2016 Cube Attain GTC Disc - Thoughts?

[ShortShift811]

Not so much a 'what bike' thread as a 'how about this' question.

I've gotten into cycling over the last 18 months on a CX bike (Cannondale CAADX), but it's turned out that 99.99% of my riding is on road. So, I'm lusting after something disc-braked and probably carbon. Endurance / sportive-biased rather than all out race. Max budget £1500.

This Cube caught my eye:

http://www.cube.eu/uk/products/road-race/attain/cu...

Any thoughts from the more experienced pedal-powered members on the quality of Cube, spec, geo of this bike etc? Or anything else I should really be considering?

TIA.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Looks good, it would be hard to go "wrong" with a bike under £2000 as there are so many good ones

Not sure I'd fancy the huge range of gears, a 34-32 is too low for me , but lots of other riders like the range it offers, horses for courses

Just make sure it fits well.

[ShortShift811]

I'm a pretty strong rider and decent on hills (living in Yorkshire and cycling round the Dales, it's the only option!) so I'm sure 11-28 on the back would be enough in most cases, but are there any distinct disadvantages to having a couple of extra lower gears?

I'm wondering more about the chainring options. Being a CX bike, my current ride has 46 / 36 up front, but I've confused myself reading about standard doubles vs. compacts and now semi-compacts. May have to ride one of each just to be sure.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Im strong up hills and had a 52/39 with a 26 lowest on the back. I then got a winter bike with compact 50/34 with a 30 lowest on the back as that's what the bike had. I thought it was a joke at first as too low, but now I'm fitter I actually use it a bit more and spin like mad, but its a heavy steel bike.

a 34/32 would be handy if you were riding up the alps all day, bit of an overkill in this country IMO. But the only drawback is that the gaps between gears become bigger , this used to bug me, less so now.

Sometimes its best to use an online gear calculator to work out ratios rather than just crank sizes.

[SixPotBelly]

I wouldn't worry about the rear cassette. If you don't need the 32 teeth, and want a slightly tighter range of ratios, it's only £23 for an 11-28 and a two minute job to swap it out.

[Some Gump]

Cube is a good brand, but their sizes are often mental. I'm a 56 / L frame normally, would be on the XL Cube. I understand from the internet that most people are 1 size up on Cubes. Of course, this only matters if you;re doing mail order =)

[Clinton Baptiste]

Just be aware that the 2016 cube bikes aren't gonna be available til Feb March next year. I asked about the agree range and was told this!

[AndyWoodall]

I have a Cube Peleton Race and I rate it very highly.

I'd happily move to a carbon framed disc brake equipped model up, that one looks particularly nice. Although I like that grey one, the rest of the Attain range has some pretty dull paint jobs this year.

[SixPotBelly]

Spec does seem good for the price. I recently bought a Cannondale carbon Synapse Ultegra Disc - a bike that's very similar in concept - and the retail on that is considerably higher.

105 is great, hydraulic disks are great, it has an all-day geometry. I even prefer the colour scheme to mine.

It's not the lightest bike in the world, but then nor's mine. Road disc braked bikes rarely are, as the forks and chain stays are usually beefed up to handle the braking torque. If you lived in the foothills of the Alps you might want to consider a lighter bike for all the climbing (but then you'd miss the discs on the way down). With the topography of the UK, a kilo or two is not such a big deal. And with our weather, rain-proof brakes are very nice things to have indeed.

If you had the budget, I'd suggest considering the Rose Xeon CDX. The price on that fluctuates with the EUR/GBP exchange rate but at £1950 odd is quite a jump and above your limit. Or, again if you were busting the budget, I'd recommend looking at the carbon Synapse 105 disc, available for £1800 after the usual 10% discount.

But at £1500 it's hard to think of anything else. I think you've found your winner.

[Barchettaman]

VThe Cube looks a great specification for the money - is it really only £1500?

Obviously at that price point PX hoves into view, their RT-80 Disc has a similar spec.

Gearing-wise it depends what you're doing. Alpine trips - I'm sure the 34/32 combo would come in handy at the end of a long day. I would personally swap out the 11-32 for a 12-30, this (with a compact) is what I have on my heavy steel commuter and it gets me up the Dachswald hill in Stuttgart no problem, the total weight of rider/bike/panniers must be 120kg.

Bear in mind that the Gt Grade Tiagra at £550 from Wiggle will do 98% of what the Cube will, for a third the price.....

Best of luck whatever you decide to go for.

Edited by Barchettaman on Thursday 8th October 07:44

[SixPotBelly]

Barchettaman said:

Bear in mind that the Gt Grade Tiagra at £550 from Wiggle will do 98% of what the Cube will, for a third the price.....

True dat! But then it's true of all bikes at this level. Above £500, bikes very much obey the law of diminishing marginal returns. I started the year with an aluminium Sora Synapse, that only cost a third of the carbon version I just bought. It did everything the new one does, except stop as well, but it didn't do any of it quite it as nicely.

[Barchettaman]

I quite agree, that Synapse Ultegra bike sounds great.

As an aside I've just built up a cheap aluminium winter bike, Cucuma frame, Canyon alu fork, R500 wheelset, brand new Claris triple drivetrain - it works *wonderfully*. I suppose I have about £250 in the thing. The law of diminishing returns applies!

[ShortShift811]

Cheers all, some good stuff in there.

Agree on the diminishing returns point. My current bike is a 2013 Canondale CAADX with 105, so that's the minimum groupset I'd be after. A carbon frame and disc brakes are the upgrades I've decided I'd like; the benefits and reviews I've read on discs especially seem to make them worth having.

I'd like the thing before Feb / March next year though, so I've asked a couple of LBS' about delivery times. If i's genuinely not possible then I might well reconsider...

[andrew90]

I ordered this bike from a local shop a few weeks ago and was given Jan/Feb as a delivery date.

They gave Cube a call and it is the Shimano disc brakes that are holding up the bikes, the non disc version will be available in November.

[m444ttb]

My firt road bike was a Cube and i really liked it so wanted to ghet a CX bike from them last year. As per this year 2015 models weren't going to avaialble for an age so i bought a Cannondale instead. I do like the new Attain range though. I'd considered the top end Ali framed bike for a winter bike (c£1250 i think) but have decided against it for now. Not least because winter would be over by the time it arrived.

[TOM500]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread but wondered what you went for in the end? The joy of late summer (it is still summer, right?) shopping is the discounts. I am in the fortunate position of having the straight choice between the Cube Attain GTC SL Disc and the Cannondale Synapse 105 Disc for near enough the same money. Is there a definitive answer? All and any help much appreciated!