Cube carbon frame issues

[Duggan]

Thankfully I don’t own one, but in my group of riding friends there’s at least 4 2020 / 2021 carbon Cubes 140 and 160 bikes with cracks appearing around the lower shock mount ? infact one of them had them has had the headstock almost rip clean off.
My question is how common are these issues? and if experienced did cube or the dealers mange to resolve things?

 

[mak]

My 140 is 1800 miles in and is fine, its a bit drastic to say thankfully I don't own one. Be interesting to see if anyone else replies with a problem but that's a hell of a statistic that 4 of your friends have cubes let alone all with cracked frames

 

[Duggan]

My 140 is 1800 miles in and is fine, its a bit drastic to say thankfully I don't own one. Be interesting to see if anyone else replies with a problem but that's a hell of a statistic that 4 of your friends have cubes let alone all with cracked frames

Hey Mak
Yes it’s a little concerning that they’ve had so many start to crack ??‍ none of them have ridden the bikes hard, they’ve just been used as general weekend trail bikes.
Would be interesting to see if there’s many more or if there’s been just a few bad batches and how if any warranty issues have been dealt with? Glad to hear yours is fine ??

 

[Spanner Monkey]

Most of the pictures I have seen so far wouldn't cause me any concern at all, its mostly people noticing minor cosmetic manufacturing defects, if mine developed a crack around the shock mount Id just keep riding it personally the frame is under warranty so it would not concern me in the slightest.
I have worked with carbon composites in the aviation industry and I can definitely recognise a fault that's worth taking notice of, none of the pictures I've seen on here are genuine cracks, If you look inside a frame you'll see all sorts oddness and ugly sharp edges sticking up.
Its all totally normal and not a cause for concern.
As far as I can tell no one has had a cube frame actually fail in the shock mount area.

 

[MitchF]

No cracks here, 2020, 900mls and ridden hard.

 

[KeithO]

No cracks here, 2020, no way near 900 miles and ridden hard(ish).

?

 

[steve_sordy]

In the analogue world, CUBE went through a very bad patch with frames cracking. It was almost a meme, a bit like "never let Halfords build or service your bike". But they responded well and quite quickly the only reports you could find were old ones.

When a bunch of mates all appear to get similar cracks, at first sight it looks like a massive problem when it is from such a small sample. But it is quite probable that all the bikes were from the same batch. Of course as @Spanner Monkey has suggested, the cracks could be just in the paint and not the frame itself. That is itself a problem, nobody likes to see a dodgy paint finish, but certainly not as serious. Well worth reporting back to the dealer though because it implies a quality control issue in the painting process.

 

[Jasext]

4 of us have cubes and we are all above average weight 16-20 stone, the bikes are used on some really rough terrain and have over 1000 miles on them. no issues what so ever.

 

[Duggan]

Does sound like there’s just been a few bad batches, hopefully any issues have been sorted.

 

[davidjmilli]

Mines a 2020 160SLT only just over 200 miles in and just going in for a 6 week check. I’ve not seen anything of concern on the frame and I’ve been less than kind so any issues get picked up early. Being raw carbon the frame does show a lot of the manufacturing marks and. I like yourself have seen these treads about lower shock mount where the resin is a little more raw. Leisure Lakes say any issues would be covered under warranty so I’m like others here, not overly concerned.

 

[R120]

It wouldn't surprise me if there are cosmetic issues, as Cube will be using the cheapest possible layup and manufacturing on their carbon frames to get them out at the price they do, and cant imagine them spending much on the paint finish either - also my LBS always moans about how Cubes are the worst bikes to assemble due to how they are slung together out the factory, and need more work and checking than other brands for them to PDQ, but then again what mechanic doesn't love a moan!

 

[nasamorpheus]

No issues at all, very strong frame.

 

[Spanner Monkey]

Mines just approaching 1000 miles ridden hard and jumped/crashed regularly, mostly off road no problems to report, solid bike.

 

[Jasext]

It wouldn't surprise me if there are cosmetic issues, as Cube will be using the cheapest possible layup and manufacturing on their carbon frames to get them out at the price they do, and cant imagine them spending much on the paint finish either - also my LBS always moans about how Cubes are the worst bikes to assemble due to how they are slung together out the factory, and need more work and checking than other brands for them to PDQ, but then again what mechanic doesn't love a moan!

Not sure what your LBS is like if that's what they think, i know 2 very well known bike mechanics that would say that with other manufactures other than Cube, In fact Cube have a high regard with quite a few LBS and mechanics i know

 

[R120]

I am not saying they are bad bikes, just that they are built to a price. My reference was that they require a bit more work at the bike shop before they hit the shop floor than some other brands.

I have two cubes myself.

 

[roccobarocco]

1200km now, knock on wood, no issues so far. Great bike, just sold my 2020 Levo and I don't miss it at all!

Cheers

 

[Spanner Monkey]

Thankfully I don’t own one, but in my group of riding friends there’s at least 4 2020 / 2021 carbon Cubes 140 and 160 bikes with cracks appearing around the lower shock mount ? infact one of them had them has had the headstock almost rip clean off.
My question is how common are these issues? and if experienced did cube or the dealers mange to resolve things?

Can you post some pictures of your friends bikes so we can see the issues you're talking about, Im especially interested to see the pictures of the "almost ripped off headstock" are they all looking at warranty frame repair/ replacement?

 

[Duggan]

This bike was just 12 days old, 10 weeks later and it’s still broken, so much for cube warranty.....

 

[KeithR]

This bike was just 12 days old, 10 weeks later and it’s still broken, so much for cube warranty..... View attachment 45419

But that's got to be crash damage, hasn't it?

 

[roccobarocco]

This is serious destruction ?

 

[Duggan]

But that's got to be crash damage, hasn't it?

Nope, that’s from landing both wheels on a small drop less than waist hight, an no the rider wasn’t 30 stone ?

 

[Spanner Monkey]

Wow thats the first picture ive seen of a total failure of the frame, that must have been defective at manufacture to have failed so spectacularly.
I hope Cube gets this all sorted under warranty, Id be furious if that was my bike.
thanks for sharing the photos and keep us posted on the outcome with Cube.

 

[Akiwi]

I just checked mine. 2020 TM 160. over 3000 km (nearly 1900 miles) mostly trails & Transalp with heavy backpack. Looks clean as a whistle to me.
That headset photo looks nasty!

 

[ggx]

How are dealing the warranty claim? Local shop, other?

 

[Duggan]

How are dealing the warranty claim? Local shop, other?

It’s a friends bike, it was taken back to the shop it was bought from, as far as I know it’s still there and still broken. Sounds like Cube has been extremely unhelpful. People buy bikes from local dealers for the support and back up they can provide, unfortunately major warranty decisions still come down to the manufacturer and in this case it’s been appalling.

 

[roccobarocco]

Interesting, here even small issues with the frame are solved quite quickly by Cube. Maybe the dealer is a bit slow in dealing with the RMA?

 

[KeithR]

Nope, that’s from landing both wheels on a small drop less than waist height, an no the rider wasn’t 30 stone ?

Crikey, that's not what you want to see...

 

[Ski-nut]

Looking at the first image, toward the bottom left of the headstock just above the lower cup, it may be possible to measure the thickness of the carbon fibre. (at a point where the carbon fibre hasn't delaminated)
Although hard to tell from the photo it looks thin.

If I owned the bike and was in a dispute over the repair, I would then ask Cube what the thickness of the carbon should be at this point on the headstock, next step would be a report from an independent bike mechanic into the failure.
It would be terrible for the reputation of Cube bikes and poor PR if they didn't warranty replace the frame if it was independently inspected and deemed to be a manufacturing flaw.

These bikes are sold to withstand the rigors of riding off road, if this happened landing off a small jump and the rider did not exceed the specified weight limit of the bike then the LBS/ Cube could be challenged to have sold a product 'not fit for purpose'.

I hope they get sorted. My 160TM has had a hard life in its first 9 months and I have no complaints, love the bike. After reading this thread it made me check the frame over. No problems with mine but it is something I will check over now.

 

[Giela]

I just bought a 2021 Cube Stereo Hybrid 160 SL and today, when cleaning the bike, a paint/carbon crack came into light. Don't know if it is only the paint or the carbon frame.

I only used the bike five times at local trails. And as you know, the Netherlands are flat. No jumps or whatever. I find this a real bad thing for Cube. Need to figure it out with some local expert...

 

[Mikerb]

Carbon flexes in use and anything laid on top that lacks flexibility will tend to develop hairline cracks. It looks like there is a fair bit of filler in that area, used to create a better cosmetic finish. I doubt it is anything more than filler/paint finish hairline crack.