drlogik 

Granted tire and tube choice can dramatically improve the ride of any bike; however, don't be so quick to dismiss the geometry and material of a frame. Steel is forgiving right out of the gate. Couple that with really well thought out geometry and a suitable tube material and you can achieve magic. Wabi doesn't have that market wrapped up tight at all. There are many other frame makers that have come up with the magic combination also.

The cool thing about Wabi's is you get this "magic" at a very affordable price and get a very aesthetically pleasing bike to boot. I hear great things about All City, Surly, etc but I chose a Wabi because it was designed primarily as a road bike, not a track bike. Plus I had such a good experience buying from the old owner Richard that I turned around and bought another one from the new guys in Tulsa. They to were a joy to deal with.

kingston 

When I talked to Richard about which model to get he advised me to get the lightning. I took his advice and have not regretted it. I have a lot of bikes, and the wabi is my favorite.

TimothyH

Why does the Lightening RE road bike use Columbus Spirit tubes throughout while the Ligtening SE single speed frame has "thin walled cromoly stays."

The RE is almost a full pound lighter than the SE, 3.9lb and 4.8lb respectively, and I'm sincerely interested in why that is. They both have carbon forks. Is the RE a different fork?

And what's up with the different stays?


-Tim-

kingston 

I'm pretty sure they're both made with the same Columbus Spirit tubing and the same forks. The SE is 4.8lb frame AND fork while the RE is 3.9lb for the frame and 1.2lb for the fork or 5.1lb for the frame AND fork.

TimothyH

Odd that they list the frame and fork separately for the RE and not the SE.

Chalk it up to cognitive dissonance on my part I guess.

Thanks.


-Tim-

drlogik 

Hmmm, me thinks Timothy is pondering a Lightning strike to land on his front porch from Mr UPS Man..........heh heh heh....it's an addiction, Timothy, you know that, right?

mike.bike.a

Anyone know the resale value of the Lightning Se scandium frame? Thinking of selling mine, low mileage and in excellent condition. Has the updated rear washers for the rear drops.

maxb3k

Hi @drlogik, what is the nice brown bag under the seat?

drlogik 

maxb3k,

It's a Yellow Line Rule Mechanics bag. I have three of them on my daily riders. I really like these tool rolls and the price can't be beat either. Once you snug it up they don't come loose from the saddle but are really easy to get off the saddle for a quick repair.

They are actually on sale now for $44.00 CAD. Yes, made in Canada.

Get one here:

Mechanic Edition Tool Roll | Yellow Line Rule

maxb3k

Thank you! It seems they don't sell it anymore. The site is always down

jack pot 

i just read this thread out of COVID-19 boredom and it is a little melancholy to see all the 2016 -17 love that richard & WABI got and how wabi looked so commercially optimistic in 2016 only for matt & curtis to "disappear" & the tulsa shop to be "gone" & for wabi to be an impersonally sold mail order bike out of denver

Scrodzilla

Another one bites the dust.

sammy76

I just bought a used wabi classic and was wondering how you tell what year it was made? I haven't found any serial numbers on the bottom bracket or drop outs.....any ideas? Thanks

jack pot 

i can't help you ... i kinda divided wabi into bf tulsa /tulsa/ denver?

jay4usc

are they out of business? I really wanted to buy one but they are all sold out. I emailed them and no response. They don’t even have a phone number on the website bc I was hoping to talk to someone. I’ll search patiently for a used one.

TejanoTrackie 

Doesn't seem like they're out of business, just running slow because of COVID-19. See this link >>> https://wabicycles.com/pages/covid-19-operations

Edit - I just sent them an email to see if they'll reply.

walnutz

I mentioned this in another thread but I bought a wheel two months ago and they were super responsive.

TejanoTrackie 

Yeah, I just received a reply to the email I sent them about an hour ago.

Gaarci

At the risk of getting flamed by Wabi lovers, I will say that I bought a Wabi Classic last month and didn't love it so I let it go and bought a State 4130 for half the price and enjoy it much more. The Wabi Classic is certainly a great quality bike, I just didn't think it was any better than the State 4130 for half the price - both double-butted CroMoly bikes I believe, although Wabi has the higher level Reynolds 700 series - the Wabi just didn't seem twice as better to justify double the price - they both rode about the same and seem like good quality double butted CroMoly steel bikes which is what I was looking for. Just my experience.

jay4usc

Weird! Took them several days to respond to me

jay4usc

is the state bike more of an aggressive or upright fit? I’m looking for a bike that’s more upright position. Also, is there a difference on their components, wheels and weight?

Gaarci

As far as riding position, both the Wabi and the State have pretty neutral feeling rides, so to me they feel pretty much interchangeable while riding - neither aggressive nor laid back - just neutral - and that suits me perfectly. When you pick them up in your hands you can tell that the Wabi is a lighter bike - about 19 lbs vs. the State 21 lbs. I think that is probably primarily due to the fact that the Wabi frame is famously made of Reynolds 725 tubing which I believe is a thinner walled version of Reynolds 525 4130 CroMoly - so they save the weight by reducing the thickness of the tubing walls. The State is 4130 CroMoly which is basically the same as Reynolds 525 which is their next tier down in CroMoly. So I think that is the big reason for double the price of $1,000 for the Wabi compared with $450 for the State. Now while riding I can't tell the difference but you can tell when you pick the bikes up. However, to me the Wabi feels more delicate and fragile than the State. I definitely feel more confident riding the State because it feels like a sturdier bike. The Wabi didn't give me a lot of confidence while riding because it just feels more fragile. Maybe the Wabi flexes more and the State is a stiffer bike. Whatever the reason, I definitely feel a lot more confident and comfortable on the State than on the Wabi. Also, the State comes with 25mm tires while the Wabi has 28mm tires. I preferred the State 25mm ride because it felt lighter and more nimble whereas the Wabi 28mm ride felt more sluggish and heavy, although the overall actual weight of the State is actually 2 lbs more than the Wabi. The components on both bikes are all about the same quality - very good and totally competent and acceptable but nothing very noteworthy - just good quality components that will definitely stand up to hard daily use. Both the State and Wabi came with front and rear brakes which is great and important to me, both came with flip flop hubs which is nice, both let you choose your bars as drops, risers, or bull horns. The State gets a HUGE advantage over the Wabi in that State has a very well known and widely advertised "return risk free if you aren't 100% satisfied and we will send you a label and exchange it for free" policy - that is a really big deal when buying a bike through the mail that you haven't actually test ridden for fit and comfort before you buy it. I can tell you from my own experience that Wabi is not anywhere that friendly or accommodating when it comes to asking about returning the bike for fit or comfort, so be warned. The Wabi definitely has a more comfortable and higher quality saddle than the State, but it didn't bother me enough to change the State saddle out - it's acceptable. My bottom line is that both bikes feel very similar and ride neutrally, the State feels more durable and stiff and inspires a more confident ride, the Wabi definitely feels lighter when you pick it up but they feel pretty much the same weight while riding, the State has a livelier ride than the Wabi which I think is due to the State 25mm tires vs. the Wabi 28mm, and you can buy a State for less than half the price of the Wabi which I think is due to the fancier Reynolds 725 CroMoly than the State 4130 CroMoly - so you will probably pick up more cool fixie points riding the Wabi but I would rather keep the extra $550 in my pocket than have the fixie points. Just my thoughts and observations - hope this helps.

jay4usc

great info on comparison. Last question, did you see a difference in quality of the wheels?

TejanoTrackie 

Wabi pricing was pretty reasonable until the company was sold to a bunch of clueless Tulsa Okies. Then the prices skyrocketed, and they are now a bit expensive IMHO. I own an old Wabi Lightning with the aluminum scandium frame, and have changed just about every component except the wheels. Basically, the components are about the same quality level that you'd find on something like a Kilo TT Pro, which also has a nice Taiwanese Reynolds 520 steel frameset and sells for under $500.

Gaarci

As far as the quality of the wheels themselves, bottom line - there's no real difference between the Wabi and the State. Both come with solid quality, if generic, aluminum alloy 700c wheels with sealed bearing hubs and laced with good quality spokes. The wheels on both bikes came true right out of the box and didn't have to be adjusted or modified at all. Both have flip flop hubs. You could change the wheels from one bike to the other and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. They are basically the same dependable but forgettable generic 700c alloy wheels that come on pretty much all quality fixies that you can buy now, which is probably a really good thing. Now, the 28mm tires on the Wabi vs. the 25mm tires on the State are definitely something that you can tell a difference on during the ride and when looking at the bike. I personally like the 25mm ride on the State better because it's a more agile and light feeling then the Wabi's ride, but I'm sure you could change the tires from the State out and put them on the Wabi's wheels and get the same feeling on the Wabi. Both come with good quality front and rear rim brakes that have good stopping power. So there's basically no difference between the State 4031 and the Wabi Classic wheels that I could tell. The big difference between the bikes is the fancy boutique Reynolds 725 double butted CroMoly steel frame on the Wabi vs. the generic 4031 double butted CroMoly steel frame on the State. The Wabi frame has thinner walls which I think accounts for the 2 lbs lighter weight which is probably why the Wabi costs twice as much as the State. I think both are made in Taiwan and probably at the same factory like all the Treks and Specialized and every other bike is today. Most of the components between the bikes are pretty much the same forgettable but good quality components that these companies get from Taiwan - that includes the wheels. Hope this helps.