For 2013, Cube have made some big changes to their mountain bike line up. ‘Out with the old and in with the new’, seems to be the plan.
Most notably the old DTC (Dual Trail Control) range from 2012, including the Sting, Stereo and Fritzz are replaced by the new Stereo ETC (Efficient Trail Control) range. The new Stereo range includes the HPC 160mm 650B and the HPC 140mm 29er.
We’re sitting in the Cube pits in Alpe D’Huez over the infamous Megavalanche race week. There are few better places to get your bikes, seen, test ridden and pushed to the limits than this. The varied terrain takes on steep singletrack, epic boulder fields and bike parks as far as the eye can see. Cube rider Nicholas Lau did the Megavalanche race and finished in second place on board his new AMR 150, a true testament to the bike and quality of rider Cube are creating and supporting.
The 2013 Stereo range will see considerable changes in geometry and build over existing models. The low rear triangle and slack seat tube angle proved to be too flexible on the 2012 model. By steepening the seat tube and raising the seat stays, the new Stereo range benefits in stiffness and climbing ability and now out performs the AMS 150 in tests. The bikes will have a considerably slacker head angle at around 66.5 degrees compared to the traditional 68 degrees on previous models.
“The majority of bike companies are pursing progressive suspension designs or adopting the linear approach”, said Michael Prell from Cube's R&D department. “Cube’s new suspension set up is designed to be constant, meaning there will be no variation of rebound damping throughout the full travel range and will also allow for faster recovery of full travel after big hits."
Stereo 650B
Like all bikes in the new Stereo range, the 650B frame (2.08kg including shock) has a tapered steerer, integrated cable routing, press-fit bottom bracket, integrated post mount brakes, 12mm rear axle and customised Fox suspension tuning. Cube have repositioned the bearing seats in the frames in order to avoid using aluminium to house the bearings - instead integrating the bearing seat into the carbon layup, saving weight and increasing stiffness.
The 650B (160mm) will be made in three builds, the top of the line being the SLT model (XX and Race Face NEXT SL groupset with Reynolds carbon wheelset at £6,599) weighing in at less than 10kg, full build. Followed by the SL (XO groupset with DT Swiss AM 2.7 wheelset at £3,999) and the Race model (XT groupset with DT Swiss AM 2.7 wheelset at £2,999).
Stereo 29er
As part of the new ETC range, the Stereo Super HPC 140 29ers (2.1kg including shock) will benefit from the same upgrades as the 650B frame and again the bikes will be offered in three models, the SLT (XX and Race Face NEXT SL groupset with Reynolds carbon wheelset at £6,299) followed by the SL (XT groupset and brakes, with DT Swiss AM 2.9 wheelset at £3,699) and the Race model (XT groupset, Magura brakes and SR Radium MA wheelset at £2,999)
AMS 100 Super HPC 29
Another new bike in the line up is the AMS 100 Super HPC 29, developed from the 26” XC race bike available last year, Cube have taken their 2013 design plans and created a racing machine fit for World Cup podiums. The depth of development in the frame is evident through Cube’s STK (Size Tuned Kinematics) geometry. “This means that every frame size has adapted linkage geometry ensuring all frames have the same travel and suspension ratio”, said Prell.
Cube have developed their own 29er ‘Agile Ride Geometry’, which uses forks with a 51mm offset, thus having the same steering angle as on 26” bikes, a bottom bracket height the same as their 26” bikes, and Cube have rotated the front mech forward to create the space to allow for short chain stays, which according to Prell "improves the cornering and handling of the bikes."
To keep up with the new Stereo range the AMS 100 will also benefit from tapered steerer, integrated cable routing, press-fit bottom bracket, integrated post mount brakes and a 12mm rear axle and dropout compatible with Shimano direct mount rear mechs.
The AMS 100 29er will be made in 4 builds around the same frame (1900g inc. shock). The SLT (XX groupset, Formula R1R Brakes and Easton EC90XC wheelset at £6.099), the SL (XO groupset, Magura MT8 brakes and DT Swiss MA 2.0 wheelset at £3.699), the RACE (XT groupset, RC Tune brakes, DT Swiss MA 2.0 wheelset at £2.899) and the PRO (SLX/XT groupset, Magura MT2 brakes, SR Radium MA wheelset at £2.399).
Elite Super HPC
Cube haven’t just focused on designing new bikes and adding to their range, they’ve also made positive changes to existing models such as the Elite Super HPC 29 Hardtail. "We’ve redesigned the seat stays and added a 12mm rear axle system to create better stiffness and performance. Also the carbon fibre layup is improved to further increase strength and lower the weight to less than 1000g, 150g lighter than last year”, said Michael Prell.
The Elite will be made in the similar range to the new stereo production bikes with the SLT (XX Groupset, SID XX fork and Easton EC90XC wheelset at £5,299), SL (XTR groupset, Fox float 32 fork, DT Swiss MA 2.0 wheelset at £3,699), Race (XO groupset, SID RL fork, Reynolds wheelset at £2,749) and the Pro (XT groupset, SID RL fork, DT Swiss MA 1.0 wheelset at £2,299).
Cube's already impressive range of bikes is about to take a serious hit of adrenaline for 2013, and there are already some exciting rumours about what’s planned for 2014. Watch this space.