The choice of getting a new bike was born out the experience we had on the British Heart Foundation - South Downs Way 100 mile in a day event we undertook in July 2014. My 26 inch Hard tail - the Voodoo Hoodoo was just not up to the long distance climbing that the day entailed, and the rough terrain that the South Downs Way traverses, well at least my back wasn't. I may not being going any faster but due to the larger wheel size it is more efficient to ride.
This is a real mile muncher, which is let down by the Cube's design ethos of having a short top tube and a rather high step over height, which is not the current trend in design of longer, lower, slacker. The combination of 29er wheels and 120 suspension means once you have got up to speed, it really does cover ground quickly and smoothly. It's worked particularly well on the chalky/gravel tracks which criss-cross Hampshire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. Mechanically, I've had no issues with the bike, apart from an infrequent creak from the bottom pivot joint of the rear shock, which was resolved with a re-grease.
Cube Sting HPA 120 29
Cube Sting 120 29 Suspension Bike
The Sting 120 has many of the features of his brother, the Stereo. With an XT/SLX package, cool new Deore disc brakes and lightweight Manitou suspension, the Sting far from entry level. With a totally new triple butted 7005 aluminium frame as the base, using Advanced Mechanical Forming for optimized tubing, 120mm of travel and FSP 4-link this is a high-performance suspension chassis. ETC lets the bike behave easily on every terrain because braking and pedalling don`t compromise the performance. The balanced ARG – Agile Ride Geometry – lets you feel confident even on longer rides through its playful but reliable handling. The cockpit is a real CUBE control centre: CUBE Performance Pro Stem and 720mm Rise Trail Bar for control and fun on the trails. What i have found is that the top tube is rather short, so the bike has a rather compact feeling. This has been mitigate by the addition of Jones H bars which make the cockpit a little airier. For 2015 the bike is the now renamed the Cube Stereo 120 HPA 29 and is the basic model in the Cube Stereo line up.
Chainset: Shimano SLX, FC-M672, 40x30x22T, 175mm Brake/Shift Levers: Shimano Deore SL-M610-I Rapidfire-Plus, direct attach Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore FD-M611-D, direct mount, Down Swing, 3x10-speed Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT, RD-M781-SGSL, Shadow 10-speed
Wheelset:
Front Hub: Shimano Deore Disc HB-M615 Centrelock Rear Hub: Shimano Deore Disc FH-M615 Centrelock Tyres: Front - Vee Rubber Mission 2.4 , Rear - Geax Gato 2.2
Components:
Front Brake:Shimano Deore A-M615 hydr. Discbrake (180mm) Rear Brake:Shimano Deore A-M615 hydr. Discbrake (180mm) Handlebars: Jones H-Bar Loop Handlebars 710mm Grips: Clarkes Foam Headset: FSA Orbit 1.5E ZS, top zero-stack 1 1/8" (OD 44mm), bottom zero-stack 1 1/2" (OD 56mm) Stem: CUBE Performance Pro, 6° Saddle: Selle Italia X1 replaced with Specialized Henge Seatpost: CUBE Performance 31.6*400mm Seatclamp: CUBE Varioclose 34.9mm
Weight: 13.95 kg
Technologies:
Agile Ride Geometry: Cube ran innumerable tests to develop the Agile Ride Geometry in their series of big wheel bikes. Three important details resulted. Increased fork offsets allows for the same trail as Cube's 26in bikes without having to steepen the head angle, thus maintaining generous toe clearance to the front wheel. Secondly they shortened the chain stays without compromising the seat angle. A patented construction to mount the front derailleur gives more tyre clearance while keeping a conventional seat angle, leading to a perfect riding position for every rider size. Last but not least the BB height remains the same as on their 26in bikes. These measures lead to a natural riding position. Every mountain biker will feel immediately at home on a CUBE 29er or 27.5.
I have found the top to too be rather short for someone of my size, the issue is offset by the length of the stem which the bike comes with.
Aluminium Superlight: Extremely high tensile strength heat-treated 7005 aluminium alloy is developed for the highest requirements. It is very stiff, fatigue resistant, corrosion resistant and has high elongation. Cube's Superlite tubes are double butted, giving very light tubesets with a high level of stiffness.
Efficient Trail Control: Cube's Efficient Trail Control series works so that everyone can have more fun on the trail. With 27.5 and 29er wheel options their frames cover the widest range of riding on every terrain you can imagine. The low leverage ratio and linear rate curve makes the bike very sensitive, avoids bobbing and offers full usable travel all the time. Steep seat tube angles and slack head tube angles make these dream machines ready for action on the descent where you can use the full amount of travel to be on the safe side.
Anodized Surface: Anodizing is a chemical surface treatment process. The treatment hardens the surface, making the aluminium 1000 times more scratch-resistant than before.
Frame Safe System: To protect their high-end aluminium frames from damage, they are built with the CUBE Frame Save System replaceable derailleur hanger. The mounting thread is in the hanger and not in the frame as usual. In case of a crash, this hanger can be easily and quickly replaced by a new one.
Fox Customised Setup: Sophisticated suspension kinematics are only able to work correctly if the associated shock is properly tuned. Cube have researched and found a specific shock setup in cooperation with Fox Racing Shox, using extensive testing for almost every Cube full-suspension model. This obviously relates to the better spec'd bikes in the range.
FSP4Link: The key requirement is for continuously active and fully usable travel, with the rear triangle unaffected by pedalling or especially braking forces. There are a number of ways of achieving this – CUBE favours a four bar design with a chainstay pivot. Here, one of the pivots is located between the dropout and the chainstay, ensuring that braking does not have a negative effect on the movement of the rear wheel. By carefully positioning the remaining pivots, we obtain the finest riding qualities for our full suspension bikes both uphill and downhill. This fact is proven by many top test results in leading magazines over the last few years.
Lazer Design Surface: On Cube's high performance aluminium frames, graphics and text are laser-cut into the material, making them indestructible for a lifetime.
Tapered Steerer: This steerer tube design is stiffer than a conventional straight steerer and yields a more secure ride feel even in difficult terrain. Minimal flex at the front of the frame means the greatest possible steering precision. With the larger steerer, the forks become more rigid. At the same time weight is saved due to the absence of bearing shells as the lower bearing is fully integrated into the head tube. Though the Cube Sting 120 29 comes with a traditional straight steerer..
Trail Motion Rocker: The Trail Motion Rocker features optimized leverage ratios for every bike and intended use, giving fast reacting yet stable suspension in every situation. The computer-designed one piece rocker construction gives maximum stiffness for the best suspension performance while still being extremely lightweight.