Climb01742
02-16-2004, 02:22 PM
finally picked up my built-up MX Leader yesterday. i got if off ebay. It's from early-mid 90s and in motorola colors. it has original threaded steel fork. so come hell or high water, i was riding today.
today hell just about froze over. at 8 this morning, it was zero here. but thank heavens, not a wisp of wind. i mention the weather mostly to give my ride impressions a context. in that weather, if i had a nice ride, well, it HAD to be the bike.
my first impression was to remember something the jerk (i believe) said once, as eddy himself fitted the jerk for a frame. "there are lighter bikes, but not faster bikes." the mx leader is a seeming contradiction: a heavy bike that feels fast. the bike just seems to want to get up and go. there is no mistaking its heft, but on the flats and rolling hills, this eddy goes. it soaks up road bumps, not magically like carbon or ti, but really nicely, like good steel. at this point in the winter, the roads in new england are pot-holed to a frightening extent. but the mx rolls over them with stately grace and stability. the steering isn't quick, but very predictable and stable.
i tend to spin at a pretty high cadence and use small gears. this eddy seems to like a slightly slower cadence and bigger gear. which makes sense, i think. this was orginally built for powerful racers, far more powerful than i am even in my dreams. so pretty soon, i simply geared down one or two sprockets, and all was a-ok.
this seems like a perfect winter bike. if you rode this all winter, you would be a lot stronger come spring and you wouldn't be beaten up. it will be fun to ride the mx this summer when i'm in better shape, to see how fast it really can go. while i agree that weight isn't everything, i really wouldn't want to climb a mountain on this puppy. but for just about everything else, the mx feels classic in every sense. i can see myself riding this in 10 years or 20 years. i nabbed this frame for $500. dollar for dollar, is there a better value in the world? eddy, i'm not worthy, but darn, i'm glad i've got it.
today hell just about froze over. at 8 this morning, it was zero here. but thank heavens, not a wisp of wind. i mention the weather mostly to give my ride impressions a context. in that weather, if i had a nice ride, well, it HAD to be the bike.
my first impression was to remember something the jerk (i believe) said once, as eddy himself fitted the jerk for a frame. "there are lighter bikes, but not faster bikes." the mx leader is a seeming contradiction: a heavy bike that feels fast. the bike just seems to want to get up and go. there is no mistaking its heft, but on the flats and rolling hills, this eddy goes. it soaks up road bumps, not magically like carbon or ti, but really nicely, like good steel. at this point in the winter, the roads in new england are pot-holed to a frightening extent. but the mx rolls over them with stately grace and stability. the steering isn't quick, but very predictable and stable.
i tend to spin at a pretty high cadence and use small gears. this eddy seems to like a slightly slower cadence and bigger gear. which makes sense, i think. this was orginally built for powerful racers, far more powerful than i am even in my dreams. so pretty soon, i simply geared down one or two sprockets, and all was a-ok.
this seems like a perfect winter bike. if you rode this all winter, you would be a lot stronger come spring and you wouldn't be beaten up. it will be fun to ride the mx this summer when i'm in better shape, to see how fast it really can go. while i agree that weight isn't everything, i really wouldn't want to climb a mountain on this puppy. but for just about everything else, the mx feels classic in every sense. i can see myself riding this in 10 years or 20 years. i nabbed this frame for $500. dollar for dollar, is there a better value in the world? eddy, i'm not worthy, but darn, i'm glad i've got it.