MX Leader Before and After.
 

I finished this about a week ago. It had an 8SP Chorus group when I first got it along with a broken Hub body. It now has a NOS 10SP 2006 Veloce group which I got for almost nothing. This is the bike I ride the most and thus the reasoning for putting that 10 Speed group. The old Chorus group was going on my Merckx 01 but now it's going on the Pinarello. That stem is hideous and I will change it maybe this weekend with a weird, but better looking, ITM stem. I have a Panto'd Merckx stem but it's a bit short. Let me know what you guys think.

Before:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/...6ebe72fb_b.jpg

After
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/...4fdbb81d_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3463/...e5a7e224_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3503/...4f82c5cd_b.jpg

Sweet, that is one wild looking steel fork! It looks like a PERFECT fit too. Congrats.... AGAIN!

Sweet. I've got a similar stem (Profile H2O) on my Merckx that I use because it has a long quill. It's not pretty but very functional with removeable facecap. Your MXL has a similar color scheme to my Corsa 01. Although I normally like silver components, I've got a black stem and seatpost on the Corsa and they look great, particularly with the black rims.

What a beauty! You're right about the stem though, it needs a face lift. Nice Job! :thumb:

I'm going to get one those MXL's one day. I've heard it is a sweet riding bike. Yours looks great.

Mutt

Thanks. The fork is one of my favorite cosmetic details from the Mx Leaders.

This stem is the same as yours with a removeable faceplate. It works but man is it ugly. I too have a Corsa 01 with just about the same color scheme as my Mx Leader: No pics= doesn't exist.

I built it with spare parts I had at the time.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/...0c9cb83f_b.jpg

They are great. The reason I went looking for one was that I had an Aluminium Merckx that just flexed way too much for my liking. I read about how stiff the Leaders were and so I went and found me one. I might get another very, very soon.;)

Can you get good deals on MXL's over there? Here in the states if you can find one for $1200 US then it's a steal. $1800 is more of an average price.

Mutt

It's beautiful!

It looks fiery fast just standing still! Where's your peddles Man!?

For those seeking a bike built with the Columbus Max oversize elliptical tubeset, and who don't want to spend so much as a Merckx, look for bikes by other marques like Moser, Grandis, etc. Here's my Grandis with that tubing:
http://www.peterbrueggeman.com/cr/gr...x-bike-big.jpg

Thanks! I took the pedals off because I need to paint them since I took a pretty bad fall last week and scratched the Sh1T out of them. Remember guys that there is bound to be cars following a tracker on country roads and they (the cars) usually try to pass them without looking for on coming traffic; especially cyclists. :notamused: In all nothing was damaged except for the pedal's paint. :D Helps when you have a nice soft ditch to land on.:lol:

And though you might be right about the pricing for an MX Leader; thankfully that does not apply to me. :innocent: Also, it might be true that Leaders are more expensive than the other bikes made out of Max tubing, they don't go for sale as often as a Merckx. Nice bike BTW! That toptube is a deal breaker for me though. Is that a SR FD?? I think your bike doesn't like that small small combo.

The tubing on that Grandis looks different... the merckx looks uniform over the length of the tube to me... I bet that Grandis rides nice, that is an awesome frame!

Yes, that's a Campagnolo Super Record front derailleur on my yellow Grandis. I set the chain length for large/large plus two links. I can use all gears, though I don't do so. GR, tell me what you think about the top tube ? I would like to hear what you say. The Grandis climbs well, is stiff, and does bounce a tad more on the rough stuff than my Mondia or vintage British bikes. I weigh 190 pounds. I think I dampen down its ride qualities. I wonder if someone lighter than me would feel like they were riding a bucking bronco. I would think that would be similar on the Merckx for a lightweight rider?

Thanks for sharing! :thumb: I like the yellow and white air brushed highlights, and the yellow tires compliment them nicely. That's also probably the neatest handlebar wrapping I have ever seen! Nice job!

As far as the Top Tube in concern, my only "beef" with it, is the aesthetics of it. I tend to prefer a more or less uniformed appearance to the tubes. That's just my own personal liking. As far as how they ride; my friend had a Grandis just like yours with an Ultrega 10sp group and it rode very nice. It was stiff and corned well. Given that, I still feel that I climbed better with my MX Leader. Also, I never got to ride the Grandis on a cobble stone here in Belgium, but the Leader is not harsh at all on them even though I'm a bit over 6ft tall and weigh 165. Either way, you have one hell of a bike and I apologize if I sounded like was I knocking your Bike down.

Thanks! Since I don't if they sell that tape in the states or for gow much, I've purchased a bunch of it in different colors just in case.:thumb:

Gr, I didn't think you were knocking my Grandis; I wanted to hear what you thought about ride quality and tubing shape of Columbus Max tubed bikes. I think the MX Leader would have a more comfortable ride than my Grandis, noting what you say about riding yours on cobblestones. We have poor road maintenance where I live throughout the city and I would say I wouldn't want to ride my Grandis on cobblestones for very long. I had naively thought that bikes built with Columbus Max tubesets would be the same in their use of tubes and you opened my eyes. I saw a Merckx MX Leader time trial bike on eBay and it used the same Max top tube as my Grandis. So they went for stiffness on that application but not road. Thanks for interesting comments.

Gr, about aesthetics, I have noticed in the past that for two Columbus MX tubed bikes, the Merckx MX Leader looks better to me than the Grandis Max in the fork crown. The Merckx fork crown on the MX Leader is aesthically well-done (to me),whereas the Grandis Max fork crown has a brutish or odd look, like knobby ankles or something.

Peter B-- Since you like the fork crown, here is a pic of one of my recently acquired CORSA 01 with the Mx fork. My MX Leader felt just as stiff as my friends Grandis but it could be just the geometry that helps it being comfy on cobble stones. Who knows??
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3494/...444a5e15_b.jpg

Gr, I think your MX Leader's comfort on cobbles may be more than geometry. I think it is the round top tube contributing to it. My Grandis has vertical elliptical Columbus Max tube ends at the head tube for both the top tube and down tube, whereas your MX Leader has a vertical elliptical tube end at the head tube for only the down tube. My Grandis transmit road shock upwards to the handlebars much better than your MX Leader I imagine.