Cube’s carbon 29er hardtail is built for one job only – winning races
WHY IS THIS A SUPER BIKE?
- RockShox’s unique, genre-busting RS-1 fork can be locked out at the touch of a button for super-efficient pedalling
- Ultralight 9.2kg build means you can zip through trees and up the climbs at pace
- Race-focused spec includes ‘stealth’ dropper post for tackling technical descents
With all the fuss over enduro – and the hard-to-ignore fact that big-hitting fullsussers are selling pretty much as fast as manufacturers can make them – you’d be forgiven for thinking that everyone’s forgotten cross-country racing. Not so. An acquired taste it may be, but riding flat out and head-to-head uphill as well as downhill is what drove early mountain bike development and it still has an influence today, especially when it comes to shaving grams. And race bikes don’t come much lighter than the Cube Elite C68 SL 29, which tips the scales at a scant 9.2kg (20.3lb).
The name may not trip off the tongue, but this is an ultra-lightweight rocketship of a bike that leaves the rider with no excuses for not getting on the podium. It isn’t actually the lightest or most expensive bike in Cube’s Elite C68 29er range – that honour goes to the SLT, which adds Shimano’s XTR Di2 electronic groupset and 50 per cent to the price tag while shaving just 100g from the claimed weight. But the 6000$ SL shares the same cutting-edge carbon fibre frame, decked out with a full complement of SRAM’s top-end goodies.
Podium machine
Hardtails don’t get much press these days, so it’s easy to forget that there’s more to building a fast, light and efficient chassis than joining the dots between the wheels, crankset, saddle and handlebar. Cube’s designers have thrown all their knowhow at the Elite C68 frame. Naturally it’s made from carbon fibre – a material that’s ideal for bikes like this where low weight, high stiffness and reasonable comfort are all needed. And in a bid to reduce weight even further, the proportion of fibre in the composite has been increased from the 60 per cent typically found in carbon bike frames to 68 per cent. That may sound like a trivial difference, but since fibres are lighter than the resin that binds them together, it’s enough to bring down the overall weight of the frame.
This obsession with shaving grams continues into details like the post mount for the rear brake calliper. This saves weight compared to an IS mount (which would require an adaptor and two additional bolts, adding 30g), and because it’s mounted on the chainstay, Cube’s engineers have been able to trim some fat from the seatstays, improving ride comfort in the process. Even racers appreciate a supple ride, because it helps increase speed and reduce fatigue.
SRAM-packed spec
Headlining the spec sheet is RockShox’s RS-1 fork. Eye-wateringly expensive (it’ll set you back over 2100$ on its own), the distinctive looks of this inverted design set it apart from the rest of the XC race fork crowd. It was developed to mark the 25th anniversary of the original RockShox RS-1, which had just 50mm of travel but helped riders to both XC and DH wins at the 1990 World Championships. A one-piece steerer, crown and upper leg set-up shaves weight and maximises stiffness, while the upsidedown layout is made possible by a proprietary oversized ‘Predictive Steering’ front hub and Maxle Ultimate through-axle.
Gearheads will appreciate SRAM’s slick-shifting, precise and light 1x11 XX1 groupset. One spec detail that’s easy to miss is the KS LEV Integra seatpost. A dropper post on an XC race bike? You bet. Although it adds a little weight, the ability to quickly and easily get the rider’s weight lower on steep descents and through technical sections adds speed. And since all-out pace is what a bike like this is all about, the extra grammage is a small price to pay.
COMFORT = SPEED
Stiffer isn’t always better. Moving the rear brake mount to the chainstay meant Cube’s engineers were able to remove material from the seatstays, saving weight and improving comfort over rough terrain, which should mean less fatigue towards the end of a race.
TIME FOR A CHANGE
Through-axles are good for improving frame stiffness but can be fiddly to use. Syntace’s tapered X-12 system adds axle guides to the rear dropouts to speed up mid-race wheel changes.
DROPPING IN
Fitting a dropper seatpost to a race bike adds a couple of hundred grams but Cube reckon the improved handling on rough courses and technical descents adds enough speed to outweigh the small bit of extra weight to be carted around.
STIFF DOWN BELOW
XC races are won on the climbs, so a bike that translates every ounce of a rider’s effort into forward progress is what’s needed. A press-fit bottom bracket – where the bearings are pressed directly into the frame – allows a wider, stiffer structure around the area that’s most stressed under hard pedalling loads.
LEAN AND MEAN
Shaving grams wherever possible helps the rider to extract maximum performance from a frame like this. Cube’s attention to detail is fanatical in this area – they’ve even replaced standard frame decals with a multi-layer wet paint process to save a few more grams.
Price 6000$ (complete bike)
