Sizing consistency across Cube hybrid models

[opaz]

Hi, I'm thinking about buying a Cube Kathmandu Hybrid Pro 625 but I'm not sure if I need a medium (54cm) frame or a Large (58cm) frame. At 175cm tall, I'm kind of on the cusp. I want a reasonably upright riding posture and I'm guessing that a bigger frame will provide more scope to adjust the seat/handle bars to accommodate that.

I live in the middle of nowhere in rural France. The only place I can try out any kind of Cube hybrid is in Bordeaux, a days travel away, but they only have the medium sized frame in stock of that particular model. So, my question - if I tried a large frame of a different Cube hybrid while I'm there, can I be reasonably confident that would translate to the Hybrid Pro 625?

Thanks

 

[Silverfox Baz]

I’ve just bought a Kathmandu Pro 625. You definitely don’t need a large, that would be far too big for you. Cube frame sizing seems to be bigger than other bikes. In fact, I would suggest you probably need a Small (50cm).

I had the same issue, I’m 178cm with a 76cm inside leg and was advised by a couple of bike shops to get the Medium (54cm). I tried it and it was fine with the seat right down, my leg was straight with heel on the pedal at its lowest and I could just about reach the floor on tip toes while in the seat. However, when off the seat I was sat on the crossbar with my feet flat on the floor (the crossbar should be a couple of cm below your groin) and I didn’t like the fact that there was no further adjustment down.

Why, you might ask? I’m 66 and my wife advised me I’m not going to get any taller, only going to shrink as I get older!! Therefore I went with the small (50cm) with the seat raised about 3-4cm so at least I have seat adjustment up and down. Don’t forget you can also adjust the height of the handlebars on the Kathmandu, I’ve raised mine slightly as I like to be fairly upright. It was definitely the right choice.

 

[opaz]

That's really useful Silverfox, thank you (although now I'm dithering between medium and small)

How do you find the seat btw? I'm 61 and the thought of perching on a narrow wedge for any length of time isn't hugely appealing. That said, I read somewhere - maybe in this forum - that going for a squishy seat is a bad idea.

 

[Silverfox Baz]

I’ve had a large, squishy seat before now and they are OK to start with but soon start to become uncomfortable. My previous bike was a Specialized hybrid and the seat on that is quite narrow but I found it more comfortable than the large seat. The Cube seat isn’t too narrow and is very comfortable. Mind you, I nearly always wear padded shorts under my shorts or trousers and recently I found some men’s padded undies that are better for wearing under shorts or trousers and are comfortable.

With regard to bike size, you really need to go by your inside leg measurement rather than your height as that is what will govern whether you can get the reach for the pedals correct. I don’t understand why bike size guides nearly always use your height, it’s like buying a pair of trousers based on your height. Have you looked at the size guide on the Cube website (Geometry) at the bottom of the page. It shows us just on the crossover between Small and Medium but as I said I had the Medium at the lowest possible seat position and when standing astride the crossbar I was pretty much sitting on it.

 

[opaz]

hmmm..

my inside leg is 31" ( 79 cm ) and the sizing guide here mhw-bike.com recommends a 47cm frame, which is a Cube 'small'.

OTOH, I seem to remember from my old biking days that I always wanted to fully extend my legs on the pedals. If I couldn't do that, my knees started to feel a bit 'clicky'. I don't know if there's a medical term for it.. just subtly uncomfortable. I was thinking if I get a women's medium frame (personally I think women's frames still look 'cool') I wouldn't need to worry about putting my feet on the ground. Be interested to know your thoughts on this.

That company (MHW) appears to offer free returns (including return postage) and they collect the bike from you providing you return it within 14 days. I don't know if there's a catch but I can't see one.

 

[Silverfox Baz]

Cube Small frame size is 50cm. 46cm is XS.

I mis-typed in my earlier message, my inside leg is 31 inches (79cm) as well. Be careful with that size chart, it isn’t specific to Cube. You really ought to use a Cube Specific size chart. Here is one that is Cube specific, although it goes by height rather than inside leg (Cube Bikes Size Guide | What size frame do I need?).

Having the leg extended on the pedal at it’s lowest point is how you should have it otherwise the knees and muscles on the upper part of the leg take the strain. There are three frame types: Crossbar (Men’s), Trapeze (the seat end of the crossbar is welded to the seat tube lower down) and Easy Entry (step through). I presume you mean Easy Entry when you say women’s. My wife has a Kathmandu hybrid pro 625 Easy Entry in the Small size. She is 174cm tall and has the saddle raised slightly for her ideal riding position and there is plenty of adjustment in it.

 

[opaz]

Sorry, I meant the trapeze frame, not the step thru.

The Cube sizing guide is very useful, thanks. Based on my 175 cm height, that just about puts me in the medium frame size bracket for Cube trekking bikes.

As I mentioned earlier, the more upright the posture the better for me, so I'm hoping that the medium frame will allow me to raise the saddle less and therefore have more scope to maximise the height ratio with the handle bars (ie they can be relatively higher). This is all supposition of course!

I envy you having a bike riding wife - mine isn't remotely interested, apart from vague disapproval about the cost

 

[Silverfox Baz]

We've just both switched over to eBikes as we live in quite a hilly area (South Wales) and she was starting to find the hills and distances more difficult. I got one because I didn't want to get left behind!

We hired a couple of eBikes (Cube Reactions) while on holiday in Scotland this year and that made up our mind to get them.

We still want to get the exercise so will only switch on the power for big hills which is what we did in Scotland. They will enable us to expand our variety of routes and go further. We also want to try some touring over a few days. They were quite expensive but I think we'll get our money's worth out of them.

Good luck with the new bike and let us know how it goes with the Medium.

 

[opaz]

It sounds idyllic Baz. It's a bit hilly around here but not compared to Wales or Scotland. More rolling hills.

Incredibly, I found a Cube Hybrid One (small) in a nearby town today and gave it a test ride. The guy raised the saddle a little so I could get a good leg stretch to the pedal and then raised the handlebars a bit to compensate. I had about 5 minutes with round a car park. I must say they're lovely to ride. I'm still undecided on the frame size though. I felt I could do with a tad more upright posture. It was hard to discuss it with the bike guy (my wife was doing the translating). Mainly, he just wanted to sell me that particular bike, understandably, but it was hard to get beyond that. At the same time, I do feel for the high street retailers. People like me coming in to try the bikes out for size and then ordering them online to get them a bit cheaper.

 

[Funkeydunk]

It sounds idyllic Baz. It's a bit hilly around here but not compared to Wales or Scotland. More rolling hills.

Incredibly, I found a Cube Hybrid One (small) in a nearby town today and gave it a test ride. The guy raised the saddle a little so I could get a good leg stretch to the pedal and then raised the handlebars a bit to compensate. I had about 5 minutes with round a car park. I must say they're lovely to ride. I'm still undecided on the frame size though. I felt I could do with a tad more upright posture. It was hard to discuss it with the bike guy (my wife was doing the translating). Mainly, he just wanted to sell me that particular bike, understandably, but it was hard to get beyond that. At the same time, I do feel for the high street retailers. People like me coming in to try the bikes out for size and then ordering them online to get them a bit cheaper.

Try these guys they sell the bike you’re after and the6 deliver too.

The Electric Bike Shop | Quality Electric Bikes From The UK's Electric Bike Specialists

Quality electric bikes from leading brands including Benno, Brompton, Corratec, Cube, EBCO, Eovolt, Estarli, FOCUS, GHOST, Haibike, Lapierre, Orbea, Raleigh, Rock Machine and Tern.

www.theelectricbikeshop.co.uk

 

[opaz]

Apart from the opening page (with the annoying rolling pictures), that's a great site. In fact most of the UK sites are better than their French counterparts who rarely get beyond 'brochure ware'. Tbf, the French site Ovelo is an exception.