New Project

Very nice...

Ive been seeing this company a lot lately, anybody know about the quality of their workmanship? Leader bikes seem to be good prices but I dont know anything about them?? any info

Sweet. I just ordered a replacement frame, fork and headset from Leader for my damaged bike today. I'll be assembling mine next week and will have the opportunity to try it out at a sprint try the next weekend.

Let me know what you think of the frame. Mine is a light weight road geometry, so I'd love to hear how the tri frame rides. I'm thinking about getting a tri bike as well, and that's one frameset I'm looking at.

Based on the research I did before buying, they have good reviews (roadbikereview.com) and the frame I recieved looks really nice - clean welds, good paint job - all in all I would say it looks like a quality product. I'll be able to really tell when I get it built up, but I'm not too worried.

Shane

Will do - this will be my first tri geometry bike so I'm really excited to get it put together

I ride a, now almost 3 years old, leader 732 or 735 road bike. The new frames seem to be much more aerodynamically designed (mine is plain old round tubing) but I have loved the bike. It was very inexpensive and has been great to me. If I were to be in the market for a tri bike I would look at leader due to the price and my past experience with them.

I received my 735R (road geometry) frame and fork last night and got the whole thing assembled this morning with no problems whatsoever.

I have yet to do more than ride around the neighborhood, but so far I'm impressed. The frame seems to be reasonably high quality. The frame and fork were each 1/2 lb lighter than the damaged bike parts I was replacing. Considering that I bought it on clearance for $129, I'm VERY pleased with the results. Also, I'm happy that they make a 65 cm frame, which is nearly unheard of. So I ended up with a bigger frame to fit me and still chopped nearly a pound off of my total weight.

I should also add that the folks at Leader were a pleasure to work with. I spent a lot of the time on the phone with them prior to actually purchasing the items. They were very helpful and shipped the stuff within an hour of my order. I actually received it in the mail 2 days later!

These guys have my vote. I think my next project will be a Leader tri bike.

looks great. i just recently started looking into leader frames as well. i was looking for a cheap option that looked good in order to learn how to build a bike.

keep us up to date on how it goes. especially any gotchas on parts. did you buy the fork from them? what about the headset? did you get the IS6 from them as well?
thanks!

I had several reasons for doing this - not the least was to get a tri-bike without spending more than 2k - not easy to do in Atlantic Canada.

So I had been watching the Leader frames for a while and finally decided to do it - I actually started with components first - made a list of what I wanted and how much I was willing to spend and then I started trying to win auctions. When all is said and done, I will have spent around $1k including shipping and duty - as well, several of the items were purchased with money from my paypal account so it's hurt the pocketbook even less.

As for Leader, I bought the headset and frame from them - I was only going to buy the frame but I wasn't able to find any good deals on integrated headsets (including shipping) so I ordered from them. I was able to get the fork elsewhere - not too hard to find full aero carbon forks for less than the $169 (I think) with decent reviews.

I should have it finished by the weekend (provided my brake calipers and spacers get here) and then I'll get to test her out

Shane

looks like you'll have an awesome bike for a great price. post updated pics when you are done.

how was the paint? a few reviews mentioned paint in the head tube that had to be cleaned out or having to re-thread the bottom bracket. sounds like you haven't had any build problems though.



who needs those? you'll be more aero without the spacers and stopping is overrated.

Edited by weds19 2006-06-19 1:25 PM

The paint was pretty good overall - the paint had been polished off almost completely around the BB so there was no worries about paint in the threads (there is some bare metal showing around the BB though). Other than that - looks good.

As for the calipers and spacers, they arrived so now we get to the point where I need the LBS to cut the steerer tube

An update - as of tonight we have the following installed:

Bottom Bracket
Rear Derailleur
Front Derailleur
Cranks
Wheels
Headset
Fork

Tomorrow I'll be getting the fork ready to have the steerer tube cut and then I'll finish it off Wednesday (hopefully)





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At our last monthly time trial, I got passed just after the turn around point by a guy riding one of those..he went on to break the course record and average more than 26 mph for 30k. He's got a hell of an engine, he had good parts on it, but the frame seemed to work just fine too!

I also had no problems whatsoever with paint on my 735R. It had been sanded/machined out of the head tube and bottom bracket.

I purchased the fork and IS6 from them. This was my first full build, and I had zero problems.

Oh, and here's a pic:



Edited by runningfoo 2006-06-19 8:04 PM

glad to hear there weren't any paint problems.
runningfoo - looks great. nice build
gsmacleod - coming along nicely. looking forward to seeing it finished. have you been using a torque wrench at all? are you worried about the seat tube clamp being built into the frame?

I've used a torque wrench for the BB and the cassette - other than that, nope.

I am a little concerned about the clamp being built in - but I wanted to try out the brand and this gave me a fairly inexpensive way to try it out - if it causes problems then I'll know better next time

Looking good!

i agree. it wouldn't keep me from buying the frame. i was just wondering if leader gave you any guidance on what torque should be used for the seat clamp or if you just did what felt right.
i've seen reviews mentioning that it "could be a problem" or "seemed risky", but never any reports of it actually breaking. maybe it's a reinforced there and really isn't as scary as it seems.

oops. double post

Edited by weds19 2006-06-21 8:15 AM

The other thing that helped ease my mind is that my MTB - circa 1995 - has the same thing and it has never been a problem and it has seen much harder riding than this bike ever will (hopefully ). Also, with my MTB, I was able to put a quick-release on it around 98 or so (ease of adjustment more than anything) so I figure if the threads strip I can do the same thing.

edit - as for suggest torque - didn't get one and just used what I thought was good.

Shane

Edited by gsmacleod 2006-06-21 9:47 AM

Getting closer - all I have left is cables, chain and then adjustments and it's good to go...





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nice! i'm getting jealous. i don't need a new bike, but i really want to build one.

anyone want to buy bike parts and i'll put it together for you?

Here's the final product





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