# Leader 510H Frame Build ***Photos****



## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

Finished building the Leader, about a week behind schedule, but I'm thrilled to finally have it done! Before I tell the story, here is a photo of the finished product:



This project started out as a Trek 820 rebuild. If you would like to read about that story here, and see some nice before and after photos, you can check it out here:

https://forums.mtbr.com/beginners-corner/trek-820-rebuild-before-after-photos-723997.html

While I liked the Trek at first, it quickly became aparant to me that it wasn't working for me quite as well as I hoped. I started looking for another bike on Craigslist with better geometry to swap the frames out, because I had put a lot of money into new parts for the Trek. I couldn't find anything for a reasonable price, so I decided to purchase a Leader frame, which I was able to pick up for $70 + $30 for shipping.

After the Leader frame arrived, I started pulling the parts off the Trek and put them on the Leader. I didn't really like the stem on the Trek because it was a little bit too aggressive (6 degree rise), so I decided to get a new one for the Leader. While I was at it, I decided to get new handlebars and a new seat post because I spray painted the ones on the Trek black to try to make them nicer. Big mistake...the paint started flaking off right away, so I went with new ones.

I decided to get a mid rise handlebar to alleviate some of the pain in my palms I get when I ride, and I went with white because I wanted to match the white rims I had on the all black Trek. I went with a bolt on seat clamp because it was dirt cheap, which I wasn't too excited about at first, but I actually like it better than the quick release because the seat post actually stays put, and I don't have to adjust it every five minutes.



After I started building the frame, everything went smoothly except I had some problems adjusting the zero stack headset. After I got that problem figured out, I had more problems. Turns out that the headset came with what turned out to be a "dust cover", which, according to the bike store I took it to, probably went with a different headset. This one little piece cause me all kinds of grief, because it caused lateral movement of the fork on the bottom of my headtube. In fact, after taking it for a trail ride yesterday, I still hadn't figured it out, and practically hated the bike because of it. I had to end the ride early, because it loosened up quite a bit on me. Thankfully, after taking it back to the bike store today, they checked out the tightness of the cups, put it back together the way I had it minus the extra ring, and assured me that everything ok. Even though that extra reassurance cost me $10, it was worth it.

Today I took it back to the trail I went to yesterday (Swanson Park). It was great. The bike felt really good. The Leader frame has excellent geometry. I rode the trail way faster than I have before. It was awesome.

Initially, I planned to upgrade the bike in the Spring to add disc brakes, a different crankset with smaller chainrings, and new wheels to go with the disc brakes. I will probably just end up buying a Bikes Direct hardtail with a slightly better component group and swapping out the parts, then put the parts from the Leader back on the Trek, and sell it to someone who will appreciate it.

Even though I've put a little more money than I should have into this project, it was well worth it. Even though at times I've wanted to pull my hair out with the rebuild and I'm still quite the newbie, I feel like I know much more about mountain biking in general than I did at the beginning of the summer, in terms of riding and building. I still can't adjust a derailleur for the life of me, but it has been quite the experience!

I'd like to once again thank my friend Josh for helping me out with this project, and the guys at the Trek store were really cool also. Thanks to all of the folks here at mtbr who helped out in previous threads. And, of course, I thank God for helping me enjoy this bike today, because I hated it yesterday!

At this point, I'm ready to quit building bikes for a while and just ride as much as I can until the weather gets bad. This time, though, forget the street riding - its going to be pretty much all trail riding for me until the season ends!


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## Crash Test Dumby (May 3, 2011)

Nice looking build! Not too surprised your rethinking those big chain rings though. Enjoy it and keep us updated as you get more miles on it.


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

Crash Test Dumby said:


> Nice looking build! Not too surprised your rethinking those big chain rings though. Enjoy it and keep us updated as you get more miles on it.


Thanks! When I re-built the Trek, I had long distance road rides in mind, and I wanted to stay true to the original Trek 820 specifications. In hindsight, probably not such a good idea as I've come to really like hitting the trails, but it seemed like the right course of action at the time. I don't think I'll take the Leader on too many road rides. If the season were not coming to an end soon, I'd replace the chainrings right away, but its not worth it right now. Oh well, I guess I'll go into Winter with stronger legs!


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## CarolinaLL6 (Apr 12, 2010)

Nice first build. I recently built my first bike for a close friend and you do learn a lot from building one. I can't wait to build my second one.


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

CarolinaLL6 said:


> Nice first build. I recently built my first bike for a close friend and you do learn a lot from building one. I can't wait to build my second one.


Thanks. This is actually my second build, since I did build the Trek 820 first, but I suppose you could call this build number 1.5 since I transferred over most of the parts from the Trek onto the new frame. What kind of bike did you build, and what kind of bike are you planning to build for your second one?


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## CarolinaLL6 (Apr 12, 2010)

I needed a bike for a friend who was visiting for 2 weeks and my extra bike was too big for her. So I built up a 14" Nashbar frame. It was their simple, black Mtb frame. $98 shipped. I used the Moto as the donor bike for a lot of components.

As far as the second, I am lusting over Chinese carbon. Nothing set in concrete yet.


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## Triaxtremec (May 21, 2011)

Nice build, the guys from The Bike Way do a Wednesday night ride, we usually ride Swanson, Schram, or Tranquility Park although in the past weeks we've done Platte and Jewell recently. You should come out with us sometime if your free.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

As a favor to other people in your situation, it might be help to give everyone an idea of how much you spent upgrading. That might help people have a perspective on upgrade vs. new.


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

Triaxtremec said:


> Nice build, the guys from The Bike Way do a Wednesday night ride, we usually ride Swanson, Schram, or Tranquility Park although in the past weeks we've done Platte and Jewell recently. You should come out with us sometime if your free.


That would be good, although I usually can't get to the trail until about 7pm because of work. Also, I'm a little slower than the average rider, but at least with the Leader, I'm twice as fast as I was with the Trek!


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

TwoTone said:


> As a favor to other people in your situation, it might be help to give everyone an idea of how much you spent upgrading. That might help people have a perspective on upgrade vs. new.


Definately!  I don't have all of the paperwork with me right now, but I can give a very close estimate. Also, please note that my estimate will be LOW, as my set up originally included V-brakes because the Trek 820 was not disc brake compatible (most people want disc brakes, which you will have to pay extra for). Above and beyond that, I pulled some of the parts off of the Trek - the pedals, headset spacer, a few of the cable housings, and tires all came with the Trek, plus I'm using a seat that I've had on several bikes I previously owned.

Honestly, my rebuild project cost WAY MORE than I really wanted to pay, but at the same time, I gained a lot of knowledge, and I don't know if you can put a price on that. If you are planning to do a mountain bike build, and you have a specific bike frame in mind, I would say it would be much more economical to buy the best Bikes Direct bike you can get for the money, and put the parts it comes with on the bike frame you want. After you have done that, sell the Bikes Direct frame on eBay to recover some of your costs, but also keep in mind that not all parts will be compatible, so you may need to pay extra for the right parts.

I wish I would have gone the Bikes Direct frame swap route, but I'm going to save that for the upgrade on the Leader this Winter or Spring. Ultimately, I'm very happy with the Leader build, and I would not have purchased the Leader if I didn't start by re-building the Trek. I've been putting in overtime the last couple of weeks to pay for extra money I put into my bike! 

At any rate, here are the estimates of roughly what I paid for each part. I ordered from eBay, Pricepoint, and Jenson USA. I've included estimates for shipping in some of the prices, but since I ordered some parts in groups, I have included a seperate estimate for shipping as well:

Leader 510H Frame $100
Rock Shox Dart 2 Fork $85
Vuelta ZeroLite Wheelset V-Brake Only $85
Avid Single Digit 7 V-Brakes $55

Shimano Deore M510 Crankset $45
Shimano Octalink Bottom Bracket: $15 
Shimano Deore Front Derailleur $15 
Shimano Deore 9 Speed Rear Derailleur $55 
Shimano Deore 9 Speed Chain $20 
Shimano Deore 9 speed 11/32 Cassette $20 
Shimano Deore Mis-matched Shifter/Brake Lever Set $30

Ritchey Zero Stack Headset With Starnut $15 
25mm Mid Rise Handlebar $20 
Syncross 90 mm 12 Degree Rise Stem $29 
Grips $7 
Seat Post $25
Seat Clamp $3
Presta Valve Slime Lite Tubes $20
Cables $20
Extra K-mart Cables With Housing $6

Shipping Estimate From Multiple Orders $35

I may be forgetting something here, but.......

*TOTAL WAS ABOUT $700, or $800 when you include the cost of the Trek / and or other parts you need to purchase (seat, tires, pedals).*

*Minimum you can expect to build a custom bike with V-Brakes, with quality entry level products: $800. Figure about $1,000 for disc brakes!* :eekster:

Also, don't forget, you may need bike specific tools such as:

Crank Puller $20 (there are two kinds and you need to make sure to get the right one)
Bottom Bracket Nut $10
Pedros Beer Wrench $15 (Optional) 

There are many other bike specific tools you could get, but not all are required, although you will need a good crecent wrench and a set of allen wrenches. It won't hurt to have a torque wrench and a breaker bar.

If you don't know how to route cables, do derraileur adjustments, or don't have the proper tools or skills to do the headset installation, you also have to figure in labor costs as well at your local bike store. At the very least, you will probably have to spend around $10 to $25 for the headset installation, which could be as simple as putting the crown of the headset on your fork, which is REALLY REALLY REALLY difficult to do if you don't have the right tools.

This isn't an EXACT representation of what I paid, but its fairly close. I'd say you will need to add a minimum of around $50 to $100 to the cost of your bike parts for labor and tools. *My cost for labor and tools was close to $100, so the grand total I spent was close to $900 on this project!* :madman: I could have gotten a pretty darn good bike store bike for that price, but you know what? It was worth it! :thumbsup:


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## Call_me_Clyde (Oct 27, 2004)

*Nice Build!*

I have built two bikes based on Leader frames. One was a 626S full suspension rig, and the other a 515H hardtail. They make a very nice product, indeed! I've attached a couple pics.

Enjoy the new ride.

Bob


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## Crash Test Dumby (May 3, 2011)

Wow, Getagrip, your cost is amazingly close to what I came up with when I thought about doing a build. Wont tell the whole story since I dont want to hijack your thread, but I have a 2006 Haro V4 frame I thought about building. I decided to use the Dawes Haymaker 1500 from Bikesdirect as my comparison. It costs $419 shipped to your door. So I went "shopping" on Ebay and other sources to get components equal to the Dawes and found it would cost a total of about $820 to do so ($70 I have into the frame, approximately $100 for a fork and the rest for components) and I think that estimate would actually be low. $820 to match a $419 bike? So I decided to check if doing a build kit would be cheaper. So the ultra basic 26er build kit from Jenson is $450 and its lesser components than the Dawes. Could do it cheaper by scrounging used parts I am sure, but by far the cheapest way to match the Dawes would be to do what you said and buy the Dawes and switch everything. Which leads me to the obvious question, is the Haro frame really better then the Dawes frame? I doubt it really.

But as you said, sometimes its not about the "value" but rather the experience. Eventually I will probably build the Haro, maybe as a project with my 12 year old to replace his Windsor Cliff when he is ready to move up (probably pirating the Windsor for the build).


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## screaminz2002 (Aug 5, 2011)

Great read! I plan on trying to rebuild my 2005 Trek 3700. Just bits and pieces over time when I can find deals. It may cost more in the end but it's spread out over time like a payment plan so it doesn't hurt as much. Plus I think tinkering with bikes is almost as much a hobby as riding them.


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## rfraz (Sep 14, 2011)

Awesome looks pretty good!


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

screaminz2002 said:


> Great read! I plan on trying to rebuild my 2005 Trek 3700. Just bits and pieces over time when I can find deals. It may cost more in the end but it's spread out over time like a payment plan so it doesn't hurt as much. Plus I think tinkering with bikes is almost as much a hobby as riding them.


Thanks! Be careful about rebuilding the Trek 3700. Here is why: prior to 2010, the Trek 3700 had an identical frame to the Trek 820. In fact, the new Trek 3500 frames are now identical to the old 3700 frames. The only difference was that the 820s had steel, rather than aluminum frames.

If you are going to upgrade, one of the most important things to upgrade is the fork, but when you do that, you are going to change the feel of the bike. The Trek 3700 uses a 63mm travel fork, and most forks that are worth upgrading to have 80 to 100mm of travel, which means that when you change the fork, the bike will feel differently, and it might feel "off", which is how my Trek 820 felt after I upgraded to 80mm Rockshox Dart 2.

If you really like the 3700 and you are attached to it, by all means upgrade the bike, but also realize that it might not feel like the same bike after you do the fork upgrade. The stem and handlebar upgrades can also effect the feel of the bike.

Having said this, you might be better off with a different frame entirely, or a brand new bike. If you like the overall feel of the 3700, you could always upgrade to a newer Trek 3900 or 4300 (2010 model or later, which you can pick up used for $300 to $400), which will not only feel similar in some ways to your 2005 Trek 3700, but will also be a much BETTER bike!

I'm saying this because I learned the hard way after I upgraded my 820, and as you can see from how much I paid, it cost me a LOT more money than it should have. I'm a lot faster on the Leader frame than the 820, and the only things that changed between the frame swap were the seatpost, stem, headset and handlebars. This is why I would suggest upgrading to a better bike than the 3700, because you will be a much better bike rider on a better frame, and you will save a lot more money in the long run. Just something to think about - learn from my mistake. :thumbsup:


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

Crash Test Dumby said:


> Wow, Getagrip, your cost is amazingly close to what I came up with when I thought about doing a build. Wont tell the whole story since I dont want to hijack your thread, but I have a 2006 Haro V4 frame I thought about building. I decided to use the Dawes Haymaker 1500 from Bikesdirect as my comparison. It costs $419 shipped to your door. So I went "shopping" on Ebay and other sources to get components equal to the Dawes and found it would cost a total of about $820 to do so ($70 I have into the frame, approximately $100 for a fork and the rest for components) and I think that estimate would actually be low. $820 to match a $419 bike? So I decided to check if doing a build kit would be cheaper. So the ultra basic 26er build kit from Jenson is $450 and its lesser components than the Dawes. Could do it cheaper by scrounging used parts I am sure, but by far the cheapest way to match the Dawes would be to do what you said and buy the Dawes and switch everything. Which leads me to the obvious question, is the Haro frame really better then the Dawes frame? I doubt it really.
> 
> But as you said, sometimes its not about the "value" but rather the experience. Eventually I will probably build the Haro, maybe as a project with my 12 year old to replace his Windsor Cliff when he is ready to move up (probably pirating the Windsor for the build).


One thing about the Haro V4 is that depending on how old it is, it could have very good geometry. I have a Windsor Cliff 4500, and one thing it has in common with the Dawes is that it has a shorter top tube than a lot of bikes out there...in fact the Leader frame effective tob tube length is about an inch and a half longer. I wonder how the Haro compares to the Windsor and the Dawes? The Haro could potentially be a better trail bike due to the geometry, or not, but definately worth looking into at some point.

Speaking of Dawes, if I could do it again, I would have skipped the Trek 820 rebuild, purchased a Dawes Haymaker 1500, then put the parts on the Leader frame. Of course, if it had not been for the Trek 820 rebuild, I would never have purchased the Leader, so I guess it worked out well for me. On that note, I just finished working two hours of overtime to help pay for the Leader!


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## screaminz2002 (Aug 5, 2011)

getagrip said:


> Thanks! Be careful about rebuilding the Trek 3700. Here is why: prior to 2010, the Trek 3700 had an identical frame to the Trek 820. In fact, the new Trek 3500 frames are now identical to the old 3700 frames. The only difference was that the 820s had steel, rather than aluminum frames.
> 
> If you are going to upgrade, one of the most important things to upgrade is the fork, but when you do that, you are going to change the feel of the bike. The Trek 3700 uses a 63mm travel fork, and most forks that are worth upgrading to have 80 to 100mm of travel, which means that when you change the fork, the bike will feel differently, and it might feel "off", which is how my Trek 820 felt after I upgraded to 80mm Rockshox Dart 2.
> 
> ...


Man +1 and thanks for that info. Bought a new bike recently so the Trek is something I don't have to be afraid of screwing up.

My plan is to slowly replace all the broken components (which is basically the whole bike) with slight upgrades, if any, just for the learning experience. This way if I get frustrated or stuck it can sit for a week until I get back to it. There is also no time frame so if it takes a year then it is what it is. The thing is a lot of the components are just plain worn out or broken so I would almost be better off doing the same thing you did. I had actually thought about a cheap donor Trek to make one bike out of. I still watch CL to try and find that 50-100 one that will work.

I do have some friends that are interested in riding so I let them take it to the trails. No harm or foul if they wreck it or miss a shift and I get something to tinker with :thumbsup: Winning... I think?


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## screaminz2002 (Aug 5, 2011)

Heh now I am rethinking the whole idea.. Maybe a 400.00 BD bike.. I will just take the whole thing apart, box up the parts, and put it back together piece by piece. Use 400 for mechanic fluid while I do it and maybe 400 for a couple of new parts.. I could knock off a 100 by just selling the Trek. 

You know the bad thing is the wife wouldn't say a word if I rebuilt that Trek and spent 1500 doing it piece by piece. The minute that bikes direct box shows up with a new bike she is going to go medieval on my butt. Guess I could always tell her it's hers but I have to assemble it..:winker:


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## CarolinaLL6 (Apr 12, 2010)

screaminz2002 said:


> ...
> 
> You know the bad thing is the wife wouldn't say a word if I rebuilt that Trek and spent 1500 doing it piece by piece. The minute that bikes direct box shows up with a new bike she is going to go medieval on my butt. Guess I could always tell her it's hers but I have to assemble it..:winker:


Have the bike delivered to work. Disassemble, and infiltrate the parts to home one at a time. Then you can either re-asssemble or rebuild your bike.

Remember its easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.


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## screaminz2002 (Aug 5, 2011)

CarolinaLL6 said:


> Have the bike delivered to work. Disassemble, and infiltrate the parts to home one at a time. Then you can either re-asssemble or rebuild your bike.
> 
> Remember its easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.


Your a genius!!


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## Crash Test Dumby (May 3, 2011)

getagrip said:


> One thing about the Haro V4 is that depending on how old it is, it could have very good geometry. I have a Windsor Cliff 4500, and one thing it has in common with the Dawes is that it has a shorter top tube than a lot of bikes out there...in fact the Leader frame effective tob tube length is about an inch and a half longer. I wonder how the Haro compares to the Windsor and the Dawes? The Haro could potentially be a better trail bike due to the geometry, or not, but definately worth looking into at some point.
> 
> Speaking of Dawes, if I could do it again, I would have skipped the Trek 820 rebuild, purchased a Dawes Haymaker 1500, then put the parts on the Leader frame. Of course, if it had not been for the Trek 820 rebuild, I would never have purchased the Leader, so I guess it worked out well for me. On that note, I just finished working two hours of overtime to help pay for the Leader!


Don't remember off the top of my head what frame sizes you have, but in the 15" sizes your ETT comparison does not hold. The Windsor has an ETT of 21.51 and the Leader has an ETT of 21.5. The Leader does have a 0.5* steeper head angle. I haven't been able to track down the geometry numbers on the Haro, it is a 2006 and 2007 was the last year for the V series. The V series was either replaced (as in new frame) or renamed (same frame but new name) with the Flightline after that. The Haro I have is a 16", really not much bigger than the Windsor, so the only way it really makes sense to me to strip the Windsor and build the Haro is just for the project, or to make my son happier. May or may not happen, we will see.


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

Crash Test Dumby said:


> Don't remember off the top of my head what frame sizes you have, but in the 15" sizes your ETT comparison does not hold. The Windsor has an ETT of 21.51 and the Leader has an ETT of 21.5. The Leader does have a 0.5* steeper head angle. I haven't been able to track down the geometry numbers on the Haro, it is a 2006 and 2007 was the last year for the V series. The V series was either replaced (as in new frame) or renamed (same frame but new name) with the Flightline after that. The Haro I have is a 16", really not much bigger than the Windsor, so the only way it really makes sense to me to strip the Windsor and build the Haro is just for the project, or to make my son happier. May or may not happen, we will see.


The measurement you are referring to for the ETT of the 15" Leader frame is the actual top tube length, not the ETT. It is a little confusing the way it is listed on some websites. In my case, I have the 17" frame, and the actual top tube length is listed at 22.1", but when we measured the ETT, it was about 23". I tried to look up the stats on the Haro frame but could not find any. I would measure the actual top tube length of the Haro and compare it to the Windsor, but as you eluded to, since the Windsor is a 15", that throws the comparison off a little, but it might give you an idea of how the frames differ in geometry.


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## Crash Test Dumby (May 3, 2011)

getagrip said:


> The measurement you are referring to for the ETT of the 15" Leader frame is the actual top tube length, not the ETT. It is a little confusing the way it is listed on some websites. In my case, I have the 17" frame, and the actual top tube length is listed at 22.1", but when we measured the ETT, it was about 23". I tried to look up the stats on the Haro frame but could not find any. I would measure the actual top tube length of the Haro and compare it to the Windsor, but as you eluded to, since the Windsor is a 15", that throws the comparison off a little, but it might give you an idea of how the frames differ in geometry.


The only source I could find for the Leader geometry was Bluesky and they don't specify if its actual or ETT, so I will take your word for it. Just for the heck I got the Haro frame out of the box and did my best to line it up with the Windsor for size comparison. Lined up the BB and chainstays, and the chainstay length is nearly identical. The seat tube doesn't even really appear longer, should be since its a 16" versus the Windsor 15". And the ETT would definitely be at least an inch longer. Since my son really should have been on a 13" the Windsor is kinda big so the Haro would be way too long for now. But he is growing fast so maybe in another year he will be ready for the Haro. Besides I figured out it would not be a straight parts swap since the Windsor has a smaller seat tube so neither the seat post or FD would transfer, plus the Haro uses underneath FD cable routing.


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

Crash Test Dumby said:


> The only source I could find for the Leader geometry was Bluesky and they don't specify if its actual or ETT, so I will take your word for it. Just for the heck I got the Haro frame out of the box and did my best to line it up with the Windsor for size comparison. Lined up the BB and chainstays, and the chainstay length is nearly identical. The seat tube doesn't even really appear longer, should be since its a 16" versus the Windsor 15". And the ETT would definitely be at least an inch longer. Since my son really should have been on a 13" the Windsor is kinda big so the Haro would be way too long for now. But he is growing fast so maybe in another year he will be ready for the Haro. Besides I figured out it would not be a straight parts swap since the Windsor has a smaller seat tube so neither the seat post or FD would transfer, plus the Haro uses underneath FD cable routing.


The cool thing about swapping the parts out to the Haro frame, at least when your son is big enough for the frame, is that it will feel like a brand new bike to him. You could always add in a new fork or something like that at that time. I don't think you will have any regrets when that time comes. :thumbsup:


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

The Leader is a good platform to build an affordable ride, my son has been beating the hell out of his 510H for several years.


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

After my Deore rear derailleur and chain busted, I decided to upgrade to a Sram X7 rear derailleur and shifters, take off the larger chainrings, and swap them for a 22/32 2X9 setup. I also added Avid BB7 brakes, and swapped out the disc wheelset from my Windsor for the Vueltas to put on the disc brakes. I have pictures from both sides below, although when I initially did the wheelset swap, I had not yet swapped out the tires, which I've now done, but the photos don't reflect that. Anyway, here are the photos:



And from the opposite side:



I really like the 2X9 setup, and the X7s work really great! If anyone is looking for a nice, affordable frame build, I definately recommend the Leader 510!


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## Hardtail 355 (Oct 19, 2011)

Well I have a '10 Trek 3900 disc...............that I have completely rebuild and now I'm ready for a new frame.

I'm getting ready to buy a '12 Leader 516 frame.

On my '10 Trek I have gone to a complete XT drivetrain, Azonic Outlaw wheels, '12 Code R brakes(200/180), '12 Rock Shox Recon Gold RL Solo, Cane Creek headset, Raceface stem/bars/grips, Panarace Fire XC tires.

Everything I have read this far about Leader is good..........so I'm ready to get the new frame. I know this means I need a new head set............but everything else should swap over Yay!


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

Hardtail 355 said:


> Well I have a '10 Trek 3900 disc...............that I have completely rebuild and now I'm ready for a new frame.
> 
> I'm getting ready to buy a '12 Leader 516 frame.
> 
> ...


Cool. I think you will like the Leader frame. It feels kind of like a Specialized bike because of the longer top tube length. I'm pretty sure everything will transfer over without any problems, although you may want to check out the seat post diameter for the clamp and post to make sure the sizes match.


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## kfjohnso (Dec 22, 2011)

Very nice bike and great pictures! Always partial to red.


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## bbell (Oct 24, 2009)

Great write up!!! Now I want to build a Leader SS.
Thanks:thumbsup:


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## iltridente (Dec 23, 2011)

*About to do this as well*

Great post!

I recovered a Schwinn Ranger MTB from a field where someone ditched it before moving out of the area. (Confirmed not stolen, no worries.) It had been there for about a year, and the local hooligans had pretty well trashed the brakes, shifters, etc.. The bike was in fairly good shape, so me and my teenage son walked it home and slowly began getting it back in riding shape either through outright purchases, or hand-me-down parts as I upgraded other bikes. It has pretty good components on it now, and he's been trail riding with it for a few months. Despite the big-store provenance, it's one of our best riding/handling/shifting bikes. It's just heavy as hell! 

But now we're to the point where lugging "the beast" into the back of the 4Runner has us thinking it's time to order a Leader aluminum frame for $100 and switch over all the nice stuff we put on the Schwinn steel frame. Plus, I'm ordering a Suntour Epicon fork for my 2010 Hardrock, and then we'll move the Dart 3 from that bike to this Leader build. Looking forward to getting it all sorted out and back on the trail. Thanks for posting this build. Really helped me decide to commit to buying the Leader frame I've had my eye on for the last few weeks. :thumbsup:


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

iltridente said:


> But now we're to the point where lugging "the beast" into the back of the 4Runner has us thinking it's time to order a Leader aluminum frame for $100 and switch over all the nice stuff we put on the Schwinn steel frame. Plus, I'm ordering a Suntour Epicon fork for my 2010 Hardrock, and then we'll move the Dart 3 from that bike to this Leader build. Looking forward to getting it all sorted out and back on the trail. Thanks for posting this build. Really helped me decide to commit to buying the Leader frame I've had my eye on for the last few weeks. :thumbsup:


Cool. I think you will like the Leader. It will only be a pound or two lighter, but it will handle differently and feel like a totally different bike, which is what is fun about swapping frames. Make sure to post pics! :thumbsup:


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