Wabi Cult
 

Does anyone belong to the "Wabi Cult"? Come on, I know a few of you belong. Now is the time to come clean. ;]

I'm not sure what you mean. Wabi's bikes are reportedly high quality and therefore are very popular. But I don't see a cult-like group of fanboys for them, like some brands have.

Search the recent thread on WABI. (Sorry, just saw you started that thread too.) They are quality bikes with good customer service.

I think the wisest thing they do as a business practice and marketing practice is to tension their wheels before they leave building. I've ridden my classic hundreds of miles on tarmac and gravel, I weigh 240 lb, and the wheels have remained true throughout.

​​​​​​ I have had other machine built sealed bearing wheels last year that were less expensive, but I wound up truing them several times in the first 200 miles.

Cult

a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.
"the cult of St. Olaf"

• a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.
  "a network of Satan-worshiping cults"
  
• a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
  "a cult of personality surrounding the leaders"

I've got a Wabi Classic that has gotten ridden a handful of times in the last several years, might go For Sale soon esp. considering the inflated used bike market. I still race FG at the San Diego Velodrome, but don't have the cajones for it on the road any longer. It's too hard! I have plenty of gumption to turn myself inside out on my road bike, but I prefer to be in control of my effort (vs my terrain). I find FG on the road uncomfortable in the hilly terrain around here.

Pretty much hits the nail on the head IMO.

is Zach Gallardo their cult leader?

I have an appreciation for nice things . . . Nothing cult-like about it.

I'm not going to go out and get a Wabi tattoo or anything, but I think they produce the perfect single speed road bikes for people who go on regular road rides at that price range. If I could make one single change it would be stainless track ends because I'd prefer to run hubs with track nuts but don't want to chew up the paint.

Excessive admiration seems to be the key. The group most often associated with being "cult-like" is the Bridgestone bicycle owners and that spills over into Rivendell. Those people seem to almost worship the Bridgestone's from the Grant Petersen era. And of course many followed him over to Rivendell. Grant is a unique personality with strong opinions and those that agree with his philosophy on bikes and life itself could possibly be guilty of excessive admiration. If Wabi had a charismatic owner who cultivated a following, perhaps then Wabi bicycles would attain cult-status also. Just my $.02.

He's back!
 

For those of us who are fans of Zack's web pages, he's back and making more video's about fixed gear with his Wabi by his side.

. Must have on a quality steel frames

I can't think of another frame on the market with traditional road geometry, two sets of bottle bosses and track ends, so if you want a new FG/SS road bike it's pretty much the only option and has been for quite a while.

Zach Gallardo is at least their shill. Cult leader though? I don't think he's on the level of a Creed Bratton. "Been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader."

I'm thinking more of the unconditional, fanboy devotion like you see with Harley Davidson. Nothing they make is less than perfect. It's the only brand you'll buy. Got the T-shirts, coffee mug, and big stickers on the back of your truck. Glock is another example, or to a lesser extent their competitors, Sig Sauer and Heckler & Koch. In the knife world, you have team Spyderco vs. team Benchmade. Almost like Edward and Jacob from those teenage supernatural romance novels (apologies to those who don't have daughters... you can Google it.)

I think Wabi is a pretty cool company. Don't own one of their bikes, but I would like to. I also like Surly, Salsa, Soma, All City, and Co-Motion. For bike accessories, my favorite is probably PDW. I love Thomson and own some of their products. And if I could afford them, I'd probably buy lots of components from Paul. I am not so enamored with any of these that I would put their sticker on my vehicle. If you do, you *might* be guilty of buying into their cult.

I have two Wabi's, a Special and a Classic. I bought one in 2016 and the other in 2017. Both are ridden hard and long without going out of true and I'm 6' 2" and about 220 lbs. The bikes get a workout!

Are they built with quality components, assembled and trued to a high level? Yes. Are they good bikes? Yes. Do they have a good ride quality? You betcha! Am I Wabi "fan boy"? I like my Wabi's, but they are just bikes. Could I live with out them? Yes, but I wouldn't want to.

So, am I Wabi Cultist? I'm not sure I'm a "cultist", but I do love them so!

Lol. I think we'll take strong admiration or preference over cult status. Cults are weird and creepy.

What's happened to their pricing? It's jumped $200. Is that because of some shortage or that they've gotten popular?

Nothing stays at the same price forever. For what they are I think they're still priced fairly. I'm looking at the prices and I think they're still what they were when I bought my Special at the end of '19.

Everything is a lot more expensive now due to shortages caused by the pandemic. Have you checked the prices of other comparable bikes ? For example the All City Big Block is now $1200; not so long ago it was just $900. The days of sub $1000 nice bikes are forever gone. Wabis used to be a great deal under the original ownership, now they are just a reasonable deal IMO.

Is it FG or your gearing setup ?
Would going SS and smaller help with the hills ?
I have several SS wheel and bikes available depending on my energy level and route plan but mostly use them for flatter rides and not much where I live in Temecula because of the hills.

Agree.
I think the Surly are great bikes especially for the cost and my rides do have Paul and Phil hubs and very nice components.
Zach is endorsed by Wabi and also puts out many excellent FG biking reviews and lesson podcasts so I dont consider him a "Cult" leader but rather paid promoter.

Wabi for life
 

Austin TX (by way of Bushwick Brooklyn) Wabi special with generic bullhorn carbon fiber handlebars, God&Famous reflective handlebar tape, cane creek tt brakes and Wabi Sub-15 Super light 700C Single Speed wheels, Brooks Cambium C17 saddle, Redshift Shockstop Pro Suspension Stem with extenders for bike computer and light.i absolutely love my Wabi.

Qty of dollars is up + Qty of goods those dollars can buy is down = price goes up.

I’m pretty sure HD makes more money on swag than they do on motorcycles.

I'd say the most obvious example, right alongside Harley, would be Apple. Now they went and lost their dear leader to the fruit juice thing I'm excited to see it implode spectacularly :popcorn