cube reaction pro /cube reaction gtc pro - any owners? horror stories?

[Motozulu]

Going to take the plunge tomorrow - can't make my mind up if the Carbon version is worth the £150 on top they want for it - anyone help? Can't try before I ride as it's a deal from Leisurelakes. Looks a great bike for my step up but what's with the 100mm travel? is 120mm out of fashion now?
Any views/opinions warmly received before I spend the dosh. Are these bikes really as good as they look?
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/6802/cube-reaction-pro-hardtail-xc-mountain-bike-2012
http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/p/6641/cube-reaction-gtc-pro-hardtail-mountain-bike-2012-sale

 

[GrumpyGregry]

100mm travel = XC bike with a leaning towards racing? Blue. Ridden by whippet
120mm travel = trail bike with a leaning towards trail riding and 'play' bikery in trail centres? Red. Ridden by gentleman.
140mm travel = all mountain style hardcore trail bike for big hits alpine stylee? Black. Ridden by hooligan.

But it's a rule of thumb and very blurred at the edges.

I'm mortally prejudiced against carbon framed mtb's from all but a very few boutique marques.

 

[Motozulu]

Thanks Greg - there is a definite trend though - finding an off the shelf bike with 120mm of travel is getting quite hard. All the LBS's I've talked to say 100mm of say Reba's will cope easily with the Cannock red routes - though I suspect in saying that they may have ulterior motives I'm leaning heavily toward the alu version but wish it had 120mm of travel, must admit. I also admit I prefer the colour of the carbon but probably not wise to spend £150 cos it's pretty.

Did enough of that in my single days..ahem...

 

[lulubel]

Without the full, detailed spec and geometry charts for both bikes, it's hard to give an opinion, but the description states that the alu bike has an XT groupset. If this is accurate, it beats the component mix on the carbon bike, which is - er - mixed. Like Greg, I'm not into carbon frames (on any bike, for me), but that's because I can't see the point of it for leisure riders rather than because I think there's any particular risk of failure.

I have a Cube. It's nice

My Rebas are 100mm travel, and I discovered yesterday that I'm using about 60% of it, so I either need to hit the trails harder or take a bit of air out. (I was having to take it steady yesterday because I was slewing around all over the place after the weekend's rain, so I wasn't going as fast as I normally would.) I'm going to try running them a bit softer for my ride on Friday, and see how it feels. For me, I think 100mm is plenty for what I want to do, but only you know exactly where and how you like to ride.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with either of them, but whether you can find something that you'd be even happier with is another matter.

What happened to getting a Boardman?

Edit: Forgot to say, if you go for the alu version, you'll probably want to ditch the Racing Ralphs because I can say from experience that they're made of cheese.

 

[Motozulu]

It's the deal tbh Lulubel - that and I've got to wait until Feb for the Boardman Seriously though a £1350 bike for £999? It looks very good - I was going to ask you about the 100mm rebas, I know you ride stuff that's at least as 'rough' as a red trail and it is hard to find a 120mm bike, which makes me think that the LBS is right - 100mm is all you need as long as you aint a DH'er. I keep seeing the xc and racy too and then someone will say they;ve had one on the black runs in Wales - no probs!

I've looked everywhere but can't find a proper review...I reckon it's gonna be a wing and a prayer job - but is'nt that what you basically did with yours? Mail order? I might pop along to a localish store tomorrow to at least get a feel for it but it's basically mail order - that's the only way they'd do the 0% deal over 18 months.

 

[02GF74]

100 mm not enough? BITD we used to ride down hill on rigid forks, suspension fokrs mean your arms do not take such as hammering.

tough choice as both will be pretty decent ... I would go for the carbon myself. people still say carbon has problems, just like they said about aluminium bikes when they first appeared, carbon is mature enough to not be risky. never say no to extra lightness

 

[lulubel]

I don't doubt that they'll handle the black runs, but it is a question of how they'll handle them. You're not going to be able to go as fast or as hard as you could on a bike with a slacker head tube and more travel. (Hey, listen to me! A few months of MTBing, and I almost sound as if I know what I'm talking about.) When I chose a racy XC bike, I knew I was sacrificing some downhill and technical ability for a bike that would climb better. The laws of physics dictate that I spend a lot more time climbing than descending, so it's worth a few sacrifices to enjoy - if that's the word - the climbs.

Everything I've read in the description of those bikes screams racy geometry designed for fast XC rides and good climbing ability. If you're sure that's what you want, then they both look like nice bikes to me. But if you want something a bit more laid back and chilled out that will take care of you over the technical stuff, then keep looking.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I have ridden world cup dowhhill courses (Leogang, Les Gets and another one in france I'll have to google) on 100mm forks.

OK I didn't ride them very quickly and took lots of chicken lines but ridden they were.
OK it was more years ago than I care to remember
OK these days I get the willies riding down a flight of stairs on my local bridge but that's just a bottle gone kind of thing

So, in my opinion, you can ride an awful lot of highly technical terrain on a short travel hardtail. You maybe can't ride it fast. You will have to work harder. You may fall off more. You may die. But we are all going to do that one day

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I don't doubt that they'll handle the black runs, but it is a question of how they'll handle them. You're not going to be able to go as fast or as hard as you could on a bike with a slacker head tube and more travel. (Hey, listen to me! A few months of MTBing, and I almost sound as if I know what I'm talking about.) When I chose a racy XC bike, I knew I was sacrificing some downhill and technical ability for a bike that would climb better. The laws of physics dictate that I spend a lot more time climbing than descending, so it's worth a few sacrifices to enjoy - if that's the word - the climbs.

Everything I've read in the description of those bikes screams racy geometry designed for fast XC rides and good climbing ability. If you're sure that's what you want, then they both look like nice bikes to me. But if you want something a bit more laid back and chilled out that will take care of you over the technical stuff, then keep looking.

way to go girlfriend!

 

[Motozulu]

I'm going in tomorrow to look at the carbon and it's alu brother and will decide on the spot - end of the day what's the worse that can happen? I'll have 2 bikes, one that's light and a good climber for my 'blue' trail days and if I can't get on with it on the Dog and Monkey there's always my old merida 120mm plodder that climbs like a tank but is a bike I trust and know will get me round on the red routes. I appreciate your input all I really do - and yeah, last time I went with mates one of them road the dog on a 12 year old rigid fork MTB and beat me around it

Can't wait to feel the difference of those fox floaties though. Tis strange though - you search on the mainstream off the peg bikes and see how many 120mm forks come up......looks like racy is the way forward.

 

[Motozulu]

You may die. But we are all going to do that one day

This.

This is my atittude to life and is the clincher - I'm going in...cover me....

 

[Motozulu]

I don't doubt that they'll handle the black runs, but it is a question of how they'll handle them. You're not going to be able to go as fast or as hard as you could on a bike with a slacker head tube and more travel. (Hey, listen to me! A few months of MTBing, and I almost sound as if I know what I'm talking about.) When I chose a racy XC bike, I knew I was sacrificing some downhill and technical ability for a bike that would climb better. The
laws of physics dictate that I spend a lot more time climbing than descending, so it's worth a few sacrifices to enjoy - if that's the word - the climbs.

Everything I've read in the description of those bikes screams racy geometry designed for fast XC rides and good climbing ability. If you're sure that's what you want, then they both look like nice bikes to me. But if you want something a bit more laid back and chilled out that will take care of you over the technical stuff, then keep looking.

Lulubel probably the best bit of advice I have heard/had given to me in my very long MTB career so far - Thankyou.

 

[VamP]

It doesn't sound to me like you really want to be beating yourself up with these Cubes. Why not try something like a On One 456 as a cheap way of getting into long travel HT, and eminently upgradeable should you decide that you really need a lightweight?

Or a Ragley Piglet?

 

[lulubel]

I'm going in tomorrow to look at the carbon and it's alu brother and will decide on the spot

So ..... ?

What did you decide?

 

[Motozulu]

Lu it was decided for me. The shop decided that they'd only do 12 month interest free in the end which was too steep for me. Bit gutted about it but there is a credit crunch going on here and I've just experienced it. So it's back to the Boardman in Feb and the cycletowork scheme - bit fed up about it but I've got the merida to plod along on til then at least. Have'nt got a spare grand lying around in cash so there you go.