Cabal bikes

[Dangermouse]

I have seen quite a few Cabal bikes on the road around Cape Town recently & I must say they look very striking. 
 

I can’t find very much online regarding reviews / experience of the brand beyond their (quite slick) company website so wondering if anyone on the hub has thoughts they would be willing to share…

[Danger Dassie]

Good enough brand, Western Cape based and they're quite transparent about the open mould process for the frames. But that contributes to the better pricing and having looked them over the framesets are of decent quality. 
Was originally started off by two mates as a side hustle/passion project, more recently post covid the brand was bought by someone else and they upped the offering with custom painjobs. Apparently there is also a gravel bike in the pipeline. 

[ianct]

Nice bikes and the custom paint is awesome. Geo is on the extreme end of long and low so check that’s your thing. I’ve seen a few running ridiculous spacer stacks. 

[mecheng89]

If I had the bucks, I'd get a custome build like that. Nothing quite sets your bike apart like a good paint job/wrap. 

[BuffsVintageBikes]

31 minutes ago, ianct said:

Nice bikes and the custom paint is awesome. Geo is on the extreme end of long and low so check that’s your thing. I’ve seen a few running ridiculous spacer stacks. 

Weird because the frames are custom made to your measurements. The only carbon brand in the country that offers this service apparently. I met one of the owners, Robert, at the 99er and got to check out his and his partners bikes. The one was spray by Jared and the other by James, both local painters as well. Truly beautiful bikes, even if carbon isn't my jam ☺️ They seem like good value for money bikes if you look what else is available in that price range, especially since they are custom.

[Bub Marley]

Looks like a solid offering to me. 
 

The website has no geometry chart listed so I assume it’s because it’s custom made. Production is in China though and if each frame is custom made, probably a costly process. Would be interesting to get more details wrt fit. It could be that they have a set geometry chart, but they do a custom fit before hand and then make sure you get the correct size. I don’t think it’s proper custom like a steel bike where they can actually custom each tube size according to your measurement. Based on the pics of the bike, it looks like a standard mould bike. 

[MaMc]

Not so sure on the custom frame... Looks like a winspace T1500/1550 to me (which is a good thing)

[Bub Marley]

12 minutes ago, MaMc said:

Not so sure on the custom frame... Looks like a winspace T1500/1550 to me (which is a good thing)

Good spot. 

[Bike Dewing]

I also believed the frames to come from China which can obviously be hit or miss with QC.. 

I looked at them and liked the custom aspect but couldn’t really find too much information about their process and saw the frames are Chinese so kind of forgot about it..🤷🏼‍♂️ I assumed you had to get to them to do an actual fitting🤷🏼‍♂️ I’m in Jozie so really just lost interest🤣🤣

Edited February 20 by Bichael Dewing

[MaMc]

6 minutes ago, Bichael Dewing said:

I also believed the frames to come from China which can obviously be hit or miss with QC.. 

I looked at them and liked the custom aspect but couldn’t really find too much information about their process and saw the frames are Chinese so kind of forgot about it..🤷🏼‍♂️ I assumed you had to get to them to do an actual fitting🤷🏼‍♂️ I’m in Jozie so really just lost interest🤣🤣

Spesh, Trek, *insert name brand* all made in China I'm pretty sure

[Bike Dewing]

3 minutes ago, MaMc said:

Spesh, Trek, *insert name brand* all made in China I'm pretty sure

A lot of them are, I would say East Asia maybe, instead of just China..

I just said QC can be dodgey not that they make bad frames.. so basically it’s a gamble if you’ll get a solid frame first try or have to do an exchange/warranty claim and whether the hassle is worth it to save some bucks instead of buying spesh/trek who’s quality control is miles better..🤙🏻

[Bub Marley]

1 minute ago, Bichael Dewing said:

A lot of them are, I would say East Asia maybe, instead of just China..

I just said QC can be dodgey not that they make bad frames.. so basically it’s a gamble if you’ll get a solid frame first try or have to do an exchange/warranty claim and whether the hassle is worth it to save some bucks instead of buying spesh/trek who’s quality control is miles better..🤙🏻

If they’re coming from the Winspace factory then the QC will definitely be on the better end of the Chinese manufacturer spectrum. 

[Bike Dewing]

1 minute ago, Bub Marley said:

If they’re coming from the Winspace factory then the QC will definitely be on the better end of the Chinese manufacturer spectrum. 

Okay cool.. I’ve only heard good things about ELVES as a chinese frame that is consistently really good.. 

Thanks I’ll look into what winspace is all about..😉🤙🏻

[Shaun001]

5 hours ago, MaMc said:

Not so sure on the custom frame... Looks like a winspace T1500/1550 to me (which is a good thing)

Yep well spotted. Even the geo is identical 

[mecheng89]

16 hours ago, MaMc said:

Spesh, Trek, *insert name brand* all made in China I'm pretty sure

Giant and Merida are made in the same factory in Taiwan.

[Jewbacca]

16 hours ago, MaMc said:

Spesh, Trek, *insert name brand* all made in China I'm pretty sure

Specialized and a couple of other BIG manufacturers moved their entire operations from China a while ago while Trump was in power.

US put all sorts of trade embargos and sanctions on China due to it's political alliances and credit/debt 'purchasing' practices. 

Taiwan is now the centre for most big brands