Thoughts on Wabi Lightning SE?
 

Hey guys, new to the forum. Nice to meet you guys. What are your thoughts on the Wabi Lightning SE? Are there better options?

I bought a Wabi Lightning SE and pretty happy with it !

Hey man thanks for posting, is it worth the $1150?

I have the older Lightning which was lighter being made of scandium Al. I like the bike as much as the two expensive geared road bikes I have. The Classic is probably a better buy for the money. The lugged model looks better IMO. If saving a pound is meaningful go for it. But you will be very pleased with any Wabi you buy and Richard's service is outstanding. Where the Wabis come into their own is long road rides. They have road geo. frame with track drop outs, higher bottom bracket, and brakes.

Hven't tried the lightning but I ride the Classic. I think you will have a hard time finding anyone who rides a Wabi that wouldn't recommend one.

How does the Classic ride? Is it heavy by any means? Thanks, Mario

Rides like a dream for me. But my last bike was a piece of crap, so that's all I have to compare it to. My bike is 19 pounds but I only have the frame from Wabi, all other parts were picked by me. I also wasn't seeking the lightest parts so it could be much lighter. 19 lbs is still pretty light. When riding it feels great. Search through threads on here, I'm pretty sure there are a bunch of threads about Wabi already.

Ohh, Thanks. I just ordered the stock Wabi Classic. 46 x 16 gears

On BD they were claiming 17 pounds for their Wabi Lightnings made from Steel. That's pretty impressive.

They sell Wabi's on BikesDirect? :crash:

I find it hard to believe Wabi is sold on BD. Can you show a link?

Of course not. They use wabi/ a name brand for comparison.

It's like how store brand mouthwash tells you to "compare to Listerine**" and the Listerine bottle saying "we do not produce store brands".

Oh they don't offer it anymore. They had it listed in 2014 and only in extreme sizes (really big or really small). It was going for a little over $700. I posted on it a year ago-ish but the link is dead.

EDIT: I stand corrected, I mis-remember the Dawes Lightning on BD, murrellington and Leuky are correct that BD didn't offer it.

Whew. That would have been very odd if it was offered there. Wouldn't make sense since he already sells his bikes online. No reason for him to share his own profits.

Now I hope the classic won't be too subpar to the lightning :thumb:

Go to the Wabi site. My memory is the Classic frame and fork is only 1 lb heavier. your body weight will vary more than a pound! Much of the 1 lb difference is the Lightning has a CF fork but steel steering tube. The Classic is substantially cheaper, has eyelets for fenders and rear rack and will handle much larger tires. Bottom line is you gain a lot of options with the Classic and save significant amount of money. If you are unhappy with the Classic you would have been unhappy with the Lightning. In my situation I bought a 650c wheel size, think TT has the same size Lightning, and the Lightning was made of scandium. The result is I have a 16.5 lb bike with front and rear brakes, drop bars, Sugino 75 cranks and 1/8 heavy high quality track chain and porky San Marcos Rolls steel saddle. Oh and heavy high quality track hubs. Wheels are Mavic Open Pro not a light weight wheel. I could drop 1 lb easily maybe up to 2 lbs but i would give up reliability for super light weight. And I put on 5-6 lbs this winter I need to get rid of. When I get dropped from a group it isn't due to the weight of the bike; it's the motor:cry:

Haha, you will certainly come back stronger than ever this coming Spring [MENTION=342154]bowzette[/MENTION]. I didn't order the frame only, I ordered the complete bike. So I hope it will be awesome. I need to move on from my gnarly old department store mountain bike :p

you'll love it. I don't remember ever reading a negative review of the Wabi on any online site. Must be a few somewhere but not what I've read.

I have always wanted one but they don't come large enough for me. Every one I have seen in person was excellent.

I'm not sure about this, but they might be sized a bit larger than normal? I do not really know. The geometry for a 49 cm frame seemed similar to a 52 cm Specialized Allez Compact 2013 I tried at my LBS.

The seat tube is measured center to center (c-c), such that a size 49cm frame is equivalent to a 52cm measured center to top (c-t). I fit well on a 49cm Soma Rush, but a 49cm Wabi is way too large for me.

Would you mind comparing measurements with me? I'm like 5'4'' and 29'' inseam

No problem. I'm 5' 3" with a 28" inseam.

Thanks [MENTION=168526]TejanoTrackie[/MENTION], I hope the 49 cm won't be too large for me. I feel like such a noobie haha. But I'm trying to learn

The problem is that the top tube length is 530mm on the 49cm Wabi and you have the same upper body size as me. My ideal top tube length is about 515mm and I use a 90mm stem, so you will probably need about a 70mm stem to get a comfortable reach to the handlebar. The bike will be rideable, but it's not ideal. Did you talk to Richard Snook about sizing and selecting stem length before you made the purchase ?