bad review

davidjmilli

Member
Nov 20, 2020
27
22
Dudley
The review for the previous years was exactly the same
Depends on the reviewers affinity I guess, probably likes his Spesh’. Lol.
Can’t find fault with mine (2020 SLT) it’s true their are better more highly developed frames, yet also a lot worse and for the price paid the spec is amazing, yes the reach is a little short and I agree it does get a little light when climbing. (But that’s to be expected being long travel slack). For me there are compromises with all bikes as they come from the supplier there is no one size fits all.
LBS purchase with an instant stem, new saddle and grips and a bit of adjustment and all that reviewers points were addressed. (For me!). And saved me going back saying it hurt my back.

I’m 2k in on my Cube and whilst have made a few changes nothing that really changes from the initial ride of the bike. ZEB’s and MegNeg just give it a bit more ability over the Lyrik and they fit them to the 2021 anyway now.

Things that should have been picked up in. The article should have been things like bearings and headset 7k bike with a 20£ headset. I’m not understanding that. Can spec a 1000£ fork but still attach it with cheese?????

Regards that publication along with its sister magazine Enduro I think due to the range of styles of riders they have in their review team their personal opinions get in the way of their professional views. They should start with telling you about their ride preference as this looks to heavily influence their review. Give us a heads up as to if their review is relevant for us. Unfortunately not all are as fair as Rob. Loves a Spesh’ totally fair to everything else, who would have thought A bike from decathlon would have been so honestly reviewed.
 

Frankieboy

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2019
293
225
Basingstoke
I'm extreme impressed with it
That’s all that matters!.
I also have a Cube 160 and love it, but my skill set will probably be beginner compared with those doing the review. Perhaps if I was a more experienced rider I’d lean towards agreeing with them.
Horses for courses I guess.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,524
5,004
Weymouth
The review critique is fair enough I reckon. Cube did miss a few key design features with the 160, probably most specific being the slack seat angle when matched with a 170mm travel front end etc but that does not mean it is not a good value and very relevant bike for a lot of riders. The front to rear balance for climbing is fairly easy to fix with cockpit adjustments and some people ( me included) actually prefer a shorter reach bike. If you bought the 160 as pure gravity bomber you may well be a little disappointed but for the mix of riding that the vast majority of riders do it is a good bike. At the end of the day if you enjoy the bike and like its performance it does not matter a jot what a review says about it!!
I have a Levo Comp ( 2019). In stock format it is far from being as good as it can be although in this case the frame is let down by the suspension so easy ( but expensive!) to fix.
I also have a Whyte 180RS which needs no changes at all................provided you are only interested in severe gravity riding!! Forunately that is what I bought it for!
 

dobbyhasfriends

🌹Old Bloke 🎸
Subscriber
Sep 19, 2019
3,254
4,642
Llandovery, Wales
i'm really confused, i saw this review: CUBE Stereo Hybrid 160 C:62 SLT 625 27.5 Kiox in review – Small wheels for a nimble character? | E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine
and they bash on ride performance of the 160, although I'm extreme impressed with it. i have made a hugh step in my riding thanks to the cube stereo 160.
anyone else with feedback?
does it matter what they think of it if you are enjoying it? I would say not.
having said that, I ride with a few mates that have cubes, the 160 among them and they are loving them as well.. I had a crack on the 160 and to me it was a very solid bike, really stiff and much much easier to throw around than my bike - maybe just the wheel size but anyway, be happy with your machine!
 

Jeffw

Member
Mar 2, 2019
114
75
North West
Well, for what its worth, i had the Spesh Kenevo. Very nice bike but after 400 miles and 8 warranty returns, i gave up. Replaced by the Levo Export - lovely spec and great to ride - when i could get the TCU to power on. 300 miles on and 6 warranty returns and between then over 1000 miles travel back and forth to return to the LBS and enough was enough. Fine having the 4 year warranty, but travel many miles to a trail centre and no power...

And so to 3rd time lucky - this time with the Cube 160 HPL SL. Just over 1000 miles now and no any issues at all with the bike. Yes, the forks and the shock aren't what i had on the Spesh, but the bike works and i can trust it. I prefer the 27.5 wheels over the 29 inch and the reach is short, but then i'm 5ft 8" so fits me just fine. And the price difference over the Spesh is a no-brainer. All about choice, but i would certainly recommend Cube to anyone who asks

If i were to upgrade again, likely would be the TeamAction - yes, MBR gave it a 7/10. Justified? Perhaps. Sourcing such a bike - now thats another thing!

The Whyte looks good, but no local dealers that i know of
 

J200George

Member
Jun 14, 2020
77
29
Glasgow United Kingdom
You surely don’t get as big a bang for your buck from any other ebike? I pondered so many other options including splashing £7k on a spesh but weighing my own personal availability to get out on trails and into the hills I reckoned that the cube reaction pro was more than enough. If I could have got a hold of a full sus I’d probably have held off but a great deal came up on a nearly new bike and I’m happy with my choice. I just think we have to get out and ride them and enjoy. No matter what you buy in life someone always has a negative opinion and holds some other view.

Tell you what though a quick look round the specialized forum tells you that they are fraught with issues. No product is perfect though so it’s buyer beware etc and you pays your money and takes your choice. For now I’m delighted with the cube.
 

nasamorpheus

Member
Jul 17, 2020
186
95
Ljubljana
Well let's see EMTB review of cube stereo hybrid 140 2020 HPC model.. Best value EMTB of the year
Now look the 2021 review HPC SLT
( same bike, with better equipment but much worse general riding experience, well EMTB thinks so, .. I understand value for money but this model is better then HPC 2020. It has better fork, suspension, drivetrain, dropper, wheels so it should be able to drive much better but that is not the case for EMTB .. so explain that!! From almost "bike of the year" to "fail of the year" .. I prefer not to watch reviews, if you love your bike , enjoy it... I have 140 , 2020 model and would never swap it for let's say Spec, coz I prefer reliability over forks, or prestige name .. for me Spec is the worst bike ever, coz it lets you down when u need it. And people says Spec is best bike on the market and maybe it's true.
 
Last edited:

MtbWalker

Member
Jul 31, 2021
67
22
Wolverhampton
The review critique is fair enough I reckon. Cube did miss a few key design features with the 160, probably most specific being the slack seat angle when matched with a 170mm travel front end etc but that does not mean it is not a good value and very relevant bike for a lot of riders. The front to rear balance for climbing is fairly easy to fix with cockpit adjustments and some people ( me included) actually prefer a shorter reach bike. If you bought the 160 as pure gravity bomber you may well be a little disappointed but for the mix of riding that the vast majority of riders do it is a good bike. At the end of the day if you enjoy the bike and like its performance it does not matter a jot what a review says about it!!
I have a Levo Comp ( 2019). In stock format it is far from being as good as it can be although in this case the frame is let down by the suspension so easy ( but expensive!) to fix.
I also have a Whyte 180RS which needs no changes at all................provided you are only interested in severe gravity riding!! Forunately that is what I bought it for!

just out of interest mate why size is your Whyte 180? Do you find them Big compared to other brands?
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,524
5,004
Weymouth
Im 6 ft and the E180 is a large............fits fine. I also ride a Levo Comp in large. The Whyte has a longer reach than the Levo but otherwise feels similar in size to the Levo
 

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