Rohloff-equipped Independent Fabrication Touring Bike

Independent Fabrication, one of our partner frame builders, recently built this rugged touring bike for one of their customers.  They were commissioned to build the bike to be as strong as possible to carry the rider safely and reliably through many thousands of miles of unsupported, heavily loaded touring.  IF contacted us to build a wheelset around a Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 that would complement the frame.

For the wheels, we laced the Rohloff rear hub and a Phil Wood Touring front hub into Velocity Cliffhanger rims using Sapim Strong spokes and brass nipples.  Phil Wood has a long standing reputation for building durable hubs that, much like the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14, are sought after by global tourists.

Recovered Bike!!!

After more than a month of searching, Matt received a tip that someone had purchased his bike at the Oakland Coliseum flea market. He was able to track it down and buy it back. Not ideal, but Matt is totally stoked to have his bike back and be able to continue his trip. Thanks for keeping an eye out!

Schlumpf-Equipped Leader 725 Two Speed Fixie

We built this black and white Leader 725 recently for a customer in Toronto, ON Canada. He was looking for a fixed gear bike with clean lines to commute on but wanted to have more than one gear to deal with hills. A Schlumpf Speed Drive was a natural fit as it offers two gear choices without any cables or hand shifter. The customer had been interested in getting a frame from Leader Bike and decided that the 725 model fit his budget and offered the aesthetic he was looking for.


For the wheels, we went with White Industries track hubs laced into Velocity Dyad rims using Sapim Race spokes and brass nipples. Dyads are one of our favorite rims; we've used them for many applications - road, touring, fixie, commuting, and mountain. At 24mm wide and 22mm high, it has the width of a typical touring or cross country mtb rim. The sidewalls are thicker than a standard road rim, so it can handle more abuse. When used in more of a road/fixie application, the extra wide spreads the tire out more to provide increased comfort and traction.



The Leader 725 model is a stout aluminum track frame built for the rigors of urban fixed gear riding. It has short chainstays for tight handling with stainless steel plates to protect the dropouts from the axle nuts. An oversized headtube with internal headset stiffen up the front end. The minimal decals on this frame were part of the appeal for the customer as they don't loudly scream an advertisement at you.


Build details

• Frame: Leader 725 Aluminum
• Fork: I-806A V2 Aluminum Track
• Headset: Cane Creek 40
• Stem: Truvativ Hussefelt
• Handlebar: Cinelli Pepper
• Grips: Oury
• Saddle: Brooks B17 Special
• Front Hub: White Industries Track
• Rear Hub: White Industries Track
• Spokes: Sapim Race
• Nipples: Sapim Brass
• Rims: Velocity Dyad
• Tires: Continental Grand Prix 4-Season
• Cranks: Schlumpf
• Bottom Bracket/Gear Box: Schlumpf Speed Drive
• Chainring: Surly Stainless
• Chain: Wipperman 7R8
• Rear Sprocket: White Industries splined track
• Pedals: Fyxation Gates