Wabi Classic Single Speed Upgrades

[@RFK579]

LOVE your videos. I’ve been riding a fixed gear bike since 98. I tried brakeless until I badly tore a hamstring stopping for a car that suddenly ran through a red light right in front of me when I was at the bottom of a downhill. Took me a long time to recover from that. This year I plan on flipping to the freewheel side I’m old (76) and have had to many close calls with inattentive drivers lately. I LOVE steel framed bikes and own a Waterford 2800 and a Waterford Gunnar Street dog both set up similar to your bike. Looking forward to more single speed videos.

[@tommilano5431]

Thank you! Both brakes make a lot of sense. Fixed gear is nice since you can ease up on the brakes in the rain, as rim brakes get dirty and annoying in anything other than dry weather on the road. More videos to come soon, it's been a bit cold here.

[@JogieGlenMait16]

Man, I can attest to the addition/removal of spacers to adjust your ride comfort. 👍 very good job showing it for the newbies.

[@tommilano5431]

Thank you, glad you’ve enjoyed it!

[@jered2177]

Love your bike and mods you have added.

[@tommilano5431]

Thank you, glad you are enjoying it!

[@TheRokko66]

100 percent agreed😊

[@tommilano5431]

Thanks for watching!

[@rosswmccallister4866]

I loved this … thank you so much for taking the time to share your recommendations

[@tommilano5431]

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it!

[@davidward4329]

Very sound advice , I would add , getting a pair of chain tensioner

[@tommilano5431]

Thanks. I haven’t felt the need for them yet, but they would help with centering the wheels, I had them on my bmx bikes 20 years ago. Thanks for watching.

[@ain-mylan]

just went back to continentals for the summer time. I forgot how fast and smooth they roll its insane!

[@tommilano5431]

They are crazy fast!

[@frankducett9]

I have the Columbus tubing Wabi lightning and the Reynolds tubed Classic... in both cases the standard rim brakes are better than brakes need to be. They out perform the Tektro mechanical disc brakes on my two gravel bikes by far, while being less expensive and lighter. I am 77 years old now and getting to the point where I don't have patience to humor these gravel bike Trek or modern offerings, I simply want to ride, tinker, wax, look at and admire my Wabi bikes. I may consider a Wabi Thunder as winter approaches. Cheers

[@tommilano5431]

Thanks for this. The wabi lightning must ride great! And the wabi thunder is a solid bike, I had to tinker with the brakes a bit to get it working.

[@breathestrongcycling3672]

52/18 On a converted Colnago super. Broke my rear mech so I single speeded it to get home and i'm in no hurry to go back to gears. Was thinking of "dingle speeding" it, 48/44 and 17/21, the philippine cordillera can be...challenging😆

[@tommilano5431]

52/18 must be wild! Single speeds are very useful, and for training rides, they are often the better pick Thanks for watching!

[@wemb_zone]

Nice one but I would change crankset for hollowtech 😊

[@tommilano5431]

Thanks. I like the stock build, it just works for me.

[@event4216]

For me who is banging overbuilt 36 spoke wheels it's quite a teasing idea to try a set of lighter wheels. NY doesn't have smoothest roads so they could last also for me...

[@tommilano5431]

36 spokes per wheel sounds like a super strong wheel! I’ve had to straighten these wheels 3 times since I’ve had them, I expected that though. I check every 6 months or so and just have to make small adjustments with a spike wrench. If I wasn’t confident in doing that, I wouldn’t want wheels like this, since I’d have to bring them to a bike shop for straightening.

[@event4216]

@@tommilano5431 What I applause is your skill to keep wheels true yourself - I haven't got to point when cyclist is able to fully look after wheels. This could be a winter project, though! btw does rear hub stays put without slipping under load? I have no experience with hex bolt hubs so little worried if they create enough friction. I've read mixed opinions, mostly people don't seem to have issues, though.

[@fiatfixie4344]

Good video. Looking forward to owning a Classic or a Special at some point. Availability is still an issue. Regarding State bikes, I bought a 4130 All Road fixed gear last summer. It rides nice, has a great finish, but It disappointed me honestly. State doesn't tout them as race bikes, and it's only a $260 frameset, but yeah, they're sluggish.

[@tommilano5431]

Thank you. Good to know about state bikes. Maybe it’s their wheels and tires they put on? Just realized wabi is completely out of stock right now. They should have some more coming in October according to their instagram.

[@fiatfixie4344]

@@tommilano5431 I had GP5000s on it at one point, swapped wheels with my other Fixie etc... I really tried to like it. The wheels are a bit heavy but well built, they'll probably end up on a Wabi at some point. That's the beauty of fixed gear, everything can be swapped!

[@oilman1758]

Good video.

[@tommilano5431]

Thank you!

[@toast0009]

Great video love the wabi classic, can I ask did the white industries freewheel come as a single cog tooth which you added to the tooth freewheel already there, or did you buy the white industries as a double cog which came as both 17&19 tooth together in the one? thanks

[@tommilano5431]

Thanks! Whit industries freewheels come with the option to have two cogs. It’s called the “DOS ENO”. You can get single or dual, the dual being a bit more expensive. It’s a great option to add versatility to a single speed bike.

[@toast0009]

@@tommilano5431 great thanks, will look into the dual as seems a good option when wanting more speed or for when going on hilly to make them a little easier 😅

[@frankducett9]

Brooks saddle? Sitting on a dead cow.

[@tommilano5431]

Super comfortable and doesn’t shred apart your pants.