Sal was actually very helpful when I called Leader. He explained what part was what on the headset I ordered from them, and how to install it. I also spoke with Chris in shipping a couple times, and was very friendly.

I wish I knew what you all were talking about. Maybe you caught him on a bad day?

Ordered a white 721tr today... ships at the end of the month, i'm really stoked!

good fork for this?

I've got a new pic that i'll upload in a few

so am i ********?


I'm pretty sure this is an issue that Leader should take care of...Where's the Leader Bike rep on BF now?

Doesn't really look like a problem to be honest. PM Brian (LeaderBike) if you're really worried about it.

You could pull in your wheel a little bit with a half link, I bet.

Yeah, that's not right. It almost looks like the rear triangle is designed for 650s.

That's not a tire-size deal, the change from 600x21s to 600x28s will not cause enough of a change to even get close to pulling that wheel all the way into the dropouts, which SHOULD be doable. That looks like you could only get it all the way in if the tire was deflated.

I'd call if I were you.

friend of mine just bought this frame. i'll take some pix when he has the wheels on so we'll see if there is a clearance issue.

I think the fact that more than half of the fork end is completely unusable constitutes a problem. Just because you can think of a work-around, doesn't mean the problem isn't there.

I did call. I was offered nothing. I was only told simply that I was wrong and that there was no problem.


I simply would like some sort of compensation from Leader Bikes and hopefully the knowledge that they plan on FIXING this design flaw! I would hate for their reputation to be degraded by them selling a bike that is poorly designed.



Ideally I would like to see them redesign the rear triangle larger to properly fit the wheel/tire, and then recieve one in the mail along with a letter of apology for the ordeal..


But then again, that'd be ideal. In this world all I could honestly hope for is a PM saying "oops"

the drop outs are not that big of a problem. im running 700x 23 wheels with a ratio of 16 x 46. Gotta throw on a half link and the problem is solved. in addition, there is enough space for chain tensors as well. im happy i got my leader and im bout to build up a 735tr soon.

my leader.
https://velospace.org/node/13789

"not that big of a problem" is the entire issue here


why do they build a bike that has "not that big of a problem" instead of making it a bike with "no problems at all"?

late to the piece now, but the bowery is lighter, marginally. It really is an inconsequential (sp?) difference, but don't get one

no you're not ********.
That's Epic design fail right there.

You've got around 1" of track end left, but only 1/2" of room to move the wheel before the tire hits the seat tube.
looks like leader designed the chainstay length (to the middle of the dropout, which is standard) to give the minimum seat tube clearance, making the whole front half of the track end useless.
FAIL!

requiring half links to adjust ratios with track ends is a total kludge.

Wow, its dumb to have that much dropout and unable to use it. Major design flaw. I prefer the the axle to be pushed in as far as possible.

thank you for agreeing guys


the guy from leader basically told me i'm an idiot

My car broke down, it's still under warranty, but my dealer won't fix it because they found out I have a bus stop right down the street from my house that I could easily take to work and they said it's not really a problem since I don't drive too far anyway and I only have to make 2 transfers and this would only add another 15 minutes or so to my commute, which isn't really that bad when you think about it.

it's clearly a bad design and them being ******s about it made me change my mind on my next frame. good job leader. it would be one thing to own up to their mistake, but they didn't. not a company i want to deal with.

absolutely...i doubt i'll ever buy a leader again

by the way, it was this thread that ended my interest in Leader bikes as well. i put my money on an Alien frame which is a more solid design.

yeap it's official a friend of mine just bought and built up his leader and the dropout issue is really dumb imho. make it's hard to adjust his drivetrain and limits what he can use as far as tire widths

man after looking at that dropout issue and hearing about some of the poor customer service with leader i couldn't help but laugh when i saw this:

"Why are Leader Bike prices so low?
This is what it takes to break in to a market and develop a reputation."


Some people like leader but it seems they have a few angry customers. pretty sure customer service > cheap prices, their reputation isnt the best atm.

I do not like that frame at all. The welding job is hideous, especially the drops.

The welds on the fork ends look a bit messy, but the other welds are evenly spaced and clean, good aluminum welds. For that price, you're not getting your welds cleaned up. They're solid welds, although I think a gloss finish would make them look a lot better.