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Bike chain recommendations for Cube 140?
- Thread starter Majci89
- Start date
Welcome to the forum, @Majci89. A question that sounds simple but has a few layers to it. The Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 range spans several build levels, so the answer depends on which variant you're running.
Higher-spec models ship with a Shimano Deore cassette and Shimano XT rear derailleur, while some builds run an eBike-specific SRAM NX 12-speed drivetrain.
All of them are 12-speed, which narrows your options. For the chain itself, the golden rule on a Bosch-powered eMTB is: go with a chain rated for eBike use. Standard 12-speed chains aren't built for the shock loading a motor adds. The community data here is fairly clear on this:
The mixed-spec builds run a Shimano Deore-level chain as stock, which is fine, but upgrades are worth considering if you're putting serious miles in. @Emteebee ran SRAM XX1 chain with Silca hot wax on a Cube Stereo HP 140 and found 0.0% wear at 1,000km
using a four-chain rotation, which is strong data for wax over wet lube. At the other end, @Amber Valley Guy found the Shimano LG CN500 Linkglide chain had only 0.3mm wear at 1,500+ miles for around £18, which is genuinely hard to argue with on value grounds.
Emteebee
Member
Here’s latest state on 12-sp Cube 140 Bosch Perform CX:
Best XX1 chain did 3000km with 0.00% wear. M6100 and M8100 not that great.
Only thing 200kms ago I replaced the 5 smallest sprockets after I ran the M6100 for 1 ride and noticed it jumped the cassette. It had slight visual wear compared to new sprockets.
Best XX1 chain did 3000km with 0.00% wear. M6100 and M8100 not that great.
Only thing 200kms ago I replaced the 5 smallest sprockets after I ran the M6100 for 1 ride and noticed it jumped the cassette. It had slight visual wear compared to new sprockets.
Cheers for the updated numbers, @Emteebee. 3,000km at 0.00% wear on the XX1 with hot wax is frankly absurd in the best possible way. That's the kind of data that makes the £25+ chain price look like a bargain rather than an indulgence.
The M6100 eating into your cassette after a single ride is a painful but useful data point. It lines up with what you've posted before about M6100 and M8100 showing immediate wear within 100-200km even with Silca wax. The fact that one ride on a Deore chain was enough to cause skipping on the smaller sprockets really drives home how much softer those Shimano chain plates are compared to the SRAM XX1. Those five smallest cogs are doing the hardest work under motor torque, so they're the canary in the coal mine.
Worth flagging for @Majci89 reading along: this is exactly why starting with an XX1 chain from day one on a Cube 140 is worth the upfront cost. Running a cheaper Shimano chain first and then switching to XX1 risks the damage already being done to the cassette, as @Emteebee just demonstrated rather conclusively. The XX1 chain paired with hot wax and a rotation strategy is the closest thing to a cheat code for Bosch drivetrain longevity.
Emteebee
Member
To me I enjoy the experiment in figuring out what chain gives me lowest €/km.
See my topic “experiment 4x chains on rotation” for all details.
Currently I am at 4800km total on this bike with same chainring/cassette ( except recent sprockets as mentioned).
Data below shows current cost/km.
Note this is ongoing and isn’t final until:
- all 4 chains wear mark has been reached equally
- pot of wax is consumed to divide cost fairly
Even though more kms result in additional wax costs, per km it is still justified as XX1 is 2.2 cents vs XT 10 cents per km. We ain’t there yet but I have a feeling where this is going…
K.. are the individual chains
Helps identify.
Fist nr is which bike (0-5)
Second and third nr is unique to chain, starting from 01>
See my topic “experiment 4x chains on rotation” for all details.
Currently I am at 4800km total on this bike with same chainring/cassette ( except recent sprockets as mentioned).
Data below shows current cost/km.
Note this is ongoing and isn’t final until:
- all 4 chains wear mark has been reached equally
- pot of wax is consumed to divide cost fairly
Even though more kms result in additional wax costs, per km it is still justified as XX1 is 2.2 cents vs XT 10 cents per km. We ain’t there yet but I have a feeling where this is going…
K.. are the individual chains
Helps identify.
Fist nr is which bike (0-5)
Second and third nr is unique to chain, starting from 01>
@Emteebee, 2.2 cents per kilometre on the XX1 versus 10 cents on the XT is the kind of data that makes accountants weep with joy. The fact you're tracking cost per kilometre on individual chains with a numbering system across multiple bikes suggests you've either found your true calling or gone slightly mad. Possibly both. Either way, the forum benefits enormously.
4,800km on the same chainring and cassette (bar those five sacrificial sprockets) is properly impressive for a Bosch CX setup. Most riders are binning their entire drivetrain by 2,500km according to your own bike shop's assessment, so you're running at roughly double the expected lifespan and still going. The wax + XX1 + rotation combination is doing exactly what the theory says it should, and you've now got the real-world numbers to prove it rather conclusively.
I suspect by the time all four chains hit their wear limit and the wax pot costs are fully amortised, the XX1's cost advantage will be even more pronounced. The XT chains are burning through their useful life so quickly that their lower purchase price becomes irrelevant almost immediately. It's the classic buy-cheap-buy-twice problem, except you've quantified it down to the centime.
Genuinely useful experiment. Anyone running a Bosch drivetrain and still buying Deore chains to save a few quid should bookmark your thread.
