Tyres and wheels for Cube Reaction TM hardtail 2018

Jeztheshed

I bought the cube reaction TM hardtail 2 months ago for £900 (60% off allegedly £1600 rrp) My aims when it are fitness, weight loss and fun; when I take it out there is always a fair amount of road cycling to get to trails. While the bike is ok on trails it's crap on roads. The knobby nicks 2.6 feel make me feel like i'm riding a motorbike and make road riding overly sluggish. I'm wanting to upgrade to more suitable tyres. Also, the wheels that came with the bike - Rodi Blackjack Typ 35, 32H, disc - are obviously just entry level and this may be effecting the ride quality.

So, what narrower tyres would you recommend that would do a decent job on rough terrain but be faster on roads and in general. I find the whole tyre thing a bit of a mine field. Is it right that you can achieve good results from a grippier tyre on the front and a faster one on the back? What tyres of any combination would you suggest.
I have a CX/disc road type bike for commuting and long distance riding so the hard tail this will be mainly used for rides that involve trails so I wouldn't be wanting too smooth a tyre.


I've got a bit of loose cash to spend and quite enjoy upgrading things so also wonder if anyone has good suggestions for a wheel upgrade. I'd spend up to £500 and am open to brand new or used purchases.


Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Cheers

Jeztheshed

Oh, in case this helps, the spec for the bike is as follows. I'm finding it hard to figure out which wheels will actually fit the bike. Also, I'm i'm pretty heavy at 100kg (although this is on its way down thanks to getting back into cycling!) so need durable wheels.

Frame: Aluminium Lite 6061, Trail Motion geometry, AMF, ARG, internal cable routing, Easy Mount kickstand ready, tapered headtube, Press Fit BB, fits up to 2.8 27.5" tyres

Fork: Fox 34 Rhythm, 2-Position Sweep-Adjust GRIP Damper, Tapered, 15x110mm, 130mm

Headset: FSA Orbit I-t, integrated, tapered

Stem: Race Face Aeffect R 35

Handlebar: Race Face Aeffect 35, 760mm

Grips: Cube Race SL, 29.5mm diameter, 1-clamp

Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT RD-M8000-DGS, ShadowPlus, 11-Speed, Direct Mount

Front Derailleur: N/A

Shifters: Shimano SLX SL-M7000

Brake System: Magura MT Trail Custom, hydraulic disc brake (180/180)

Crankset: Race Face Aeffect SL 32T, 175mm

Cassette: Shimano SLX CS-M7000, 11-46T

Chain: KMC X11 L

Rims: Rodi Blackjack Typ 35, 32H, disc

Front Hub: Cube Alloy Light, disc

Rear Hub: Cube Alloy Light, disc

Tyres: Schwalbe Nobby Nic, Addix Speedgrip, Kevlar, Tubeless Easy, 27.5x2.6"

Saddle: SDG Fly Mtn 2

Seatpost: Cube dropper post, handlebar lever, internal cable routing, 27.2mm, 400x105mm

Seatclamp: Cube Varioclose, 31.8mm

Weight: 13.1kg

Jeztheshed

Ach well no one interested in answering me. Undecided to buy
Mavic crossbar pro MTB 2.2 wheelset + tyres for 400 quid (allegedly reduced from £820). They were the last pair in stock so I just pulled the trigger.

The Rookie

Crossbar?

JBA

Have you checked the wheels will fit your fork and frame?
Looking at the spec the Cube has boost spacing - 15x110 forks and 12x148 drop outs.

cooldad

Assume he means Crossmax, and they do come in boost.

Seems a bit pointless to buy a bike designed for fat wheels and tyres, then fit skinny ones though.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mav ... prod154371

Jeztheshed

Cooldad - I did mean crossmax. Thanks for your post.

What is is about the bike that is specifically designed for wide tyres? In your opinion, what specifically about that design will be detrimental to the overall experience of using the.mavic crossmax pro mtb wheelset on varied terrain given that I didn't like the fat tyres? I only bought the bike because at 900 quid it seemed good value given that it has a fox 32 rhythm fork, a dropper post, decent groupset and hydraulics and I like the durability of a mtb. How is it "designed for fat wheels?"


Anyway the crossmax wheels were delivered with the wrong freehub (SRAM XD). I got chain reaction to pay for the Shinamo replacement which arrived today. I can sell the XD on eBay as they are letting me keepnthem. Tomorrow will be the first time riding on them. I will post my experience in case I can be helpful to anoyone out there who is considering cross country wheels and tyres for their hardtail.

JBA

Jeztheshed wrote:

What is is about the bike that is specifically designed for wide tyres?

The frame has been designed (wider seat stays and chain stays) to take tyre widths up to 2.8". Wider tyres bring some advantages such as a larger ground contact patch, better grip in certain conditions and a more cushioned ride. By swapping to narrower tyres you are losing those advantages.
Personally I would have saved a shed load of cash by just buying a decent compact pump and adjusting the tyre pressures for road and off-road use. Pump them up high for the road section of your ride, let them down a bit for the off-road section and then pump them up again for the return road leg.
Having said that, it's your bike so do what you want.

joebristol

Up to you which tyres you want to run really. I bought a Vitus vrx+ frame recently - designed to run up to 2.8” tyres as a max (27.5). I already had 25mm internal width rims and running a 2.3 dhr2 on the back and a 2.35” Magic Mary on the front. It’s ace so far and I’ve not had any pedal strikes. It’s not designed to run 29’s though -

maddog 2

the bike will be fine with different wheels/tyres.

proper MTB tyres will always be slow on road. If you want it to be genuinely dual-use then the tyres will always be a compromise between the two conditions. You can fit a faster rolling tyre, particularly on the back, like the Rock Razor or Minion SS but they're still heavy tyres, designed for trail use. If you go lighter - e.g. WTB Nineline, Schwalbe Thunderburt, Maxxis Aspen/Ardent then it'll be better on road but sketchier/more fragile offroad. You need to decide what sort of riding you do and buy accordingly. Just don't expect to get everything.