Cube mountain bikes: your opinion?

cdb

Hi. Am new to the forum and looking to tap your expertise.

I'm 42 and was into mountain biking in the late 80s. Back then, everyone was talking about Specialized and Muddy Fox. Ridgeback were looking good, but not considered as good.

My question: what's the brand pecking order these days? What are the top, middle and bottom brands?

Thanks

kickaxe

Depends on what price range we are talking about.

Cube doesn't make bad bikes.

cdb

Under £1000. I was looking at a Cube LTD Pro; either a 27.5 or 29er. Was wondering how this bike stacks up against other bikes at a similar price point.

JGTR

Boardman are good for around the £1k mark

kickaxe

cdb wrote:

Under £1000. I was looking at a Cube LTD Pro; either a 27.5 or 29er. Was wondering how this bike stacks up against other bikes at a similar price point.

It's quite a racy XC bike, not made for doing anything too extreme. My father has one and likes it for XC and longer rides, but is planning to get a trail bike in the future, simply to be able to ride more gnarly stuff that we have in the area.
If an XC bike is what you want, I can definitely recommend it.

cdb

Kickaxe wrote:

cdb wrote:

Under £1000. I was looking at a Cube LTD Pro; either a 27.5 or 29er. Was wondering how this bike stacks up against other bikes at a similar price point.

It's quite a racy XC bike, not made for doing anything too extreme. My father has one and likes it for XC and longer rides, but is planning to get a trail bike in the future, simply to be able to ride more gnarly stuff that we have in the area.
If an XC bike is what you want, I can definitely recommend it.

Thanks Kickaxe. Although we've now hit the limits of my understanding! Firstly, what constitutes "too extreme"?

Secondly, what's the difference between a "racy XC" bike and one that's good for trails? I assume it'll be in the way it handles. Can you say how that would actually feel when being ridden?

kickaxe

cdb wrote:

Kickaxe wrote:

cdb wrote:

Under £1000. I was looking at a Cube LTD Pro; either a 27.5 or 29er. Was wondering how this bike stacks up against other bikes at a similar price point.

It's quite a racy XC bike, not made for doing anything too extreme. My father has one and likes it for XC and longer rides, but is planning to get a trail bike in the future, simply to be able to ride more gnarly stuff that we have in the area.
If an XC bike is what you want, I can definitely recommend it.

Thanks Kickaxe. Although we've now hit the limits of my understanding! Firstly, what constitutes "too extreme"?

Secondly, what's the difference between a "racy XC" bike and one that's good for trails? I assume it'll be in the way it handles. Can you say how that would actually feel when being ridden?

XC bikes are made to be fast in mild terrain (some rocks and roots but basically no jumps or rock fields), both up and down. Compared to a trail bike, which is made for medium jumps, steeper descents and bigger rocks, XC bikes feel very responsive at low speed, but aren't so good in the steep, rocky and fast areas. A trail bike feels more stable at speed (a bit less nimble at slow speeds than the XC), can handle harder hits, and is orientated towards the downhills, but is also a good climber.
I would recommend a trail bike to most people, because they are great all rounders, but you can't really find one for under a grand, unfortunately.

Also note that an XC bike can be ridden on trails that are made more for trail bikes, and that trail bikes can be used for XC, at least for a weekend race.

IanWhite

Hi

As I have just brought a Cube Race Ltd , I think I'll give my 2 pence worth , had it about 4 weeks now and to be honest I've found that it's very good with all the spec I want , brakes are very responsive gears good and very responsive at low speed , but I would not go charging around on as Kickaxe , has said more extreme terrain

If you could afford a little more I would suggest you have a look at this bike you should be just about to get it for less than £ 1000

All the best and good luck , Ian

IMG_0846 by Humpty's Railway pictures, on Flickr

cdb

Excellent comments. Exactly the advice I was looking for, thanks.

kickaxe

cdb wrote:

Excellent comments. Exactly the advice I was looking for, thanks.

Keep us updated.

Briggo

Kickaxe wrote:

cdb wrote:

Kickaxe wrote:

cdb wrote:

Under £1000. I was looking at a Cube LTD Pro; either a 27.5 or 29er. Was wondering how this bike stacks up against other bikes at a similar price point.

It's quite a racy XC bike, not made for doing anything too extreme. My father has one and likes it for XC and longer rides, but is planning to get a trail bike in the future, simply to be able to ride more gnarly stuff that we have in the area.
If an XC bike is what you want, I can definitely recommend it.

Thanks Kickaxe. Although we've now hit the limits of my understanding! Firstly, what constitutes "too extreme"?

Secondly, what's the difference between a "racy XC" bike and one that's good for trails? I assume it'll be in the way it handles. Can you say how that would actually feel when being ridden?

XC bikes are made to be fast in mild terrain (some rocks and roots but basically no jumps or rock fields), both up and down. Compared to a trail bike, which is made for medium jumps, steeper descents and bigger rocks, XC bikes feel very responsive at low speed, but aren't so good in the steep, rocky and fast areas. A trail bike feels more stable at speed (a bit less nimble at slow speeds than the XC), can handle harder hits, and is orientated towards the downhills, but is also a good climber.
I would recommend a trail bike to most people, because they are great all rounders, but you can't really find one for under a grand, unfortunately.

Also note that an XC bike can be ridden on trails that are made more for trail bikes, and that trail bikes can be used for XC, at least for a weekend race.

As I have a Giant Trance and a Cube Reaction I would slightly disagree with the above.

You have to be clear what you're saying because my Reaction is very capable 'down a hill' in small fast rocky areas/grass etc, yes the Trance is faster but the Reaction isn't a slouch. A big part of it is the riders capabilities.

End to end on most of the tracks around my way (West Yorkshire/Peaks) the Reaction is noticeably faster - 2/3mph average.

The full suspesion trail bike is way more fun downhill, no doubt about that.

You can get some decent full sus trail bikes for 1k (or less in sales) - Boardman, Calibre Bossnut are 2 examples.

cdb

oxoman wrote:

For most things trail centre wise red and some blacks I would recommend the calibre Bossnut or Boardman for under a grand. The Bossnut as a full sus rides well above it's price tag as mentioned in various reviews. If you go hardtail there are loads around better than the cube although the cube isn't to shabby itself. I had a Cube AM a few years ago and it was ok but swapped it for a carrera fury instead. Have a look at Rockriders as well still well priced although the spec isn't as good.

Thanks oxoman. I think I'm fixed on a hard tail. I'm interested in you saying there's loads of bikes around better than the Cube. The one I'm looking at has Rockshox and Deore XT gearing. For under £1000, I'm struggling to find anything comparable. I've been looking at Evans, Tredz, Chain Reactions, Wiggle. You mention Rockriders but say the spec isn't as good. What would make you buy a bike with a lesser spec?

The Rookie

It wasn't so much downgrading the specs as changing the names on all the bikes up one level!

Briggo

How about - http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOMCX5/on ... ntain-bike

As a comparison in price, you could argue the groupset isn't as good but is that offset by the carbon frame (the geometry of is a tiny bit less XC racy than the Cube).

Plus I think the Maccatuskil just looks better

The Rookie

There is very little between the On-one and Cube, head angle is 69.5 v 70 (XS is 69.5) seat tube is 72.5 v 73, stack is 627 for the 19" on both frames.

Rookie1986

Cube Bikes seem reasonable for the money, although I've never been a fan of there colour scheme but each to their own...

If you are looking for a hardtail in the £1,000 price bracket then maybe something from Radon or Canyon might tickle your fancy? Both make fantastic bikes and since they are "direct order" you get a decent saving which is reflective in the components which the manufactures choose to use.

Briggo

The Rookie wrote:

There is very little between the On-one and Cube, head angle is 69.5 v 70 (XS is 69.5) seat tube is 72.5 v 73, stack is 627 for the 19" on both frames.

I did say it was slightly less racey, thanks for confirming what I had said. :roll:

cdb

Thanks all. We've almost come full circle as all the bikes suggested seem to be broadly similar, yet I'm still not seeing anything with a full XT drivetrain and Rock Shox. I'm interested in why someone wouldn't go for the better components at £899, but would spend a bit more on a lesser spec list. Unless there's some killer reason that no one likes Cubes that I'm not getting.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-LTD-Pro-2X ... _84783.htm

In the 'Blackline' colour, which looks basically dark grey.

The Rookie

Its not anti-Cube, its emphasising that its a very XC biased machine, that is fine if you just want to do XC and fairly mild trails, but anything downhill at speed with rough features and it will be much more of a handful than something more trail biased. An XC machine is less stable so its faster to trun, at times that can be a benefit, at others a positive hindrance.

Without knowing more of your intended use it's hard to call on whether it will suite or not.

cdb

Thanks Rookie. Am starting to understand. Back in my day (I'm old) you bought a 'mountain bike' and rode it everywhere. Deciding what bike to buy was simply about quality of components translating into how much you could afford. Now I'm learning all about different bikes for different styles of riding. Hadn't really got my head round that.

I frequently ride to my local forest in a country park, 6k on road, then ride the forest trails for an hour. Typical forest paths cleared for cycling, some mild downhill sections, uphill slogs that get your heart racing, and lots of undulating tracks through the trees. Plenty of small jumps I catch a little air off of. I plan on getting down to my local trail park once or twice a month.

Skill wise, I'm perfectly happy going fast downhill. I'd say I have excellent balance on a bike with good overall control.

LJ.

cdb wrote:

Thanks all. We've almost come full circle as all the bikes suggested seem to be broadly similar, yet I'm still not seeing anything with a full XT drivetrain and Rock Shox. I'm interested in why someone wouldn't go for the better components at £899, but would spend a bit more on a lesser spec list. Unless there's some killer reason that no one likes Cubes that I'm not getting.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cube-LTD-Pro-2X ... _84783.htm

In the 'Blackline' colour, which looks basically dark grey.

drivetrain is good. Look at the Boardman Pro 29er, drivetrain good and the rockshox is about 3 levels up

cdb

Like the look of the Boardman, but figured I'd need more gears given I do a fair bit of road riding to get to my off road sites.

markfogel

I have a Cube LTD SL 2015 and I love it, its fast and climbs well, on the downhill sections it can feel a bit twitchy but I think that's because I also ride a full sus Boardman with slacker frame and longer travel suspension and it takes me a little while to transition between the two. Its not as forgiving but can be twice the fun depending on what you ride.

cdb

Thanks markfogel. Your Cube: is it 27.5 or a 29er? And what type of riding do you mainly do?

markfogel

cdb wrote:

Thanks markfogel. Your Cube: is it 27.5 or a 29er? And what type of riding do you mainly do?

Mine is the 29er, I mostly ride trail centres, Afan, Forest of Dean, Ashton / Leigh Woods, Swingley and sometimes local XC routes with my local club.

Just a bit of a back story, I was after a hard tail after riding a full sus Boardman for over a year. At Forest of Dean my mate hired one of their Cube Attention hard tails and we swapped for a couple of runs. I really enjoyed riding it so a week later ended up buying the higher end LTD SL which basically has the same frame but everything else is higher spec. Only problem was, the new bike came with a very long 90mm stem which I instantly replaced with 65mm. So watch out for that, not sure why they even bother with such long stems these days especially on bikes with wide bars.

rockmonkeysc

They put a long stem on the LTD because it's quite a race XC bike, not a trail bike. Longer stems suit that particular purpose.

markfogel

RockmonkeySC wrote:

They put a long stem on the LTD because it's quite a race XC bike, not a trail bike. Longer stems suit that particular purpose.

I really did not get on with the sluggish handing a shorter stem made it much more fun to ride. Be it XC or trail either way its very good for both.

rockmonkeysc

For XC racing the longer stem helps keep weight over the front during steep climbs. It also helps with stability when combined with ultra sharp steering.

chrisw333

CDB - the cube would probably be fine for the riding you describe. However, I would personally prefer a more trail oriented bike with more all round ability, particularly if you will be riding trail centres. I've ridden both types of bike and the slacker head angle gives you far more confidence going downhill through tricker sections.

I can see why the Cube looks attractive on paper, but if it was my money I'd be looking elsewhere. Probably a Bird
http://shop.birdmtb.com/featured/zero-m ... rance.html