Cube Bikes

chiefwigham

Hi,

Anyone got any views on Cube Bikes - considering an Agree GTC Race as it's pretty well spec'd but unsure as to the quality of the carbon frame etc.compared to more mainstream brands. Anyone got one.......... Also are the Fulcrum 5's any good.

Thanks

Chief

okenny

here in Germany Cube is a mainstream brand....they're great bikes.

LancsRider

With respect to Fulcrum 5's consider them to be a good solid training wheel. They are a standard piece of kit on many off the peg machines in this price bracket. My specialized road bike came with this years fulcrum 5's as standard, and I had no real problems training on them over flat terain over the winter. However on long steep climbs 6%+ I weigh in at 75kg putting down a bit of power I had real problems with wheel deflection to the point I had to set my rear brake very open, not an ideal position, as the sideways forces from the rim wrecked a rear ultegra brake unit (bent a jamed one of the dual pivot bushes). I guess it all depends on how and what you ride if this would be a potential issue, one opinion which I hope helps.

I have just got the girlfriend a cube hardtail MTB, aluminium frame which is not applicable but the spec and the finishing kit very good for the £830 price. My own view is that cube bikes are a bit 'bling', a graphic designers dream of themed components, the girfriend loves it though so what do I know!

Atomic

Yip. Ive got a 2010 Cube GTC Race and absolutely love it.

Cube are a massive brand in Germany and have been making quality MTBs for several years and in the last few years have started building quality road bikes.

I honestly cant fault my bike and the quality of the carbon frame seems good so far. There is a 5 year frame warranty on carbon Cube bikes so any quality issues should be sorted fairly easily.

Can't comment on the wheels though as the 2010 version came fitted with Easton's. You'll end up changing them for carbon deep section anywats.

Yip. Buy it. I would.

chiefwigham

Thanks everyone - Agree GTC Race now ordered and due in my garage tomorrow - fingers crossed.

Managed to get a good deal at Chain Reaction so wheels may be upgraded sooner than I expected!

@Atomic - have you put a set of clip on bars on your bike and did they fit ok?

Laters

Atomic

.

Yeah. Profile Design T1+. I upgraded the arm rests though after 1 broke.

Fitted no problem.

chiefwigham

Thanks Atomic,

I've got those bars on my current bike so transferring them across should be simplez!!

Laters

mhk1058

Picking my Cube GTC Race up on Saturday. I was looking at a few other bikes and narrowed it down to the Cube and the Specialised Roubaix Elite SL2. At nearly a kilo heavier and Shimano 105/ratio as opposed to Ultegra throughout I realised the only thing drawing me to the Specialised was the name. In fact the Cube GTC Pro is better kitted out than the Roubaix and it's a fair bit cheaper.

Can't wait

LancsRider

In defense of the Specialized, I own a Roubaix SL3 Expert and it is an absouloutly fantastic bike, the best I have owned, have done around 8,000km on mine since October, and I have no complaints. The Roubaix is designed with a specific aim in mind and that is to be a very compliant machine to cover large distances on road surfaces which are not perfect tarmac. In the Specialized range the 'Tarmac' would be a better comparison.

I am not saying you made the wrong decision, but there are strong reasons why some manufacturers make design decisions regarding their frames and how they sprecify their bikes. The traditional manufacturers such as Trek and Specialized have larger ranges because this offers choice. It is up to us as consumers to try and understand what these choices really mean.

It may be easier for someone like me who is in his late forties, comes from a cycling background and has experience in the cycling retail sector (shop owner, bike designer, race team manager) to understand what these differences are. As triathletes many of us do not have this background at all and may be completely new to the bike sector, and as such I can understand how the massive choice and manufacturer claims and counter claims can be so confusing. One of the main purposes of a forum such as this is for people to gain knowledge through asking appropriate questions, no matter how simple they may be. I for one would be very hesitant about saying something was better than something else without first hand appropriate experience of it. In this respect I am confident in offering an opinion that the Roubaix is a very, very good high milage machine. The bottom bracket and chain stays are taken off the 'Tarmac' mould, making the acceleration potential of the bike very good, good enough for two top pro teams in this years Tour. The compliancy aspects of the frameset, curved seat stays, longer wheelbase, slacker head tube angle etc, make the whole experience more stable and confident inspiring on technical ground. If there is a downside to the roubaix concept it is that it is not as tight as its sister the 'Tarmac' from the Specialized range. In my opinion if you can hit out 300+ watts for an hour or so around a very technical course, laying down this power on any climbs both seated and out of the saddle, and you want to race then the Roubaix may not be a very good choice simply a good one if you do not have a second training bike.

This post is not a personal thing but rather I want to make a point that there are people who watch these forums who have some experience and that we are happy to offer our advice to the triathlete community. People are free to either take or ignore any points we make, that is their right. What concerns me, and I have raised this issue before, that as we buy more and more bikes online, we have less and less information from on the ground individuals who are experienced, rather we turn to online blurb. You only have to look to ebay to see the amount of mistakes which are being made due to this consumer approach. I simply wish people would use the forum to ask more honest, and more in depth questions. I guess the basis for this second response on this thread is the recent 220 article this month Anatomy of a Tri Bike, which is typical, it only goes so far, simply scratches the surface, doesn't want to favour and potetialy upset a manufacturer who may place advertising etc... The other options in gaining information are fourms on bike specific sites which can be very technical at time and off putting for many. I hope this forum can find a balanced place somewhere in the middle of this, but to do this it needs to be free from subjective comments as a dominant force.