Anybody got a Cube Stereo?

gavinjw

I'm thinking about buying a Cube Stereo. My LBS has offered me one at a very reasonable price but I'm not sure about it's suitability for the type of riding I do.

I like to spend long days in the saddle (5/6 hours) doing reasonably technical XC trail riding in Yorkshire. I also visit trail centres 2 to 3 times a year and make occaisional visits to the Lakes and Peaks.

What do you guys reckon? Too much bike or should I go for it? The only review I've read was the one in last month's MBR and they thought it was ok but let down by the fork (although this bike would be supplied with a Revelation 426 Air fork).

Any advice appreciated

gavinjw

No one got an opinion on this?!

zero303

A mate of mine has one and he thinks it's alright, not bad, not ground breaking - much as the MBR review really...

If you're getting that good a deal on it then perhaps you can worry less about that MBR review.

You don't fancy a Prophet then?

gavinjw

Everyone's raving about the Prophet eh? Trouble is I can't get one for the £1,100 I'd be paying for the Stereo.

What's your mate's riding style - does he like all-dayers, trail centre stuff, natural?

Like you said, your mate's opinion seems to mirror the MBR review. However, their main gripe in the review was the fork and the bike on offer has the Revelation 426.

Decisions, decisions!

BlackSpur

Looks very much like a Scott Genius to me!

zero303

Are you going to be paying £1100 for the exact model reviewed in MBR?!?!

If so, buy it already!!!

gavinjw

If only! It's the K18, still a lot of bike for the money

gavinjw

BlackSpur wrote:

Looks very much like a Scott Genius to me!

Very similar, just a slightly different shock / pivot arrangement

zero303

Either way, at that price I wouldn't have too many hang ups about buying one!

obokos

Hi,

I have been loaned a test Cube Stereo K18 (the one with the rockshox revelation) for the weekend and I have just got it back from a test ride. I will be doing other rides this weekend.

Initial impressions after a 2 hour ride in the woods:

Good:
Really superb rear suspension (combination of RP23 and linkage) - good on climbs and descents, excellent bump gobbler and floats over obstacles amazingly well when climbing or tackling technical stuff on the flat ('magic carpet' feel like the old marin linkage). The back end is nice and stiff with little lateral movement. Plenty of travel for most requirements. Overall the frame is superb and a great platform to build on. Revelation is a nice fork - I was surprised by how plush it was - goes well with the rear. Tyres are excellent. Bottom bracket 13.5 inches - just right. Seat angle does not cause front wheel lift on climbing.

Neutral:
Wheels (? heavyish), chainset, front and rear mech. Brakes work very well (but see below). Head angle about right (could be half a degree slacker - 140mm pike would be a better fork). You don't need the poploc or the adjustable travel on the fork.

Bad:
Terribly, awfully uncomfortable saddle. Wide but strangely angled bars. LX shifters feel cheap and don't work too well. Grips small. Brake levers and shifters have to be moved way inboard on the bars to get one finger braking set up properly - may have to remove the shift indicators on the gear shifters to get it right. All of this is correctable in the future without significant expense.

Overall the bike is a very tidy ride indeed and a god allrounder- I am seriously thinking about getting one myself. I reckon I would go for the pike / XT / formula the one version if I can find the wonga..

I would take the MBR review with a pinch of salt if I were you - after all they gave the fox talas rlc 9/10 a couple of months ago and they didn't say anything at all about how well the suspension on the stereo rode in their review (why not you may ask?). If you are going for the revelation version then criticism of the fox talas (their main gripe) is irrelevant anyway. I think the argument that the bike feels 'perched' is what you get from a 13.5 inch BB height. Any less and you would get too many pedal strikes. Not an issue for me. I had to fit fat tyres to my works stumpy to get the BB up to this height so it was more useable as a trail bike!

If you have any specific questions let me know and I will be happy to try to answer them for you (if I can). For £1100 it is a bargain IMHO - just get the bars saddle and shifters changed when you can afford it and you will have a really cracking bike.

Good luck,

John

.

gavinjw

Great feedback John, thanks very much.

I've bitten the bullet and bought the bike, collected it today and shall be riding it this weekend.

I agree with what you're saying regarding the shifters/brake levers and have already moved everything way inboard (was your test ride fitted with the Syntace bars?) in order to get everything where I wanted it. LX shifters I can live with for now with the option to upgrade in the future. The fork is the Revelation and I can only imagine running it at 130mm although I disagree about the poploc and will probably use it on prolonged climbs.

BB is very high and made even higher by the fact that the bike is fitted with 2.35" Fat Alberts - at least I'm not going to scraping my pedals through the technical sections.

Overall the bike looks great and I'm looking forward to giving it a going over this weekend and I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers
Gav

obokos

Nice one Gav,

I hope you enjoy your new wheels - remember to keep the rubber side down!

I would be interested to see how you feel about the BB height after a few rides.

Cheers,

John

gavinjw

obokos wrote:

Nice one Gav,

I hope you enjoy your new wheels - remember to keep the rubber side down!

I would be interested to see how you feel about the BB height after a few rides.

Cheers,

John

Now had the bike a couple of weeks and have taken it out for a few full day epics. I am pretty happy with the bike; build quality is great, love the fork and the shock, Formula brakes ooze stopping power. Bike climbs well, I have set the rear shock to 2 in the propedal mode and this seems to eliminate most of the pedal bob, and also descends like a trooper, although with that high bottom bracket you do feel somewhat perched on the bike.

The downsides are; the wheelset - why have a 170 Euro carbon wrap seatpost and scrimp on the wheels, makes no sense; the LX shifters are ok but not brilliant, prime targets for an upgrade; and the location of the shock means it's directly in the firing line of all the mud, grit and grime of the back tyre, I've ordered a shock guard but as it's coming over from Germany I'm at the mercy of the fickle postal system!

Overall very pleased and would definitely recommend one and thus far I've managed to keep it rubber side down!

obokos

Cheers Gav,

I am glad to see that my review was not too far from the mark. I would have felt like a right pratt if you totally disagreed with me!

I agree with you about the wheel weight but I guess at least they should be quite strong. Hell, for £1100 you can't complain too much. Try a lighter set of tyres - this will also get your BB down if you want it lower. Something like conti vertical protection 2.35 might be a good choice. Be warned though - try a 140mm bike with a 13 inch BB in the back country and you may soon be glad of the extra half inch (I do like my suspension slack though).

All the best,

John

wally231

Hi i am just starting out and really like the cube bikes. Would you recommend them for a beginner my budget is 1500 approx and you seem to get alot of bike for your money. Did you look at a few of the cube bikes or was it just the stereo. i like the AMS pro K24 and also the stereo, i could probably stretch to the stereo the one xt if it is alot better. Could you suggest or recommend. where didi you buy from aswell.
thanks
neil

wally231

Hi i am just starting out and really like the cube bikes. Would you recommend them for a beginner my budget is 1500 approx and you seem to get alot of bike for your money. Did you look at a few of the cube bikes or was it just the stereo. i like the AMS pro K24 and also the stereo, i could probably stretch to the stereo the one xt if it is alot better. Could you suggest or recommend. where didi you buy from aswell.
thanks
neil

gavinjw

wally231 wrote:

Hi i am just starting out and really like the cube bikes. Would you recommend them for a beginner my budget is 1500 approx and you seem to get alot of bike for your money. Did you look at a few of the cube bikes or was it just the stereo. i like the AMS pro K24 and also the stereo, i could probably stretch to the stereo the one xt if it is alot better. Could you suggest or recommend. where didi you buy from aswell.
thanks
neil

Hey Wally,

I've ridden a few of the Cube bikes, the AMS. the Frittz and the Stereo.

What sort of riding are you likely to do? If you're gonna be doing UK based trail riding e.g Lakes, Peak District etc. and trail centre trips then either the AMS or the Stereo would suffice. MBR reveiwed the AMS 100 back in September and really like it, plus if you bought that you'd have £300 to spend on accessories (assuming you're starting from scratch this would go quite a long way). The Stereo starts about £1,500 and is well worth a look - I really like mine and it suits my liking for long days out in places like the Peaks and the Dales. The good thing with Cube is you get a very well specced bike for your money with no real compromises on components, however they have limited dealer coverage. I bought mine from a guy I ride with, his shop is Velocity cycles in Lindley which is in Huddersfield. He's a very good independent local shop and if you're based in this area I'm sure he'd get you a test ride on one.

If you need any more info just PM me or stick another post up.

Gav

obokos

Hi Neil,

To be honest, if you are just getting into mountain bikes then your choice of steed is of less importance than your attitude - you will need to establish what kind of riding you like before you can really decide what type of bike best suits you. You probably won't know this until you have some more experience. Maybe you should go to a trail centre (somewhere like Afan) and hire a bike or 2 to see what type of thing you like - that way you will be in a better position to make a decision). I am sure your local bike shop will lbe able to help also. Unfortunately, you can't decide by riding round a car park!

If you just want fun out of riding, are not into cross country racing, downhill or dirt jumping, then a so-called 'trail bike' is probably in the right ball park. There are many models to choose from - most big manufacturers have good bikes in your price range so don't sweat the decision too much. The main choice as I see it is slightly lighter with less travel (say 100-120mm) or slightly heavier with more travel (say 140-150mm).Try to get a bargain bin bike (last years model or similar) if you can - you should be looking for best value for money.

I think Cube bikes are great, both in terms of ride and value for money. If you need to decide between the ams125 and the stereo, you won't go far wrong with either. Personally, I would go for the AMS if you are into fitness and the stereo if you fancy yourself as a bit of a 'have a go hero' riding over rocks and roots. For a beginner with limited bike skills, the AMS will keep you more honest, but you might prefer the more upright riding position of the stereo. Hell, if you really want to pick up skills, get a hardtail (much better value too).

Bottom line - I think the stereo is the safest bet for all round fun. You can't go wrong with it really. At the end of the day, fun is what gets you coming back for more....

Hope this helps,

Enjoy your riding,

John

obokos

Apologies for not finishing the post in one go!

If I were buying a new bike today and I could afford it, I would probably go for the cube stereo 'the one' - awesome bike! Gav is right abut equipment though - you need a helmet and gloves as a minimum, and cycling shoes, tools, a pump (get a track pump), a shock pump, spare tubes and maybe a rucksac of some sort are all going to be very handy. Try to see if you can get 10% or even 20% of the bike value in free accessories - some shops will do this cos they make such a huge markup on accesories it doesn't cost them too much.

Oh, and make sure you get the right size.

John

kneesliding

Hi,

I picked up mine on the weekend, Stereo K24
Awesome, got it for a realy good price, seeing as I live in Germany there are Cube dealers all over the place.

The bars will take a bit getting used to, but so far I feel I have more control over my XC ride (bars are shorter and flatter).

The K24 comes with the Fox Talas RLC's and a lot of other top end goodies.

So if anyone is interested, get one.
They normally get best marks in the German bike mags.

Pete

p.s. Might be in Wales with e few freinds soon, so if anyone can recommend a few trails for us ???????????????

papasmurf.

depends where in wales..south mid or north..plenty of good places...


whats the riding like round Kaiserslautern?

kneesliding

The trails in and around Kaiserslautern are awesome.

check it out here, in English

http://www.mountainbikepark-pfaelzerwal ... _index.php

There are around 300km of official trails, but altogether around 700km.
The higest "hill" is around 1200m.

lots of lovely nature and in the summer awesome weather, just no sheep :roll:

kneesliding

Oops,

forgot, trails in Wales, anywhere, we will be in a camper travelling around.

Pete

papasmurf.

cheers \lways fancied risding in germany.

wales..if you're touring orund, then probably do all the trail centres and some of the natural aswell. Afan, cwnCarm, coed y brenin, brecons and snowdonia..

check out http://www.mbwales.com/ for some info onthe trail centres

passout

Better bikes out there for the money - try focus

wally231

isn't the focus a bit hit and miss.

passout

My mate likes his anyway - good for XC certainly.

With the Cube isn't the shock in the wrong place - it will get covered in crap won't it? Depends where you ride i guess.

wally231

i looked at the focus first expert and it does look nice not ridden though was told by a mate a bit hit or miss how would you rate the cube against the focus.

gavinjw

kneesliding wrote:

Oops,

forgot, trails in Wales, anywhere, we will be in a camper travelling around.

Pete

We're off to Coed Y Brenin ths weekend. Camping Friday, Saturday and hopefully doing 3 days riding round there. I'll let you know how it is.

How you finding the bike?

kneesliding

passout wrote:

Better bikes out there for the money - try focus

Well, if you can show me one, and also the tests to prove it, then go ahead, no point in just making a claim with no proof to back it up.

Cube is a well established manufacturer here in Germany and are only just entering the UK market.
If you read mags from outside of the UK, the Cubes generaly beat most other bikes, including Focus, Specialized etc, etc.

Anyway,

just got back from my first ride on it, all I will say is AWESOME.

Pete

gavinjw

kneesliding wrote:

passout wrote:

Better bikes out there for the money - try focus

Well, if you can show me one, and also the tests to prove it, then go ahead, no point in just making a claim with no proof to back it up.

Cube is a well established manufacturer here in Germany and are only just entering the UK market.
If you read mags from outside of the UK, the Cubes generaly beat most other bikes, including Focus, Specialized etc, etc.

Anyway,

just got back from my first ride on it, all I will say is AWESOME.

Pete

I have to say had i have been asked to pay full price for mine I would have been reluctant. However, having had the bike for a month I have to say it's been a revelation. The thing with the UK mags they all seem to have their favourites so any reviews you read should be taken with a pinch of salt. I think once Cube get an established dealer network you'll begin to see more of them on the trails over here.