Cube Touring Hybrid 400 54cm

[Jason Scott]

Bought six weeks ago for £1699, asking £1550 or best offer, local buyer/pickup from Plymouth.

My wife and I bought two Cube Touring Hybrid 400 bikes last month from Damian Harris Cycles (who were excellent and continue to be really helpful). Our daughter is 3 1/2 years old and we were hoping to get a Yepp or Hamax seat to carry her on my bike, but on my way home from work this week I noticed some rattling from the rear rack. On inspection I found that the welding had failed (picture) and this knocked our confidence in those types of seats and it isn't possible to use a standard seat. We're getting a replacement rack which I hope to fit next week. Other than this issue, the bike has performed excellently and I'd posted a small review on my blog. Lots of pictures of the bike can be found there.

It's a 54cm model with Bosch Active Line crank drive and 400wh battery. Bought for £1699 but I accept I'm going to make a loss, so asking price is £1550. I'm only comfortable with local / collection buyers and I'm based in Plymouth. I've done a total of 92 miles.

My plan is to hopefully sell my bike and buy a Cube Cross or Reaction Hybrid which has a standard seat tube that we can attach a child seat to.

 

[stumpy150]

cant you replace the seat post - remove the suspension seat post and fit a clamp around it so you can fit a heavier rear rack ?

 

[Jason Scott]

The rack is rated for 25kg which is enough for the adapter seats, but as mentioned, our confidence is knocked so we'd rather not take the risk, even if this was most likely a rare manufacturing error.

 

[Cheesebox]

Hi Jason,

Odd coincidence, but I'm also Jason, I recently bought a Cube HPA Hybrid Reaction 400, and happen to live in Plymouth..

I have realized that if I want to try to type of riding that I'm interested in, I need full suspension, so I am possibly looking to sell this bike and upgrade to the Stereo range.

I noticed that you've had an issue with your previous bike in terms of attaching the trailer and that you'd be in the market for a Reaction?

I have used this bike for hauling golf clubs to Boringdon with my Burley Travoy and I can confirm it works brilliantly for that kind of thing. The seat doesn't even need to be too high for clearance over the back wheel either.

The frame is a size L 21", but I have put a shorter stem on at the moment to slightly reduce the reach, however the old one can be reattached without fuss.

I just wanted to ask if you might be interested in buying the bike? The bike is 1699 new and It has done 118 miles as of today. I bought it online 2 weeks ago from wheelies.co.uk. I'd let it go for a similar amount to you, so around the 1550 mark, including the stem if you wanted.

I know you'd still have to sell yours, but it is an option if you are interested.

All the best!

Jason

 

[Jason Scott]

Coincidences happen a lot more than we think

I would be tempted, if I can sell mine and yours is still available when I do.

 

[Jason Scott]

I'm going to drop the price on this to £1400. This still includes the replacement of the pannier rack so the bike will be fully working, nearly new.

This is £300 cheaper than the best online price but I really need to resolve being able to carry my daughter and for me, a traditional rear frame attached seat is my preferred option.

 

[culy30]

Jason, I understand your dilema, the implications could have been nasty.

To recoup some of your losses, have you considered converting a conventional bike with one of the mid-drive kits that are available? I converted my wife's hybrid a couple of years ago with the Bafang 250w mid drive. I paid about £550 for the kit inc battery and fitted it myself in about 3 hrs. There are companies that will do the conversion for you such as Brightonebikes, for a fair price.

I'm so impressed with the Bafang mid-drive kit and how the conversion has transformed her use of the bike, I recently bought a used but immaculate 10 yr old Gary Fisher 29er, (Now Trek) and converted it with the Bafang Mid Drive and a bottle cage mounted battery. I went for a higher powered motor (500w) and a battery from Insatinternational (18ah) (that's about 648Wh) as I'll be mainly using this bike off road. I paid £100 for the bike and £650 for the kit inc battery. You might need to go for a bike with horizonal top tube by the sound of it to fit your child seat. There are plenty of these available second hand, bikes shops take trade ins and there are loads on Gumtree or ebay. At a total cost of £750 you'd be saving how much? About £1000 compared with the Cube? And it will be several Kg's lighter. Mine weighs in at 18.5 kgs and its a big battery. Got to be worth a thought. Another benefit of a conversion kit is the ability to put them on another bike in the future.

Good luck in your quest.

 

[Jason Scott]

It's an interesting thought but I'm not very mechanically minded. Also I can't do anything unless I sell mine

 

[Jason Scott]

Updating thread to say the bike is no longer for sale.