XC race bike help, Canyon, cube or Cannondale

Hi guys,

after a few opinions!

I’m looking at buying a new race bike for xc and think I have narrowed my search down to either a Canyon Grand canyon CF SL 7.9SE, Cube Elite Super HPC pro 29 or a Cannondale F29 Carbon.

Can anyone offer me any opinions on ride characteristics and quality of these bikes? I am swaying towards the Cannondale but the 71 degree head angle and QR rear wheel puts me off a little.

Any useful advice or guidance would be great!

thanks,
Pete

trialsguru – Member

I’m looking at buying a new race bike for xcOk sure

I am swaying towards the Cannondale but the 71 degree head angle and QR rear wheel puts me off a little.

Whaaaaat???

You won’t be disappointed with the Cannondale, it’s more than capable enough even with a QR rear and a 71 head angle. The lefty is super smooth.

Had my first Cannondale this year, it is bloody awesome. Qr rear is fine. Lefty is better than the fox i had last year. Team bikes will be up for sale soon as well (f29 team)…

trialsguru – Member
I’m looking at buying a new race bike for xc

Ok sure
I am swaying towards the Cannondale but the 71 degree head angle and QR rear wheel puts me off a little.
Whaaaaat???

Most new 29er race orientated bikes seem to have a 142mm rear bolth through axle and a 70-69.5 degree head angle.

Having not ridden a 29er previously, I wondered whether there would be noticeable flex with rear QR and whether a 71 degree head angle would be too twitchy?

not the case then?

There is more to frame geometry than the angles, remember the cannondale is running a lefty so different trail and rake figures from the generic bolted in rock shox unit. The top tupe length also comes into play, so depending on stem and bar width that also alters turning characteristics, not to mention overall wheelbase. It’s very difficult to judge a bike from a geometry sheet.

As for quick release rear, wouldn’t be concerned my anthem has got a qr rear hasn’t been an issue, depending on how you are transporting your bike the rear will have to come out as removing the front involves removing the brake caliper.

Check the TT length on the Canyon against bikes you have ridden. The one I tried briefly felt a touch too short for my liking – it would need a lengthy stem for me, but the guy whose bike it is seems happy.

ah bums, i have to take both wheels off of any bike to get it in my car.

could mean the brake mounts get tatty on the lefty very quickly!

any views on the Cube and the Canyon?

thanks,

For a race bike at around that price I’d be very tempted by a Black Sin.

you not thought of the KTM Aera 29, bloody nice piece of kit and priced rather well!

The front caliper on the new lefty is a piece of cake to remove. I can take the caliper and wheel off and then refit it in under a minute. The caliper has a new positive alignment system.

radon looks very nice although no 18″ available!

I think I need to find at F29 to try.

Any opinions on the cube?

radon looks very nice although no 18″ available!

Must be a new model coming though? I agree they’re stonking value.

I have the 2013 Cube Elite HPC, just had a frame replacement as the carbon dropouts disintegrated on the old one, but that was quick release. New frame is bolt-through so that shouldn’t happen. Took 3 months for Cube to sort it… Had its maiden run today. Felt good. Took 3 minutes off my previous best round the Raven in Brechfa so can’t complain! (Well I can, didn’t get the KOM!)
Mine is (well, was) full XTR. 30 gears are too many IMO. Very shiny though.
Nicest bike I’ve ever had, but then the next nicest was an On One Whippet with Deore, so make of that what you will! The Cube is fast, climbs well, descends well. I don’t find the big wheels cumbersome at all, they roll noticeably more smoothly on rougher stuff. I have previously ridden large frames, the Cube is a medium and fits well. The longer Whippet does climb better though.
Not massive clearance between wheel and seat tube. Crap goes straight into where the front shifter cable emerges from the frame (if you have a front shifter). We’ve bodged a rubber boot to keep some of it out. The internal cabling is neat but a bit of a pain when changing cables. The cable routing isn’t ideal, cables and outers need changing regularly. The DT hubs don’t have much protection against muddy water either. That said, I do an awful lot of miles in crappy conditions it being Wales.
Word is Nick Craig isn’t impressed with Cube’s carbon. Something about polishing a turd I seem to recall!!
Can’t think of anything else to say. I do love it but it ain’t perfect.

Fantastic help, thanks guys.

Does anyone have a Radon black sin that they can comment on? Think my choice is now down to this and the cannondale, although the wheel removal from the lefty is a bike downside.

Think of it this way.If you are serious about racing then the bike is about 2% and your fitness is 98% of your final performance.Unless you happen to be totes amazeballs, any half decent bike is unlikely to hold you back too much (off to race a national now a bright pink £250 Px).

Don’t think the removing of the brake caliper as a downside. If you get a front tyre puncture in a race, fixing it is much less faff than having to take the wheel out etc. on a conventional fork set up.

Fixing a puncture isn’t an issue, it’s getting the bike in my car for travel, I have to take both wheels off any bike so would have to remove the caliper twice per ride every time I go somewhere.

And I completely understand it’s not the bike but the rider, just at such a big expense I don’t really want to make a poor decision and regret my choice 🙂

The F29 is a great bike for racing and general fast xc stuff. I am selling mine though if interested!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-cannondale-f29-carbon-3-large-upgraded-9

It’s nicely upgraded with posh wheels etc and weighs under 21lb without pedals!

You were saying you had misgivings about a bike with a QR rear when in all honesty the difficulty in removing the caliper is similar to removing a thru axle. A good friend of mine has a Lefty and it literally takes a few seconds (and his is a much older version, the new ones being apparently even easier). All I am saying is don’t write off your choices purely on this issue. At the end of the day a test ride is the only real way to find your ideal bike.

I gotta ask, what’s wrong with a QR rear wheel?

Out of interest – my Cannondale F29 medium goes in the back of ford focus (mk3) with both wheels still on. I was a little surprised…but grateful of this, as it saves wee bit of fiddling..but in honesty removing the front wheel is quick and easy.

Love my F29 by the way, it’s exceptionally fast (climbing speed is closer to my road bike than my old 26er hard tail!) – it has that bit of comfort twang in the saddle when combined with the save seat post to make a short travel full suss almost redundant. Handling is spot on, Lefty is so precise in steering, light and with longer servicing intervals than common. The front end setup is so stiff that the only negatives I encounter is some hand fatigue on rocky trails (poss down to the stiff carbon rims).

Oh, and QR rear is a total non-issue. Its plenty stiff enough..especially with an RWS skewer.