This new DH machine went from design board to the World Cup top 10 in just a matter of months
WHO IS GREG WILLIMSON
Hailing from the Black Isle, near Inverness, Greg has been racing DH for 10 years, working his way up through the junior ranks before making hisWorld Cup debut back in 2009. Sixth place in Cairns was his best result yet and he’s looking set for a cracking season.
WHY IS THIS A SUPERBIKE?
- Debut race machine from a DHWorld Cup newcomer
- Factory ofering that’s being perfected before going into full production
- Fully custom-tuned suspension
The mood in the Cube Global Squad pit is good. More than good, actually. The decision to take the then-prototype Two15 racing was only made in October. Now, underneath the tall frame of Scotland’s Greg Williamson, it has just secured 13th place in qualifying at the opening World Cup round in Lourdes, France. And in just a couple of weeks it’ll propel him to sixth place in the finals at round two in Cairns,Australia. The only dampener on proceedings is that Greg’s teammate, Kiwi MattWalker, crashed hard in the spectacularWall section and broke a finger. But even so, and perhaps partly due to the industrial strength painkillers he’s pumped full of, Matt smiles on and shares in the general sense of revelry.
Playing it straight
The bike sat before us first broke cover as a bare-bones prototype at last year’s LeogangWorld Cup. Visually, the Michael Prell-designed Two15 (so named because it has 215mm/8.5in of travel) is a pretty straightforward looking machine, thanks to the four-bar suspension DNA it shares with the German brand’s Stereo and Fritzz models. As with those bikes, a relatively simple shape belies some beautiful detailing. The shock is protected by a neat carbon fibre guard and the internal cable routing is supremely smooth. As is becoming standard practice in downhill bike production, the alloy frame will eventually make way for a carbon version once Cube are happy with the angles and performance.
It uses its suspension travel in a straightforward fashion too. Greg describes the Two15 as “slightly more linear than some bikes out there”, but the Fox Float X2 rear shock can be easily adjusted via internal spacers to give more than enough progression to help keep his back wheel under control. Unusually, the shock is mounted ‘upside down’, compared with the other rigs in the queue for the rickety funicular that takes riders to the start hut in Lourdes – the air can is mounted at the top and the adjusters are hidden out of harm’s way.
One of the perks of being a pro rider is access to some of the world’s best suspension technology. When Greg’s mechanic, Jesse, needs things fettled he simply drops out the airsprung 40 Float fork and Float X2 shock and gives them to the Fox R&D boys. Handily, Greg has worked with them for a number of years now (Fox suspension is about the only thing he’s carried over from his days with Trek) and they know how he likes a bike to ride. He admits that they often try to convince him to run a harder set-up, but he prefers a bike to feel more active underneath him and already be into its mid stroke when the hits start to come thick and fast.
No heavyweight
The twin air units offer up massive weight benefits over the coil-sprung forks and shocks traditionally used for downhill racing, and despite its alloy frame and rims, the Two15 nudges the scales at just over 15kg (33lb). That’s partly helped by the inclusion of Race Face’s scant SIXC cranks and handlebar, along with an SDG I-Beam seatpost, all made from carbon fibre.
The material milled out of his CrankBrothers Mallet DH clipless pedals to engrave his name mightn’t save any grams worth mentioning but it certainly looks pretty trick. “I do ride flats from time to time for fun, just because it gets you using muscles you don’t normally use, but for racing I always run clips,” Greg says. “The only exception, I think, was in Cairns a couple of years ago when it was really wet.”
For the steep Lourdes track Williamson (unlikeWalker) was running a Cane Creek Angleset headset to slacken the already relaxed head angle on the Cube to 61.5 degrees. He’d also opted for a dropped upper fork crown and a slightly taller bar than usual to move his position back a touch. Like everyone else in the either soaked or baked Pyrenean pits he’d been experimenting with tyre choice, including running a couple of custom-trimmed cut spikes from new suppliers Schwalbe.
Mighty Maguras
Magura are a brand whose parts are rarely seen lurking on bikes at the top of the DH World Cup start list, but Greg’s face lights up when he talks about the power and consistency of the German company’s MT7 brakes. These four-pot stoppers are so powerful, in fact, that Jesse has been cutting grooves into the pads (there are four per calliper, magnetically attached) to try to smooth their delivery.
As befits a race bike, there are subtle differences between Greg’s bike and the machines that’ll soon be available in the shops. The Scot travelled to Germany in the middle of winter to do some testing on a late prototype before some tweaks were made to the geometry. The Two15 in front of us also has some paint and graphic finishes that’ll differ from the production models when they go on sale in a couple of months’ time.
Greg Williamson gives us the inside line on his new bike
How did your move to the Cube team come about?
I met Andy [team manager] at the EnduroWorld Series round in Finale Ligure last year. That’s when I heard there was going to be a Cube DH team. Then in October I went out to Germany, we tested the Two15 and it was really positive. I spoke to the main engineer, Michael, and we discussed a couple of changes. They kind of knew that they needed to slightly update what they had for the modernWorld Cup tracks, so it was pretty cool. The bike’s mint. I’ve raced it before, at a Pro GRT in America and at the Ae Forest round of the SDA (Scottish Downhill Association series), where I managed to take the win on it.
Was weight a big factor in the Two15’s design process?
Yeah.We haven’t gone for all the adjustable chips and stuff that people seem to use now because the engineers were keen to keep things as light and simple as possible. It’s 33lb but we’ve not used carbon rims or anything silly in the build.
How do you run your suspension?
I like it squishy! The Fox guys are always telling me that I should go up a bit in terms of pressures but I like it active. I like that feeling of being ‘in’ the travel a bit more and having more grip. I’ve ended up going with the air shock, which works great on this bike (I didn’t like it on the Trek – we couldn’t really run it). Matt’s gone with the coil.We like both of them for different reasons.
Was it difficult changing equipment suppliers this season?
Schwalbe’s Procore system has been really good to come onto. The whole bike has been such a big change to get used to. The only thing I had as a reference to carry over was the suspension. That was really helpful. And those Magura brakes are unbelievably powerful! I just started riding them, they’re unreal.
SHIELDS UP
Unusually,Greg’s Fox Float X2 rear shock is mounted upside down, with its air can up top. This, combined with a carbon fibre guard, means that its shaft and adjusters are hidden from the rear wheel, helping to keep them clean and running smoothly.
GROOVY, BABY
Greg’s been blown away by the sheer power of his Magura MT7 brakes, which house four pads per calliper. In an idea borrowed from MotoGP racing, his mechanic has cut slots in some of them to dampen the initial bite.
HARDCOREHOOPS
The team run DT Swiss FR 570 rims with straight-pull spokes, andWilliamson is impressed: “Wheels are normally what I’d go through most but these are honestly incredible. I’ve never had a wheelset that could last all winter but they made it!”
SOLID STEERING
The super-stif Race Face SIXC handlebar is made from carbon fibre and is 780mm wide. It’s made all the stifer by its huge 35mm diameter stem clamp interface.
BIG RING?
At first we thought Greg was pushing a dinner-plate sized chainring but it’s actually a fairly standard 36-tooth Race Face number. He reckons the spiderless design coupled with the low-profile ‘taco’ bashguard of his MRP chain device makes it look bigger than it actually is.
Price: 6900$ (Two15 HPA SL complete bike)
