“ditherment” is a word isn’t it?

anyway, i’ve boiled it down to 1 of the following:

Cotic FlareMax, Gold build, 29″ wheels, Helm fork… my concern with this is the comparative weight (of the other in the list) and i’m not convinced 120mm of rear travel is enough.

http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/flareMAX

Canyon Spectral CF 9.0 pro…. not mad keen on the rockshox finishing kit, and “something” is holding me back

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mtb/spectral/spectral-cf-9-0-pro.html

Cube 140 HPC TM.. great, i honestly think this is the one, love the fox kit on there and it’s the cheapest of the bunch too, even more so when Evans are offering £350 off with an old bike trade in.. but Cube? i can’t find a review of this specific model anywhere…. oh and it has a PF BB, this makes me sad

https://www.evanscycles.com/cube-stereo-140-hpc-tm-2018-mountain-bike-EV318642?lsft=esvt:52838-GOUKE4651454,esvq:,esvadt:999999-0-1311348-1,esvcrea:220437881188,esvplace:,esvd:c,esvtg:aud-431406424742:pla-364443784310,esvo:EV318642-18-GRY,esvaid:50080&esvt=52838-GOUKE4651454&esvq=&esvadt=999999-0-1311348-1&esvcrea=220437881188&esvplace=&esvd=c&esvtg=aud-431406424742:pla-364443784310&esvo=EV318642-18-GRY&esvaid=50080&gclid=CjwKCAjwsJ3ZBRBJEiwAtuvtlFmuSA7V0cWRnJQ4tz0DRsFtHbtpBh8gRwGPj_sQkUyCE8pxkgzbVBoCjKUQAvD_BwE

i don’t like th jeffsy… just don’t like it… can’t say why, but it leaves me feeling a bit “bleurgh”…

my head (and wallet) is saying the Cube, but am i missing out on something totally amazing…?

The 140 is probably the best looking (arguably the best bike) bike in Cubes range. The suspension rocker looks odd on the 160. If you are tall or orangutan armed they are not the best though!

i’m a traditionally proportioned 6ft tall…. is that too tall?

i think i’ll be doing a(nother) geometry spreadsheet this evening… instead of, you know, sleeping

I’ve ridden both the Canyon Spectra CF8.0 and the Cube Stereo 140 HPC TM, and the Cube wins for me. See my (lengthy) review here: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cube-stereo-140-hpc-27-5-2018-the-test-ride/

[url=https://flic.kr/p/271Sv3E]IMG_20180512_142401[/url] by Paul Sims, on Flickr

I’m 6ft 3in and felt very comfortable on both the L and XL size bikes, I will need to do some proper thinking about whether to go for a L or XL (20″ or 22″ frame) before I buy.

Believe me, I’ve looked and there is NOTHING else out there that has the spec of the Cube for the money.

I’ve not ridden enough of those to make a useful comparison, but what I would say is don’t buy a bike by the numbers. Buy whichever one makes your heart sing.

Definitely demo a flaremax if you can. It surprised me with just how light it rode relative to the quoted kg.

i am working out how to justify n+1

cheers paul, will read that right now!!

and roverpig… i’m 99% singing about the cube, just want to have one last check that i’m not going to regret it… i’m about to blow a lot of my hard earned on this thing, so, you know…. 😉

Nah you’ll be fine. The seat tubes on the 140’s are a bit shorter (not as short as the outgoing model) than most other brands, mated to a lowish BB as well, which makes them handle nicely IMO. You can often size up without issue!

Seriously demo the Flare – Cotic are great re backup and service. The bike rides so well and 120mm rear will be enough unless you are a serious enduro buff – In which case Rocket! You can book a demo on the website

I have the older 140 stereo and love it. Had my doubts about the pressfit bb but after 2 years it’s still fine, where as my threaded xt bb on my hard tail needed replacing after 12 months so don’t let it put you off.

Personally I think that (within fairly large limits) weight is pretty much irrelevant and I’ve been setting PRs on pretty much every climb since getting the FlareMax. But if the Cube is the one that speaks to you then that is the one you should get.

oh and it has a PF BB, this makes me sad

haha.

Was my thinking as well. Love the Hollowtech II Saint threaded BB and was hoping that all my bikes will have this BB – after upgrading….

And then I assembled an all mountain bike with 2.6 inch rubber and BB 92 press fit (Plus bike).

Picked XTR SM-BB94-41A. Easy installation and no issues with it! That’s the bike which I use most right now.

Means: PF BBs don’t make me sad anymore.

i’ve boiled it down to 1 of the following

Thats what you think now.😆

So what is it that is making the OP ;( over pressfit 30 BBs???

So what is it that is making the OP ;( over pressfit 30 BBs???

They can be a pain when they start creaking. If you have a good one, you may never have a problem with it, but if you have a creaking one, it can take years off your life! People also think they are harder to swap BBs compared to BSA threaded BBs – in fact, they are no harder if you have the right tools.

Personally, PF30 doesn’t bother me, even though my own MTB still has a conventional threaded BB (thanks SC for being old-school!). Now BB30 (which my road bike has) is a completely different story – that’s an abomination!

Ive had PF BBs on my cx and road bike and the one on the cx has been an utter pain… the the road bike has been fault free (touch wood)

I’ve been watching a lot, like A LOT, of videos around the Cotic Flare Max and the 2018 Rocket… good god I can’t decide what to do… I think a demo of both needs under taking…

A cotic demo has been arranged 😎

I’d say the Jeffsy, but you don’t like it.  A mate of mine had no end of trouble with the bolts on the rear suspension linkage and went through 1 or 2 relatively expensive replacement sets before something else went wrong.  He fixed the bike up and sold it on, he was sick of waiting for it to be sorted.

This was a couple of years ago, and maybe things have been sorted since, but I’d not get a Cube because of his experience.

The Spectral is a nice bike, but it’s 27.5 (I think) and I’d want a 29er (I have a 29er Jeffsy).  120mm on a 29er will feel like more travel than 120mm on a 27.5, so I wouldn’t worry too much and I have to say they’re a nice bike too…

The problem with the Cotic geometry is that it may be a bit different to what you are used to. I found my FlareMax felt a bit strange for the first couple of rides. Now I think it’s amazing and can’t imagine going back. But would I have bought it off the back of the first ride? I don’t know.

Hear what your saying roverpig, I need to try it though….

You do indeed 🙂

Rode the flaremax at the Malverns and in 29″ guise even the 120mm felt like too much bike for me. Hopefully get a chance to demo the new flare 27.5 soon as the fleet are heading south west in july. The flaremax felt comparable to burlier bikes like the nukeproof mega 27.5.

What terrain will you be riding? I saw a canyon al 7.0 last night and i was impressed and the 8.0 is still on my list but h<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>aving demoed a range of bikes last week im leaning towards a more xc focussed ride like the scott spark.</span>

I ride in the peaks, a lot, this time of year… during wetter months I head to any of the northern trail centres… Gisburn, Lee Quarry, Dalby, whinlatter etc…

Cube is seriously short reach compared to bikes I like. Nice looking bike and great spec, but I’d be looking elsewhere personally. But if it’s what your heart is saying then you’re the one who has to take it out of the shed and ride it several times a week, go for what you want!

What do you need more than 120mm travel for? If it is just because it is a bigger number then put the 120mm bike bag in as a contender…

Cube makes some really nice bikes.

Was looking at the Cube Stereo  today. Lovely looking bike. Looks well made. Was about to buy Whyte T130 S. Till saw the Cube. Make my mind up tonight. Looked around at all the usual suspects. After full sus no more than 130mm travel 27.5 wheel. Durable and simple to look after.

After full sus no more than 130mm travel 27.5 wheel. Durable and simple to look after.

allow me to throw the Bird Aeris 120 into the mix then 🙂

I was in a similar quandary about whether 115 mm rear travel was enough on a transition smuggler (29er). Bought it anyway. It definitely is enough! I’ve  set loads of tech/rocky dh PBs on that bike where previously I was on 140mm 26″. It is very much more composed.

For the price of that spectral I’d order the 5010 on eBay form the Spanish SC dealer and have 2grand to kit it out 130mm travel and fast uphill and down

<div class=”bbp-reply-author”>whatyadoinsucka
<div class=”bbp-author-role”>
<div class=””>Member</div>
</div>
</div>

<div class=”bbp-reply-content”>

For the price of that spectral I’d order the 5010 on eBay form the Spanish SC dealer and have 2grand to kit it out 130mm travel and fast uphill and down

well… talk of this here 5010 made me look at pinkbike for 5010s… Stif had an XT build, fully warrantied, fox 36 5010cc in red (this part matters}) for £3k….. so i now have a new (to me) Santa Cruz 5010 cc, all warrantied in my name… the joy… the utter joy.. didn’t think i’d get one of those for that money

/thread