Leukybear 

For the aluminium models; not quite exactly sure about the steel models through, although I have a good feeling that it's likewise. Flip side is there is no such thing as pedal overlap for a normally proportioned person on a leader.

hamfoh

Yeah, but I was in the sweet spot between the 'is this one too short, or is this one too long' in terms of my dimensions. I'd rather have a small stem than an extra long one anyway

davismatson10

I went from a -8 degree 100mm stem to a 0 degree 80mm stem, and that made a big difference. How does it feel with your current stem flipped?

Nice wheels, btw.

Scrodzilla

You may have bought the wrong size frame. I typically ride a 58 but my 725 is a 55.

hamfoh

I wonder if Leader's warranty covers being a dumbass

I had remembered us talking about me buying a Leader earlier in the year and forgot that we were discussing the 722, not the 725 (ask questions first... about a different bike... then buy, just as good as buy first, ask later). I had actually forgotten about the TT thing with the 725 for whatever reason. The rest of the frame feel good though and I still did a few miles today on it. considering My saddle still has some room to move up and I can shorten my stem substantially I should manage okay.

Lilcphoto

Figured out a way to get the water bottle cage to work without flying out.

I am also thinking I need to invest in some higher rise bars. Does Retrogression have any connections with those Deda Stree-issimo bars yet Scrod?

hamfoh

could try getting a short/high rise stem.

stryper

Had my covered in stickers for the last few months seen here:


Was taking it apart to clean/regrease it and got the bug to change it up again. So I stripped all the paint off, put my old stem back on instead of running that pos walmart drop stem, put tape back on the bars instead of that hard rubber grip i salvaged off an old 80's frame, and made new straps that are ajustable this time.

It's the first time in a long time I've made an attampt at making my bike look good so i took lots of pics







...

stryper

The frame could use more polishing as I scratched it a bit taking the paint off, but I'm not sure I care enough to sit out in the heat rubbing on it anymore. It's to the point now where it takes a lot of polishing for little gain so my motivation is low to keep going. I'll probably just leave it as is until winter when i'll be bored and paint it again before the rain comes.

longjohns

Have you thought about b-witch risers? They have quite a bit of rise to them

Lilcphoto

I'm already running a 70mm. I'd prefer to keep the Deda Zero1 stem.

I'd also prefer to keep the 31.8 setup...but b-witch bars look nice. Do you have a link?

longjohns

https://www.tracksupermarket.com/inde...roducts_id=429

Chari and co has them as well but only in blue and red.

Leukybear 

@stryper

I liked the stickered up version much more, even more if you would've removed the reflective tape. It's like an urban camo.
You should've done a before and after weigh in to see how much the stickers weighed!

mkeHENRY

The sticker set-up was nice man!

Tell me about the paint stripping process:

What did product did you use?
What kind of tools did you use?

I'm still "planning" (been about 2 months now, haha) to strip the paint off my bike.
It looks like you did an excellent job, everything looks smooooth.

Thanks man.

jibberishballr

I started out with just a tile scraper (one of those flat razor blades on handles) just trying to scrape it off, but was taking far too long and scratching it way too much. So I just grabbed a can of jasco paint remover and sprayed it on. It literally melts the paint right off, powder coat too so be careful. It will melt through latex gloves too, so make sure you wear nitrate gloves like moms kitchen cleaning ones. Then to clean off little left over pieces I used steel wool. Don't use 0 or 00 grade because that will scratch too much. Start with 000 grade wool, then polish with 0000 grade. If you still want it shinier you can use metal polish to finish it off.

Edit: Oops, over at a friends house on his account. This is stryper.

calbob76

why spray paint da hubs

stryper

Cause who wants silver hubs on a bike that had zero silver components? Paint doesn't effect the hubs just cause they're dura ace. And I'm sure sometime I'll go through and strip the wheels and polish it all up again too.

TBH once I have enough cash to replace them with even basic 36 hole hubs just incase it goes wrong, I'd like to drill out the side walls of the hubs where the plastic logos are

hamish5178

those handlebars. . . . .

evilcryalotmore

Blue wheels have to be stripped to btw.

Scrodzilla

stryper

Yeah not sure what I want to do with them. I don't want a just black and polished bike though either, but the blue isn't looking right anymore. If I strip em I can have them locally anodized for $30, which might look nice.

if you look at them, they are just bullhorns that have been angled down at the ends. It just changes my hands from being vertical to horizontal. I agree they look ugly though, i would like to get some made by a local machine shop that are smooth and lighter

raklyiz

whaaa? where?

warningfs

Im digging the weird bars there stryper

cc700

Flexxxin

chambers078

Just picked up a 735tt frame super cheap on CL!

Planning on making it my "don't mind leaving this locked up" bike.

I probably wont build it up for a few weeks but I'll post a picture here when I'm done.
I have most of the parts I need, I'll just have to buy a fork.

Pretty set on the 105tr fork, any reason why I should look elsewhere?