Leader Bike USA
| January 05, 2007 | A REVIEW OF THE NEW DELTA FAUCET CYCLING TEAM STEED
What you see above is the Leader 796 R road frame. This will be my mount for next racing season. Leader Bike USA is our official team bicycle sponsor for the 2007 season. You've never heard of Leader? I hadn't either until I saw one of their bikes underneath Andy Crater at the Beverly Hills Criterium, 1st Superweek Stage in 2004. I never thought another thing until I saw a few of their TT frames at Elite and Masters Nationals this past season. My curiosity was piqued. The team was looking for a new bike provider that carried a full range of bikes. We were riding the Raleigh team carbon frame for the past couple of years and it was a very nice bike. However, the TT bike and single speed bike for the track left something to be desired. As I investigated and made contact with various distributors and manufacturers, I found that Leader Bike USA was very willing to work us as a team.
As Leader is a relatively small manufacturer compared to the behemoths of Giant, Trek and Cannondale any serious investigation into a reliable team frame must address issues aside from cost and availability. Quality control and dependability are quite honestly more important issues as we race down mountains at fifty per and around corners in crits at dangerous speeds. How does Leader stack up?
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
It's not a well kept secret that the vast majority of bikes, whether labeled by Italian, French, US, Belgian or other, are sourced from tubes fabricated in Taiwan. Even Cannondale who proudly displays the "Made in the USA" makes their tubes in Asia and assembles them in the US. The only carbon frames that are 100% US manufactured and assembled are Trek and Calfee. It's also no secret that a vast majority of bicycle labels, provide the actual factory that make the bike with little more than a color scheme and a set of labels to apply prior to the clear coat. Anecdotally, I was riding last January in San Diego with the SDBC team and a couple of riders from TIAA - CREFF and the defunct Seal Silver team. The rider from Sea Silver had a carbon Parkpre and I was on my carbon Raleigh. A close examination reveled that the frames were identical, right down the to seat tube cut out for the rear wheel. His had an Easton fork and mine, a Rithchey fork. His Parkpre had a high gloss clear coat, while my Raleigh had a flat clear coat. Otherwise, even the joint seams were in the same places. Additionally, I have a cheap back up bike - a 7005 aluminum Motobecane Le Champione SL. I've been on rides with people riding variously Fuji, Felt, Caloi and Salsa, and the frames right down to the tube shapes are virtually identical. Does Leader do the same thing?
The answer is no. Leader is one of the few companies, especially at its size, to own its own jigs and moulds. Leader carbon frames come from the same factory as Scott and Ridley, but like Ridley and Scott, the Leader frames are exclusive to Leader. The design, specs, and moulds belong to Leader. You will not find yourself on a ride with another rider pedaling the same bike with a different label. Leader is NOT a generic bike that only owns their labels.
Take a close look at the photo above. See the wide weave of the carbon fabric? This is what Leader calls a 12k weave. Sort of like a 12k Dream but real. It's the same wide weave that Scott uses on their C series bikes. This creates a strong, yet light weight tube. The tubes are bonded to alloy lugs - just like every other lugged carbon bike on the planet. Some companies lay carbon over the top of their alloy lugs and call them carbon lugs, but inside, it's the same alloy.
Leader has a unique process that is used only by Leader. They use oversize carbon tubes with proprietary design lugs that fit INSIDE the tubes of the main frame. This makes for a stronger bond than is typical for the conventional outside the tube lugs.
The rear stays are shaped and curved while the main frame tubes are oversized and conventionally round. This is a statement about the no nonsense nature of this bike. The Geometry is faintly compact with the top tube gaining altitude ever so slightly from the seat tube to the head tube. The head tube is longish, which is probably why the front end feels so solid.
All in all, the design and manufacturing process is strong enough and quality assured enough that Leader Bike offers a Lifetime Warranty on its carbon frames. Check the stats. Not many companies offer lifetime warranties for their carbon frames. (The lifetime warranty also applies to the aluminum frames).
RIDE QUALITY
Face it, any carbon frame is going to provide a ride that is palpably more comfortable than an aluminum frame and stiffer than a ti or steel frame. Having raced on Bianchi Boron Steel, Waterford 853 steel, Motobecane 7005 aluminum, Basso scandium, Orbea Starship aluminum with carbon stays and Raleigh carbon, I believe I have a pretty solid backdrop to make ride quality comparisons. The 796R dampens road buzz on my chip and seal two lane roads and is by far the stiffest bike I've been on. The 796R lends itself to what I would call a ride that is a somewhere between a soft carbon bike and an all aluminum bike. It dampens the buzz but feels decidedly more rigid up front than my Raleigh but it's not as hard on the ass on 5 hour treks as the aluminum bikes I own.
My first few rides on the thing were frightening. The response time from pedal stroke to forward motion is immediate. Stomping up a 5% grade in the 54x16 yields absolutely no BB flex and sprinting at 43 per with the Central IL wind at my back proves that the front end on this beast is sturdy enough for a 185 lb monster to torque it to the point of complete terror without the bike quivering in protest. Going downhill, the bike provides a stable platform. This is not one of those super light bikes that Masters riders with more money than brains rides. When I was doing Master's Natz in Park City in 2004, I saw a number of riders who's bikes caught near fatal cases of the shimmies on the first 45 mph descent with a cross wind. Race over, but damn, your bike sure is light! Not gonna happen on the 796.
WEIGHT
Advertised weight for the 796R with fork is 4lb. Actual is the same. This isn't the lightest carbon bike you can buy. Not by a long stretch, but then neither is Look, Merckx or Ridley. Listen, if you're a Hubbard doing centuries and coffee shop weekend group rides then go ahead and drop $3000 for a frame and fork because it weighs 150 grams less. But racers know that when you're racing down hill and cornering at 30 per, you need a frame that is going to stay underneath you. Built up with Dura Ace components and my DT Swiss R1450 wheels, this bike with a 571mm top tube weighs a shade over 17lb. I'll take that any day. When I receive my new SRAM Double Tap grouppo (another new team sponsor and another review) it might go under 17 lb.
SEX APPEAL
I've always liked it when I go to the start line and no one else is riding what I'm riding. There is a certain cool factor to warming up for a race and having Jonas Carney look at my bike and say "Is that REALLY a Motobecane?" The Leader provides the same kind of cool factor. It's not a Trek, Cannondale or Giant. It's sort of like enjoying a great glass of Gruner Veltliner in a crowd of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio drinkers. You have something unique and better. You're a non conformist.
When my bike arrived just 3 days after ordering it via UPS, I attacked the box like Ralphie Parker's Old Man in "A Christmas Story" went after his major award. Bubble wrap and Styrofoam were flying all over the garage. I am not in the least bit embarrassed to say that when I pulled the frame from the box, my first inclination was to lube up the seat tube and make sweet love to it, but being a married man, I resisted. It was that sexy. I could tell immediately by intuition that the bike was going to be a substantial mount. It felt solid in the hand. I've held carbon frames that I'm afraid to install a bottom bracket on for fear of snapping it into pieces. You'll get none of that here. Though light, this thing felt ample and athletic.
THE TT FRAME
I also received the 735TT time trial frame. It is a stealthy, flat black 6066 aluminum beast with a 78 degree seat tube. A very unique item with this TT bike is the horizontal rear dropouts that allow the rider to position the rear wheel, regardless of tire size as close to the seat tube cut out as is legally possible.
The tubing on the 735TT is aerodynamically shaped. The down tube is narrow and lenticular, the top tube is a narrow horizontal oval and the seat stays are short and tapered and the chain stays are beefy and aero. The head tube - and I really appreciate this part - is very short. This allows the rider to obtain a very low frontal profile.
My previous TT frame was the Giant compact TCR2 road frame. It was very aero and very stiff. I thought. I remember pounding up the monstrous hills at Seven Springs resort at Elite TT Nationals and having my chain rub the derailleur from BB flex.
My first ride on the 735TT was just to see if I had the shifters and brakes set right. I expected that the bike would be stiff and possibly harsh. I was half right - stiff, not harsh. The ride quality of the proprietary 6066 aluminum (same tubing for 736R road frame and the 735TR track frame) and Leader's tube shaping created a near carbon like road feel. I was amazed. After shaking the thing down, I did a 10 mile out and back on a smooth road sans disc wheel and aero helmet. It felt really strong and I was amazed at the beating the bike was taking without fighting back. I pounded the pedals and used ridiculously large gears in order to make the bike beg for mercy and cause the BB to flex. Instead it kept giving me immediate feedback and response with every blow.
When I finished up the test, I was amazed to find out that in trying to kill the bike over that 10 mile stretch, that I had completed the road test in less than twenty-one (21) minutes! That's right kids, I set a PR for my little TT test track the first time I put screws to the bike.
CONCLUSION
Since November, I've put roughly 2500 miles on the 796R and I'm a believer. I have yet to tackle any real mountains in CA or to race it but I am sure that those experiences will only confirm my already positive impressions of this machine.
The president of Leader Bike USA is named Sal Lombroso. Sal has been a great person to work with and has very enthusiastically answered any and all skeptical questions that I launched his way when I was doing the research prior to settling on Leader for the Delta Faucet Team bike sponsor. Bike shop personnel were casting vicious aspersions and revealing their ignorance claiming that Leader sourced the cheapest Chinese Aluminum they could find and used inferior spec'd carbon. I flat out asked Sal these questions and he answered them satisfactorily and confidently without fluff. He provided exact numbers and specification and build tolerances. He is a matter of fact person and really wants to build a bike brand that will be around in 50 years. To him, this is not just selling bikes. This attitude makes a huge difference.
I can state without reservation or hesitation that the 796R is just as good as any bike I've been on and the 735TT is unquestionably the best TT frame I've ridden. You know me, I'm very critical of my equipment. I'm the guy that gave the team bike back to the sponsor in 2003 and rode my own bike because I didn't like the team frame.
BUYING OPPORTUNITY
With the cycling pre season upon us, some of you may be looking to purchase a new frame or complete bike. Whether it's a road, TT or a track frame you're looking for, do yourself and favor and be an educated consumer. There is no honor in overpaying. Go to www.leaderbikestore.com and do some shopping. Don't be fooled by the low prices. Sal admits he should be charging more for his bikes but he doesn't.
If you decide to purchase a bike through the online store and enter the coupon code "druber" you will receive 5% off of your entire purchase on anything that Leader sells, from frame only to complete bike.
This offer will be available from January 20 to February 5 of 2007
Druber
