too. Ring sits nicely.

Have you got some compact bars or no?

Not yet but they're on the list of things to buy. The original bars are comfortable enough but incredibly ugly.

Either today or tomorrow, I'm going to get on with finishing the paint and building it up - I'll use the old bars until I decide which new ones to get - the FSA compacts are cheap and light enough so it'll probably be them.

Can't believe you're spraying it in your lounge, fair play though! I look forward to seeing it back together, Langsters are under rated and receive a lot of un due negativity. They're are really good bikes for the money, love mine to pieces after a few modifications!

Totally agree - I think they're great.

Today was reasonably productive and I've put it back together using the parts I've got, cut down the fork steerer and put the decals on. I kept the pink....

This is my homemade headset press, it works pretty well:

Headset in place and forks tried for size - as you can see the steerer is pretty long:

Steerer cut:

Forks and bottom bracket installed:

I forgot to take a picture after adding the decals but they're now on and I've continued the build up:

...and this is currently where it's at. I still have plans to upgrade the stem, bars, brake levers, saddle and wheels but for now, this will do so I can get riding again. It just needs some bar-tape which I'll pick up tomorrow:

Actually, this is probably a better picture: