Leader 730TT Review

After getting a good deal on a new (to me) road bike this winter, I had more cash left over than I had planned on and started thinking about getting a tri-bike in the not-too-distant future. Originally I was looking at some deals online and also a couple of bikes for sale at the LBS but I stumbled across Leader frames on eBay and started searching for reviews. Although not very numerous, the reviews were very positive and I started putting together a plan to build a bike. Since this was going to be my first tri-bike and I wanted to keep cost down as much as possible (so as to race on it this year instead of next) I decided to go with Leader's lowest priced frame, the 730TT. The biggest difference between the 730 and 735 is that the 735 is a little lighter and has a welded cutout as opposed to a pressed in cutout on the 730.

I talked to Leader and they provided information on sizing and after looking through their geometry information, I decided the 57cm would be right for me. When the frame arrived it was very well packaged and it arrived in excellent condition. A quick inspection showed that the bottom bracket shell and head tube were clean and ready for assesmbly. The paint seemed very solid (a nice matte black).

The assesmbly went very smoothly (I had the LBS press the crown race on the fork and cut the steerer tube as well as install the BB). Beyond that, I did all the work myself and probably only spent a couple of hours figuring everything out.

Since getting it together I've been on the bike for just over 125km including several short rides, a sprint race and a 2.5 hour race sim. I have no complaints about the bike and have been extremely impressed with the frame - it's well constructed, stiff and responsive. With a carbon seatpost and fork, it absorbs most of the road noise and it is much more comfortable than my road bike as far as vibration goes.

I've been able to set myself up in a fairly aggressive position (the drop from seat to bars is 15cm and after spending most of my 2.5h ride in the bars, I was able to run with very little stiffness in my shoulders and neck. In addition, this ride was completed at 29.2km/h which is between 1.5 and 2km/h faster than my typical long ride pace on my road bike at a similar HR.

In the race I was able to take 2:40 off last year's bike split and then run 2:21 faster than last year. Granted I'm sure much of this was due to more training but I was definitely much more comfortable on the bike to run transition and felt I had significantly more spring in my legs after pushing harder on the bike than the year before.

This bike was definitely worth the price (around $1000 when all was said and done) and the only thing that I would like would be to be able to get the rear wheel in a little tighter to the frame (the picture shows the closest I can get it).





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