Purchased a 2018 Cube Reaction Race 500

[Jerrymond]

Hi bear I put sks bluemels 65s on mine plus some Raw mudflaps. Seem pretty good so far.

 

[The Bear]

Hi bear I put sks bluemels 65s on mine plus some Raw mudflaps. Seem pretty good so far.

Nice. What size wheels do you have? Are they 29"?

 

[Jerrymond]

Hi yes 29er got the 65 x 700cc bluemels from spa cycles for £20 they fit just! Not much clearance so no good for very muddy stuff but great for a commute. I think the front one could do with being a bit longer still just to minimise bike cleaning.

 

[The Bear]

Well I took my bike out for its first proper ride out today. I didn't go particularly far, but I did hunt down all the steep hill in the area, to see how the bike would tackle them, and i pleased to say that Turbo setting made even the steepest of hills an absolute breeze .

Ive put an old rear mudguard on for now, one that I had knocking about in the garage from a previous bike. But I think I'd like some that give better protection from surface water. The front mudguard thing was a freebie from Bosch after I recently complained about their customer service. Ive also fitted a side stand.

One thing I did notice when tackling hills is my disregard for the correct gear. Because pedalling is so easy I kept forgetting to change down a gear for the hills!!!!!

 

[The Bear]

Commuted on the ebike today for the first time. Its about 6 miles each way so not far. Its downhill and flat almost all the way to work, but then that means its almost uphill all the way home, and they are very steep hills. When I tried doing it the other year on my normal bike it initially took me almost an hour to get home due to stopping for rests. I did get to the stage where I could do it without having to stop, but the steepness of the hills just pissed me off so I gave up.

But today the ebike got me home in 25mins without the need to stop for a rest. I was still a bit knackered, but it was enjoyable.

 

[EddiePJ]

The good thing is that you can now make that ride as easy, or as hard as you like.

 

[The Bear]

One thing I dd notice today was the 15mph assistance cut off was very noticeable. I seemed to be finding my comfortable cruising speed was often about 17mph, but could certainly feel the assistance cutting off at around that speed, and found myself slowing down slightly to keep the assistance active.

I guess the only solution to this would be a dongle, to allow the assistance to remain. But I'm holding off on that until I send more time getting used to the bike.

 

[Jerrymond]

Beautiful looking bike by the way. I went for an ebike for just the same reason. I could just about manage my commute but it was so tough that I just gave up. Now it's a pleasure (although still quite hard work). The dongle thing, I'm not going for one as whenever possible I try and keep above the cut off (on flat and slight down hills). I think it's improving my fitness so that's good. The only time I want extra speed is in traffic but that's why 90% of my ride avoids it.

 

[Rohloffboy]

Yep The Bear, cut off I can see being an issue, although due to the hills around were I live, getting beyond 15mph on my none ebike only really happens on the down bits and flats.

As for mudguards, the best I have ever fitted are by Gilles Berthoud, very nice Stainless Steel full cover guards, had mine on for over a year, and well pleased with them.

Surprisingly easy to fit, and shorton as well, as I did with the rear guard, which I attached to the rear rack, so no stays required, appreciate you can't do that unless you have a rear rack.

 

[Trevormonty]

One thing I dd notice today was the 15mph assistance cut off was very noticeable. I seemed to be finding my comfortable cruising speed was often about 17mph, but could certainly feel the assistance cutting off at around that speed, and found myself slowing down slightly to keep the assistance active.

I guess the only solution to this would be a dongle, to allow the assistance to remain. But I'm holding off on that until I send more time getting used to the bike.

Cutoff is more noticeable in high assist levels which you shouldn't need on flat. Try using eco cutoff is less noticeable.

The other thing to try is covering up the display and enjoy the ride while not being distracted by numbers.

 

[R0881E]

One thing I dd notice today was the 15mph assistance cut off was very noticeable. I seemed to be finding my comfortable cruising speed was often about 17mph, but could certainly feel the assistance cutting off at around that speed, and found myself slowing down slightly to keep the assistance active.

I guess the only solution to this would be a dongle, to allow the assistance to remain. But I'm holding off on that until I send more time getting used to the bike.

They probably know when you have dongled the bike so I would test ride it for a while to be sure there are no major faults before risking voiding warranty.
I could be wrong, but that was my understanding from reading threads when researching whether to get an e-bike or DIY KIT.

 

[The Bear]

After a few normal commutes I had to work at a different location today. Its 17 miles away and I would never attempt this on my normal pushbike. Its also quite an elevated route, with the worst of it on the route home. After a long day at work the last thing I would ever want to do is cycle home up those hills. But my 'ebike of awsomeness' made it quite enjoyable.

As I was going up the steep hill on the way home the battery dropped to one bar, but it got me home ok. So, thats 34 miles completed in one day, something that just would never have happened on my normal bike, i'd have taken the motorbike instead.

The ride to work .....................................................................................................

G



The ride home

 

[DangerousDave79]

Good stuff Bear. My commuting machine (Cube) is complete now with panier, mud guards, tyres changed to Schwalbe Marathon plus (Which upped the average speed by 2 km/h!) and the dongle which is well worth the £100 odd quid.

 

[The Bear]

Good stuff Bear. My commuting machine (Cube) is complete now with panier, mud guards, tyres changed to Schwalbe Marathon plus (Which upped the average speed by 2 km/h!) and the dongle which is well worth the £100 odd quid.

Nice

Which Cube bike have you got and which mud guards. (Sorry if you've already mentioned it before)

 

[DangerousDave79]

The

Nice

Which Cube bike have you got and which mud guards. (Sorry if you've already mentioned it before)

The Cube Reaction Hybrid HPA Pro 500

The mudguards where SKS and fit perfectly with the 28 x 1.75 Marathons.

Bontrager Back Rack for Disc brakes, DRM V8 pedals, a light bar for additional room upfront to place my mobile phone and Bright R head light

 

[The Bear]

Thanks, looks great. Might have to do similar

 

[DangerousDave79]

I would recommend the Brite R Vier light, ive bought 2, one for the bike, and one for the top of the helmet. I went out for a 16k night ride on Sunday night and it felt safer than during the day, the two lights lit the road up better than my car headlights, ive also stuck a cheep £5 flashing light on the back of the pannier rack and a Cateye Rapid Mini Rear Light on the seat post. Its pumping out 50 lumens but I think ill purchase a 300 lumen Lezyne Strip Drive, I tried it out in the shop and it will defintly get you noticed day and night.

 

[The Bear]

...and the dongle which is well worth the £100 odd quid.

Which dongle did you go for?

Im definitely accepting that a dongle must be well worth having. I do find it frustrating that as I build up to a nice cruising speed I'm suddenly hit by a wall of resistance. Im not wanting to achieve great speeds but It would be nice to be able to ride at a comfortable cruising speed between 15mph and 20mph without experiencing the resistance.

 

[DangerousDave79]

Bear, I went for the

badassBox 3.4 for Bosch

ITs fitted in 10 seconds, just mov the megnet on the wheel 10mm and slide the box over the existing spedo sensor. Done.

It really puts the bike into commutter mode, just eating up the miles, my average speed taken from strava with dongle on is about 28/29km/h and thats cruising, my commute is mostly flat witha large hill at the end so im considering changing the hub cog to a 20 as I find my leg speed (cadence) is too high at the 30km/h rate, id like to be pushing a little slower and more relaxed as its well capable of doing that speed at lower cadence. So thats the next amendment...

 

[The Bear]

Thanks DD79, I think I need to get one. Hitting the resistance is really annoying me.