Stereo Hybrid 140 vs 160 …. Are Cube any good ?

[Motohawk75]

Hi
Looking at getting a new Cube Stereo Hybrid Action Team or SLT …..

Are these bikes actually any good ? I have read a few things regarding quality etc that have me slightly concerned but bang for buck in the sales at the mo i can get a Action Team for £5500 which seems mega value for the spec.
I have been lucky enough over the last two years to own some Santa Cruz bikes and a 2022 Trek Rail 9.8xt so ive been spoilt but this time i dont want to spend a fortune.

Also for a bit of all round uk riding do i go for the 140 / 29’er or 160 / 27.5 ? ?

 

[Cocodrilo]

Yo venga de 3 Specialized y la calidad de construccion se paga. Con Sta Cruz ocurre lo mismo.
No tengas dudas de que lo vas a notar. Mi A.T. 140 en Specialized valdria el doble con sus acabados y calidad.
Tu valoras.

 

[Gilbo]

Hi
Looking at getting a new Cube Stereo Hybrid Action Team or SLT …..

Are these bikes actually any good ? I have read a few things regarding quality etc that have me slightly concerned but bang for buck in the sales at the mo i can get a Action Team for £5500 which seems mega value for the spec.
I have been lucky enough over the last two years to own some Santa Cruz bikes and a 2022 Trek Rail 9.8xt so ive been spoilt but this time i dont want to spend a fortune.

Also for a bit of all round uk riding do i go for the 140 / 29’er or 160 / 27.5 ? ?

I’m on my 3rd cube (140 race,140 SL and now the 140 action team 2022) never had any problems with over 2500 miles on each bike mostly of road. I bought stronger wheels which I swapped on to each bike when I sold old bike.” Bang for buck” is excellent and the dealer network is what sold it for me.

 

[Clean]

I like mine. Faultless so far (800 miles in five months, all rough off road).

 

[Motohawk75]

I like mine. Faultless so far (800 miles in five months, all rough off road).

140 or 160 ? Action Team ?

 

[maynard]

I had a cube acid hardtail eeb . No issues

 

[Gilbo]

140 or 160 ? Action Team ?

 

[Gilbo]

Mine is 140 I prefer 29er.

 

[Gilbo]

Hands on wheels is my wheel guy,brilliant.

 

[Bummers]

2022 160 action team owner here, like you I found you could not get a better spec 'd bike for the money.

No real issues, the battery cover though is pretty poor. It'll generally need adjusting to get it to fit seamlessly against the motor guard.
There's been an issue with the fox shocks making a knocking noise however these have been fixed under warranty. (Silverfish sort them, turnaround is about a week)

All minor stuff though, the bike is awesome and a bargain at that price!
Barely any change on the 2023 models so well worth the saving.

 

[Motohawk75]

2022 160 action team owner here, like you I found you could not get a better spec 'd bike for the money.

No real issues, the battery cover though is pretty poor. It'll generally need adjusting to get it to fit seamlessly against the motor guard.
There's been an issue with the fox shocks making a knocking noise however these have been fixed under warranty. (Silverfish sort them, turnaround is about a week)

All minor stuff though, the bike is awesome and a bargain at that price!
Barely any change on the 2023 models so well worth the saving.

Thanks for the input, genuinely there so well specked for the money and unlike so many brands these days the AT paint job is nice, my only other dilemma is 140 vs 160 …. 38’s v 36’s ….. all my other bikes have been mullet or full 29 but I prefer the travel on the 160 and have loved the fox 38’s on my last bike …. Just don’t wanna get left behind my mates on 29’ers on flatter trails where rolling speed comes more into play

 

[ggx]

Bummers said:​

All minor stuff though, the bike is awesome and a bargain at that price!
Please stop , don´t give them ideas!!!

 

[Bummers]

Thanks for the input, genuinely there so well specked for the money and unlike so many brands these days the AT paint job is nice, my only other dilemma is 140 vs 160 …. 38’s v 36’s ….. all my other bikes have been mullet or full 29 but I prefer the travel on the 160 and have loved the fox 38’s on my last bike …. Just don’t wanna get left behind my mates on 29’ers on flatter trails where rolling speed comes more into play

The 38's are great plus it's an e-bike so you're not going to get left behind! That 750w battery means you can up the assistance and still have the same range as those on 625
I personally prefer to have the better suspension for the gnarly stuff than slightly bigger wheels.

 

[Clean]

140 or 160 ? Action Team ?

140SL upgraded with Fox Factory Shizzle, and Shimano XT Fizzle

 

[deertrackdoctor]

I opted for 29er 140TM and slakened it off by fitting a Zeb ultimate 170 fork with Dual position which stops front lifting on super steep climbs .
Hope E4 Brakes as Magura levers are well plasticy !
Shimano 10 speed LinkGlide drive train and spider convertion chainring .
New cassette ,Chain and chain ring now only cost £80 every time I need a new one .
Which for me has been every 1200km



Battery covers rattles so press it in and wrap Insulating tape problem solved .
0plastic motor cover rubs on chain after a few Hits .
Solved with 3M double sided tape.
Minor build quality issues all sorted with loctite and tourqued up .
So in summary Great value E-Bike with the best motor and battery with a few Plasticy low quality finishing that can be overcome easily .

 

[jonmat]

I've had a Cube and it was a good bike. I would buy another one if it was available and met my specs.

 

[Choppersquad]

I've got the 2022 160tm and love it.
I paid the same as you can now get the AT in the sales for, and the AT looks absolutely mint in those colours.

 

[Toomba]

Currently on a 160TM. As others have said great value got money with good spec. Have ridden both 140 and 160 but the 160 is so much more nimble and quicker steering more suited up here in the Tweed Valley. Few lads up here converted to mullet which makes them even better.

 

[Motohawk75]

Currently on a 160TM. As others have said great value got money with good spec. Have ridden both 140 and 160 but the 160 is so much more nimble and quicker steering more suited up here in the Tweed Valley. Few lads up here converted to mullet which makes them even better.

Thanks ! Im still torn between the 140 vs 160 but 160 definitely seems to be the more popular opinion ….

 

[emtbPhil]

Oooh this is up my street

I bought a hardtail cube during the first covid lockdown - loved it, did about 900 miles with no issues
The screen then died (usb port stopped working and it started turning off on it's own)
Took it to a local bike shop who do cube stuff, they diagnosed dead screen day 1, Cube agreed to send a replacement - it arrived from Germany on day 2 and I collected the bike on day 3 - screen was free and Cube covered all the bike shop costs to swap - really great service)
While the bike was in, I had a bit of a think and saw a 140 HPC SL on ebay local for a good price, and I really wanted a full suspension so bit the bullet and sold the hardtail.

My full-sus is now 2.5 years old and has done about 1600miles - zero faults
I chose the 140 over the 160 as I rode a friends bike and just couldn't get on with 27.5 wheels - very lively, quick to turn etc.. but felt twitchy after riding a 29 for a year. I love the roll-over the 29 wheels give
For most people the bike was more than enough but the bug bit me to get a bit more travel and more plush suspension, so I swapped out the rear shock for a DPX2 factory, and then bought a brand spanking new 150mm fox 36 factory for the front.
It's sooo plush now, rides over anything, I love it to bits.
If they made a 160 with 29's that would be my perfect bike as the factory suspension is absolutely amazing. Or tbh even mullet would be amazing - but I didn't want to buy a 160 and then have to pay out £800 for a new fork to fit a 29 up front.

If you enjoy 27.5's and a more "lively" bike the 160 would be perfect. If you're more of a trail rider I'd honestly suggest the 140 might be enough.

I've friends with haibike's that have had nothing but issues, frame cracking etc... mine has hardly any lacquer left on it, is covered in stone chips, has seen serious abuse and is still on the original frame bearings (something I plan on doing this winter).
For the price the factory bikes have dropped to now I think they are possibly one of the best value emtb's out there at the moment.

 

[Another One]

160 over the 140 all day for me the 38 is dream.

 

[BeBiker]

Happy with my 160SL.

Cube Stereo 160 S 750 2022 Specs Modifications

Well after months of hesitating, I finally bought a full suspension. Most of all I wanted one with a 750Wh Battery. The charts said I am in between M-L, but the first M will be available +-August. I intended to buy a 29" 140, but when seeing this matte desert 160S in stock 5km from my home...

www.emtbforums.com

Also for a bit of all round uk riding do i go for the 140 / 29’er or 160 / 27.5 ? ?

I would buy the 160 again, even when the 140 was my initial preference.
Maybe when doing much more trail and less downhill, I would go for the 140.

But even for lazy fat lazy drivers 160 can be better, you never bottom out even with comfortable 35% sag.

 

[Stefaan]

Nothing good to say about cube expect for the spec. Frame build quality is not great. Paint is very very poor had the bike for 3 months and it was full of chips in the paint. Géométrie is horrible. Battery cover is garbage. Motor cover idem garbage. After a few rides i always had to take is of and clean because it was full of dirt. Bosch motor is very noisy. I have a Orbea now and its a day and night difference.

 

[PennywiseTheDancingClown]

Nothing good to say about cube expect for the spec. Frame build quality is not great. Paint is very very poor had the bike for 3 months and it was full of chips in the paint. Géométrie is horrible. Battery cover is garbage. Motor cover idem garbage. After a few rides i always had to take is of and clean because it was full of dirt. Bosch motor is very noisy. I have a Orbea now and its a day and night difference.

Well you did kind of go from a supermarket bike to a boutique bike.

 

[BeBiker]

Nothing good to say about cube expect for the spec. Frame build quality is not great. Paint is very very poor had the bike for 3 months and it was full of chips in the paint. Géométrie is horrible. Battery cover is garbage. Motor cover idem garbage. After a few rides i always had to take is of and clean because it was full of dirt. Bosch motor is very noisy. I have a Orbea now and its a day and night difference.

How do you evaluate frame build quality?

 

[Stefaan]

How do you evaluate frame build quality?

Headset cub not lining up perfectly. Raw carbon visible around it. Have you taken out the motor. Inside there where best way to say it blobs of cardon from witch you can tell its all done on a monday after a hard weekend.
After the cube i had a new scott park whit the intgrated shock. When you look inside it all clean.

 

[BeBiker]

I had my motor out, found it well done on the inside.
Nothing wrong with the Headset cub in my opinion.
But this is my first carbon bike, nothing to compare it to.

 

[deertrackdoctor]

Oooh this is up my street

I bought a hardtail cube during the first covid lockdown - loved it, did about 900 miles with no issues
The screen then died (usb port stopped working and it started turning off on it's own)
Took it to a local bike shop who do cube stuff, they diagnosed dead screen day 1, Cube agreed to send a replacement - it arrived from Germany on day 2 and I collected the bike on day 3 - screen was free and Cube covered all the bike shop costs to swap - really great service)
While the bike was in, I had a bit of a think and saw a 140 HPC SL on ebay local for a good price, and I really wanted a full suspension so bit the bullet and sold the hardtail.

My full-sus is now 2.5 years old and has done about 1600miles - zero faults
I chose the 140 over the 160 as I rode a friends bike and just couldn't get on with 27.5 wheels - very lively, quick to turn etc.. but felt twitchy after riding a 29 for a year. I love the roll-over the 29 wheels give
For most people the bike was more than enough but the bug bit me to get a bit more travel and more plush suspension, so I swapped out the rear shock for a DPX2 factory, and then bought a brand spanking new 150mm fox 36 factory for the front.
It's sooo plush now, rides over anything, I love it to bits.
If they made a 160 with 29's that would be my perfect bike as the factory suspension is absolutely amazing. Or tbh even mullet would be amazing - but I didn't want to buy a 160 and then have to pay out £800 for a new fork to fit a 29 up front.

If you enjoy 27.5's and a more "lively" bike the 160 would be perfect. If you're more of a trail rider I'd honestly suggest the 140 might be enough.

I've friends with haibike's that have had nothing but issues, frame cracking etc... mine has hardly any lacquer left on it, is covered in stone chips, has seen serious abuse and is still on the original frame bearings (something I plan on doing this winter).
For the price the factory bikes have dropped to now I think they are possibly one of the best value emtb's out there at the moment.

I rode both and preferred the 29 wheels also .
I would have chose a 160mm travel with 29 wheels if it was an option .so as a compromise I'm now running Zeb 170s with Dual position . I only run the forks at 140 on steepest of climbs .
Fitting a new air shaft in 36 or 38 fork was another option I considered .However the Zeb's were on offer so sold fox 36 and fitted Zeb 170 more or less cost neutral

 

[deertrackdoctor]

I've read all the new posts on this thread and IMHO Cube should of made a longer travel 29 wheeled stereo or engineered the frame to run any combination .
So I've been running my 140 TM 29er for 4 months now and made a few changes .I done most at point of purchase except the Drive train I done when it stayed gohst shifting and skipping at 1000km fitted a new chain and it was too late for the cassette.
Here's the parts I changed
Zeb Ultimate 170 /140 Dual Position and removal of knock block headset
One up Dropper post
Hope E4 Brakes and 223 Galfer thicker rotors
Down Graded drive train to LinkGlide 10speed
Ergon Grips
Charge spoon saddle

After 4 months riding around 2000km I've only had Minor problems to over come
Annoying as fuck Knocking noises on descents
After a Google search got few tips so I Binned plastic top cap and replaced with alloy which pre loaded headset bearing properly .
I pre tensioned the battery cover with cable ties then wrapped top and bottom with clear 3M tape .Which stopped rattle .

So not ideal but Those two mods overcame the knocking .
My Summary of the Cube Stereo Hybrid TMwould be a great value well speced E-Bike with some poor build quality /design issues that can be overcome.
As with all bikes swapping out personal preference components at point of purchase and ebaying the unwanted parts new made for upgraded bike where I perceived week components .Doing it this way only cost me approx £150 Extra

 

[ggx]

I suspect we are going to have some longer travel for 2023 ! shshsh