really like the look of the cube stereo and really need to replace my orange 5 (06 model) originally wanted another 5 but the price and spec you get now is putting me off !

really like the stereo but concerned about shock placement and mud clearence, do the guards keep all the shit off the shock ? is the mud clearence enough for UK conditions ? what’s the bearing life like on the linkages?

cheers

My sister’s just got a Fritzz. She likes it (I don’t incidentally) mud clearance isn’t all that bad (not as bad as a Yeti or something) but it could really do with that mudguard for the shock to keep rubbish off it – I think the Cube specific mudguard is a £40 option or something daft.
Also, on hers the shock bushing is already as sloppy as you like, which is crap.

mud clearance with 2.35 tyres, I don’t see an issue. With regards the shock, most Stereo/Fritzz I’ve seen on here have shock boots fitted by the owners and I was under the impression that UK Stereo/fritzz had the bigger mudguard fitted as standard by the UK importer (I might be wrong on that). I think you can safely assume the bearings/bushes will need replacing more often than a single pivot Orange 5.

was wondering on size aswell I’m 6ft 1″ , 32 ” leg ( longer upper body , short legs) and ride an 18″ 5 what’s the top tube length like on the stereos ? would I be an 18″ on the cube aswell ?

Cube website quotes 585mm effective TT and 533mm actual TT, which appears to be correct assuming approx their steerer tube length and average seat height for someone who fits a medium size frame. That measure doesn’t really have any variables like measuring the BB might. It feels good to me at 5’10” and 32″ inside leg.

bump

I got a 2009 Cube Stereo The One which I have been riding for around half a year now. I can’t say much about the lifetime of the bearings yet but I know that over on http://www.mtb-news.de there were several discussions on this topic. Some people seem to have had problems with bearings coming loose. If I remember correctly it was basically down Cube not applying loctite as they should have done.

Regarding the rear shock:
I am mainly riding in muddy conditions (thats all we get here in Scotland) and never had a problem with the shock. The only protection I have is the overpriced Cube Muddy Board. Other than that I just make sure to give the shock a quick whipe after each ride.

Regarding sizing: I am 181cm and ride a 18″ frame.

Hope this helps.

Fritzz owner here.

Clearance on Fat Albert 2.4’s is adequate (around 8 – 10mm either side of the outer knobs.) But if you’re riding through really thick sh1t you will get some rub on the chainstays. Shouldnt be an issue for most folks but my local stuff can be pretty gloopy so I’ve just put some heli tape on the inside of the chainstays and it’s not been an issue.

Shock will get covered in sh1t with or without the wee mudguard. It makes a slight difference but the bridge / design /mounting location needs a re think to shield the shock effectively. Oh that and supply the guard as standard please Cube!!

The Shock spacers have intergral O-rings to protect the bush – a nice engineering touch (on the top bush anyway) I’ve thumped mine for 10+ months and have had no issues with the shock bushes or the bearings.

Bearing / bush replacement costs are not cheap – some are bespoke as is the big bush that goes through the linkage on the face of the seat tube. That’s also the one which works it way loose if you dont have Loctite in there and have the pinch bolt nipped up really tight. The prices I’ve been quoted for these parts is steep. The seat tube bush comprises 2 plastic top hats (which are sacrificial) that should be cheap as chips. In reality you have to buy a complete kit @ £40 which is still a rip off for a chromoly bolt and two pieces of plastic. Complete bearing change is going to be hefty – well over £100 iirc.

18″ frame will be spot on for someone 6′ 1″. I’m a little over that and have the 20″ Doesn’t trouble me and I like the extra stability but it’s a huge frame.

im 5′ 10″ and ive ridden an 18″ stereo, it felt pretty much spot on for me, i too am of the longer back/shorter leg variety, 30.5″ inside leg for me.
the guy whose bike i rode, he has had it a year with no problems at all, it comes with a basic mudguard for the shock, or you can buy a better one (made of carbon) for about 35 quid iirc.
the one i rode had a worn out cassette/chain, and the gear cables felt like they were due to be replaced too, however i couldnt detect any play in the suspension bushes at all.
i decided to get one after the ride, as its hundreds cheaper than a 5, im just sorting my finances out at the moment.

cheers for all the feed back guys , pretty positive so far definitely edging towards the cube , really can’t justify the extra cost of the 5 at the mo , and the spec is so much better on the stereo that there’s nothing I would change, thinking that the 18″ would be my size

I’mm not sure where you are but my LBS Addiktion cycles in St.Albans has a Stereo demo bike in an 18.

I have a 2011 Cube Stereo Race for sale in FS section! Love it to bits and neither the shock or the bearings have been an issue in the 4 months I’ve ridden three times a week. I’ve got the carbon shock protector on mine which does make a difference, plus the shock compresses down so wipes the crud off.

I too wanted an Orange Five Pro and when I compared the spec the Cube won hands over.

To ride it’s a great bike, great build quality and a looker.

I then bought a 29er in February and can’t get off it. I was then offered a 29er FS last week that I could not walk away from, so made the tough decision to sell it.

Cube are the best kept secret at the moment, people don’t know the name too well in places and often overlook really well spec’d bikes in favour of a more know brand name.

cheeky link to mine for sale:lol:

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/2011-cube-stereo-race-18?replies=4#post-2395578

I’m also 6’1″ with 31 inside leg and there was a good 3″ left in the seat post. I put a stem on with 10mm longer and riser bars but only because I have back issues and found it suited me better.

geordiemick , is it an 18″ you have ? how did you find the top tube length ? that’s my main concern hate anything to short my 18″ with 90mm stem is perfect for me so need to know of the cube is.similar reach wise

Yes Jamesy mine’s 18″, it’s got 100mm stem but the stem length is irrellevant if you’re previous bike has a top tube length different to the cube! Where abouts are you??

You’re welcome to come try it out, I’ve got few sets of bars to try with it…

my number’s 07885 733038 if you need me.

I have had a Stereo and a Fritzz since 09 and neither are a problem with grime grit and shit, they are great bikes really really plush. you can do really silly things on either of them, the stereo is a cross over between xc and trail and AM and the Fritzz is purely a AM bike, but make sure you put a med cage on the rear and a tensioner on or you will have real problems, i had to replace 2 rear ends under warrenty due to hanger snapping for no reason and taking a big chunk out of locating lug on swingarm

mountainman do you have X12 rear ends on them?? I know two guys who both race Stereo Race’s in Enduro DH and haven’t had that happen to them. Mines done some rough stuff and never had anything more than the usual bit of chain slap….

Another Stereo Race owner here. Had mine for five months and still running nicely with no play in any of the bearings or bushes. It’s had a winter of Delamere mud and long rides in the peaks. I must admit to being a little sceptical beforehand with regard to shock/linkage position and mud but it hasn’t been a problem at all.
Ace bike too!
(Cheeky PSA: We (Twelve50 Bikes) have a demo day next Sunday 27th March in Delamere Forest in Cheshire. We will have Stereo’s there to try as well as the Lapierre range. Drop us a line at info@twelve50bikes.com if you’re interested.)

To echo rick@twelve50, I bought my Stereo Race from them and the service and back up was brilliant, not that I had any issues with the bike, more my basic maintenance skills 😆

Not ridden my Fritzz enough to comment, but forgive me for a minor hijack anyway – I took the shock boot off my s/h Fritzz becuase I had this idea in my head that they were actually bad. Anyone care to comment?

Hi Rick@twelve50 – I think I had a chat with you at Rivington last weekend. I was on a Zesty and kept bumping into two of you.

How’d the video come out?

Chakaping, that will have been Matt (the other co-owner of the shop) you spoke to. Was he with a chap on a Yeti? The vid turned out pretty well, though it would have been better with me riding 😉
Never been a fan of shock boots and the like – I’ve seen a number of wrecked shocks because of dirt and moisture trapped in the boot. Better to let the wiper seal do it’s thang and most shocks are orientated in such a way that the dirt and water are pushed away from the seal anyway.

got a lbs I’m going too that,have an 18″ in for me too try and they will.let me part ex my orange crush and orange 5 towards it but thanks for the offer geordiemick and Rick

you selling the old five?

yes I’m selling the old 5 , needs the shock bushings sorted tho but an easy job , last year had a new slx chainset, xt chain and cassette and had the forks serviced. upgraded to hope headset a few years ago along with seat collar, skewers to match .

what price?

and size

its an 18 ” looking for 650

it’s to big, i need a 16″

just seen the review of the cube stereo team in this months what mountain bike , they say that its not very plush, sits high in its travel and when it does use its travel it blows straight through it , must say this is putting me off a little !

Try it out yourself, that doesn’t sound much like my Fritzz.

Make sure you flick the propedal on and off while demoing.

its the same suspension setup on the fritzz as the stereo isn’t it ? how does it ride ?

It’s very plush, you feel like you’re “in” the bike and not “on” it, but it pedals very well too. Surprisingly quick turn of speed.

cheers for the info bud , would be interested in hearing from any other stereo owners on how the suspension feels

I have seen the review in WMB and it goes against most of the other reviews I have seen (MBR, Dirt). Personally I find mine, 2010 The One a great bike, pedals nice and awesome at descending has given me alot more confidence on the downs compared to my old Prophet which was no slouch.
I get the odd pedal strike on the climbs but had no problems otherwise. I’m probably pushing the limits of the shock having to run a high shock pressure, as carrying a little excess weight, might get the shock tuned when it needs a service but certainly haven’t noticed it blowing through it’s travel.

Best thing you can do is take one for a test ride, magazine reviews aren’t always right at the end of the day they are someones opinion, best get your own by taking one out.

For what its worth I don’t think you will regret owning a Stereo I haven’t and I didn’t take one out before I got it.

As I said earlier, I got the 2009 Stereo The One. I don’t have a comparison to other bikes (its my first full susser) but I can say that the suspension feels just right to me. I have the fox talas 32 up front and feel that the rear works nicely together with the fork, resulting in a nicely balanced bike. I dont think the rear is the plushest one out there but for me it strikes a very good balance with not being too bouncy when pedalling. What I tend to do is that I tweak the pressure a little bit depending on where I ride. I typicall set it to ~30% sag which makes the rear feel nice and soft. If I know that things get a bit rougher (e.g. bigger drops/jumps) I sometimes reduce the sag to 20% or less; I bascially sacrificy a bit of the small bump sensitivity for more reserve when the hits are getting harder.

I strongly suggest you go and take one for a test ride if you can. They are lovely bikes and I am sure you will like them.

[Edit]
The following two articles might be of interest for an indepth discussion on mountain bike rear suspension design.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/buyers-guide-to-mountain-bike-suspension-part-1-28367/
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/article/buyers-guide-to-mountain-bike-suspension-part-2-28438

just ordered the stereo at lbs, lovely looking bike and nothing comes close in terms of spec for the cash , stunning in the flesh and the 18″ was spot in for me

anybody have experience of the dt swiss wheels that come on the stereo team ?

post some pics when you get it.

🙂

will do chakaping 🙂

Re wheels:

To be honest, they aren’t great. Even though the labeling might suggest so, they are actually not the 1.6kg wheelset from DT Swiss. Instead they are in the order of 1.8kg. The guys over in the German forums had discussion on what the rims really are made of and as it turns, they are manufactured by DT Swiss but the specification and labeling is coming from Cube. The biggest problem from my point of view is that the rim is very narrow (18 or 19mm) which makes the combination with the Fat Albert a bit odd; it sits a bit like a baloon on the rim. For me it works fine though (I am not particularly aggressive in corners). If I’d buy a new Stereo I would sell the rims straight away and get something slightly beefier, however, I missed that so I am going to ride mine until they are dead and then replace them.

HTH

Nils

http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showthread.php?t=384484&highlight=XPW1600