Cube Acid 400 chainring upgrade

[DroidOne]

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New sprocket mounted on the outside of the old spider.

Might need a longer chain ;-)

You can get a rizla paper between the sprocket and the frame...

A quick spin out round the village and it felt about 4-5km faster and a gear maybe two higher for a given cadence. Will try my commute tomorrow and see what Strava says...

Interesting. I have a 10 speed (11-42) bosch active line bike and never use any of the ~7 lower gears or so. It's all flat where i live though, so 46T would probably be the best option. I'd prefer to have more options on flat ground, rather than just 3.

I take it no you have no regrets after switching to 46T?

I'll probably order these - they should be compatible with acl 2018:

FSA Bosch eBike Chainguard

Bosch eBike Chainguard (36-38T/42T/44-46T)

activesport.co

FSA Bosch E-Bike Chainring

Bosch eBike Chainring

activesport.co

 

[soundwave]

i have the small chain ring on my bike 20t but it is the same as a normal 50t one and the 18t one is the same as a 45t so ur about in the middle so should be fine.

id not go over 50t tho

 

[TobyAnscombe]

Out at my brother in laws today so no cycling. Will be commuting tomorrow so a straight back to back compare will be doable.

Stuck a x11 chain on to cater for the increase in size - 114 to 118. The rear mech looks a lot happier but it seems that chains have moved on - no longer do you push a pin but squeeze a link!

 

[DroidOne]

i have the small chain ring on my bike 20t but it is the same as a normal 50t one and the 18t one is the same as a 45t so ur about in the middle so should be fine.

id not go over 50t tho

I went ahead with the 46T sprocket. Also going to post a little report as soon as I've had a chance to take a ride.

 

[TobyAnscombe]

Update today - commute showed no improvement in time although I could feel my legs working harder (tick!) but as it was peeing it down and I've been off work for 2 weeks maybe that's not a bad thing.. I was certainly using more gears than normal and wasn't spinning out the pedals; I just think that I underestimated how much work the motor does ;-)

I'll keep in on for a couple of weeks and see if my legs cope.

For the record:
Velosolo - Gebhardt BLACK Singlespeed Mountain Bike 3/32" Chainring black chainrings: 46t
KMC X11 chain (118 links)

Screwdriver and hammer to remove the securing ring as both spider tools I bought were too large. Had to buy a chain tool for the KMC as the magic link was different to what I am used to.

 

[DroidOne]

I made the switch today from 38T to 46T and what a difference for the better!

Instead of having about two useful gears while riding @25-30KPH I now have around 4-5, which is amazing.

I can now find a cadance that fits me much better while going @ 30KPH, which is really, really nice. Very happy about the upgrade! I don't see any downsides. It really did hit a sweet spot for me.

If you're thinking about moving to 44T or 46T go for it. I guarantee that you won't regret it.

(I'm riding Bosch active line plus with 10 gears)

 

[DroidOne]

@TobyAnscombe - what cassette are you using with your 46T front sprocket?

I have a 11-42T. Thinking about switching to 11-28T or 11-32T in order to fine tune even more. 11-25t will probably be a bit heavy with the 46T front sprocket.

Here are the shimano deore 10 speed options:
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25T
11-12-13-14-15-17 -19-21-24-28T (Ultegra)
11-12-14-16-18-20-22-25-28-32T
11-13-15-18-21-24-28-32-37-42T

Tried climbing some hills with 24T, and it's maybe a bit on the heavy side, so 11-25T might be a bit limiting. I think 11-28T would be worth a try though.


BTW. Does anyone know if I can use a Shimano Ultegra casette on my Deore equipped bike? I can only find Ultegra with 11-28T, as Deore only offers 12-28T.

 

[TobyAnscombe]

Shimano CS-HG200, 11-34T is the default and I’ve not felt the urge to change it. Based on my previous knowledge (assumptions from 20+years) you’d need to change the shifters as well as the cassette as the distance between the cogs is the the important thing when it comes to shifters/cassette relationship. If the Ultrega is also 10 speed then your probably going to be ok but mixing and matching is a bad idea..

HTH - been off mine for 2 weeks but now it’s the end of term so no rushing back to pick up kids in the car..

 

[DroidOne]

Shimano CS-HG200, 11-34T is the default and I’ve not felt the urge to change it. Based on my previous knowledge (assumptions from 20+years) you’d need to change the shifters as well as the cassette as the distance between the cogs is the the important thing when it comes to shifters/cassette relationship. If the Ultrega is also 10 speed then your probably going to be ok but mixing and matching is a bad idea..

HTH - been off mine for 2 weeks but now it’s the end of term so no rushing back to pick up kids in the car..

I'll go with the 11-32T. Thanks!

 

[barbel]

new decathlon rockrider e-st 900

 

[phil]

Hello - is it acceptable to resurrect this thread after nearly a year?

My reason is that I am trying to have my 2019 Cube Touring SL (with Speedchip) chainring increased from 38T to 42 or 44T. Did anyone need to replace their chain, as I've been told I need to (but probably cos I have a dinner-plate 46T large rear sprocket) which is doubling the cost of the conversion (KMC chains do not offer eough sprockets so having to buy a Shimano 138 link chain)?

Also my bike has an all-in-one chainring without spider, but this system only goes up to (I think) 40T. So I felt 42T chainring would be best but LBS says these are not available to fit that spider!! Now I'm likely to have the "too big to fit in place" issue and have to outwards mount the chainring, I presume. Makes me wonder if I should have just upped it to 40T to see if made slight improvement, and cost a fraction of the £100 its going to? Has anyone else replaced a non-spider chainring?

Phil, Nantwich, Cheshire

 

[TobyAnscombe]

HI Phil - on my first upgrade I did up the chain to a KMC 118 link chain which gave me just enough extra to compensate for the larger chainring.

2nd upgrade was to move to a x11 setup where that chain wasn't long enough for the monster top cog and I'm pretty sure that I ended up with a 12 speed chain but my inbox filing system cant seem to find it. From memory it was a 126 link chain or similar...

EDIT - yes, I needed a Shimano XT M8100 12 Speed Chain to fit.

 

[Artstu]

Hello - is it acceptable to resurrect this thread after nearly a year?

My reason is that I am trying to have my 2019 Cube Touring SL (with Speedchip) chainring increased from 38T to 42 or 44T. Did anyone need to replace their chain, as I've been told I need to (but probably cos I have a dinner-plate 46T large rear sprocket) which is doubling the cost of the conversion (KMC chains do not offer eough sprockets so having to buy a Shimano 138 link chain)?

Also my bike has an all-in-one chainring without spider, but this system only goes up to (I think) 40T. So I felt 42T chainring would be best but LBS says these are not available to fit that spider!! Now I'm likely to have the "too big to fit in place" issue and have to outwards mount the chainring, I presume. Makes me wonder if I should have just upped it to 40T to see if made slight improvement, and cost a fraction of the £100 its going to? Has anyone else replaced a non-spider chainring?

Phil, Nantwich, Cheshire

Worth noting bike shops have various chains on a roll, so they can sell you whatever length chain you require.

 

[Marc250]

Hi @TobyAnscombe.

I'm looking at changing the gearing on my Dads 2019 Cube Acid as he'd like a higher top gear. I'd ruled out a bigger chainring as I thought one wouldn't fit but seemingly you have done. Assuming it's the same bike as yours I guess your new chainring has some sort of offset to clear the frame and was wondering if there is any issues at running slightly out of alignment? Gear changing still okay, does the chainring sticking out further impact pedal space or anything?

In terms of fitting it is it just the case of undoing the alloy centre lock (hammer and screw driver ) and sticking on the item you listed above (Velosolo chainring). The offset is built into the new chainring?

Secondly I don't know if you have done this (think I saw you had elsewhere on forum) is changing this bike to a 11 speed possible/easy? Want to do this to put a decent rear derailer on with a clutch to stop the chain jumping of the chainring. I run another brand ebike myself but it's an 11 speed mtb and hasn't lost the chain once in 8k miles where as my Dads bike frequently jumps off so hoping an upgraded derailer would fix this?

Assuming 11 speed shifter, derailer, cassette, chain and all is well? The rear freehub will fit an 11 speed cassette?

I've added a pic of bike below to check it's the same bike? Any help appreciated, cheers, Marc

 

[TobyAnscombe]

Hey Marc

Yep, moving to XT 11-spd was easy and straightforward.

42t sprocket will fit, bit of paint scraping on the rear stay but no other changes needed. Will dig up details and a photo tomorrow for you.

 

[Marc250]

Hey Marc

Yep, moving to XT 11-spd was easy and straightforward.

42t sprocket will fit, bit of paint scraping on the rear stay but no other changes needed. Will dig up details and a photo tomorrow for you.

Thank you very much! No rush/hurry and as said appreciate your information. Bike's covering about 2000 miles a month atm so simply want the *right*/robust solution. We go through chains/cassettes about every 2-4k miles but the chainring on this bike is original and has probably 18k miles on atm so has seen its best!

 

[Gringo]

I have a 2018 Acid one and the chainring is mounted on a carrier.
Earlier this year I found an unused 42 tooth chainring in the back of the shed and it just happened to be 104 bcd
As the bike had done over 1000 miles I thought I’d fit a new chain set.
I already had a 9spd 11-42 cassette on my analog bike that had hardly been used (the gap between ratios was to big for my human power alone But fine with motor assistancs) So all I needed was a new chain.
not everyone will agree with me but as a std chain is not long enough I was happy to fit a few extra links and Use two connecting links
There’s not enough frame clearance for a larger than 38t ring mounted correctly to the carrier so I put it on the outside and kept the original ring on the inside, (easy enough to flick the chain from one to the other just incase you want to change the gear ratio, not that I’ve needed to in the past 500+ miles.

 

[Gringo]

my Dads bike frequently jumps off

I’ve covered 2300 miles on my acid one and only once has the chain come off and that was riding down a flight of stairs (only 6 steps)

 

[Marc250]

I’ve covered 2300 miles on my acid one and only once has the chain come off and that was riding down a flight of stairs (only 6 steps)

I think it's just a combination of factors:- 2000 miles a month increasing the odds of it happening, 25mph down rough country lanes, front suspension is knackered, front chainring is probably knackered after 18,000 miles!, he doesn't have much riding finesse!

All that said when I used to run a Cube Acid (same model as my Dads until it packed up and warranty replaced the motor with one that couldn't be *tweaked* at least at the time) I used to loose the chain occasionally so something is 'less good' at keeping the chain in place than my current bike where I have never had it come off. Only obv differences are is it's carbon fiber so presumably more rigid but the Acid is built like a tank so hard to believe any flex in it! ...and far nicer derailer.

 

[Chris M]

I find the gearing on my Acid one is just right for me. I can climb very steep hills and happily pedal at 19 mph on the flat but tend to let her roll down hills. There must be some fit folk amongst us!

My chain started fall off occasionally at about 1,000 miles. This became more regular as the mileage went up. At 1,500 miles I put a new chain on (KMC as per original) and also did a slight upgrade on the rear mech to Alivio. I've only done about 100 miles since but the chain has stayed in place over all sorts of terrain.

The upgrade I want is new front forks. I'm not sure those Suntour CM forks are any better than non suspension forks. Mine seem to rattle or clonk a bit although I can't see any evidence they are about to fall apart. I don't do any wild riding, just trails, so I'm thinking maybe some of the "budget" range Rockshox may be more in line with my needs.