[Closed] Cube Reaction 29er ?? Any good?

As easy to get as Rocking Horse poo.

Seriously looked at this bike (SL) as it looks very good value for money for a British bought bike. Ridden other Cube hardtails and I like them. Only other bike to consider is the Canyon 29ers which are even better value for money but you don't get to try it for size

I got myself a Cube Reaction GTC Pro a few weeks back. It was a toss up between the Pro and the SL, went for the Carbon in the end and im really happy with it. I went from a Meta 5.5 to this for the same reason as yourself, wanted a lighter faster bike and it is just that. Its a really good climber and quick on the downs too. Its my first 29er so can't really compare it to anything else but its fantastic value. You can get them pretty cheaply from Germany compared to Chain Reaction etc but I got mine from the Bike Chain in Edinburgh and cant recommend them enough. If you are near Edinburgh, give me a shout if you want a look. It's a big 'un at 23" though!

Hehe nice, i was thinking about getting a 17'' one as im only 5ft 7 🙂

I have a Pro ordered should get it next week.

Wanted the SL but there are just none about.

Im changing the chainset for a 2x10 xt along with the shifters so its pretty much the same spec as the SL.

Great spec, hoping it live up to expectations.

I was lucky enough to demo a Cube 29" Pro .

Well , what a bike , it's all you imagined a well speced carbon 29er would be . Light , agile & frighteningly quick ! Just rolls & rolls , covering the miles effortlessly .

Ready to race , straight out of the box - tubeless is the only change I've made. Tyre combo ( Schwalbe Rocket / Ralph )is spot on for general XC & racing.

Can't fault the XT kit , loving the extra ratios possible with the 10 sp cassatte. Never used formula brakes before , they're fine.

Size wise ( I'm 6 foot ) I would have normally have ordered a large frame , but my demo was a 19" & spot on !

And let's be honest a decent carbon 29er , speced like this by Scott / Trek would be £2000+ , so great value !

So , roll on my next Gorrick ! & best of luck to anybody trying get hold of one of these!

I had a Reaction GTC Pro 26er. Imported from [url=

company[/url]. Much cheaper than local and get this.... much better support when things went wrong.

Replaced a cracked frame no questions asked. Also paid for re-installation costs. Sold me a crash replacement ti frame for £600 once I snapped that one. Superb.

One word of caution. Carefully check the spec of the wheels which is where Cube (and others) tend to save money. Had lots of hassles with SunRigle hubs. Again MHW sent me a new hub.

The hubs are XT and the Rims are the usual propriety Alex with DT spokes.

Its probably one area where i would always upgrade anyway.

Crank Bros Cobalt 29 look nice :o)

I have one for the 17" which should be ok for me.

On holiday for 2 weeks after next week so wanting it to turn up asap.

Its a good start though for a racing mountain bike 🙂 If i want to upgrade the wheels at a later daye then ye i agree, thats the first call. Dout ill upgrade anything else tho tbh as its all pretty good!

And before I read the thread I checked what Stan Leigh on Facebook bought... Only to see he's replied already. Fancy a 29er face off Stan? I want another Swinley, porridge pot, tunnel hill loop, second Sunday in April looks clear?

Compkiller, im 5'7" too and tried one of the LTD Pro 29 in the shop 17" frame and it fitted perfectly.

Even the LTD is a great value bike, i just wanted to go the extr mile.

It took a fair bit of phoneing to track down a bike, and its not due to be delivered till next month.

I took the opportunity to change to the 2x10 set up which take the spec of the pro pretty close to the SL.

Very nice 🙂 Well i have the cash, and i know where i can get the SL so do i or dont i... thats the question... not many reviews on it etc

I dont see next years bike being quite as good a price considering the way there sold out this year.

Good for you finding a 17" SL i tried 8 places and none could get hold of one. Only one of them offered me the Pro, new chainset and shifters and its as good as the SL anyway.

Go for it i say.

I looked at the Cube as my LBS sells them but they only had a medium in and not for demo and couldn't get demo bikes in either. Went for the Canyon instead which is very nice.

I looked everywhere for the reaction gtc 29er, couldnt get one 🙁

My lbs have a pro coming in stock in JUNE.

I went for the reaction gtc SL 26er instead for the time being.

Whats the GTC SL 26er like then bud? Liking it?

I take it your gona trade the 26er u just bought in for the 29er Pro in June then?

The shop im buying from said they were going to geet one last 29er in stock in April, hence why i snapped it up, still not heard anything back mind. Hens teeth spring to mind.

I dont know if its cube who have simply not made enough or if they have just not given enough bikes to the UK.

Anyone who can get their hands on either Reaction 29er should go for it.

My lBS is a cube dealer and he said there was no way he could get either bike now, the only way was if you had pre ordered the specific bike months ago.

It wont be long till the 2013 range appears now, probably will be able to order a 2013 bike in August/Sept.

As above.

if you can find one. Buy it.

All 29 stock from Cube has gone.

We have been informed that our pre-ordered bikes will arrive in June (approx) and that no more will come or be able to be ordered.

TBC - any chance they will bring the 2013 bikes in early (like some of the road bikes)?

Not been informed of that yet.

thebikechain

Is that all preordered bike due June or just the ones for you? The shop i bought from said April for mine.

I take it you have pre sold the ones you have ordered?

So far i have only seen 1 29er in a bike shop, do you think Cube have been caught out with the demand?

By the way, if you are considering importing from MHW Bike House - email them and barter.

I saved over £300 of the UK price by doing this. Figured if anything went wrong I would have some room to move with local repairs. Turned out their support was great anyway.

Loved my GTC Pro and love my Elite HPT Pro (titanium) frame even more. Brilliant bikes.

Ordered mine from Germany in jan when all uk suppliers told me there were no more to be pre-ordered. Have had the date pushed back a fortnight, every fortnight since jan end. I am hopeful for this year sometime I personally feel it shits all over the canyon spec having considered that first.

Jwmlee, did you have to pay shipping etc?

Managed to get a 2012 Ltd SL 29 from Tweeks, it was on back order by them to be a stock item, they had ordered one 17" and one 19", put a deposit on the 19" in early November and got it mid Dec, they were unable to get any more. Enjoy riding it more than any other bike I've ever owned.

Free to the uk. Very tempted myself now! Wonder about size. I am 6" and have a 20" frame in my 26er. Wonder if the 21" frame would give more options in terms of stem/fit...

Big Cubes tend to come up VERY big.

I'm 5'11 btw, 19" is spot on for me, although not much room for moving the seat back on the rails any further. The stem is fairly short at 75mm though, think the 21" LTD SL may have a longer one.

squarewheels show quite a few Cube 29er's on the site. Sizes can be found of each model if you scroll down the page and click on frame size option. If it's in stock it'll show what's actually in stock.. not a 'we can get it for you' option.

yetialex, how are the comfort levels on the bike with the big wheels and carbon frame?

A couple of posts here have said they have changed to 2 x 10 setup to be the same as an SL. All the SL's I see for sale come as 3 x 10??

Yes the SL is the 3x10

My comment related to the XT spec chainset not the 2x10.

I just feel that the 2x10 is a much better set up. Gone for the 26/38 chainset.

[i]"Anyone who can get their hands on either Reaction 29er should go for it."

"if you can find one. Buy it."[/i]

Good advice - I'm picking up my Reaction GTC SL from my LBS tomorrow 😀

Right thats not fair, i bought mine over a month ago, i want it now!!!

Hope you enjoy it, keep us up to date.

Cube Reaction 29r GTC SL ordered and coming my way very soon 🙂

@compkiler - let us know what you think of it when it arrives!

Did you order it from MHW Bike House / another German company?

VERY, VERY tempted myself. Mate of mine says the Pro is a better option as Rebas have less flex and XT wheels are very solid for the money. What do you think?

Collected from my LBS today 🙂

[img]

Just back from a 10 mile hack along part of the Isle of Man End2End course - absolutely love it!

First impressions are of how light and agile it feels.

Firm ride from the carbon frame but not harsh, the seat's quite hard but I wasn't in it much!

I'm just over 5'11" and the 19" frame is a perfect fit.

@stevewhyte - you won't be disappointed!

I cant wait, im going to phone the shop tomorrow as they said it would be in by the end of the month, thats now isnt it!!! 😆

I'm champing at the bit, was out today on my Whyte and love it, but this should be up a level or two.

That looks quality ! God damnit I want 1 😕

Wowers 🙂 that looks amazing 🙂 cant wait for mine now! I know where there are 2 more in stock btw and thats all thats left in the UK :-)!!
The Germany company have no more in stock btw so i wouldnt bother with them. I tried 🙁

Great picture of urs tho fella!

There both in size 17 frame though which suits me down to the ground being 5ft 7 🙂

Mine is going to be 17"

When is your due to arrive compkiller?

Well my deposit is down and i should have the full amount in 2 weeks time! Just waiting for some cash from someone. 🙂

How tall are you out of interest Steve?

5'7"

Have tried one of the Alu Cube 29ers and it felt fine, geometry of the Carbon is much the same.

On holiday for 2 weeks next week so wanting it to come asap!!!

@velomanic How is the fork? Much flex? Why did you put flats on it?

I have a SID on my Whyte, its deffo got a bit of flex in it but nothing serious, i got used to it pretty quickly. Standard was a Recon which while Stiff was very heavy.

I cant see there being much difference between the SID and Reba to be honest.

@velomanic do you have anymore pics, I am excited for mine now.

@plodtv: More pics 🙂

[img]

Collecting from my LBS.

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Just before the first ride.

[img] [/img]
Making the most of the local amenities!

@jwmlee:

I've hardly noticed any fork flex and I was out on some rocky stuff today, all good up front 🙂

I know it's controversial but I prefer flats, I've had more moments when I've been glad to be on flats than I have wishing I was clipped in. I'm not saying that SPD's are bad, just not for me.

Right stop it with the pics until i get mine thanks. 😉

Fingers crossed for next week.

Bike looks great BTW.

Im hoping its going to be a bit of a fitness compensator for me.

@velomanic. If flats are what you like then you have every right to use them! The great thing about bikes is you can customise them the way you like them.

I rode flats on my GTC Pro 26 for about six months before going to spd. Really like them now but they did feel pretty scary at first.

A tip: carbon downtubes can be a little vulnerable to rocks flicking up from the front wheel. My second carbon frame was damaged beyond repair in this way. A cheap plastic crud catcher can help deflect some of this.

Happy riding!

I have bought some Heli Tape from Aldi to stick on the bike when it comes.

Am i right in saying that the frame does not have the bosses to attach the crud catcher? Just got to attach it with Velcro.

@jwmlee - Good man & thanks for the crud-catcher tip 🙂

@stevewhyte - That's right, no bosses on the underside of the downtube (see below)...

[img]

You should try the Heli Tap from Aldi

Thank you very much for pics, I haven't been this excited since I ordered it in January.

What is the remote lockout like, useful or just a gimmick, easily used/to tell if its on or not?

I use the remote lockout often on the 26" SIDs, so much so that i often have them locked out when they should be loose.

plodtv, do you have a delivery date?

Wowers that looks amazing cant wait for mine now! I know where there are 2 more in stock btw and thats all thats left in the UK :-)!!
The Germany company have no more in stock btw so i wouldnt bother with them. I tried

I have tried everywhere without luck. Can still track down the pro but no sl. Any chance of sharing you knowledge compkiller?

 

Second week in April at last delivery bump.

Fwiw I ordered at

but none there anymore

Got my Reaction GTC SL 26" at the weekend, done 40 miles on it this week already including 23 miles in 1hr 30min last night, I love it, so light...

[img] [/img]

I was tempted by the 29er but the difficulty in getting one, and the what felt like (to me) slow acceleration, particularly uphill put me off a little.

Very happy with my 26"er though, you cant go wrong with carbon cubes whatever the size 8)

Theres one bike shop in Essex, cant remember the name tbh and Cycle Surgery have 1 more in stock.

How are you guys transporting your carbon frames?

I have a couple of thule 591s... the user manual specifically says not to clamp the frame though, even though the area it would clamp onto is super thick.

I think I'll be sticking it in the back for until I can get my hands on a 561

anyone know where to get a 19" ?

@plodtv - I've found the remote lockout to be very useful, there's a bit of movement left in the forks when locked out so it soaks up the small stuff when you're climbing / on the road etc.

I ordered a Cube chainstay protector (£7.99 from CRC) last night, the sound of the chain slapping the carbon keeps making me cringe!

What psi are people running in the SID's?

bugcab if you can get the Pro go for it.

I am sticking a 2x10 XT chainset and XT shifters on mine, other than that the spec on the bike is fab. Plus a cheey wee £300 saving to go towards a set of Cobalt 3 29ers wheels 8)

Mine is due for End of March delivery. Wait a min, isnt that now!!

82kg and running 125psi in the positive and negative end of the rockshox SID fork as per the recommendation on the fork sticker, sag is perfect.

What are the breaks like guys, have read good reviews about them just never had a set of them or played with them myself.

Tracked down a pro from cycle surgery as they have just had a few delivered to their warehouse, available now if any one else is looking.

Ok Chaps , heads up . I've been riding the GTC Pro 29er composite for a month now , so I can answer some of your questions.

Frame size - I'm 6ft (34") leg & the med is spot on . Comfort - riding position is faultless , the composite frame seems to pass on less shock & vibration than an aluminium one ( big thumbs up !)

I also fancied the sram 2x10 set up , but I can't fault the XT 3X10.

The formula brakes would be my only slight criticism , they're powerful enough , but lack the 'feel' of say avid elixirs , tend to be a bit ' clunky '.

Wheels seem fine , light & stiff - DT Swiss , not being a brand I have experience of , we'll wait & see how long they last.

I'm 100kg & the forks on 160 psi are good .

Schwabe tyre combo , is the combo I use already , so happy with that!

But why am I telling you all this ? If you haven't got one yet , it doesn't look like you will !

I don't think next years model will be as good value , now Cube have created a demand & reputation for this bike . Looks like they under priced this one to get their foot in the door & get people talking !

They've certainly done a good job of that!

According to my LBS, the Cube rep said that they'd actually manufactured 10% over what their market research suggested and it still wasn't enough to cope with demand.

Exactly why i decided to go for one, it seems to me like Cube were pricing their bikes very low and would probably alter the spec/price in future years.

SL or Pro, they are great bikes on paper, i hope they live up to it.

Im sure it will given what others have said.

Wouldn't say they are low priced on purpose. They are priced realistically when other brands maybe aren't.

One of the issues has been poor sales predictions for 2012 across the industry based on previous trade. Cube are sensible about our pre orders so there are not containers of bikes left over every year.

Some brands are still clearing 2011 while discounting 2012 new bikes.

The saying of its better looking for it rather than at it applies well in this instance.

Just ordered a Thule 561 for carrying the carbon beast. Annoying as I have 3 x 591s but it's not worth the risk. I've already bent one cube frame, I don't want any warranty issues with the carbon one.

I was going to use my Saris Bones RS, whats the problem with your carrier?

The cube carbon manual says specifically not to clamp or mount cycle carriers to the carbon frame. The Thule 591 clamps to the down tube. The 561 is fork mounted and specifically for sensitive / carbon frames so I went for that.

I would say the saris clamps and rests on the top tube, so I would be reluctant to use that too.

I've been through one warranty claim with cube frames, if they can see any consistent marks on the frame where it's clearly been on a cycle carrier they have advised against then it gives them an excuse to pull out of a warranty claim.

For the sake of £100 on top of a £1800 bike, may as well treat the frame as they recommend.

Its hard to imagin why the bike sitting on a bike rack would damage the frame.

Seen as there is racks specifically design for carbon bikes... And the manual says not to do it... I imagine there's logic behind it.

From having carbon kayaks, they were strong for their intended purpose, but not hugely strong when subjected to force from angles they were not designed for.

I'm going to listen to the manual though personally, you pay your money, you take your chances lol. I'm not risking it 😀

Thats a roof carrier, i need something on the rear.

I guess i will take my chances.

Oh living on the edge, quite exiting.

Just get a van 🙂