F.A.O Cubist - Cube Reaction Pro...

[Motozulu]

At last, the C2W voucher finally turned up and today I picked it up from LeisureLakes Bikes in Wolvo and took her out to do the Dog at Cannock as soon as I got her home (gorgeous weather BTW, dusty trails, heaven, not a speck of mud).

I just wanted to say that that long ago conversation we had on here...you were spot on. You told me it would be a speed machine that would'nt batter it's way over rocks, roots and boardwalks like the Merida did and that I'd need to 'skill up' to cope with it - and boy were you right. A fantastic ride, faster and more challenging than any other run I've done and I can't wait for tomorrow. Very racy geo and I have already got a shorter stem and some monkey bars in the man cave just in case - but I did love the way it climbed...just a bit 'interesting' on the quick, bumpy descents - think I'll leave it as is for now and see how we get on together.

Cheers mate and here she is....

Outside the shop...

and back home....

 

[Cubist]

That's a seriously good looking bike!

 

[Motozulu]

Cheers I'm in love

Took her through the Dog and Monkey today - the Monkey especially showed up it's race geometry - going downhill at speed is hair raising to say the least - but I absolutely love the way it climbs so I'm not changing anything. I have struggled to get under 4.40 on Cardiac hill and today I did it in the middle ring at 3.19 - loving that to bits!

 

[derrick]

Cube do make some good looking bikes.

 

[02GF74]

Cube do make some good looking bikes.

I agree - they have done a tremendous job on the colour schemes and graphics. Also the brakes and rear shifters are well specc'ed, I am not so sure about the frames - some of the lower end bikes are unexpectedly heavy.

 

[Motozulu]

Know what you mean - mine comes in at 11.3 kg though which feels feather light too me - coming off a 13.8kg porker of a Merida!

 

[02GF74]

Know what you mean - mine comes in at 11.3 kg

does that include pedals? My L frame 2007 Epic Marathon weighs 11.7 kg (FS bike including pedals, it started at 12.47 before weight weenieing; is mostly XT and SRAM X0)

 

[Motozulu]

No, without pedals, have'nt weighed the pedals tbh but they are minimalist SPD jobbies. TBH I'm not a weight weenie - it's all about feel for me - the bike is light to pick up, flies up hills, is pretty much XT equipped throughout with great Formula RX brakes and the forks are lighter than light too (giving it a very chuckable front end).

All in all I can't fault it - apart from the fact it's set up for XC, which I knew when I bought it. I do have a set of Easton EA70 mid rise monkey bars and a raceface 60mm stem which I can replace the flattish bars and 90mm stem it comes with - but I'll give it some time first to see if I can develop my technique enough to tame the descents I do at Cannock with the bike as it is - I'm loathe to change it straight away as I just love the whole feel right now.

 

[derrick]

I agree - they have done a tremendous job on the colour schemes and graphics. Also the brakes and rear shifters are well specc'ed, I am not so sure about the frames - some of the lower end bikes are unexpectedly heavy.

If you want light you need to spend a bit more.

 

[Motozulu]

Correct Derrick - for £5-£600 quid you may get decentish components but you'll also get a bit of a porker.

 

[derrick]

The Cubes are still good value for money bikes, my other half recently bought a gtc race, and i must say it is a nice bike to ride, and it looks the part.

 

[Motozulu]

Whoa - that's a beaut! like mine but with weird curvy type bars!

I'll be honest - it'd take a lot to divert me from a Cube now - maybe the only other I can think of is a Canyon boinger.