noglider 

I've been fine with this Leader bike of mine. A friend of mine has offered to sell me this old Raleigh Track Pro at a reasonable price. I'm thinking it would ride about the same and not be any heavier, so what have I got to lose? Hey, it might even be lighter, as the Leader isn't particularly light.

I know better than to ask whether I should do this, so I'll put it this way: what are the plusses and minuses of making this swap?

Here is the Leader in its street gear. It currently is dressed for the track with proper handlebars and no brake or accessories.



Here is the Raleigh as my friend has it now. He is offering to sell me the frame, fork, and headset, and I "should" be able to transfer everything over except the stem.



SIZE: The Leader is about 54cm or 55cm in seat tube. The Raleigh is 57cm, which would put the handlebars higher for me but probably not inappropriately high.

carleton

Generally speaking, it should be fine.

The only thing I can imagine being different is that the rear end and bottom end may not be as stiff...which may not be a bad thing on a bumpy track.

If you are focusing on sprint type stuff (500M, Kilo, Match Sprints) I'd say maybe not. But, if you are focusing on enduro or all-around, go for it.

noglider 

I've made some improvements this year so far. I raced last Wednesday, and while I still come in last place in every race, I was able to stay in the pack for longer. In one race, there was someone behind me for a while, and he made a last ditch effort and passed me. All of this is to say that I'm not very fast yet, so equipment changes shouldn't make much difference, as you told me before I started racing this year. I'm not focusing on any kind of race yet. I prefer the short races so far, but that might change.

So in general, no alarm bells ringing for you, if I'm reading you right. Thank you.

slindell

Check the seatpost clamp. I have seen a couple of these where the lug is cracked at the binder bolt. And if it has been used on the street make sure the fork and tubes are straight and not deformed from running it curbs. Otherwise the bike should be fine and look for a rigid stem, some of the longer road stems get pretty flexible. Try to avoid the Cinelli 26.4 stems as the bars will be harder to find than the 26.0 bars or just put a threadless stem adapter in and use your existing bar and stem.

700wheel

Without seeing the frames it is hard to judge.

But the Raleigh looks like a better frame than the green frame (Leader?). Why?
Steel vs Aluminum
No chain ring indentation (that I can see)
Lugged frame stiffer and stronger than welded

If the Raleigh is an 80s frame check to make sure you have clearance for 700 wheels and tires. My 1984 English Bates is very tight in this area and can’t use the full drop out length.

In general it is the reach that is critical, not the ST measurement

And lastly the Raleigh is more beautiful than the Leader (in my opinion).

carleton

These reasons are not very good reasons and should be ignored:

Steel is not better than aluminum. If that's your preference, that's cool. But, it's not better.

Not sure why a chain ring indentation matters. But, if anything, running 51 or 52t chainring won't be a problem if you have one.

How exactly does lugging a frame make it stiffer than welding? That's like saying that blue cars will be faster than red cars.

700wheel

In his initial post noglider asked for plusses and minuses so that what I provided in my response. In answer your questions:

Steel is not better than aluminum. If that's your preference, that's cool. But, it's not better.
I agree with you providing the frame is properly designed. I have three aluminum frame bikes all made with 6061 aluminum alloy which has very good weldability and is extremely fatigue resistance. My reply was based on the two photos provided. Leader uses a 7000 series aluminum alloy; in general these alloys are not weldable with an exception being 7005 that has additives to allow welding however 7000 series structures, with a few exceptions, are liable to fatigue failure or cracking (I note cracking was mentioned in post #4 above).
Steel, especially Reynolds 531 (which is known as AISI 4130 in the USA) is extremely tough and fatigue resistant (also used in climbing equipment). Welding anneals this type steel so lugs and brazing is used.

Not sure why a chain ring indentation matters. But, if anything, running 51 or 52t chainring won't be a problem if you have one.
The chain stays resist torsion, compression, and bending. Indentation makes the stays less rigid (as you correctly surmise in post #2 above). You will rarely see indented stays in high quality frames with circular tubing being optimum in metal frames.

How exactly does lugging a frame make it stiffer than welding? That's like saying that blue cars will be faster than red cars.
The structural interface between tubes in a frame resist various forces such as shear, bending, and torsion. The additional thickness of metal with a lugged joint makes the joint stiffer and stronger. Of course a welded aluminum frame can be made strong by using large diameter tubing *(Cannondale bikes for example). And as I mentioned there is virtually no reduction in the steel strength with brazing.

Bottom line is that either of these two frames would probably work for noglider (I rode a Leader frame for several years as I mentioned in Post #15 here: https://www.bikeforums.net/track-cycl...ld-735-tr.html )

Jared.

That is a steel Leader...

700wheel

Thanks for the info - in that case some of my comments are not applicable.

noglider 

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/1092928...aleighProTrack

I like the way this rides. I'll find a buyer for the Leader. The Raleigh might be a touch heavier, but I'm cool with that.

carleton

Nice!

DMC707

Whether you use it or not, that Raleigh looks like it could pull double duty as "man cave art" --- very cool machine

noglider 

Heh. True, isn't it. I did not make an attempt to make it period correct or anything like it. But as it happens, track bikes have evolved less than all other bikes. We're biking like it's 1929! So it came out looking like a classic anyway.

I've only taken it out twice so far. The first test ride was only about four miles. I bopped around the neighborhood on it last night and tested its acceleration. I can't explain it, but it really does feel quicker and nimbler. It could be because of the track grips. Best bike purchase in a while.

noglider 

Oh, and one shame is that I had a nice matching green jersey for the Leader. I don't have any bold but plain red or blue jerseys. Not sure what to do with that. I have a white one, but it looks kind of dorky.

carleton

You may be feeling
- A different head tube angle
- A different fork offset
- Shorter chain stays
- Some combination of all of the above

I'm glad you like it. Bike purchases can be a gamble sometimes. It's nice when we gamble and win