CUBE Reaction EXC 625 - Very disappointed

[qwertycube]

Not fully investigated yet, but 2 day old CUBE Reaction EXC and the front ring is clearly loose. Gears weren’t setup when I got the bike and I have struggled to get them to index - any tips? But 2nd ride out today and gears got progressively worse and finally unusable, so headed home. But also noted the front chainring is also loose and wonky!
Very disappointed in the bike. Made all the worse that my wife’s Trek PF5 arrived first and I had been out on that. What a fabulous smooth and quiet bike. The CUBE is a crude noisy bag of nails by comparison! Terrible rattle from around the headset area. Yesterday I stripped and checked everything I could see but it made no difference. Front disc is slight warped so rubs every rpm. Plus the 15mph cutout happens at 14mph according to wife’s Trek. I still need to check which bike is correct.
No local availability so I bought both mail order, so no easy backup.

 

[Eddy Current]

This Manolo right here broke the carbon, switch to alloy+inserts and at the end he say carbon is not a big deal

 

[Zimmerframe]

front chainring is also loose and wonky!

Sounds like you need to start here for the gears. When you say wonky ? it's warped/bent ? or just loose and moving about ?

Shouldn't be any rattles from the headset. There have been a few reports of lack of grease around the headsets on some of the cube's so probably worth investigating. Just search "cube grease", for instance :

Crashy front end?

I’ve noticed that the forks on my Cube seems to be a bit ‘crashy’. Could that be the head bearing? I’ve done 200 miles on the bike now, but on today’s ride, you could feel a kind of thumping when you go over bumps. I've tried loosening off the clamp bolts, tightening the steering head bolt...

www.emtbforums.com

Youtube is normally a good place to start for indexing (once you have a chainring which isn't moving about). You might also need to adjust your b-screw (youtube).

Also check that the cable for the derailleur isn't catching anywhere as the suspension moves.

Depending on the bike, sometimes you have a few more things to setup out of the box. This isn't often a bad thing, it gets you a lot more familiar with more aspects of the bike - even if it's initially frustrating !

 

[inwoods]

Great video for gear indexing.

 

[Jackware]

I think that's the risk you take buying mail order. I've purchased 2 bikes from a well known website due to the price and 0% finance available and both bikes needed work before riding. I needed to buy the correct tool for the Bosch chainring as it was not tight enough but it's always useful to have the tools, As mentioned by others, I always check my bikes over before riding and learning how to adjust the rear mech is a very useful skill and simple once you understand the principles involved.
I appreciate it's frustrating but it's good to get to know your bike.

 

[qwertycube]

Cube - making mechanics out of riders! I’ve managed to tighten the front ring and it’s now fairly straight. But I can only get the indexing to work one end of the cassette, or the other! But at least the bike goes.
But the really worst issue is the rattle, which is dreadful, it appears to be coming from behind the internal plate, behind the battery, at the top. Tightening or loosing the internal cables doesn‘t change the noise. I wasn’t keen on undoing these internals to look behind. I’m guessing it is a loose fixing? Does anyone know what’s behind this plate, or has anyone else taken it off?
Thanks.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Cube - making mechanics out of riders! I’ve managed to tighten the front ring and it’s now fairly straight. But I can only get the indexing to work one end of the cassette, or the other! But at least the bike goes.
But the really worst issue is the rattle, which is dreadful, it appears to be coming from behind the internal plate, behind the battery, at the top. Tightening or loosing the internal cables doesn‘t change the noise. I wasn’t keen on undoing these internals to look behind. I’m guessing it is a loose fixing? Does anyone know what’s behind this plate, or has anyone else taken it off?
Thanks.

It's not the battery mounts which need adjusting is it ? There are some threads on that but I'm mobile at the moment so can't find them.

 

[qwertycube]

No, the battery seems tight. The reason I’ve pinpointed the rattle location is I then took the cover off and battery out. The noise was much clearer. It’s in behind the top of the internal backing plate. I’m probably just going dissemble it tomorrow and see what’s behind it.

 

[MitchF]

Take it to a local mechanic that has a good reputation and get it “re-built”. The bike isn’t the issue it’s the build by the sounds of what your describing.

 

[Bazzb1973]

Mine had rattle thought it was behind headset area turned out to be brake pads spring/clip that holds pads apart

 

[qwertycube]

Thanks. I haven’t tackled the bike yet so I’ll double check on that before I do.

 

[ggx]

Did you bought it on-line?
Several Cube bikes in familly and friends bought from local dealer. All units in good conditions and good after marker assistence.

 

[Frankieboy]

Between me, my wife and a mate we have 5 Cubes, all purchased from LBS. Whilst the LBS has done a great job of setting the bikes up; break alignment, gear indexing etc. I suspect Cubes build quality is somewhat lacking. That’s based on the fact that between us several rear suspension bolts have come loose, thankfully no damage, plus a loose sprocket lock ring which shredded the motor splines, resulting in a new motor.

Before riding my last purchase I went round the whole bike checking the torque of every bolt; several were found to be looser than they should be. If I buy another, I will ask the LBS to do these checks, assuming it’s a Cube.

Also, I’ve recently replaced all the bearings in my rear suspension. I found a mismatch of bearing seals, which suggests to me they chucked in whatever they had to hand / available vs. correct seals for purpose. Although I accept I could be wrong here.

Personally I enjoy maintaining my own bikes and get a degree of confidence in knowing everything is as it should be. If, however, it’s not for you, finding a good local mechanic / LBS is important, as others have previously stated in this thread and many others. As suggested by others, YouTube is also a good source of information.

 

[Bazzb1973]

Loose bolts, brake alignment, gear indexing arnt manufacturing issues its something all bikes suffer and should be checked upon frequently its all part of owning a bike isn't it

 

[Frankieboy]

Loose bolts, brake alignment, gear indexing arnt manufacturing issues its something all bikes suffer and should be checked upon frequently its all part of owning a bike isn't it

Absolutely, but they are normally things that need attention after a period of time; several weeks ‘ months. We shouldn’t expect to have to do those things to a new bike we’ve just payed upwards of 3k for.

 

[qwertycube]

If the bike was anything but brand new, I’d have no issue or difficulty taking it apart and fixing it myself, albeit wary of screwing the electric side of things. My LBS couldn’t source me one so I bought online. However I‘ve spoken to my LBS and they are going to have a look at it early next week. Apart from the annoying rattle and the early?15mph cutoff, the bike is great fun.