mountain bikes: Test: Cube Stereo 140 C:62 SL 29 – climbing goat with massive trail reserves

Test: The Cube Stereo has been a fixture in the German manufacturer's portfolio for many years. For the 2016 model year, however, the all-round trail fully has been completely overhauled - with modern geometry and in some variants with a light carbon frame. We had the opportunity to take a close look at the Cube Stereo 4.000 C140 SL 62, which costs almost €29.

Cube Stereo 140 C:62 SL 29: frame and rear end

The big highlight of the Stereo 140 C:62 SL 29 is the noble carbon frame. While the high-tech material used to be associated primarily with lightweight construction and racing machines, in recent years more and more manufacturers have been giving their more powerful bikes frames made of carbon fiber. There are many reasons for this: not only does carbon indisputably have a better stiffness-to-weight ratio than aluminium, but modern production processes have made the material, which was once notorious for its fragility, significantly more resistant. It's no coincidence that even downhill bikes with carbon frames are now available. Cube is undoubtedly one of the pioneers in this area and has been offering fullies models with carbon frames for some time outside of the XC area.

The Boost standard is new for the current model of the Cube Stereo 140: Wider hubs on the front and rear wheels allow the construction of more stable wheels, which makes sense especially on 29ers like the SL 29 and also enables an optimized chain line with less skewing. The rear triangle design, on the other hand, is tried and tested: The 4-joint with Horstlink at the dropout offers a balanced characteristic with a slight progression in order to put a stop to the sagging of the damper in the middle suspension travel.

Opinions have always been divided when it comes to the design of the Cube bikes - and that will hardly change with the Stereo 140 either: A glossy black finish with large areas of blue and turquoise logos and optically perfectly matched attachments, including fork decals and cable sleeves. A really well-rounded overall picture with a lot of attention to detail, even if the bike might be a bit too styled for one or the other purist. But, as always, tastes differ.

Cube Stereo 140 C:62 SL 29: Geometry

Even if the data on paper puts the Cube Stereo 140 close to modern trail bikes, a closer look shows that the first impression here is a bit deceptive. Sure: With 140mm travel, 29″ wheels and a slack head angle of 68°, the Cube also feels right at home on the trails. The almost 75° steep seat angle also promises a lot of pressure on the pedals and correspondingly good propulsion.

Cube swims against the tide when it comes to chainstay length. While many other manufacturers are currently undercutting each other here, the German manufacturer has given its carbon bolide almost 450mm long struts. Although the Stereo loses some of its agility, it gains other qualities, especially when going uphill. The very high stack (646mm in size 20″/L) is also striking. This indicates a more relaxed and comfortable seating position.

Overall, the geometry of the Cube Stereo 140 is very interesting - precisely because you are not following all the trends on the market at the moment.

Cube Stereo 140 C:62 SL 29: Features

Anyone who fears having to make compromises in terms of equipment at a price of less than €4.000 for a carbon full suspension bike can at least reassure them in the case of the Stereo 140. Even if you have to do without noble parts, high-quality components are used throughout, which give little reason for complaint. Quite interesting is the decision not to do without a derailleur for the drive and to install a double crank. Many bikes in this class now consistently rely on just one chainring, many don't even offer the option of installing a front derailleur afterwards.

Not so with the Stereo 140: The Shimano XT drive with 11-40 cassette is combined with a 2-speed crank from Race Face. The optically and technically noble turbine fits perfectly to the bike and offers a very pleasant change. The Canadians' chainrings have had an excellent reputation for many years anyway, which they were able to confirm again during our test. The 2-way drive with 34/24 chainrings also offers an enormous range thanks to the wide range of cassettes, which should have the right gear ratio for almost every incline and every fitness level. However, the variety of gears comes at the price of a little more clutter, a few grams more weight and the not-so-simple shifting behavior.

In our equipment variant, the chassis comes entirely from Fox. The Fox 34 fork at the front offers 140mm travel and comes with the FIT4 damping cartridge introduced last year. While the well-known US manufacturer allowed itself some weaknesses in the past, especially with its 34, the current model can build on the qualities of the good old days and offers a good compromise between rigidity, weight and performance. In addition, the fork and the FOX DPS rear shock offer three compression settings: In addition to an open and closed mode, the middle mode with the platform switched on proved to be the happy medium during our test.

XT brakes from Shimano provide the necessary deceleration. These are combined on the Cube with 180mm discs at the front and rear - on longer descents or slightly heavier riders, the disc on the front wheel could be a bit small and fading could occur. Here we would have preferred to see a 203mm disc, because the few grams more weight is worth the significantly better resistance to fading.

On the other hand, there is absolutely nothing to complain about when it comes to the wheels and tires. The former come from the Swiss manufacturer DT Swiss. The Cube-specific set is up to date with 23mm wide rims, a weight of just over 1700g and 28 spokes. Even tubeless shouldn't be a problem with the pre-assembled rim tape. The tire combination of Schwalbe Hans Dampf on the front wheel and the aggressive semi-slick Rock Razor on the rear wheel is appropriate for the area of ​​use. Above all, the grip-strong Trailstar rubber compound on the front wheel should offer some reserves even in wet and slippery conditions.

When it comes to the cockpit, they only use parts from their own company: the 50mm long stem and the 760mm wide carbon handlebars make a high-quality impression, which is well above what we are used to from most other OEM parts. The grips not only fit well into the overall picture, but also offer the right mix of cushioning, grip and control.

A bike in the Cube Stereo 140 class should also not be without a retractable seat post. Proven technology from Rock Shox in the form of the Reverb Stealth ensures the necessary freedom of movement for the rear on the trail. Except for size S (125mm). the variant with a generous 150mm adjustment range is used everywhere.

Cube Stereo 140 C62 SL 29: On the trail

We've ridden the Stereo on a wide variety of terrain, from flowing forest trails to alpine terrain, it had to prove itself over and over again. To get straight to the point: As an all-rounder, the Cube 29er Fully works excellently and does not allow itself any blatant weaknesses. Particularly noteworthy is the lively handling, which is also due to the low total weight, and the really excellent climbing properties. Due to the rather long chainstays, there is always enough pressure on the front wheel, even on steep climbs, without the rider having to twist the bike too much. The rear end shines, especially on the climbs, with virtually no rocking, but the necessary swallowing joy when it matters. Even on longer climbs, especially in the alpine area, we were actually always in the middle damping setting and completely dispensed with the lockout.

The Cube also shows its qualities on descents, but isn't quite as brilliant as on the climbs. But first the positives: The chassis does (almost) everything here and is willing to swallow, but without missing the necessary feedback from the ground. The tires were also convincing - the Hans Dampf on the front wheel offers a lot of grip in the dry and wet and the Rock Razor is one of our favorite tires for the Stereo's area of ​​application anyway. The latter offers a lot of reserves in the corners, but tends to swerve quite early in the wet, but remains controllable even then.

We didn’t really warm up to the technically demanding passages with the sitting or standing position on the bike. Due to the high stack, we felt more over than on the bike, which clouded the trail hunt a little bit. However, drivers with a less active driving style should appreciate the fairly upright position. On longer and braking-intensive descents such as the Tyrolean Fleckalmtrail, the brakes on the front wheel also tended to thread: A 203mm disc would certainly have been the better choice here.

The Cube shows its strengths above all on longer tours with many meters of altitude: The very pleasant and comfortable seating position paired with the excellent climbing properties put you in a good mood, especially on alpine tours. Difficult trails and steep descents can also be tackled thanks to the well-chosen geometry, even if the Stereo shows a few weaknesses here. The built-in components did an excellent job over the entire test period.