Wabi or All-City?
 

Leaning towards All-city Big Block because of the straight blade forks and because it's a little cheaper and also I want the fifth generation model. Its a dark color versus the new one that bright pink that screams steal me. I would love to have it but I leave my bike locked outside for work and I don't want attention drawn to it. I think Wabi says they will do custom paint for extra? Anyone know how much that costs? Also, where can I find an All City Big Block fifth gen for sale?

Is this basically a vote about which bike we think is cooler? Cuz ur not giving us much to work with.

I'd go Big Block all day bc of the 32c tires. But that's bc I get annoyed after 20 miles in the saddle on some of our streets. But I'd probably 86 the straight fork for carbon. Bc yeah comfort.

And if you don't want to draw attention to your bike then youre saying no to bling or yes to heavy kryptonite chain and insurance.

But srsly, what are you trying to accomplish? What kind of riding do you do or want to do?

If you buy from Wabi then know what you want. Don't listen to their advice. They will try to push you into whatever they have in stock whether it fits or not.

Know what you need ahead of time and be prepared to walk away if you hear, "Oh, sorry, we just checked inventory and that size isn't in stock. But we have the next size down which will fit you really well."


-Tim-

Biased but I'd go Big Block. Geometry is fairly different from what I understand -- haven't looked at Wabi's geo charts recently but they're much less tracky I think, if that's a factor for you. As for where you could find a fifth gen for sale, either used market or you could try asking any local All-City dealers. There's a chance they might have some old stock or can contact AC directly to see if they have any floating around.

That's the way I understand it too. Except I'd much rather have the Wabi's road geometry on the road, than the BB's track geometry.

Don't too caught up on relatively small price differences. When I bought my first serious road bike my budget was $1,500 and the salesman showed me an $1,800 carbon fiber Trek bike. When I started to balk he said "you seem like a pretty committed person. I wouldn't let $300 cause me to ride a 4 pound heavier bike for the next 20 years." He was right, I put 85,000 miles on that bike. I have 7 bikes in my fleet, and commute year round on a Wabi Lightening SE. It's my favorite bike in my collection (which includes a Pinarello Dogma and a Specialized Allez Comp Disc). Buy the bike you'll love to ride.

Yeah, there's ups and downs either way, depending on what you're looking for. The Wabi is probably going to feel less aggressive and more comfortable over longer rides.

Not necessarily "cooler". They're both cool. I want to get ride of my aluminium Aventon Cordoba frame and get steel. All City and Wabi are the two bikes that I want to choose from. I do love the AC for its big tire clearance and straight blade forks and cool dropouts and more track geo. The Wabi is more rode feel and lighter and they're both well made.

Yeah I know what size I need. That's why I'm not considering Surly because they make 53cm and 56cm which is stupid. I ride 54-55cm. I would prefer to ride a 54 but All City and Wabi make 55.

Don't compare just by the listed sizes, they're like t-shirt sizes. One manufacturer's 55 can fit like another's 57.

Stack and reach are a good place to start instead. That's the vertical and horizontal distance between the bottom bracket and top of the headtube. Less stack means the bars will be lower, unless you make up the difference with spacers. Less reach will bring the bars closer to you unless you compensate with a longer stem.

Another thing to be aware of is seat tube angle. A track bike with a 75 degree seat tube is going to put the saddle further back than one with a road-like 73 or 73.5 angle, even if they were built with the same length top tube and same amount of reach. The slacker seat tube will effectively add reach from the saddle to the bars, but also put the pedals further forward. Up to you whether that's a plus or minus. Of course you can move the saddle around to compensate for the reach, but you should really do that to dial in your leg position and not your cockpit.

Now to compare: assuming you're riding a 55cm Cordoba now, that's actually not all that far off the 53cm Steamroller for example.

Cordoba: 524mm stack, 410mm reach.
Steamroller 53cm: 531mm stack, 394mm reach.
Steamroller 56cm: 559mm stack, 402mm reach

And just comparing the Steamroller and Big Block, they are really close in the 56 and 55 sizes. If you fit well on the Big Block you could consider the Steamroller too. So I'd look at your current setup, figure out if you think you need to size up, and start comparing geometry charts.

All City for the Nature Boy 853 (assuming they come out with another version) that bike is hotness.

If a straight road fixed gear I might go Wabi Lighting but if that were the case I would probably just end up spending a bit more and getting the Rodriguez Shiftless which is semi custom and made in 'Merica. If I was looking to save a bit I might go Surly Steamroller because bigger tire clearance.

I will say if you can find a Cinelli Tutto frame that is a cool option. Mine (the older Cinelli Mash Work) is set up as a Rando/Cross bike with a front rack and dynamo set up and I love it. Maybe a lower trail fork might be cool but so far it is not so bad and I have pretty wide supple tires on it and it rides like a dream.

I love my Wabi Special. At 18lbs it has all the quickness of a track bike but the relaxed road bike geometry makes it very comfortable. I actually found the process of working with Wabi — including their fitting system — to be excellent and the bike fit me like a glove out of box.

I run 28s on my Special and suspect I could squeeze in 32s but Wabi advised against it. However, the Classic takes 32s, the new Urban Classic takes up to 50s, and the Thunder and Thunder Elite also take larger tires with their cantilever brakes.

I would encourage you to look at the Urban Classic. If they had it when I bought my Special I might have sacrificed the beautiful lugs for the ability to run some fat tires. As it is, my Compass Chinook Pass tires provide a very comfortable ride.

I hadn't seen the Urban before. Is it the same frame as the Thunder?

https://wabicycles.com/collections/s...-urban-classic

The Wabi Urban Classic is a variation of our Classic for daily commutes, year-round riding or short cargo hauls. While very similar to the Classic, the Urban Classic has the bonus of supporting a wider range of tire sizes (28mm to 50mm), more fender/racks options. We've optimized the build for urban riding with your choice of 46t/18t or 46t/19t gearing; Panaracer Pasela tires and all-weather Lizard Skin bar tape. Racks and fenders are extra.

Available in Midnight Blue and Pearl White.

I vote Big Block. Check sizing but they tend to run a bit bigger than you would expect.

I'm pretty sure a 52cm All City would fit just like my 53cm Steamroller, I'm sure the 55cm AC wouldn't be much different than the 56cm Surly. But for the original question, if it were me I'd buy the Big Block unless you want the more comfortable road geo and never want to run bigger tires.

I can't get over the Surly font, just something about it which bugs me. Reminds me of the No Fear era. I'd still ride one though.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f3d69722fd.jpg
I wiegh 230 pounds and beat the crap out of my Wabi Classic. Its pretty fun to ride and its light enough to bunnyhop over stuff at will.
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