Mistake buying 2016 Leader 721?
 

Hey everyone, new to the forums.

I'm having a bit of buyers remorse and would like to get some opinions.

I always wanted a Leader because I do like the way they look and when I saw the 721 for this year I absolutely had to have it. The asking price of $650 plus $60 shipping seemed a bit insane so I never pulled the trigger.

Then low and behold they came out with a great Black Friday deal of 40% off (now the price to quality ratio seemed a bit more realistic) I placed an order last week and should be receiving the bike tomorrow.

However admittedly I didn't do much research before I purchase (durr) and I had no idea about all the hate.

Then I read a few stories from @Scrodzilla (who appears to be some sort of god-figure on here?) and that bothered me because it seems like they screwed over his business.

Then Leader never answers the phone and I heard like only 2 people run the entire operation? Horrible customer service stories.

Then last but not least I realized their website and social media accounts are plagued with typos. This kills me. How can you justify that you can be capable of the design a 400 dollar frame but not take LITERALLY 5 minutes to proofread your website?!? It blows my mind.

I love the way the bike looks and I'm hoping for the best but did I make a huge mistake?

Meh. Leader had a big problem with certain frames cracking in one of their lines over the past couple years. I think it was the 725 or 735 that had an integrated seatpost clamp failing. The 721 wouldn't have that problem because it uses a round seat tube and standard seatpost collar. Looks like they've moved away from the goofy geometry they used to have too. The new 721 looks pretty decent IMO.

And Scrod is a guy who runs a good bike shop, but I think god-figure is a bit much.

Thanks for your input!

Yes the god figure was sarcasm, I just noticed he's popular around here.

As the god Scrod would say, "It is always best to buy first and ask questions later."

I did some research but didn't know about this site yet. There's almost nothing in the way of reviews online and bike stores never know anything except cannondale specialiazed giant bla bla road bikes. YouTube has nothing either.

It's not like I didn't try, it's just hard to find a lot of subject matter on these bikes (ESPECIALLY in comparison to geared road bikes) This seems like a knowledgeable community though and I'm glad I found it. I searched for Leader stuff but most of it was from a few years back and I know things change.

I'm rather new to cycling so I don't have any personal friends to talk to either which hopefully will change.

I'll get to see the bike in person tomorrow. I just hope Leader doesn't go belly up tomorrow and I don't want a bunch of smug people looking at me like I'm on a pure fix. I was under the impersonation Leader was a Premium brand

what gives you the "impersonation" that leader is a premium brand?

*impression (I'm on mobile- autocorrect)

Although maybe now I can run Leaders website and social media now since I can't type English properly :lol:

I'm not sure, I guess that they're just on the expensive side and they do have a decent rider team etc.

I always thought they were a quality bike one step above Aventon etc. and the other mass produced frames. Especially since they cost more. I know they can charge anything they want but one would think it they charged 700 dollars for a garbage bike they wouldn't have been around for 15 years.

Their recent YouTube videos though makes it seem like they're more involved in pop culture and being cool and hip and stylish in California rather than pushing the quality of their product.

whats the barometer for a "decent rider, team, etc"?

They appear to have a decent factory team. I don't know them personally but I've been following a lot of them on IG and they seem skilled and dedicated and I know for example a few of them placed pretty high in Red Hook Crit in Brooklyn. I don't follow racing enough to have a good "barometer" as to their skill but to me they just didn't appear to be a fly-by-night crap company.

If I had all the answers I wouldn't be on here asking for others opinions, would I?

Autocorrect makes life butter for everyone. :thumb:


-Tim-

No. You bought a bike and that's awesome. Ride it.

I'd like to see some pics of the bike, unboxing it, assembly, first ride, etc.

Will provide for sure. Should be delivered to my work by the end of the day today but might not get to the actual assembly tonight as I have dinner plans. So if not tonight, tomorrow.

Very excited

You shouldn't give a crap about other people's opinions! If you like your bike, you like it! Just enjoy it and ride it when you get it.

That's because they're now owned by a kooky Japanese guy who is severely disconnected from American culture but thinks he has a firm grip on how it should be portrayed to the masses. At any rate, Leader recently filed for bankruptcy so it will probably all be going away soon.

But yeah, you bought a bike. Ride it and make the most of it until you buy another one.

So, does this mean my two Leaders are now rare collector items ?

I'm sure I will enjoy it I just would like to have purchased from a company that backs their products. No one to blame but myself.

Ugh. This is not what I wanted to hear. You seem to have alot of insider information, do you think it's safe to say another company will acquire them and at least keep the brand going? They're still active on social media.

Thanks for the info.

If it arrives with no parts missing/no major defects at <$400, than I don't think this will qualify as a mistake. If it fits, it will still be fun to ride.

Hrm, Chapter 7, liquidation. Ouch.

I've put a few thousand miles on a 725 from 2013 and have no complaints, even still on the stock crankset. Always been a fun bike to ride and have had plenty of compliments over the years from people on how it looks.

I can't say if the newer 721 is built nicely or not, but I have to imagine it will be plenty nice for a $400 complete (I paid much more than that a few years ago) and I still think it looks pretty good. Just don't expect much help from the company now that it seems they are filing for bankruptcy and don't expect much drooling over it from nerds like us.

But what really matters is this:

What bikes do nerds drool over?

Mostly Bishops.

Bianchi Pista.

Thank you.


-Tim-

Forgive me, but I didn't read all the posts, but I don't understand why you're here asking.

It seems very straightforward, you always wanted this, and finally the price came down to where you made the purchase. So, what's to worry?

It seems that the only issue is that you're reading too much, which might have been OK before buying, but became pointless afterward. Unless there are specific quality issues being raised, you might as well wait until you have the bike, and if it's OK, ride it in good health.

Stop reading and listening to a bunch of kibbitzers. Ride and enjoy your bike.