For those that care: I've ridden a Lightning SE for just over 5 yrs and it's been a truly awesome SS. Zach's probably right that the $ diff. between Reynolds 725 and Columbus Spirit isn't justifiable but fine quality tubing (either) makes a huge difference in ride quality, feel and usually weight compared to most other fixie/SS frames at a similar price point. As for the parts mix on the 'full bike' - Richard Snook who started Wabi knew what he was on about. He spec'd these bikes with parts that intersected at the sweet spot between price and reliability/functionality. Sure you're not getting a Campy pista crankset but you are getting a reliable set of parts that don't weigh like a brick or that will break on your second ride. And sub-1500g wheels on these frames at these prices? Go find that somewhere else. So if you want the 'look', sure, go buy a crazy priced MASH frame with track geometry, stick some Campy on it and Velocity Deep Vs. It will feel like shit to ride on most roads but will look great locked up at the cafe. Of get a Wabi frame, put some Velocity A23s on it, spec it as you wish and you'll have a unique beast that rides like a dream.
Thanks for the info. I'm going to order a wabi 100% for sure now just deciding between the classic with some upgrades or the lightning se. Did you have any problems with the carbon fork or the extra light wheels? Also im still deciding on 52 size or 55 I'm in between sizes, any help what height/inseam are you and what size did you get?
@@bratwurst19 Yes, it was fast. Of course, that's mostly down to you and what gear ratio you put on it. But if you are asking 'was it sluggish to get up and going', no. Never. And now I'm talking 'was', because I've since crashed that frame bad, bent it in half and replaced the frame.
I pre-order the wabi special and my co worker thinks I'm being scammed for the amount I was paying for it and said that I should have gotten his $200 fixed gear. I really hope it's good as everyone said it is.
Wabi has a cult following of loyal riders that absolutely love their bikes, and for good reason. The no frills but high quality top shelf steel frames offer an unrivaled ride quality. With Wabi's top the line bike, the Lightning SE, some of the bang for your buck that Wabi is famous for takes a hit for the sake of building a bike with one of the nicest steel tubesets on the market: Columbus Spirit. Watch to find out whether the Wabi Lightning is pure perfection or a pass.
Hey Zach, thanks for the great review. I have a wabi special, and I have a classic on order. I did consider ordering the lightning, but realistically, the columbus spirt tubing is just too thin. I feel ,and have read many reviews that it is very easy to dent. Besides that, I am partial to Reynolds tubing. Anyway, good luck with your move.
Great Review, Zach! I agree with you that the classic is a better deal. Also, the audio seemed to be very echo-ey this time around. I'd recommend hanging a thick blanket on the wall or using a lapel mic of some sort to reduce it. Keep up the good work! The quality is increasing quite noticeably ^_^
Interesting and balanced review. At the end of the day, they did ask you to review their bike. Love seeing views of SF. I was there 30 years ago! Good luck with your relocation lol :-))
The bike wobbles from side to side when sprinting out of the saddle? Isn’t that what bikes are meant to do? I thought that was just good sprinting/climbing technique
Can you review the Wabi Urban? I'm looking at that one to be my first fixed-gear. It looks the business with those optional Encore carbon wheels, and puts it in the 17 lb range. The only thing is $1,450 is hard to swallow. But I can either buy a $10,000 car + gas + insurance or just buy a fantastic bike to commute to work on when my motorcycle is in pieces for repair or upgrades, or during the winter since I live in NJ.
Slightly shocked speed wasn't talked about in this video as it's pretty much what this bike is for plus the wheelies are probably a combination of bike fit and riding style (sorry)
Hey Zach, the weight you measured is a full pound less than the claimed weight on the website! Do upgraded tires and bar tape really save a full pound?
maybe i just don't understand, but how can it be difficult to choose a fixie, get a good frame, handlebar, and fork and the rest will probably be good enough. Coming from mountain biking (i have to look at a lot when I buy a bike) it can't really be that hard.
If you want something good and live in a big metropolitan area look on your local classifieds for a used built fixed gear and or track bike nothing complete is good enough or worth the cash imo if I had to compare every fixed complete on the web from pure wabbi aventon etc etc even the expensive ones to any bike in the Mtb world all theses bikes are equivalent to entry level Fuji nevadas or trek marlins 😂😂😂
Hey buddy I've been watching your videos for a while. I ride a super cheap single speed. It's got a flip flop hub which I change depending on if I want a work out or if I want to commute some distance. My bike is making some noise when I pedal, it's only about 8 months old. Think you could make a video or 5 about troubleshooting single speed/fixed gear problems? Thanks man!
The best way to diagnose an unidentified noise is in person, so my help is limited here. It could be anything from your bottom bracket to your seatpost. It'd be best to take it to a competent shop.
Thanks for your honesty. Amazon keeps sending me emails about their less than $100 single speed bike. I keep searching for a 54cm CroMo Touring framset but, all I get are single speed suggestions.
The Oliver Pickard Oddly enough that's what I have now. I'm trying to find something a little stronger and more robust so I can just switch current components onto it. Peugeot needs some repairs and I would like to make some modifications as well. Thanks.
holy crap thats light !!! That's lighter than my carbon TREK 5200 road bike however l bet if l took off all the extra parts off mine l could be lighter but l like gears :) l think it would be fun to ride tho !!!
For about the same money you can get a Polo&Bike Williamsburg: good geometry, tapered headtube, carbon fork, sealed bearing hubs, branded components from the likes of FSA, Selle Italia an H Plus Son
7.85 kg for a steel bike is most certainly not a custom build, even with a multi-geared bike. Just sayin'. You might have to spend above your self-imposed apparent ceiling of around $1500, but to say that you can't get it unless you go custom is just incorrect.
Are "vintage" bikes expensive in America? What would an average price be? From where I am you can get a good/mint old lugged reynolds frame for under 100 bucks.
Vintage road frames are cheep if you want to do a conversion, but there's a premium that you're paying for a vintage track frame since there are fewer of them in existence, particularly if it's Italian or NJS. Also, vintage track frames aren't drilled for brakes and often won't be able to fit tires larger than 23s.
im not interested in the bling... i just like the idea of never having to true the back wheel, im riding on a stock vilano rage at the moment so they cant be any worse than the garbage thats on currently
just get less shitty wheels (or rear wheel alone). you can do pretty damn well on the used or closeout sale market for $100. The cheapish wheels that came on my road bike are still pretty true 5 years later and I certainly abused them. No guarantee those magnesium wheels are true to begin with either.
William Brasky don't it'll be heavy and the bearings will be bad. Get something basic-ish but decent like a Miche hub laced to a Rigida/Weinmann 30mm rim. For the front wheel just pick up any used road wheel of a reputable brand from craigslist (just make sure the braking surface has life left in it)
cool, thanks for the info guys.... i think for now, im just going to go from a 16t rear freewheel to a 19 or 20 tooth ACS to figure out what i like.. then when i know ill drop the dough on a white industries... also ill probably just take the bicycle to the local shop and see if it can be trued (heavy ass garbage deep dish) but im thinking just make this work for as long as i can... then hold out until i find a good deal on something better... also getting bullhorns this month... i take good care of it and it stays inside, so it will always hold about 90 bucks
I just can't with steel. 🙁 It has to be Alu or cf. I have a masi steel original parts sugino rd2 crank messenger tooth ring ok wheels and such and I just hate the flex, so onto the tyrant beastie to see what's up.
Non direct drive crankset? No Integrated headset ? No integrated seat clamp ? Cheap generic looking components lol tubing is the only thing good on this bike without knowing I would think it was a amazon special fixie 😂😂
BeboSaab nowhere did I state anything about aero shit just calling out all the old out of date tech on this bike looks like a 80s converted road bike with those components surprised it doesn't have a quil stem 😂
Edward Garcia the frameset doesn't cost wabi $800 genius. It's a meh bike with sub par components for the price tag. For that amount I built a Dolan Pre Cursa with Mavic Ellipses, Thomson stem and seatpost, Zipp handlebar and SRAM front brake, levers and crankset.
nice bike BUT l can get a Ti tubed road bike !! THAT means pricey extra parts like gear sets and brakes from shimano !! SO this thing l think is actually CHROMOLY which is fine but this bike only worth 400-500 bucks max SORRY this costs way too much for what u get .
1 gear is ok......for BMX riders and kids' bikes but, for riding on the road, you gotta put some gears on your bike if you want to heat things up: Fixed gear = Wabi; Geared = Wasabi.
I'm amazed that this expensive pile of unbranded crap gets a good review. The only reason it is light is...because there is nothing on it! For this price there are way better bikes out there
Absolute rubbish. The frame is average, at best. It only stands out as "good" in comparison to the absolute junk that is available in the fashion-orientated single speed market. It is possible to get a fully built up road bike with good components and an excellent alluminum frame for this. Or buy a frame and fit some good components. After all, it is only a single speed with one brake; even an idiot could assemble it! Only hipsters buy bikes like this one
I get you dont want to be buyest and all that sht but at the end of the day you couldve just not have gotten payed, and said to the person youd review it and they cant put any control on you and just keep the bike and sell it lol .... brah u loosing profit x D you only have 21k subscribers your youtube money aint there yet chumonnnn lol
For those that care: I've ridden a Lightning SE for just over 5 yrs and it's been a truly awesome SS. Zach's probably right that the $ diff. between Reynolds 725 and Columbus Spirit isn't justifiable but fine quality tubing (either) makes a huge difference in ride quality, feel and usually weight compared to most other fixie/SS frames at a similar price point.
As for the parts mix on the 'full bike' - Richard Snook who started Wabi knew what he was on about. He spec'd these bikes with parts that intersected at the sweet spot between price and reliability/functionality. Sure you're not getting a Campy pista crankset but you are getting a reliable set of parts that don't weigh like a brick or that will break on your second ride. And sub-1500g wheels on these frames at these prices? Go find that somewhere else.
So if you want the 'look', sure, go buy a crazy priced MASH frame with track geometry, stick some Campy on it and Velocity Deep Vs. It will feel like shit to ride on most roads but will look great locked up at the cafe. Of get a Wabi frame, put some Velocity A23s on it, spec it as you wish and you'll have a unique beast that rides like a dream.
Thanks for the info. I'm going to order a wabi 100% for sure now just deciding between the classic with some upgrades or the lightning se. Did you have any problems with the carbon fork or the extra light wheels? Also im still deciding on 52 size or 55 I'm in between sizes, any help what height/inseam are you and what size did you get?
Is it fast though?
@@bratwurst19 Yes, it was fast. Of course, that's mostly down to you and what gear ratio you put on it. But if you are asking 'was it sluggish to get up and going', no. Never. And now I'm talking 'was', because I've since crashed that frame bad, bent it in half and replaced the frame.
I pre-order the wabi special and my co worker thinks I'm being scammed for the amount I was paying for it and said that I should have gotten his $200 fixed gear. I really hope it's good as everyone said it is.
@@depthsothenso813 6 months later, how is the bike?
Wabi has a cult following of loyal riders that absolutely love their bikes, and for good reason. The no frills but high quality top shelf steel frames offer an unrivaled ride quality.
With Wabi's top the line bike, the Lightning SE, some of the bang for your buck that Wabi is famous for takes a hit for the sake of building a bike with one of the nicest steel tubesets on the market: Columbus Spirit.
Watch to find out whether the Wabi Lightning is pure perfection or a pass.
First Reply
Zach Gallardo a
You are indeed a great source of entertainment that I appreciate more than most 75 year olds. Sonny.
Hey Zach, thanks for the great review. I have a wabi special, and I have a classic on order. I did consider ordering the lightning, but realistically, the columbus spirt tubing is just too thin. I feel ,and have read many reviews that it is very easy to dent. Besides that, I am partial to Reynolds tubing. Anyway, good luck with your move.
would have been cool to see a side by side review with the big block and the wabi.
Great Review, Zach! I agree with you that the classic is a better deal. Also, the audio seemed to be very echo-ey this time around. I'd recommend hanging a thick blanket on the wall or using a lapel mic of some sort to reduce it.
Keep up the good work! The quality is increasing quite noticeably ^_^
Interesting and balanced review. At the end of the day, they did ask you to review their bike. Love seeing views of SF. I was there 30 years ago! Good luck with your relocation lol :-))
Zach, love your vids. It'd be awesome if you followed up with Matt at Wabi to see if they'd loan you the new Thunder to review.
The bike wobbles from side to side when sprinting out of the saddle? Isn’t that what bikes are meant to do? I thought that was just good sprinting/climbing technique
Can you review the Wabi Urban? I'm looking at that one to be my first fixed-gear. It looks the business with those optional Encore carbon wheels, and puts it in the 17 lb range. The only thing is $1,450 is hard to swallow. But I can either buy a $10,000 car + gas + insurance or just buy a fantastic bike to commute to work on when my motorcycle is in pieces for repair or upgrades, or during the winter since I live in NJ.
I think mustache bars would look cool, i prefer them over drops, or some swept back bars.
Slightly shocked speed wasn't talked about in this video as it's pretty much what this bike is for plus the wheelies are probably a combination of bike fit and riding style (sorry)
You’re right, it’s meant to be driven in an aggressive downward position to make up for the accidental wheelies
Loving the background space you used for the selfie bits man
Hey Zach, the weight you measured is a full pound less than the claimed weight on the website! Do upgraded tires and bar tape really save a full pound?
Yes sub15s weigh 600 grams less
Also valve caps = minus 20 fixie points!
maybe i just don't understand, but how can it be difficult to choose a fixie, get a good frame, handlebar, and fork and the rest will probably be good enough. Coming from mountain biking (i have to look at a lot when I buy a bike) it can't really be that hard.
If you want something good and live in a big metropolitan area look on your local classifieds for a used built fixed gear and or track bike nothing complete is good enough or worth the cash imo if I had to compare every fixed complete on the web from pure wabbi aventon etc etc even the expensive ones to any bike in the Mtb world all theses bikes are equivalent to entry level Fuji nevadas or trek marlins 😂😂😂
Hey buddy I've been watching your videos for a while. I ride a super cheap single speed. It's got a flip flop hub which I change depending on if I want a work out or if I want to commute some distance. My bike is making some noise when I pedal, it's only about 8 months old. Think you could make a video or 5 about troubleshooting single speed/fixed gear problems? Thanks man!
Joshua Manescalco might be your bottom bracket
The best way to diagnose an unidentified noise is in person, so my help is limited here. It could be anything from your bottom bracket to your seatpost. It'd be best to take it to a competent shop.
Hey zach! Should i get a Wabi or an Orion?
Pleae do a video about allumiun frames and dents, and carbon frames and cracks please!
Thanks for your honesty. Amazon keeps sending me emails about their less than $100 single speed bike. I keep searching for a 54cm CroMo Touring framset but, all I get are single speed suggestions.
bullwhip johnson for that kind of money a second hand Peugeot touring bike with Reynolds tubing is probably your best bet
The Oliver Pickard Oddly enough that's what I have now. I'm trying to find something a little stronger and more robust so I can just switch current components onto it. Peugeot needs some repairs and I would like to make some modifications as well. Thanks.
bullwhip johnson great minds think alike 😉,have a look on planetx they often have sales and frame deals
The Oliver Pickard Thanks. I'll check it out.😉
bullwhip johnson glad to help I've got one of their Holdsworth cranks on my bike which you can see on my channel
shoud you change chain to change gear ? I'am new to fix gear XD
Can you look at the blue Leigh al it's a track bike for 440
I can't find the "dual cog" option..
So what seat? Brooks, Selle? Nice looking bike. Like two gears. Currently riding Carbon, want a fixie, looking at these.
Less spokes = Faster! Would put Continental tires on.
holy crap thats light !!! That's lighter than my carbon TREK 5200 road bike however l bet if l took off all the extra parts off mine l could be lighter but l like gears :) l think it would be fun to ride tho !!!
Hey Zach, you have a nice form when dancing. That's all.
Reynolds 531 ftw!
opinion on State Bike Co. Black Label?
For about the same money you can get a Polo&Bike Williamsburg: good geometry, tapered headtube, carbon fork, sealed bearing hubs, branded components from the likes of FSA, Selle Italia an H Plus Son
I just bought the CONTENDER II - BLUE waiting to receive it.
7.85 kg for a steel bike is most certainly not a custom build, even with a multi-geared bike. Just sayin'. You might have to spend above your self-imposed apparent ceiling of around $1500, but to say that you can't get it unless you go custom is just incorrect.
Are "vintage" bikes expensive in America? What would an average price be? From where I am you can get a good/mint old lugged reynolds frame for under 100 bucks.
Vintage road frames are cheep if you want to do a conversion, but there's a premium that you're paying for a vintage track frame since there are fewer of them in existence, particularly if it's Italian or NJS. Also, vintage track frames aren't drilled for brakes and often won't be able to fit tires larger than 23s.
26mm tire width max = no sale
everyone rides 27-28 these days
oops
go with the lugged cheaper frame
My vintage Italian track bike will barely fit 23mm tires, so not everybody rides 27-28s.
Depends on your paychecks right.
I feel like you missed the golden opportunity to use "mash or pass"
Genius. Done.
@@ZachGallardo hey Zach,I ride a2008 cannondale capo and I love it but I'm in the market for a steel frame any thoughts??
You should keep the bikes you earned them
nice video👍
Magnesium Alloy 3 or 5 spoke for rear wheel?... can anyone here offer advice?... they go for like 109 bucks on ebay
it will weigh a ton and ride very harsh. the bearings might also be kinda shitty. If that's worth the bling to you then go for it.
im not interested in the bling... i just like the idea of never having to true the back wheel, im riding on a stock vilano rage at the moment so they cant be any worse than the garbage thats on currently
just get less shitty wheels (or rear wheel alone). you can do pretty damn well on the used or closeout sale market for $100. The cheapish wheels that came on my road bike are still pretty true 5 years later and I certainly abused them.
No guarantee those magnesium wheels are true to begin with either.
William Brasky don't it'll be heavy and the bearings will be bad. Get something basic-ish but decent like a Miche hub laced to a Rigida/Weinmann 30mm rim. For the front wheel just pick up any used road wheel of a reputable brand from craigslist (just make sure the braking surface has life left in it)
cool, thanks for the info guys.... i think for now, im just going to go from a 16t rear freewheel to a 19 or 20 tooth ACS to figure out what i like.. then when i know ill drop the dough on a white industries... also ill probably just take the bicycle to the local shop and see if it can be trued (heavy ass garbage deep dish) but im thinking just make this work for as long as i can... then hold out until i find a good deal on something better... also getting bullhorns this month... i take good care of it and it stays inside, so it will always hold about 90 bucks
thanks!
Does anyone know what kind of saddle Zach rides or recommends?
Brooks Cambium, i think
I'm a big fan of the Fabric Scoop saddle! I've owned several made by Charge Bikes (now Fabric makes them).
Charge also makes a Pan leather saddle that I find rather comfy and a good price point.
Your brake is opened : )
I just can't with steel. 🙁 It has to be Alu or cf. I have a masi steel original parts sugino rd2 crank messenger tooth ring ok wheels and such and I just hate the flex, so onto the tyrant beastie to see what's up.
That echo tho
Non direct drive crankset? No Integrated headset ? No integrated seat clamp ? Cheap generic looking components lol tubing is the only thing good on this bike without knowing I would think it was a amazon special fixie 😂😂
Edward Garcia allot more the that 😂you could build a better bike for with the cash imo
BeboSaab nowhere did I state anything about aero shit just calling out all the old out of date tech on this bike looks like a 80s converted road bike with those components surprised it doesn't have a quil stem 😂
Edward Garcia the frameset doesn't cost wabi $800 genius. It's a meh bike with sub par components for the price tag. For that amount I built a Dolan Pre Cursa with Mavic Ellipses, Thomson stem and seatpost, Zipp handlebar and SRAM front brake, levers and crankset.
Ride or pass
Wasabi
Am I actually the first comment?
nice bike BUT l can get a Ti tubed road bike !! THAT means pricey extra parts like gear sets and brakes from shimano !! SO this thing l think is actually CHROMOLY which is fine but this bike only worth 400-500 bucks max SORRY this costs way too much for what u get .
1 gear is ok......for BMX riders and kids' bikes but, for riding on the road, you gotta put some gears on your bike if you want to heat things up: Fixed gear = Wabi; Geared = Wasabi.
Look at this as a challenge, and you will come closer to what it is all about
Why leave the country. Why not go to The Bronx. They won't dare come here.. If they want to live. Lol
I'm amazed that this expensive pile of unbranded crap gets a good review. The only reason it is light is...because there is nothing on it! For this price there are way better bikes out there
Like what? I really want to know because I am thinking about getting this bike and I am very new to all this.
Absolute rubbish. The frame is average, at best. It only stands out as "good" in comparison to the absolute junk that is available in the fashion-orientated single speed market. It is possible to get a fully built up road bike with good components and an excellent alluminum frame for this. Or buy a frame and fit some good components. After all, it is only a single speed with one brake; even an idiot could assemble it! Only hipsters buy bikes like this one
@@Rondoggy67well that’s the whole point of fixed gear, people like to ride their bikes that way lol
@@cordcordero5772 ...and you can a cheaper, better fixed wheel than this load of crap.
I get you dont want to be buyest and all that sht but at the end of the day you couldve just not have gotten payed, and said to the person youd review it and they cant put any control on you and just keep the bike and sell it lol .... brah u loosing profit x D you only have 21k subscribers your youtube money aint there yet chumonnnn lol