CUBE Stereo SHPC 140 29″er Final Review: by c_g
Editor´s note: Due to technical issues the two posts dealing with our testing of the CUBE Stereo have bee lost during the temporary site crash late this summer. In order not to leave you wondering about this bike brand new long travel 29er c_g has compiled his findings once again and posts them here in this article – for the full 2-piece review (in German), go here.
OK, I´ll give you the good and the bad news right away.
• GOOD – the CUBE Stereo SHPC 140 to me is one of the closest to being a perfect All-Mountain/Trail 29″er I have ridden!! Yes it is!
• BAD – CUBE is not yet present on the US market (OK, but it is present pretty much everywhere else, so this bad only for the US folks 
.
If you have followed the introduction to 29″er news by CUBE earlier this summer, you may remember how the Stereo SHPC currently is the lightest and likely one of the most advanced long travel 29″er sussers around. Just like SCOTT there will be a 27.5“ and 29“ version only, eliminating a 26″er altogether.
For full details on the Stereo SHPC 140 with its special construction and suspension layup (that completely departs from this year´s Cube Stereo design) see the post here.
But now to where it really matters – how does it ride?
• Despite its super-light frame, our sample cam out more than adequately stiff and precise. Neither power transfer, nor steering did show any deficits whatsoever.
• The suspension performance has been simply great for my taste and riding style. It´s 140 mm front and rear feel more direct than the seemingly endless travel of the SANTA CRUZ Tallboy LTC (quick review here), but still has a plenty linear stroke to tackle any size bump with great confidence. I really enjoyed it both on my woody home trails as on the boulder strewn alpine trails I took it this summer.
• The shock settings have been well chosen with the CTD Trail Tune Factory series shock – „Trail tune“ stands for 3 additional platform settings in Trail-mode. When in Decend mode the rear end is maximum plush which is great for bombing down the trail but form y frequent ups and down at home I usually ran the shock in the lightest possible platform setting. This compromise took away only minimally from the downhill performance, but added greatly in riding efficiency. On the epic alpine trips I opted for a higher platform setting more often on the ascends, simply to keep the rear dive to a minimum. I tried the super stable Climb mode occasionally but didn’t find it to help in anything but XC-style out of the saddle efforts (which on long climbs I rarely do.)
• Interestingly I felt the rear suspension on Open „Descend“ mode surpassing the F34 up front in plushness and capabilities, which to me says a lot.
• One of the biggest surprises to me had been what climbing qualities the CUBE Stereo showed. I really put it to the test when climbing some well known technical downhills and usually my aerobic capacity would reach the limit much sooner than the Stereo would. Awesome for a 140 mm 29″er!!
• Looking at the geo numbers, the Stereo looks rather shortish (especially the larger sizes) and I can only speak for the size 18“, but that rode perfectly nice, no issues with efficiency even on extended rides.
• If everything above said had caused me to call it near perfect, it was the perfectly universal and balanced handling, that set the CUBE Stereo SHPC apart from any other LT29″er I had ridden so far. Playfulness … check! Confidence … check! XC- capabilities … check! All-Mountain worthiness …. double check!
• Though being a mix of the SLT and the SL version I found my testing sample to be almost perfect in its component spec – the RS Reverb Sealth post, SCHWALBE Hans Dampf 2.35 (TrailStar front, PaceStar rear) and FORMULA R1 brakes made it ride super securely under all circumstances and the SRAM XX drive train with RACE FACE Next SL dual cranks (24/38t) lowered the weight to a respectable 12.2 kg (about 27 lbs) – which is light for such a bike but not so light it would lead me astray in some light bike euphoria.
To double check my lack of criticism with the CUBE Stereo SHPC 140 – I put it under a few other riders (one being a former BMX pro and 29″er hater, the other a single speed only rider which thinks suspension is for sissies only) and each one came back deeply impressed.
SUMMARY: The CUBE Stereo SHPC has seen lots of different trails this summer, and it has won me over completely. I could find absolutely no fault in its geometry (it rides a lot better than the shortish numbers suggest), in its handling, stiffness and overall ride qualities. Somehow the Stereo has no preference in riding style either.
With such good qualities, the frame´s record weight is merely icing on the cake – it would be one of my favorite AM-29″er even I fit came with a (heavier) alloy frame … which may well be a good idea for a mid season model, because as it is, even the most affordable „Race“ version is not really a budget bike (though a great value still)
RIDE ON,
c_g
Seems to be a great bike, but still cannot understand why Cube made the XL- sized bike TT so short (607 mm) ? Obviously a XL sized 29er should have at least a 630 mm TT.
Maybe Cube decided that the new Stereo 140 is for people under 185 cm which seems strange since quite often 29ers are marketed for tall people in mind. =(
I wish these were available in the US. Any idea if that’s coming? Huge market over here for 29ers… Are there any UK online dealers that are willing to sell/ship to the US?
Thanks and GREAT Review.
Can’t wait for the next dream bike to be reviewed. Intense Spider 29 Comp comes out this month and sure seems sexy. Wonder if it’s basically a Tallboy LT with slacker geo that is like the SB95, but without the linear suspension that this Cube and the SB95 have.
@Jaakko: I asked the same thing to CUBE and they said CUBE designers have not done a revolutionary approach when designing the geometry, but used what has worked really well in the current Stereo (26″) model. I have only ridden one size but even that was considerably shorter (by numbers) than I usually ride, but somehow it felt perfectly fine to me. Indeed this may be more pronounced with the larger frames as they seem to grow less in length but in size.
@Joe: Thanks, good luck.
@C_g: Yes, I think the CUBE designers may have had a smaller cockpit in mind when thinking about the measurements of the frame. Seems to me most of the new FS 29er frames are going in an opposite direction: a long TT with a short stem.
I previously had a 26″ FS bike which had a 619mm TT and even with a 100mm stem the cockpit felt a bit cramped. =) So with the CUBE’s 607 mm TT a 190+ cm rider would probably need at least a 110mm stem and a setback seatpost.
@Joe
The Cube bike uses the four bar linkage, patented in USA (owned by Specialized), but free in the rest of the world. Anyway,from what I heard the patent end this year or next so maybe then you’ll be able to get it. There are a number of german brands sharing the same philosophy; low invention, high execution – usually based on the four bar technique – that might be available at that time…
After long, long awaiting and few surprises on the way. I finally managed to find one in Europe now. It took me a lot of effort to get this one so quick. But luckily everything worked out at the end! Wow!
Peace
Is there any compromising between the light Wright and build og these frame? I am very dager to get try these, but I am very sceptic to a light Wright build bike? Ut is not helping that I am weighing 250 (115 kg).
@ Rumblefish: In their FAQs CUBE states a max system weight (rider + bike+ clothing/equipment) of 115 kg, so it sounds like you were out of bounce
.
Additionally CUBE claims this limit is rarely dictated by the frame, but due to limits on the components (wheels, bars, seat posts, …) and so thy advice if you surpass the weight, to contact CUBE and find out what modifications are possible to make the bike eligible for the rider´s weight.
No specifics on the Stereo SHPC 140 – theses data are applying generally to all CUBE Mountainbikes.
For those of you comparing top tube length, note the Stereo has a steep angle seat tube (74.5), which removes probably about 2-3 cm from top tube length if you compare it to a 73deg seat angle bike, assuming you try to put your seat where you normally put it fore/aft with respect to bottom bracket.
But of course if you center the seat over the seat tube on the Stereo and your reference 73 seat angle bike, you will have a shorter top tube on the Stereo.
To the tune of trying to purchase one within the US, I just looked on Amazon and it looks like you MIGHT be able to order CUBE and other International type bike orders from there.
Look up the Bikester storefront. I can’t vouch for the ability to do so, but it definitely looks like you may be able to. Apparently they have a deal for $24.99 shipping to the US. I’ll avoid posting links as it may be deemed disrespectful to TNI