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Reviews 1 - 5 (11 Reviews Total)
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Submitted by
crispy010
a Road Racer
from Date Reviewed: January 25, 2009
Strengths: Stiff, ungodly responsive, corners well, stunning near-flawless welds, 100% hydroformed tubing, did I say stiff? Beautiful paint job, and definitely not a bike you see everyday.Weaknesses: Will eventually beat you to death on long rides over rough roads. Not a touring frame by any stretch of the imagination. Low bottom bracket.Bottom Line: I picked this bike up from Craigslist as an upgrade from my Trek 1000. The price I paid could not have covered the full D-A component group alone, so I considered it a good deal.
Like others, I cannot overstate how incredibly stiff this bike is. I test road a full carbon Specialized Tarmac, and it was not much stiffer than the Leader. Stomp on the pedals and this bike will GO!
Make no mistake, this frame has an "R" in its name for a reason - this is a racing frame. It is very stiff, and VERY responsive. The wheelbase is 98.5 cm: on the short side. It definitely verges on being called "twitchy".
On descents and at high speeds though, this bike is rock solid. I've personally had it near 50 mph and it just gets steadier and steadier the faster you go. Through corners, the thing rides like it's on freaking rails - just push on the inside bar and the bike punches straight for the apex. The eagerness with which it goes round corners can be terrifying on steep mountain descents.
Let's talk about those welds. They are, without a doubt, the most perfect, beautiful welds I have ever seen on aluminum anywhere, period, no holds barred. Just the welds themselves are works of art. I get asked every group ride if the frame is carbon, simply because the welds are so smooth.
Cost-wise, for a racing bike, you cannot beat this frame. If/when you wreck and destroy your bike, a replacement frame can be had for a mere $300, as opposed to nearly twice that much for a carbon frame.
Favorite Ride: anything fast and long
Price Paid:
$750.00
Purchased At: Criagslist
Similar Products Used: Trek Alpha 1000
Bike Setup: LD-736R 57 cm frame, carbon fork, Mavic Cosmic wheels, D-A 9 spd, Conti GP 4000 tires, Specialized Toupe saddle, ITM stem, Cane Creek headset.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
dr.mediocre
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: June 11, 2008
Strengths: Price, Smooth riding but stiff where it matters most (BB and seat stays). Awesome looks, great paint and shape. The frame feels much lighter then my Trek and rides like some of the carbon frames I tested.Weaknesses: None so far.Bottom Line: All of my expectations for this frame were blown out of the water once I built it up. I purchased this frame as a replacement for my cracked Trek 1000 frame. The Leader 736r is by far the better bike. It climbs like a goat and rides more smoothly than any frame I've ever ridden. The matte black paint and shaped aero tubing turn heads and start conversations.
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At: Leaderbikestore.com
Similar Products Used: Trek 1000
Bike Setup: Ultegra Crankset
105 RD
Tiagra Brifters
Cane Creek IS2 headset
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
spinordie
a Road Racer
from Date Reviewed: September 25, 2007
Strengths: Stiff, great for a sprint. Even though it is aluminum it dampens the ride better than my old aluminum frame.Weaknesses: a little heavy, but not bad.Bottom Line: This is much stiffer than the 780r frame. The s-bend seat stays make the ride more smooth than my old Trek 1200, but the sprint is snappy. I have ridden about 100 mile or so on the frame and am happy thus far. I will re-evaluate in 12 months or 10k miles.
Bike Setup: Ultegra and Dura-ace mix
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
chuckmeister57
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: August 31, 2007
Strengths: Price.Ride quality,stiff but not harsh.Weaknesses: None so far.I was lucky not to have the problems listed in the reviews.But i just remembered that idid have a problem pre-loading the headset.The problem was the carbon cap leader sent with the frame.Replaced it with a FSA alloy compression cap.Worked flawless since.Bottom Line: Rode B.R.A.G.[seven days of riding.]Three centurys. .about 1800 miles on this frame. Stiffer and lighter than steel frames.Impresive ride for the money.Thinging of the track frame next.
Favorite Ride: 736r
Price Paid:
$299.00
Purchased At: leaderbikes
Similar Products Used: .Rossin record columbus-sl tubing.Bianchi steel.
Bike Setup: SRAM gruppo .Dura-ace hubs on velocity deep-v rims.Fizik seat,FSA wing-pro alloy bars and forte stem.Leader seat-post.Michelin carbon tyres
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
steven mull
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: December 1, 2006
Strengths: Light stiff fast and very good components for the moneyWeaknesses: seat boltBottom Line: Great looking bike that rides well.Came as a kit so it was fun to put together.Agree with others that the seat post clamp is diffficult to tighten and stripped one allen bolt trying.Suprised at fit considring I bought it online. Friend, who races seriously, helped me put it together and was very impressed.
Favorite Ride: fast tempo ride country roads
Price Paid:
$1305.00
Purchased At: e-bay
Similar Products Used: former ride a colnago with campy neuvo record
Bike Setup: bontrager wheels, ultegra complete, carbon bars and seat post
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Reviews 1 - 5 (11 Reviews Total)
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