The Landshark is for sale – yes, you read it right. FOR SALE.

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2000 Landshark cyclocross world touring mountain expedition go anywhere bicycle.

Currently locked to my roof rack on my truck in North Seattle.  I am open to an owner-change.

Painted by John Slawta in 2008
Painted by John Slawta in 2008

The bike is legendary.  I have owned it for 10 years, first owner.  Three paint jobs, 10 wheel-sets, several un-builds and rebuilds, and here in 2010 I have decided to put up for sale… a part of me – the closest thing to a constant companion I’ve ever had.  Reason:  Doesn’t fit me.  I need to be 6’2″ and I am not.  It may take me years to replace this bike with something similar, but I will. This is a tough choice to make, but I’ve spent three years considering selling it.

Size is 60cm top tube, 58cm seat tube: cyclocross geometry.  This bike is professional race quality as well as strong enough to tour fully loaded.  Frame is fillet brazed Reynolds 853 and it was assembled in 2000.  Ritchey cup drop outs, double eyelets – bike is most suited to fenders and bags and all day riding.  Lugged wide fork crown, three cable mount on one side. 

Beautiful and Strong
Beautiful and Strong

It is a rare bicycle in that most Landsharks are racing bikes and this is a cyclocross touring bike.  I have enjoyed talking about it with bicycle enthusiasts over the last ten years.  Wheels currently on it:  Chris King mountain hubs laced to Mavic 719 with 15ga 32 spokes.  Fast wheels.  Photo taken in 2009 with cyclocross tires on it.  The bike will be sold with your choice of a touring setup or cyclocross set up.  The way it rides:  Amazing.   Gorgeous Landshark feel.  Solid, yet light and fast.

IMG_0129 The cantilever brakes on it are Suntour XC pro – the best ones I have ever found.  They work perfectly.  The shifters are XC pro thumbies, mounted on a Bontrager ti handlebar.  Baby blue Chris King headset 1″ threadless that you cannot get anymore.  It was painted in 2008 to match the head set.  175 length White Industries crankset on a recently replaced NOS Tange bottom bracket.  Some paint dings and scratches exist as I have ridden this bike regularly.  I have always put the best stuff I could find on it.

There ARE CONDITIONS TO SELLING THIS BIKE !!!   I am not desperate to get rid of it nor am I hard up for money.  It will not be defiled by being posted on Craigslist and certainly not Ebay.  I am looking for someone who would appreciate this bike as much as I have, protect and maintain it as much as I have, and ride it as much or MORE than I have.  You’re looking at a bike that is nicer than 9999/10,000 bikes.  Not more fancy or lighter than, but NICER.  I’m familiar with the feeling of always having the nicest bike on the rack.  I’m surely willing to keep the bike but I want a 57-58cm for any future touring – something this bike will never be.  I have three other good bikes, but none like this – WILLING TO TRADE for an equivalent quality touring bicycle.  (Yeah right, I’m dreaming… Davidson? Rodriguez?  Independent Fab?)

I WANT TO KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY or sell it TO A GOOD HOME.  You may have to be prepared to answer why you are riding my bicycle.  It is unique, one of the finest bicycles in the world, and you could take it ALL OVER THE WORLD.  I’m happy to wait a year or more to find the right person.  The first notice of its current status as FOR SALE is today on drunkcyclist.com and future notices may be in Adventure Cyclist magazine or other appropriate forum.  NO SHIPPING.

My cell phone number is (206)551-7533 – – call to talk… either to show interest or tell me I’m an idiot for selling it.

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About littlejar

5 - Learned to ride in paved alley behind liquor store in Lowell. 16 - Road bike riding alone while peers do soccer practice. 18 - First new road bike bought with winnings from Project Graduation. 20 - Burlington VT. Nuff said. 22 - Joined the Air Force. 23 - Joined team Fair Wheel in Tucson - rode the Shootout. 24 - Rode El Tour in under five. 26 - Toured to Quebec City 28 - Toured Oklahoma to Vermont 30 - Found my dream bike - a 1989 58cm LaBan (#22) 32 - Experienced Minneapolis and saw BIKE CULTURE. 34 - Building my first bicycle frame, with a self made jig. USA

20 Replies to “The Landshark is for sale – yes, you read it right. FOR SALE.”

  1. The top tube is longer than the seat tube? The seat tube 58cm center to center or center to top? And the top tube is 60cm center to center?

    Interesting.

    If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit. So, selling it and allowing someone else to use it makes sense.

  2. Yes, I foolishly, stupidly ordered it that way. I thought it would be better to have a longer top tube. For my body, it’s not. I have been living the delusional fit for a long long time. Now I hurt.
    It is a special bike for sure – there are some people that claim Slawta is the best builder alive in the US. his braze work is flawless.
    If cyclocross is this bike’s next life, I’d be into putting a carbon fork on it and keeping the touring fork for my next rig – and thus keep a part of the bike that has been mine for so long. Since I don’t like to drive, I’ve used this bike to pick up beer, groceries, found items… a bike without cargo capacity is often kinda useless. The funny thing is, I have another Landshark but it’s just a little racing bike made out of Tange Prestige and about 10 years older than this one.
    In the mean time, I have an old Burley trailer still. I’ll get by.

  3. And no, Joe, can you read? Not horizontal dropouts. Even if it had, it would not make a cool fixie. Does every bike have fixie potential to you? I think you’re just PULLING MY CHAIN. Hardee har har.

  4. Been reading since before you were born, Francis. Didn’t see a word about the dropout situation. Not that I look for anything of meaning in your drunken rants. And yes, as a matter of fact every bike is a potntial fixed gear. Well not so much dual squish, but other than that they can all be ridden as God intended.

    Pulling your chain? Fish in a barrel. I’ll hold out for some real sport. But I probably do have all the bikes I’ll ever want.

    And cold Yuengling in the fridge.

    Life is good.

    “Hardee har har”, indeed.

  5. It’s just a bike…. sell it to the highest bidder (you gotta pit them cranklisters against each other to make shit happen) then you can get your next bike that hopefully fits. Oh, and bikes are tools, you’re the one with the soul here. Worshipping inatimate objects never got anyone anywhere. Good luck.

  6. No worship. I’m being conservative in describing the bike. No fucking craigslist. No fucking goddamned ebay. No bidding. Only during a face to face conversation does a price come up. I’d rather trade for another bike, or for a really decent Snap-On tool box. I am probably going to keep it, though. I love riding my 650c bike. I do love a new riding position. Feels like I’m a kid again.

  7. …john slawta knows his stuff…

    …for about 4 months, years ago, i got to ride a “bicycling mag” / land shark project road bike built around the “rock shox paris-roubaix” fork of which few were ever manufactured…

    …a b-mag buddy loaned it to me after their tests ‘cuz i had a “medical procedure-d” shoulder & while i still had a lotta healing pain which meant i was never able to give the bike a real shakedown, that was a sweet & interesting ride…that thing flowed across bad pavement as god & slawta intended…

    …would love to have a john slawta designed cross bike built around that fork but with modern internals (((like any early rock shox, seals blew out easily…no complaints, paul turner, you led the way, bud)))…

    …i love the simplicity of my non-suspended cross rig but having had the opportunity to ride that rock shox bike, there will always be a “what if ???” in the back of my mind…

    …anyway, re: your bike…you shoulda given mr slawta your basics & trusted his instincts…betcha a buck he questioned your top tube to seat tube ratio when you were telling him what you thought would work for you…betcha another buck he ‘suggested’ that the tt length might be too long…betcha a third buck he was polite enough to bite the bullet & say “okay”

    …nahhh, g’head…keep the three bucks…you need it more than me…

  8. Yep, you know he did, but it was 10 years ago and I was dumb and strong as an ox and figured 3 cm either way wouldn’t make much difference, and he cautioned against not having cantilever brake guides, to which I said “I’ll be running v-brakes” and two years ago I went to cantilevers and wouldn’t go back!

  9. That front cable guide been working out okay? Seems like it would make more sense than the kind that mount above the headtube, for a number of reasons.

  10. You might try it with some North Road(Nitto)style bars. It will bring the grip position back a fair amount, and still rip.
    And, I agree with Joe here- the cable guides which mount on the steerer are much stiffer. Interloc makes a nice deep drop model.

  11. LJ has it right. Steerer mounted Canti cable stops (Under the stem/spacer replacers) contribute to brake chatter. Under braking, the fork flexs back and elongates the distance needed for the cable. This tightens the cable and causes the brakes to shudder and “pop”. A crown mounted canti stop is attached below the main flex point and therefore eliminates this problem.

    My 2 cents…

  12. While that is a true statement, the flexing of the legs changes the angle of the crown as well, and by extension the housing stop.

    The change in distance is still there, but it is greatly reduced by changing the location of the stop. I guess I should have said it “MOSTLY eliminates brake chatter” (as there is still the chance that the small amount of elongation would be enough to cause it).

    :)

  13. Fair enough. But it has been my experience with that particular crown mounted hanger that it flexes like no other and that blows.
    Brake chatter is a problem with my Interloc steerer mounted hanger on one bike, but it is due to light/thin legs (and my big/fat ass). I have the same steerer mounted hanger in 2 other bikes (same Paul’s cantis) with no chatter.

    It is funny and awesome that people spend time debating things like this.