Want to upgrade my new cube stereo 140 race.

Aaron86N

I have just started MTB, I have got the bike that I love but want to replace all the race face parts for Hope.
Then keep the race face for spare parts. Not sure if this is stupid as I’m a beginner.

Parts that I’m looking to replace:

Crankset
Carbon Bar
Stem
Complete Discs and brakes tech 3
Wheels and hubs

The idea in my head is Cube, hope, fox And Shimano XT cassette and derailleur only.

Would love to hear what people think about this and if there any other ideas that would be helpful.

cooldad

It's stupid.

billycool

Welcome to the forum.

My first question for you would be, what do you want to achieve by doing this? Are you unhappy with what you have?

The bike has a decent spec and should be fine for a `beginner`. There is nothing wrong with upgrading stuff, some people do it for cosmetic purposes and others do it to make the bike `better`. Why Hope? Do you think it's better or just want some bling?

You could change all or nothing and I'm not sure if you'd notice the difference.

It all comes back to your reasoning for changing stuff. If you've got the money and just want to do it, then why not. If you think it will make your bike better or make you a better rider, I'd struggle to agree with that, purely due to your lack of experience.

You might be better off getting more experience and you might then decide to change other things or buy another bike.

I'm not saying don't do it, but it seems a bit indulgent to change over so much stuff when you're quite new to the sport.

blokie13

Spend the upgrade money on riding lessons / coaching and when you then feel that any aspect of the bike is holding you back in the future, upgrade it at that point.

joebristol

Firstly the bike is a pretty good spec already assuming I’ve found the correct one.

For me I wouldn’t give a monkeys about swapping out raceface for Hope on a lot of the bitsvyou just mentioned.

Handlebar and stem are ok - what would you benefit from changing it - other than maybe a slightly more bling setup?

On cranks - I might consider changing them if that was required to go 1x 11 instead of 2x11. Odd that a 2.5k bike has 2x11. If I were doing that I think I’d pop on a wider range cassette than 11-42 at the same time. Probably a sunrace 11-46.

I don’t know anything about the wheels really - other than they are 30mm diameter and tubeless ready. If the Hans dampf tyres are a cheap compound I’d just get something decent and set them up tubeless.

Brakes are Deore - not my choice - but generally they get ok reviews. If they work just ride them - if they need more power than you could try bigger rotors - or go Hope E4 perhaps.

tallpaul_s

As above, if you're going to change stuff fair enough, but don't change stuff for no reason - either you want stuff with a different spec (wider bars, shorter stem, 1x chainset, more powerful brakes) or for something stronger/lighter.

Don't just swap stuff before you've even ridden the bike properly, and even more so if you've just started mountain biking - no disrespect but you're not going to know what's best for you or the bike!!!

Aaron86N

I have brought the hope peddles and that’s made myself want the hope crank and change it to the 1x11..

I do understand I’m new to the sport but my mindset set is I’d rather have 1 company doing the finishing touches, rather than mix and matching them. Maybe it’s the ocd in me.

The spec is ok like people are saying but when your spendIng £2500 why not upgrade it? Maybe I will just start with the crank and brakes then see where it takes me.

Thank you for people’s inputs

JBA

Aaron86N wrote:

The spec is ok like people are saying but when your spendIng £2500 why not upgrade it?

I think you have answered your own question there.

'Upgrading' just for the sake of it is a needless expense, especially when you have just started mountain biking. Just replace things as they wear out or break. After all, a Hope chainset will not improve your peddling efficiency or make you go faster.

What if you now spend in excess of £1,000 on all the Hope parts you want and then find you don't actually like mountain biking? You'll never get that money back.

Ride the bike for a couple of months, improve your handling skills and then decide if anything isn't working for you. Then consider upgrades/changes.

02gf74

My upgrades take two paths, lighter components or better spec. In the same group set.


Lighter generally is changing bars and seatpost to carbon, cheap Chinese parts without garish logos so the match.... and no, none of them have failed.

Groupset upgrade is to use xt for shimano and x01 for sram as a minimum.

I also look at losing weight from wheeze, tyres and inner tubes unless it is expensive.

With your new and hardly used bike, I don't see any sense in chat going to hope just to have components by the same manufacturer.

Look at upgrading wheels, tyres and going to 1x. I doubt the will be noticeable be benefit in changing the brakes.

Aaron86N

Ok I do get the point new bike, new parts so there’s no need to change it.

I have just gave up my Xbox where I played it all the time and this might shock 90% of people but I spent £5000 on upgrading my on Fifa team in 18months. So this whole new experience of doing MTB instead of playing a stupid game is going to be great whatever the outcome whether I’m a quick learner or whether I’m going to be slow and crash all the time.

The fact is as long as I enjoy what I’m doing then I don’t mind spending the money.

steve_sordy

Aaron86N wrote:

............ So this whole new experience of doing MTB instead of playing a stupid game is going to be great whatever the outcome whether I’m a quick learner or whether I’m going to be slow and crash all the time.

The fact is as long as I enjoy what I’m doing then I don’t mind spending the money.

Then spend some money on a skills course. Riding an MTB is not like riding a bike on the road, you need to move differently and look at stuff much more. There are definite physical skills that are best learned early on before you develop bad habits. And if you haven't got one already do yourself a massive favour and buy yourself a helmet. Every helmet I have owned except the two I wear now (Trail and Full Face) have all been broken by falls or repeated impact. Sadly, I expect these two to go the same way. I'm not a suicide jockey, it's just the way it is; sh1t happens!

Post another request for reccos for a suitable skills course (give some idea of where you are located). Do not be all macho and leap straight in with a jumps course or an "expert rider" course. Be realistic and you will get proper value from the course. The simple stuff learned early on will make a massive difference to your enjoyment.

I try to go on a skills course at least once per year, if only as a reminder of what I'm supposed to be doing. :oops:

Aaron86N

I live 15minutes from chicksands and few times a year I go to stoke so there’s endless trails in Derbyshire for myself to try.

I brought everything now spent £800 in total on protection and clothing but that’s everything. Helmet and Googles, body protection, knee pads, padded trousers and the rest.

I have a very addictive personality so to be honest I can see myself wanting to improve and I will definitely do a few lessons once I’m used to the bike.

Neilio1978

Hiya bud,

I bought a 2015 160 HPA Race and after about a year I changed to 1 x 10 as I just got fed up of the front derailleur malfunctioning. It was miles better and less to service, currently running both Zee shifter & derailleur with a Shimano 11-42 cassette and a longer b-screw. Runs sweet!

I'd go for a decent carbon bar for sure although the standard RaceFace is ok, I've read a carbon bar can transform your bike. I'm still on the original stem, a 35mm one which is fine as it is.

Crank wise I've an XT Hollowtech which has been faultless after 3 years, changed the bottom bracket 3 times. Assume yours are Deore at least, the current Deore are likely the same as 2-3 seasons ago XT.

Brake wise, I started with XT Deore 180/180 but now have a mixture of XT/ Zee (pretty much all been replaced several times over!) which are more than adequate but I wouldn't mind upgrading the front to 203mm. As far as I'm aware Shimano levers/ calipers aren't really serviceable like Hope ones so its usually bin it and buy another one when they go.

I replaced my wheels for some wider XX27 (27mm internal up from the stanard Sun Ringle 23mm ones) Rims with Fuel hubs from Superstar Components and am currently running 2.4 Continental Trail Kings which are sweet. The rims were super cheap and really sturdy but Hope is the way to go if you have the cash!

You dont HAVE to justify upgrading, when you first buy a bike the original spec can be irrelevant as you will be replacing stuff as you go anyways and thats when you can upgrade.