SquidPuppet

Too true. In a BIG way.

Broctoon

I have a set of ThickSlicks on my Steamroller. I bought them because:

1) At the time, I thought they looked cool (I still do).

and

2) They claim to have great puncture resistance (this has been true, so far).

I'll admit that they're heavy and sluggish. While the bike has great handling, its performance leaves something to be desired. It's burdened by some other heavy parts too, most notably the Brooks leather saddle that I recently installed, and the wheels--48 spoke Velocity Chukkers (intended for bike polo, I believe). As a result, it is slow. I have to work quite hard to get it up to speed and to keep it there.

So it's not a really fun bike when I want to be fast or efficient. But sometimes it's fun to just putter around, remembering that I'm not in a hurry to get somewhere, but am riding for pleasure and fitness. I also take comfort in the knowledge that the bike is practically bullet proof. I have others that are good for going fast.

ninjamunky

Thanks for the info guys. I kinda just bought this bike on a whim, went into the LBS and they let me take it for a test ride. I bought it a few days later. I didn't want to spend a lot of $$$ on a single speed, now I come here and see the higher end bikes people are riding and I kind of wish I had spent a little more.

I had been riding my 27.5+ mountain bike around town so to me this bike felt pretty light and fast. Like I said, I've never had a road bike before, had a bmx as a kid and a hybrid for a little while but that's it.

Now I'm riding fixed and I'm hooked so I think another fg bike will be in my future. I like the look of Leader especially for the price, although I guess they've fallen out of favor here.

scoho

Especially since you're new to fixed gear and narrow tires, ride the hell out of your new ThickSlicks and don't give it a second thought. They're already an improvement over what you've been riding, so you won't notice what you're missing out on by not having a better set of tires, and then when you do upgrade in the future you'll really be able to appreciate the improvement.

And, whatever you do, don't mind us. We're a bunch of elitist wankers who spend way too much time (and money) on this stuff. Ride what you like, and enjoy it.

Broctoon

Leader makes some cool looking bikes. You're right that they don't have a lot of fans on this forum. But, as far as I can tell, they're decent quality. Scoho will have to speak for himself on who's a wanker, but I agree with his advice to ride whatever you like and don't concern yourself with what BikeForum members think is or is not fashionable.

ninjamunky

No worries guys, the only thing getting me down right now is I wanna ride and the weather is gonna be crap for the next few days.

Anyway I'm just here for the knowledges.

Carcosa

They might not be forum darlings anymore, but if you can find a 2013 or 2014 725 without the integrated seat post clamp, you'll be fine. I've put a few thousand miles on mine and had no complaints. Just don't expect any customer service with the whole bankruptcy thing.

This.

But fashion aside, we are an OK barometer on quality for the most part.

Philasteve

I had a Leader 735tr back when I first started riding. I actually miss it, came pretty close to buying The Cure complete they make. And to be honest I'd ride Thickslicks, I care more about the big writing than I do the weight though lol. Hopefully you can figure out exactly what you want just by riding the bike you have now and lurking on here.

ninjamunky

Yeah I'm just gonna ride my purefix for now and lust after other bikes that I really don't need lol.

Coming from mountain bikes I wasn't familiar with most of the bike brands being talked about here, and I had no idea about different qualities of steel tubing. Mountain bikes are all aluminum or cf frames these days.

Anyway I did more searching about Leader and read of the cracking seat tubes and poor customer service so I've pretty much crossed them off my list. Aventon looks like they make a nice bike too, and they seem to have a better reputation. I don't plan on doing any racing or going to the drome though so I really probably shouldn't even be looking at aluminum frame bikes. I just like the more modern look, with their rear wheel cutouts and flattened top tubes.

Someone mentioned State the other day in another thread. Their Contender II looks like a sweet bike, chromoly frame and carbon fork. Maybe I'll look at those more in the future.

I've done a few cheap upgrades to my bike to see what I like. Different seat, changed the riser bars to some bullhorns, got a gold chain coming in the mail for some added bling. But it would seem silly to buy a lighter wheelset for it when even some of the cheaper ones I've​ looked at cost twice as much as what I paid for the bike.

NoGears

Nothing special...but I like them...





Gone but not forgotten....

Carcosa

Those all look like a blast

50voltphantom

Talk about commitment to a thing. My wife can't understand me owning two SS bikes.

Philasteve

Yeah there definitely were problems that effected certain year Leader's I think it was like the 2015 725's but don't quote me on that. It was addressed with a new design, the one I had was like a 2006 I think. But yeah there's a lot of nice budget aluminum track bikes around for good prices.

ceelint

Love this bike

jtbadge

I'm stoked on that Private Jake. I really like my Nature Boy Zona, but the versatility of being able to run single speed or geared on the same cyclocross frame is really appealing. Would definitely get down on one of those.

StirFry

Completely level or nose pointing a hair up is usually recommended. When it's angled down you tend to slide forward and put more weight on your hands, which is undesirable. I adjust mine so that I'm "perched" on the seat, and weight distribution feels 50/50 between my hands and my arse. Sometimes I've broken the nose-up or level rule to achieve this and positioned it slightly downward, but it's usually with seats that have dips in them, and not flat ones.

ninjamunky

Since that picture I've raised the seat probably about two inches, leveled it out, and actually moved it forward a bit which is the opposite of what I felt like I wanted initially. Yesterday I did about an hour and a half ride and it felt much better so thanks to everyone for the advice.

I also took on a few hills for the first time and it went better than I expected, as in I didn't have to get off and push the bike up the hills lol. Honestly I didn't feel like I was any slower than I would have been on my mountain bike. In a way it felt like having only one gear to was an advantage as there was no guessing about which gear to be in or cycling though gears halfway up the hill.

theblackbullet

50voltphantom

Yes.

Zoroman

Whiteout is nice!

ceelint

Not quite a whiteout... polished wheels and cranks, black accents

Broctoon

That's really tidy, Ceelint! I like it. What frame is it?

TenSpeedV2

Went for a memorial ride today. Lost my mom 9 years ago today. 72°F and sunny here, and it was really nice. No worries about cars, miles, speed, just the turning of the pedals.

ceelint

Wabi Classic

Carcosa

Hope it was a good one man.