Cube Cross Race Disc Pro

[Pamoothican]

Hi,

I have a massive itch to get an adventure/gravel/cyclocross bike, I live in an area with lots of old railways converted to paths and feel I'm missing out on a load of different routes due to having a road bike. I have a hybrid, but miss my drop bars too much, and it weighs a ton.

I have the chance of getting a cheap Cube Cross Race Disc Pro 2015 (mouthful) so does anyone have any experience of this bike?

• Edit; Its the 2015 model so has ultegra cranks and derailleurs with Shimano ST-RS685 11 speed shifters and BR-RS785 hydraulic disc brakes.

Cube Cross Race Disc Pro 2015

Edited by Pamoothican on Monday 17th October 12:18

[benny.c]

I had an older rim braked version and it was a good bike but I swapped it for a Diverge in the end for a few reasons; The cockpit was very compact and as a result it wasn't that comfortable on longer (2hr +) rides. My shoes would clip the front tyre on sharp turns, presumably as a result of the geometry. The CX groupset never felt quite right for general road riding, although it wasn't terrible. Finally, I had to bodge a mudguard solution due to the canti brakes - not an issue on a disc braked bike but has it got guard mounts? It was a nice bike for quick blasts off road though.

Edited by benny.c on Monday 17th October 17:19

[Pamoothican]

Thanks for the input.

The specialized Diverge is a bike that I have been looking at.

The lack of rack/guard mounts is something that was putting me off.

I live in a quire hilly area, as much as the railway paths are quite flat the roads are pretty steep and the CX set up of the gears has put me off.
I don't want to be spending another £200 on top of the bike to get better gearing when I could just get a different bike.

Having said that its quite hard to find bikes that are not 46/36 & 11/28 - I feel that I need more range, especially to get up some of the 100 greatest cycle climbs right at my door.

Might have to sump up a bit more and get the Norco Search C 105.

[Magic919]

You could probably change the crankset to a compact for about £100.

I must say my feet overlapping the front wheel was something I didn't enjoy on my CX. I found it a bit disconcerting.

Wider tyres and hydraulic discs are easy enough to get. I find the fittings for proper mudguards and a rack a bit more tricky. I'd have thought there would be plenty of them, but it didn't prove to be the case.

[Barchettaman]

There is a 'ghetto' way to get a lower range that will work perfectly with minimal outlay.

Ask your LBS if they have a 10-speed 30 tooth cassette sprocket.

Remove your 11-speed cassette, and take out the 16 tooth sprocket and spacer.

Reinstall the cassette with the 30 tooth sprocket & 11-speed spacer nearest the hub.

This will definitely work with a 10-spd 30 sprocket, and probably will work with a 9-speed 30 sprocket too, as long as the cassette lockring engages enough threads of the freehub body you're good to go.

[Jacobyte]

I've got a 2016 Cube Cross Race Pro arriving today or tomorrow. I'll let you know how I get on with it.

Main reasons I chose it over other cross bikes:
- Hydraulic discs (for control on a steep wet sketchy descent on my commute)
- Proper mudguard anchor points (the Boardman CX Team doesn't have these)
- A bit racy geometry (in case I decide to do the occasional cross race)
- It was discounted to under £1k (CTW scheme)
- I know Cube, whereas I couldn't trust an unknown Eastway or Pinnacle

And most importantly: Red is the fastest colour

[Pamoothican]

Jacobyte said:

And most importantly: Red is the fastest colour

I wholeheartedly agree there.

Just seen the 2017 model and it looks even better, full internal cabling, inboard rear caliper, the gusseted/smoothed junction of the top tube to seat stays looks great too.



Ah decisions, decisions.

Cube Cross Race Pro
Norco Search C 105
Specialized Diverge Comp
Caad X Ultegra
Canyon Inflite AL 9.0
Focus Mares AL, AX, CX
Pinnacle Arkose

Budget is now boiler repair/replacement dependent.

[Jacobyte]

Jacobyte said:

I've got a 2016 Cube Cross Race Pro arriving today or tomorrow. I'll let you know how I get on with it.

First ride this morning: commute of 10 miles of damp leafy B&C-roads and 3 miles of bridlepaths and a bit of singletrack.

It accelerated well, held speed over the bumpy bits of gravel track, and most importantly when caning it down the steep narrow descent into town, which has a dodgy crossroads near the bottom where commuters often gamble to cross, the hydro discs were a godsend - they gave so much control and confidence in the wet, it's no longer a sphincter-twitcher.

The slightly short top tube means you can use the full length of the saddle for different positions. The 105 shifting is great on the chainring and a bit inconsistent on the rear - but my road bike is Dura-Ace so that might be a pit picky. The 46-36 x 11-32 gives plenty of range for me.

I'll try swapping the knobbly Rocket Rons for some slicks to maintain more speed on the road bits, but that might be to the detriment of grip on the sandy/gravelly/muddy bits. We'll see.

Overall, it seems spot on and I'm most chuffed. I can easily see myself entering it in a CX race.

[Dr_Rick]

Pamoothican said:

I wholeheartedly agree there.

Just seen the 2017 model and it looks even better, full internal cabling, inboard rear caliper, the gusseted/smoothed junction of the top tube to seat stays looks great too.



Ah decisions, decisions.

Cube Cross Race Pro
Norco Search C 105
Specialized Diverge Comp
Caad X Ultegra
Canyon Inflite AL 9.0
Focus Mares AL, AX, CX
Pinnacle Arkose

Budget is now boiler repair/replacement dependent.

Yesterday I picked up a Pinnacle Arkose 4:



Fitted some mudguards myself just to keep the crud away. REally looking forward to using it.