2019 Cube Stereo Hybrid 160

[Beaker2135]

@cemoz Thanks for the link it’s always good to have. This is the link to the Cube Manuals

How have you routed the dropper cable to avoid a sharp bend around the motor? It doesn’t seem right to force it over the top

 

[Beaker2135]

@MrPeaski no plastic tray on my frame, instead there’s a sticky plastic sheet with a strip down each side without adhesive. It seems to be peal-able so the braided hose should be ok there, looks tight in the upper exit grommets though
Hoping to get on with this over the next couple of days

 

[Beaker2135]

Managed to get a couple of hours on the bike tonight

Dropped the motor and threaded up the swinging arm, I didn’t need the routing kit I treated myself to, I didn’t even need to use a vac and some cotton. Just pushed them through. I took out the lock and swapped the display lead over to the left side and poked all the cables through
Couldn’t do any more without the controls in place so I knocked the old headset cups out and pressed the new ones in. Then I fitted the fork, I think I’ll end up cutting the steerer, it’s still 203mm, but I won’t do that until I’ve ridden it a couple of times
I also got the tyres on the rims and filled with Revo, my sealant of choice. I’m pleased how well that went, I’ve struggled in the past to get the bead to seat without using tubes or a compressor, but today they just blew up and popped on using a track pump

 

[cemoz]

@cemoz Thanks for the link it’s always good to have. This is the link to the Cube Manuals

How have you routed the dropper cable to avoid a sharp bend around the motor? It doesn’t seem right to force it over the top

The dropper cable does needs to go over the motor and run between the two front bolts then to the side of the bottom battery cradle, if you run it on the outside of the mounting plate the bend becomes worse and you won’t be able to get the plastic guard back on. It’s a tight fit when all the electric cables are in.

The cables attach to the frame with plastic holders in those horizontal bolt holes underneath the bottle cage ones in the photo you posted. Also if you’ve removed the battery lock make sure the top cable holders are attached or outside the frame as they are a pain to move once the battery lock is in. There is also a silver part that stops the battery from moving around it fits over the bottle cage bolts it’s just held by gravity it doesn’t attach to them.

 

[Beaker2135]

@cemoz that’s brilliant information thank you so much for taking the trouble
It does look like it’s going to be snug in there for sure
I don’t have the silver part, I’ll see if I can get one. If it’s only a loose fit I should be able to, sounds like it will be easily lost

 

[Beaker2135]

I’ve spoken to Infinity Cycles today about cable management in the down tube. They have never heard of the silver piece that @cemoz mentioned, maybe not fitted in UK? If the e battery rattles I’ll have to fit a piece of high density foam.
The plastic sheet in my earlier photo isn’t available as a replacement part either. If it isn’t serviceable for reuse I’ll have to improvise with Heli or Gaffer Tape
The rear brake and discs, 203 F&R, turned up this evening so I hope to get some time on the build tomorrow and make some progress
Against my usual style I have had to get coloured discs instead of my first choice black ones. Fingers crossed I like them when I get them fitted. Opinions welcome

 

[Beaker2135]

Next door just brought these round. New seals and a lock ring and tool from @Bearing Man Performance Bearings Peter is a great chap and extremely helpful. I’ll definitely be sending the spare motor there for a rebuild later this year

 

[MrPeaski]

As you're not running the original colour orange fork, i think the orange rotor on the front will help to add a bit more of the stock colour scheme back into the mix.

On mine it comes with Shimano XT brakes, but if I was doing a build like yours I'd go Hopes too, but I would stick with the black rotors as there's a bit more orange/blue on the forks/frame so coloured rotors may look a bit off.

I have a non E Cube Stereo 140 C62 SL from 2016 and run that with Hope E4's but with Shimano rotors! ?

 

[Beaker2135]

I think you’re right, if I had found a Shiny Orange fork black would have been the right choice.
It was when I test fitted the wheel into the fork, before it was on the bike, that it looked all black. I thought the orange would work at the front and then in for a penny… so went blue at the rear
Pictures tomorrow will prove one way of the other

 

[MrPeaski]

I have a splash of colour on the stock wheel rims to match the orange/blue.

Your build is coming along nicely.

If you get stuck holding cables in, try Sugru (www.sugru.com)
Its a mouldable silicone based putty that sticks to pretty much anything and will stay there once its cured (around 24 hours).
So you could use it to fix the cables/hoses to the inside of the frame. Smearing a bit of grease on the cable itself, will allow you to still pull the cable out if need be. And if you want it completely off a plastic or wooden tool with a sharp edge will scrape it off without damaging anything

 

[MrPeaski]

I've used the Sugru as extra support for the battery too. This is my battery tray.
A 5g pack makes a ball about 18-20mm wide so I stuck half a ball in 6 spots, wrapped the battery in cling film (to stop it sticking) and refitted it. left it for 24 hours to cure and the Sugru is solid, but still has a little give. No problems getting the battery in or out.
As you can see the sugru gets squashed down adding support, as there was a fair gap to the tray.
The blob in the middle at the bottom is a screw covering grommet for the cable tray that sits under this battery tray.

 

[cemoz]

I got all the mounting hardware from the same place as the frame in Germany so maybe it is different. This is what my cable setup looks like.

I used Sugru on my dropper remote as it didn’t quite fit my thumb originally, it’s good stuff.

 

[Beaker2135]

Top tips folks thank you
I’m aware of Sugru but I’m not sure I’d have thought of that. It certainly makes for a snug fit
So the mystery piece is a Z fold a kind of spring in effect. Thanks for the photo, sometimes the obvious things escape you. I had seen the bosses at the bottom and didn’t know what they were for. I’ll be putting a couple of P clips and on those for sure

 

[Beaker2135]

Well that’s a job I don’t want to repeat in a hurry. Two evenings just to run the outers ? I must have had the motor out 5 or 6 times trying to find the straightest route with enough clearance. Then I had the same issue with the ABUS lock/latch. For some reason I can’t fathom it has a pivot in it, no amount of fine tuning would get the battery to click in. In the end I wedged a packer under it to stop it moving. Instant cure ?
Anyway I have achieved a result I’m happy with

 

[Beaker2135]

In other news I like the discs now they are fitted and the seat post turned up, a used Fox Transfer 31.6 x 150 perfect for my 20” frame even had a Wolf Tooth ReMote LA

 

[cemoz]

I feel your pain took me a couple of go’s to get the motor in, I’m small and it’s heavy to line up all the bolts while the bike is in a stand. I ended up laying the frame on the floor.

That Abus lock is an absolute horror to line up as well, I ended up loosening the mounting bolts put the battery in without the wiring connected and moved the lock around until it was seated properly with the battery then tightened the bolts 3/4 way put the battery cover on to make sure that lined up and then tightened the bolts all the way. I’m with Rob, battery locks suck

Nice setup you’ve got going, really like blue hope discs no one had them in stock in Oz when I did my brakes and I was getting impatient to actually ride my bike. Looks like your not too far away it’s a nice feeling when you finally get to.

 

[Beaker2135]

Not just me then ?
Yes I’m really looking forward to my first ride. We have the kids/grand kids coming for a week tomorrow so I’m not sure how much ME time I’ll get ?
Not much left to do, for the chain, set up the rear mech and index the cassette, fit the dropper inner, bleed the rear brake and fine tune the control positions.
The suspension will take a while to sort, way to many options on a Grip 2?

 

[MrPeaski]

Looking good, you've made a tidy job of the cabling

 

[Beaker2135]

Thank you ?

 

[Beaker2135]

Mission accomplished
Only one hiccup, the motor had to come out again ?‍I couldn’t thread the gear cable inner, it must have been pinched somewhere. There was nothing to see when I pulled it out but I re routed it to between the two T30 fixings and all is good

Big thank you to @cemoz and @MrPeaski for there help and encouragement, I couldn’t have done it with them and the information the forum
I hope you have found it interesting to follow and that it might inspire someone else to have a go

I can’t wait to get out on the trails now

 

[MrPeaski]

Nah, sorry mate looks poo!


Only messing, it looks great.
I never noticed before the little patch of red in between the orange on the top tube.
Same as my 2020 only mine is on the downtube.
The coloured rotors add a little bit of flair, and if you were running flat pedals I'd have suggested orange or blue 'plastic' ones.
Cracking job

 

[cemoz]

Glad I could help Beaker, it looks great. I’m sure you’ll have heaps of fun on it, happy riding.

 

[Beaker2135]

So I’ve managed to find a couple of hours to shake the bike down. I have a 1 mile loop about a mile from home. It’s a nice mix of rutted farm track decent, some level single track and a tarmac climb, depending on which way you ride it

I’m please to report that 6 laps in various directions didn’t show up any glaring problems with the build. I had a few issues getting used to the drive, I suspect that is mainly due to inexperience meaning I’m in the wrong gear or assist mode or both. I was starting to think that the chainring was too small (16T) but as I’ve ridden it more in ECO, I did 8 miles today, it actually seems about right for me.

So what did I learn?

It’s very heavy at a sniff under 25kg, my Five was only 12kg, I’m not going to be lifting it over any gates or stiles

Top speed is lower, the motor cuts out at 16mph and the 16-11 is never going to be the same as 44-11. It’s OK though and probably a good thing

An ebike is going to keep me riding in the places I like for longer, I really was struggling for legs and lungs on the Orange

A modern bike is much better than a 10 year old one. The suspension is way plusher and the grip level is much higher

It’s strange using a dropper post. I’m so used to using the saddle for balance but once you get the idea that you can get lower on the bike with a dropper it’s OK

The battery capacity will be longer than mine

I might have to consider flat pedals

It’s like having your mates hand in the small of your back on that difficult climb

It puts a smile on my face

Did I mention that it’s heavy ?


Next step is to spend some time tuning the suspension. My LBS rent ShockWiz and offer a tuning service, I think I’ll use both. I’ll enjoy playing with the tech and then get someone that knows to give it a once over

 

[MrPeaski]

Good to read that everything seems to be working ok.

Biggest change I made to my riding on the ebike was in tight uphill corners.

On an unassisted (clockwork?, analogue??) bike I needed a good amount of pedal pressure (depending on steepness/radius) to push the bike around the turn.
With the ebike, if you do the same, you'll end up going ether way up the bank, if it has a bit of a berm to it, or into the undergrowth.
So now, I give light pressure on the pedals to make the turn. The higher the assist, the less pressure you need.
Occasionally it gets away from me, but that's due to other factors. Flat pedals may help if you have to 'foot down' quickly

100% agree with the grin factor, once used to a dropper post you won't go back.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

Cover your break levers for the first few rides on the tight uphill corners until you get used to the assistance otherwise you'll be looping out - and most probaby in front of the anaogue bikers you've just passed ?

 

[Beaker2135]

Thanks guys, I’m sure I’ll get used to it, it’s just sometimes I get more assist than I’m expecting. I haven’t ended up in a hedge or a ditch yet. I’ll be be sure to let you know if I do

 

[cemoz]

Yeah the weight takes a bit to get used to mine is half my weight. I had to drop into a bike shop a bit further afield to get a part for my other bike, caught the train there with it and planned to ride half way home catching the train back at the mid way point. Of course the lift was broken at the mid station and there was no way I could lift it up the stairs so ended up being a 52km ride. Thankfully it was a nice day and not overly hot.

Glad you are enjoying it Beaker, you’ll get the hang of it. I’ve ridden a few ebikes but with the bigger tyres on this one have found using flat pedals easier. One stupid thing I’ve done was slam on the front brake too hard going down a technical bit, glad I wasn’t a guy that day?. Don’t even know why I did, rear brake has always been on left and I’m left handed. Raced BMX when I was younger as well, no front brake there. Did find out I’m too light to go over the handlebars though?.

 

[Beaker2135]

Certainly sounds like we are opposite ends of the spectrum as well as the globe ? I’m a 90kg 65yr old guy who be should know better
Sometimes the best days out don’t go according to plan 52k is not too bad ?
I’m sure I’ll have some misadventures on it but hopefully no trips to A&E. perhaps I should buy some armour but I’ve never bothered…
Glad you survived your brain fade moment with just damaged pride

 

[Beaker2135]

So I’ve had chance to play with the ShockWiz the last couple of days. I’ve enjoyed the experience but I’m not that impressed. I started with Fox recommended settings and made a few small changes before I began playing with this, more air in the shock, less air in the fork and more HSR & LSR on the fork. The only changes ShockWiz recommended was less HSC on the fork, it also says there’s too much bob in the shock but I’m riding with the compression open and also HSC should be softer and LSC should be stiffer, however there is only a single adjustment so I’m calling it as near as possible

Time to hit the trails

 

[Doug Stampfer]

I found the shockwiz good but frustrating. I found it changing for each different track - esp frustrating when going to progressively harder tracks. A mate recommended to me to log the recommendations for each track/ circuit of tracks & adjust accordingly & when hitting the jumpy or droppy tracks bump up the HSC.
I found that after a while I found a reasonably good sweet spot with pressure & rebound etc & just worked with that, Until there are super intelligent suspension setups there will always be a compromise.