New HT £800max Cube, Boardman...

mtbgmt

Hi All,

I currently have a 2006 Ruckus Hardtail which is on the way out so it's time for something new. It will mainly be used for local trails, trail centres, and playful street riding.

I've been looking for a while and have come up with a Cube LTD SL 2012 and a Boardman Pro 2012. I chose these as I can get them new or used within budget and they have a similar geometry and spec. I'm not concerned about the possible complications with purchasing from Hals as I will do some of the work myself or take it to a local specialist. I'm more concerned with the setup and feel of the bike for the intended use. The Grand Canyon 6.0 would be top of the list but there aren’t any used about and I can't stretch it to £900 delivered for a new one. Suggestions on alternatives welcomed.

Cube LTD SL 2012 - 20"

•Frame: Alu Superlite AMF 6061 Double Butted, RFR-Geometry, Disc only
•Fork: Rock Shox Reba RL 100mm, Motion Control, PopLoc
•Cranks: Shimano FC-M552 2-Piece 42x32x24T, 175mm, integrated BB, 3x10 speed
•Pedals: Fasten Alu
•Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT FD-M780 Top Swing, 34.9mm, 10-speed
•Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT RD-M780 Shadow 10-speed
•Shifters: Shimano SLX SL-M660-10 Rapidfire-Plus, 10-speed
•Front Hub: Shimano Deore XT HB-M785 Disc
•Rear Hub: Shimano Deore XT FH-M785 Disc
•Rims: Alex ZX 24
•Front Tyre: Schwalbe Rapid Rob Performance 2.25
•Rear Tyre: Schwalbe Rapid Rob Performance 2.25
•Brakes: Shimano Deore XT K-M7851 hydr. discbrake(180/160mm)
•Handlebar: Easton EA30 Lowriser Oversized
•Headset: FSA No.10 semi-integrated
•Stem: Easton EA30 Oversized
•Grips: CUBE Performance Grip
•Saddle: Selle Italia X1
•Seat Post: Easton EA30 31,6mm

Boardman Pro 18"

Approximate Weight (KG): 11.56
■Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
■Chainset: FSA Comet BB30 42/27T
■Fork Lock-out : Yes
■Forks: 120mm Rockshox Reba SL suspension forks with lockout
■Frame Colour: Grey
■Frame Material: Alloy
■Frame-: Lightweight 6061 triple butted aluminium frame with tapered headtube and BB30 bottom bracket
■Front Brake: Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes 160mm rotor
■Front Mech: SRAM X9
■Gear Shifters: SRAM X9 2x10
■Gender: Mens
■Handle Bars: Boardman 31.8mm alloy low-rise
■Headset: FSA Orbit 1 1/8 - 1.5 Aheadset
■Hubs: Formula 32 hole Q/R disc hub
■Number of Gears: 20
■Pedals: Wellgo alloy body
■Rear Brake: Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes 160mm rotor
■Rear Mech: SRAM X9
■Rims: Mavic XM-317 double wall black 32 hole disc rim
■Saddle: Boardman black with cro-moly rails
■Seatpost: Carbon Boardman 400mm x 31.6mm black
■Stem: Boardman black alloy 90mm x 31.8mm
■Suspension: Front
■Tyre size: 2.20"
■Tyres: Continental Mountain King 26x2.2 wire bead black
■Wheel Size: 26"
■Frame Size: 17-18
■Cassette: 12-36T
■Exact Frame Size: 18"




Cheers

paulneenan76

What's the intended use? This will help people impart advice and point you in the right direction.
Is the Boardman Pro not around £900?
Have you sat on either of them?

Both have good spec, it could be a case of riding one to determine which you prefer.

Paul

The Spiderman

How much street riding? Neither of these will be as tough as the Ruckus.
Other than that both good bikes.
120mm forks on the Boardman might make it better for trail use.

supersonic

None of these are suitable for street riding. They are XC/trail bikes, so if you want something a bit 'jumpier' I would look elsewhere.

Why not upgrade the Ruckus? the older frames are excellent, and make great all rounders. I had one.

mtbgmt

The Spiderman wrote:

How much street riding? Neither of these will be as tough as the Ruckus.
Other than that both good bikes.
120mm forks on the Boardman might make it better for trail use.

The type of street riding would involve hopping gutters, riding down or jumping the odd flight of stairs, light bmx style. I live in North London so would only come across a nice set of stairs when riding through the city which is about 5 times a year. I'm also not far from the boarder of Hertfordshire which has some ok cross country trails that keeps the interest for a good day. I'd happily forgo jumping the odd flight of stairs if it means getting a bike that will perform well on local trails and at the trail centre. Would the boardman or cube handle it ok?

Here's the spec on my ruckus: http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/Bike ... &Type=bike

mtbgmt

supersonic wrote:

None of these are suitable for street riding. They are XC/trail bikes, so if you want something a bit 'jumpier' I would look elsewhere.

Why not upgrade the Ruckus? the older frames are excellent, and make great all rounders. I had one.

I thought about upgrading the ruckus but you get so much for your money these days I'm not sure it's worth it. Are the cube and boardman frame the weak points or are the components an issue also?

The Spiderman

Hmm based on what you have said,you might be OK on either.

I have 2 xc bikes a Giant Anthem full susser and a Giant XTC hardtail,and living near the Beds/Herts border probably the majority of my riding is in similar terrain though I wouldn`t be jumping stairs or anyhthing over 2ft.

If you have the skills,or can jump smoothly you might get away with either,the wheels/tyres on either might be the limiting factor.

One of my routes has steps which I will ride down, I`ll take on the odd jump,and I`ve taken the hardtail round the failry technical XC course at Aston Hill so I`d say either would be OK if you avoid the bigger stuff or ride smoothly.

Of the 2 I`d probably go for the Boardman,but it might be worth considering something along the lines of the On One Evo 456 or Voodoo Wanga which might cover your variety of riding styles better. Something a bit slacker,with bigger forks,wider rims and tyres, might give you a little more damage limitation.

Or maybe you could buy the new bike for trail/xc use and keep the Ruckus as a playbike?

LJ.

What about this http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... _2012_Bike or this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=75660 but if you are leaning more towards trails your original suggestions are probably better suited

mtbgmt

Nice bikes you have there.

If the Ruckus didn't have a bent pedal and crank from my last trail centre outing, I would probably keep it for the odd cross-up. The rear wheel needs work also so I think it's time. Shame really as I've never had any prolems with it in the past.

The On One Evo 456 and Voodoo Wanga look like they'll take a beating. Might have look into this further and keep you posted.

Cheers

supersonic

I'd still upgrade the Ruckus. For £800 you could stick a new 10 speed Deore groupset on it, new tough, but light wheels and a highly adjustable fork. And have change.

mtbgmt

Do you have any suggestions for the rims and fork?

supersonic

Stans Flwo, Superstar Switch hubs: £200, Superstar.

Fork: Rockshox Sektor or Revelation.

mtbgmt

You've got me thinking there. I hired a downhill bike in Austria that had something like 150mm on the front which was a beast. Luckily they had a chair on the way up as riding/walking up would have been an effort.

I also need to consider that the ruckus is a medium which is on the small side for someone 6'1 and 95kg's. It's really nimble on the street and cross country, but was a little out of depth at the trail centre. Would the fork help sort this out?

supersonic

Mine was a medium, and I am 6ft with a 35 inch inside leg. With the seatpost up and long stem it was too big!

I'd certainly get a fork with adjustable travel. The frame was designed around 85-130mm - and on the latter got quite slack, especially in the seat angle. I do think upgrading will give you the versatilty you need, though it ill be heavier than alternatives. Here's mine:

mtbgmt

Nice pic!

I was under the impression the ruckus was on the small side after riding a medium and large boardman pro on the weekend. The medium is pretty much the same size as the ruckus so felt similar. The large felt a more comfortable fit but this could be skewed after owning a medium. The sales patter towards the large didn't help.

Do you have an idea how much weight could be saved if the rims, fork, and groupset were upgraded?

supersonic

Not too much - but the emphasis here is on strength for the harder riding too.

mtbgmt

I'm considering stretching the budget to the SLX groupset with 2x10. Is it worth doing or is it an overkill for the intended use?

supersonic

SLX is great stuff - but depend on the price. The 2x10 chainset is fantatstic.

mtbgmt

I've decided to go for the SLX Groupset, Flow/Switch Rims, and the Revelation Fork. I went this way as I believe it gives me the best long term solution should I upgrade the frame in the future. Not sure about the ratios for the chainset and adapter/axle though.

Are 26/38 ratios the right setup for the intended use?

What would you recommend for the adapter/axle from the option below?

Front

QR
9mm
15mm
20mm

Rear

QR
10mm
12mm
142/12mm

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/m ... upset.html

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... 2mb5e2e0h6

Cheers

supersonic

The rear is QR. The fork depends on which one you got - what dropouts does it have?

26/38 is a good allround ratio.

mtbgmt

The ins and outs of building a bike is a bit of a minefield. I'm learning heaps so can't complain too much.

Unsure which fork to go for at this stage so will have to get back to you on the dropouts. Are the 2013 revelation and sektor any good as there doesn't seem to be any reviews on them yet?

As for the rear, I'm thinking about running a 9mm or 10mm QR thru instead of the standard QR. Is it worth doing, and if so, is 9mm stiff enough or would 10mm be a better option?

mtbgmt

Progress... flow/evo superstar rims and slx groupset ordered and on the way.

Does anyone know if the Sektor R 2012 is any good as I can't seem to locate any reviews on it? Is it much the same as the RL which received good reviews?

LJ.

I think the RL has lockout, they seem pretty close in price to Revelations though

supersonic

RL has motion control damping. R is just a rebound adjuster.