If Leaders are rubbish, what is good?

My boyfriend wants to buy a 'modern looking' track frame, something that looks likeThe Leader frame which got a slagging on an earlier post.
Apparently the welding is shite. So what would be a good affordable alternative?

socialism? anarchy? erm... politics & teh internet dont mix.

Depends what he thinks affordable is?

I don't know how much a Leader frame is, but I reckon the Cinelli Vigorelli is good for 450 quid

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/referrer/froogle/productID/6379/groupID/6/categoryID/67

youve got an endless choice really,

dolan, fuji, all the australian brands, langster track, specialized

modern frames not more forte, but if its new try and get a guarantee.

Aluminium is more prone to snapping than steel, but because of this they tend to overbuild them making frames very stiff & strong. So would not even think about that , only a concern for mtb/bmx.

well the Leader is super cheap - £100 or something. So I'm guessing he won't want to stretch to the Vigorelli. I know he likes them though

I wish I had a useful girlfriend like you to go and spec my bikes for me ...good show !

Only £2200

@thesmiling buddha
he's a bit jealous because I have more bikes than him....

you should be specing yourself a new bike then, to ensure he can never catch up...

i have a leader, i like it. It's just that people love to bitch about aluminum frames and ugly welds. They may not look great but mine hasn't broken. Any cheap frame is likely to have ugly welds. Other options could be a fetish attack, bit more expensive, similar opinions

£300 dont like the steerer but hey its alright

I have an IRO for sale, 56cm alloy Jamie Roy frame... £100 inc BB or £160 with Chris King headset... Any good? Think rik's gonna come take a look at it at some point, but still available...

planet x/on-one do some nice looking "modern" frames.
http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/

...............too slow.

might be a bit big. He's 5' 7 ish

pista concept? if you can find one...

most aluminium frames, except for really high end stuff is made in the same taiwanese factories.

Taiwan is simply the best at manufacturing aluminium frames. Quality is very uniform.

If the 'brand' has requested an extremely low cost, then quality may drop a little but I cannot imagine much for things like welds. They skimp on things like double checking the frame alignment before and after heat treating etc.. not just doing really bad welds as it would look blatantly obvious and the frame would fall apart very quickly.

If you like the leader, try find somwhere in the UK that sells them that can provdie you with a guarantee. It maybe better to get something like a DOLAN though.

cool, thanks. I'll pass on all your suggestions and see what he reckons.

Get a MOTH they turn up on ebay from time to time and they are hipster cool

might be a bit big. He's 5' 7 ish

Fixed - Buy frame, find bigger boyfriend.

why do people always leave the stickers on their deep v's? daft...

why do people always leave the stickers on their deep v's? daft...

rep added!!

http://velospace.org/files/ddrmoth-1.jpg

Fixed - Buy frame, find bigger boyfriend.

ha ha ha! I'll tell him you said that!

I nearly bought a MOTH last year, was turned off by the poor kerning on the logo in the end... I know, pathetic! ;]

trek do some nice modern off the peg track bikes, have a look for one of those frames?