Cube Fritzz owners

I got a bit carried away on eBay before Xmas and a very good-looking bargain has just arrived.

What changes have you made to your Fritzzes?

Surprised to see it comes with a 90mm stem, I’m thinking 60mm and 710 or 725mm bars (both of which I have). What bars/stems are otehrs using?

Probably needs a double and bash instead of the triple, as it seems to have a low-ish BB anyway.

Biggins will along soon …

Get a chain device, they are prone to the chain jamming in between the pivots.

I was in a similar postition earlier this year. Picked up a frame cheap and built it mostly with spare parts. Eventually sold it on because it was just too much bike for my needs, but it was excellent otherwise.

I had 1×9 on it, with a bash and chainguide. The cockpit was originally a 100mm stem (cos it’s all I had lying around at the time) and 710mm bars. Needless to say it steered like a pig, so I swapped the stem for one of those cheap PRO FRS ones, which was 70mm IIRC, and it was much better. I doubt you’ll be disappointed in the end.

2 mates have the Fritzz…first one has had no problems whatsoever with it and it’s a cracking machine – seems to climb very well indeed and just rails everything going down – seems a very well specced bike. I think this was the higher end version.

2nd mate has had a few issues with the back end – misaligned and it was making the indexing fail spectacularly – finally pinpointed to the frame being out of alignment and finally got it replaced – I believe it’s troublefree now.

Both bikes have the triple on and the triple gets used a lot…apart from the indexing issue on one there hasn’t been any need for a bashguard and both riders have taken the bikes down some proper rocky stuff…

They appear to be excellent bikes indeed…far too much travel for me but it’s a lightweight bike once built up for the travel it has.

Here is my Fritzz, the frame was a replacement under warranty amd a few changes since this pic. Iv got a 70mm stem and Easton Monkeylite DH bars which is a great set up for me.

XT Crank replaced by the SLX Double
RS Lyrics replaced by Fox 36 Van RC2

Overall its still a Bike i love to throw around on the trails and great in corners.

Cheers for that guys. They’re not as rare as I feared then.

I am impressed by the weight, seems comparable to my Zesty with it’s all-mountainy bits on.

Nasher – Would a Stinger do the job do you think?

ChiefP – What happened to your original frame, can I ask?

Chakaping,

The Original frame was the 2009 one and after coming down the Snowdon Rangers and hitting a small jump the rear stay snapped next to the weld on the brake side.

One thing i will say is on a Cube its very rare, so much so iv never heard of one until i broke mine and there Warranty service was top notch, my local cuvbe dealer just sent the pics to them and they accepted the warranty without ever looking at the frame in person.

Those are the first two frame failures I’ve seen on a Cube

I’ve worked in the local Cube dealers for a year & we’ve had them in stock for over two years & we have not had a single frame failure in that period, so the gaffer tells me.

Cube are good for honouring warranty stuff, we’ve had very little go wrong, bar a batch of RS Reba’s with a dodgy seal (very well known fault) which were sorted by Fisher under warranty.

Cube do put together well made bikes with great specs for a good price & the bike weights are very competitive.

They’ve been in the UK for around 4 years & they started in ’93 IIRC, they’re very popular in mainland Europe & not that rare so help is not too far away if something did go wrong

Most of the MTB range does come with a longer than you think necessary stem, must be a European thing!

The Fritzz’s we’ve sold still as far as I know have the OE stem & bars on them, the owners rate then highly as a whole bike & haven’t mentioned about any issues with the stem length or bar width, but it’s all personal preference as to what length/width you run

Orangista – Reassuring to know failures like ChiefP’s are rare, esp. since I don’t have a warranty!

Yeah, I was surprised the stem was 90mm because it did feel quite nice pedalling around the garden. I wonder if the bar might have a bit more backsweep than normal.

Researching the bar and stem, Syntace seem to say they shouldn’t be used with conventional bars/stems as the clamp area is different or something – is that correct?

Syntace have a couple of clamp designs for stems & bars, have a look on their website for more info, as I can’t remember off the top of my head which is which & they’re not cross compatible & I don’t want to give out the wrong info;)

Cheers mate, will look it up.

Here’re some snaps of my Fritzz, by request (you know who you are)…

I’m a bit dubious about the sock over the shock. Have I read before that they are actually bad for the shock? It’s got one of those shock mudguards fitted, do they do a decent job?

I always think of the Euro bikes as a bit too XC for me but *really* like the look of these Fritz. Nice!
What is the plural of Fritz – ‘Frites?!’

biggins here!!!
iv had my fritzz for 6months now and love it.iv changed the stem to a 35mm i know its short but i use it for DH as well but it still climbs really well also changed the bars to match but same length. along with a Gamut chain device and gore cables!!
i couldnt see the point in buy the upgraded The One just for the brakes and XT drive chain and carbon seatpost!!
iv also added a KS900r l;ove it!!
it feels awesome coming down

Cheers Biggins.

Tell me more about the chain device, what fitting is it?

Bike seems to have a 73mm bottom bracket and no ISCG tabs – wondering how to fit a chain device.

i got the gamut p30 i think its called gamut p30 no ISGC mount BB.
pretty simple to fit them (saying that my mate done it) he took the outter ring off screwed the chain device on fiddled with the gears and it was done.

Cool, I was told the Blackspire stinger was too wide to occupy the space of a single BB spacer, so that could be a useful alternative. Ta

or the E13 but they are £115!! how they charge so much for what it is.

What is the plural of Fritz

I went with Fritzzes, but maybe Fritzzen?

Unlikely to see two together so hopefully won;t need to use it.

I’ve also got a Lapierre Froggy, people will think I’m proper rascist.

I’ve also got a Lapierre Froggy, people will think I’m proper rascist

Brilliant! 😀

chakaping, getting fed up so soon with the Lapierre?
On the blackspire stinger, it doesn’t fit, without major cutting of metal.

chakaping, getting fed up so soon with the Lapierre?

Not fed up, no, but I was surprised that I really missed having a six-inch bike when riding up in Lakes. Found the limits of what the Zesty likes doing I suppose.

Always liked the look of these and I had a bit more cash than expected after my yearly accounts, so when this came up s/h at a good price I went for it.

I’ll be pitting them against each other over the next few months – one may end up on classifieds.

Did you buy a Stereo? What did you do about chain retention?

chakaping
Yes I now have a Stereo frame, built up with old bits, but lots of new bits (to me) due to all the new standards it has ( 1 1/2 head tube reducer with low stack, 142mm X 12mm X-12 rear axle, 35.9 seat tube). Also, I’ve added fox 36 forks to raise the BB a touch and slacken the HT angle a bit. It’s still a project in construction, so no idea yet how it will perform and/or whether I will like it.
Regards the chain device, I had a stinger, but it didn’t fit and would require a major cutting of metal, so just building it without a chain device at a moment.


I really liked your Zesty 214 frame build pics, but eventually accepted that 2nd hand Lapierre bikes/frames were going for too much money, my 2nd hand Stereo frame is virtually new and unused and bought for £380 on ebay.

They have been in the u.k more than 4 years. Squarewheels were the first to sell them around 7 years ago.

eventually accepted that 2nd hand Lapierre bikes/frames were going for too much money

Tell me about it, I saw a 314 frame go for £770 on ebay.

They’re good – but there’s some nice new frames for £800 or £900 now.

Arguably the best bike ive ever owned…and ive had a fair few. Its currently the only bike that ever sees daylight, despite also having a Scott Spark and Felt Virtue in the garage. Perfect for weeks in the Alps as well as epics across the Dales. Only change i have made is the rear rim, which i trashed whilst in the Alps, and the saddle, which is now a WTB job, to replace the awful Fizik that is OEM.

Just out of interest, you other Fritzz owners, does your transmission side chainstay have a kink in it? I only noticed it yesterday whilst cleaning the crap off the stay protector..never noticed it before and want to be sure it should be there.

upgraade so far:- gamut P30 chain device, new bars and stem,KS seatpost 900r. soon i will have my XTR trail pedals!!

does your transmission side chainstay have a kink in it?

Both stays kink outwards behind where the cranks clear, but I don’t think you can mean that?

Post a pic?

Glad to hear you’re a happy owner, bodes well.

I’m currently wiring up the front gears. There’s a small hole in the bottom of the 3D black box thing (chainstays) to thread the gear cable thru to the front mech. A standard cable ferrule doesn’t fit into the hole or seat very well against it and it seems to me that it would be a bit of a bodge with just a standard cable ferrule. Can anyone tell me if they have some special little cable ferrule or something and whether it fits into the hole. A close up pic would be even better.
Ta

Guys, this is the kink i mean..there is no sign of any impact from a rock or anything so im hoping that it is supposed to be there. Can you check your bikes for me please?

Sorry, looks like it’s taken a knock to me.

Just done a pic of mine for you…

Thats a really nice Dent, certainly not a kink Cube have put there so certainly an impact dent.

B.A Nana does this help. No ferrule needed just slide in the outer gear cable, it might be a bit hard to get in but it does in the end.

Bugger. Cheers Chaka, having taken another look im fearing the worst. I’ll be onto Cube, see how good their backup is…hopefully it is as good as i hear.

ok cheers for that ChiefP, yes very helpful, ta 🙂

I have a Cube/Fritzz/Syntace axle question: how are you supposed to un-do the DT swiss one on the Fritzz?

Do you just twist the lever – seems very stiff and I’m reluctant to apply too much force because it’s made from plastic and might snap if that’s not how to remove.

Am I supposed to do something with the bolt inside the lever? Is it a 4mm hex key? If so mine may be rounded.

Shame this thread seems to have been accidentally flushed away, I was counting on using some of the info.

🙁

Yes mate just turn it and it wont break as its pretty strong, if its stiff its probably just over tightened a little. Then when you put it back in just push in the red button to turn the lever into a better position to avoid damaging it.

EDIT – Is yours not a DT Swiss Axle?

This might expalin some more

”X12 Through Axle: Normal quick-release axles function by compressing several treaded connections. Also, no fixation points are available, which makes repositioning the rear wheel a bit of a gamble. For the rear axles in our Dual Trail Control 4-link bikes, we use the Syntace axle system. This has a 12mm axle diameter, and is 142mm wide. In this system, a cone is used to form a play-free connection. It is only necessary to tighten the axle from one side. (Re) Positioning the wheel is done by an insert in the right hand dropout, which is secured by a bolt. The main advantages of the Syntace system are: quick and simple changing of the wheel, the brake disc remains in position, a higher stiffness of the rear train and a lighter weight when compared to a normal QR axle.”

Thanks for that, I sussed it last night actually. Have regreased axle now and it’s working much easier.

How do you lot rate the Fat Albert tyres? They look pretty good from the tread pattern but opinions seemed to be mixed. Not sure whether to keep them on for the Lakes this weekend.

Used them once and got rid, just did not feel right so went back to my much prefered and Trusted Conti RQ’s IMO.

chiefP, so do you just screw the X-12 axle in as tight as you can? How does it not unscrew if it’s only hand tight? I can see myself regularly stopping and checking it for the first dozen rides.

so do you just screw the X-12 axle in as tight as you can?

Yes, quite a snug fit and I wouldn’t worry at all about it coming loose.

Took my Fritzz up for a few days in Cumbria at the weekend and I’m veryimpressed.

It’s fast, comfortable, pedals really well and handles intuitively. Definitely keeping it!

Tyres felt a bit sketchy at first (Black Combe descent mostly icy or sodden), but after dropping pressure to about low 20s-psi I think I quite like them. Feel a bit like RQs actually, I thought.