Review Cube Touring Hybrid Pro 625

[Slightlypedantic]

My first e-bike... generally good but after 500 miles some issues have come to light.

IMHO:

The saddle position is too far forward, by as much as 25-30m. The standard suspension seat-post has no set-back and the saddle adjustment is limited. To fix this I have had to buy an after-market seat-post with set-back and a saddle with much more adjustment (Spa Cycles "Nidd"), at a cost of around £115.

The forks, SR Suntour NVX30, appear bouncy, jerky and creaky. Preload adjustent on both sides has to be kept in balance or the wheel leans to one side. No lock-out. SR Suntour say this is a "lower-end" fork that "has no oil damper cartridge" and "relies on friction between bushings and stanchions". This fork seems inappropriate on an otherwise well specified touring e-bike. Upgrading to a reasonable RockShox fork, as suggested by the dealer, is likely to cost a few hundred £££s.

The rubber cover for the external charging socket is a poor fit and seems likely to let water in, and perhaps salt too int he winter. This appears to be a known design fault, which has been reported by the dealer but so far with no response from Cube.

On the plus side. the Bosch motor and Intuvia display seem excellent and the battery life is good (with careful use). It goes up most steep hills in Tour mode, with Sport and Turbo modes rarely used. Mostly I use Eco mode. The Schwalbe Big Ben tyres have very low rolling resistance for their size and the 1 x 11 gears are more than adequate. The corrected riding position feels good.

Although purchased for £2,999, I'm now looking at an overall cost of around £3,400 after fixing the saddle position and forks. I could have bought a KTM for that money and had a better bike.

I hope this information helps others and that Cube can address the issues I have found.

 

[Slightlypedantic]

My first e-bike... generally good but after 500 miles some issues have come to light.

IMHO:

The saddle position is too far forward, by as much as 25-30m. The standard suspension seat-post has no set-back and the saddle adjustment is limited. To fix this I have had to buy an after-market seat-post with set-back and a saddle with much more adjustment (Spa Cycles "Nidd"), at a cost of around £115.

The forks, SR Suntour NVX30, appear bouncy, jerky and creaky. Preload adjustent on both sides has to be kept in balance or the wheel leans to one side. No lock-out. SR Suntour say this is a "lower-end" fork that "has no oil damper cartridge" and "relies on friction between bushings and stanchions". This fork seems inappropriate on an otherwise well specified touring e-bike. Upgrading to a reasonable RockShox fork, as suggested by the dealer, is likely to cost a few hundred £££s.

The rubber cover for the external charging socket is a poor fit and seems likely to let water in, and perhaps salt too int he winter. This appears to be a known design fault, which has been reported by the dealer but so far with no response from Cube.

On the plus side. the Bosch motor and Intuvia display seem excellent and the battery life is good (with careful use). It goes up most steep hills in Tour mode, with Sport and Turbo modes rarely used. Mostly I use Eco mode. The Schwalbe Big Ben tyres have very low rolling resistance for their size and the 1 x 11 gears are more than adequate. The corrected riding position feels good.

Although purchased for £2,999, I'm now looking at an overall cost of around £3,400 after fixing the saddle position and forks. I could have bought a KTM for that money and had a better bike.

I hope this information helps others and that Cube can address the issues I have found.

Update:
Another problem.

If the chain comes off the front chain-ring it can jam between the chain-ring and the three arms of the steel bracket holding the chain guard. Surprisingly, the clearance is less than the width of an 11 speed chain, let alone a 10 speed. It's a pig to fix because the slight crank in the chain-guard bracket arms traps the chain on the inside and prevents it releasing. Levering with a largish flat screwdriver sprung the bracket arms and chain-wheel apart just enough to prise the chain out again. This was doubly difficult because the chain also got wedged below the cut-outs in the chain-ring. It took two people and about half an hour to sort it out. This appears to be a design fault. Come on Cube, how hard can it be?!

My thanks to the local gamekeeper who stopped to help in a remote country lane. No-one else went past in getting on for an hour and it was not long until dusk - how lucky was that!

 

[Colin-M]

Update:

If the chain comes off the front chain-ring it can jam between the chain-ring and the three arms of the steel bracket holding the chain guard. Surprisingly, the clearance is less than the width of an 11 speed chain, let alone a 10 speed. It's a pig to fix because the slight crank in the chain-guard bracket arms traps the chain on the inside and prevents it releasing.

Yes, i had this problem the day i bought mine - before I'd even had a chance to ride it.
The shop fixed it, but i could see the chain guard world cause similar (worse) problems if it ever happened whilst I was out on the road . So i got them to remove the chain guard.

Its a design flaw just waiting to bite you

 

[Az.]

CUBE PRODUKT ARCHIV | Cube Touring Hybrid Pro 625 black´n´metal

Unkompliziertes Handling, höchste Vielseitigkeit, Bosch Motor – für die grenzenlose Freiheit auf zwei Rädern!

www.cube.eu

Sounds like a lot of money for a poor bike.

 

[Ally Fish]

Thanks all for contributions above. My 14 month old Cube Touring Hyrbid Pro 625 has had the same issues with the chain jumping off the front gear ring and jamming between the chain guard bracket and the ring. This has happened multiple times. I found dry water-based lubricants such as Muck-Off Yellow were frequently resulting in a stiff chain that was prone to jumping. After changing to oil-based lubricants Muck-Off Blue the frequency of the chain coming off is lower, but at cost of the chain & gears crudding up and needing regular cleaning. I've also taken two links out of the chain last month, as in top gear it was slack and occasionally jumping on the rear gear set. That stopped the jumping, possibly the chain needs renewing along with the front gear set, as I've done 2200miles in 14 months. The chain guard, and the bracket used to support it, are cheap rubbish. The guard plastic snapped near the rear screw fixing and has been glued, the plastic clips holding it to the chain guard bracket were annihilated in no time when the chain came off. I fashioned metal replacements. I used stronger set screws in the chain guard metal bracket fixing screws, as they stripped upon trying to tighten to prevent it rotating loose. It's a good workhorse used several times a week, comfy to ride, and sure on gravel trails, never punctured, and great for towing my daughter's Frog 53 bike with a FollowMe Tandem. The Bosch Gen3 drive set has been flawless, but the Cube has some cheap and rubbish Cube branded components that don't belong on a bike of this price range. With hindsight, I should have considered spending a little more on something like a Specialised bike built to a better quality. It was my first foray into Pedelecs however, and considering the mileage done and the short car journeys saved, money well spent.

 

[Colin-M]

I've now had my Cube Touring Hybrid Pro 625 EE for just over 2 months.
I use it each week but have only done 110 miles so far.
I haven't tried some the Specialised or KTM bikes mentioned earlier and would still recommend people try out a Cube Touring Hybrid

My findings concur with many of the points made above:

Though there is much to like "the Cube has [one or two] cheap and rubbish Cube branded components that don't belong on a bike of this price range "

• PROS's
• Overall I am pleased with it and it does much of what it does better than the 3 other brands and models I tried beforehand
• The combination of this battery, motor and gears make riding up any incline straightforward.
• As a general point, I'm finding that with the gears provided, I'm near or in top gear for much of the time when I'm riding on the level or downhill.
  By the same token, I hardly ever need the lowest gears
  
  
• CONs
• There are minor irritating points which seem to stand out because most of the rest works ok
• I totally agree with the comment earlier on about a few cheap components not being in line with the price range of this bike
  - I've had the chain getting trapped just once
  (My dealer removed the plastic chain guard to help, and so far it hasn't recurred)
  - The front plastic mudguards seem to move out of alignment every other trip and I hear them gently brushing against the tyre
  - The bike stand only seems effective on completely flat ground.
  Following a time when the bike actually toppled over, the strut became loose and started rubbing against the rear tyre. Tightening this up proved more difficult than expected and it felt flimsy, but is fixed now
  - My front light mount slowly worked itself loose, almost falling off during a ride. Luckily I had the right tools to reattach it. I'm surprised as I only ride on normal road, not off-road
  - I find the Intuiva display of limited use
  my display regularly fogs up
  Getting different information seems to require quite a lot of scrolling (if there's a way to customise it so you can get just the data you want on one or two screens, please tell me how).
  I find the usability of the Intuiva screen restricted by:
  - The control device on the left handlebar:
  I've experimented with a few positions but still need to lift my hand off to use any of the controls. With my hand in its natural riding position, I'd need the buttons to fall where my thumb is - underneath the handlebar.
  - I was advised not to leave the battery in the bike in summer or winter temperatures. I don't find the process of removing the battery as easy as I'd like. If you time the key turn right, the battery pops up but there aren't easy places to grip and remove it. If it slips back in, I have to lock then unlock it again.
  Doing this on an almost daily basis might test the quality of the fittings, but I guess that applies to any electric bike

 

[Az.]

£400 to fix new £3000 bike?

 

[Colin-M]

£400 to fix new £3000 bike?

I guess some of this depends on
- how often you buy a new bike
- whether you get a chance to try it out over an extended period,in conditions like you're going to use it.

I'm not sure many bike shops would allow the second.
I was lucky in that a local group have links to a shop and bought a few bikes that people can borrow for a couple of weeks.

Doing this showed me that the Merida and Kalkoff models I was thinking of getting weren't for me. The Cube Touring compared very favourably to them.

The things I've listed might take a while to notice and none have been showstoppers.
I'd far rather have the fundamentals right (problems with the motor or battery probably mean changing the whole bike).
For tweaks to get things exactly how I want them, I accept spending some extra

 

[thelarkbox]

Front mudguard issue.. possibly a 'wobbly' rivet connection between the fixing bracket and the mudguard itself, a few drops of thin superglue on the rivets can 'solid them up keeping the mudguard in a single position..

 

[Az.]

Doing this showed me that the Merida and Kalkoff models I was thinking of getting weren't for me. The Cube Touring compared very favourably to them.

I am really amazed by how much money you guys are ready to spend on bikes. I would consider it to be a good deal if they were offering them with 80% discount and even then I would seriously consider other options.

 

[Ally Fish]

I am really amazed by how much money you guys are ready to spend on bikes.

I guess that's a relative comment. My wife and I both spent around £2.5K on Cube and Specialised E-bikes respectively. They are used regularly for short commutes, and for leisure, and save many short car journeys. We enjoy family rides from home and on holiday, towing my daughter on her Frog bike, she loves it, as do we. We do our research before we commit to spending. We seldom purchase on a whim only to regret it. My wife's Specialised Turbo Vado SL I rate as a better quality and better value-for-money bike than my Cube Hybrid Pro 625 Tourer.

For me, I wanted a tried and tested mid-drive motor and battery combo with a very good safety & reliability record, so I went for Bosch Gen3 motor + Power Tube battery system Cube use. It hasn't disappointed. The specialised bike uses a pretty decent Brose motor platform with in-frame battery. Both are German tech, and at a similar price point in the market. The batteries are metal-cased, and/or integral to a metal frame, which brings a certain reassurance when they are on charge in a garage underneath the house. We wanted reliable known brands with a UK-wide service & spares coverage, so cheaper imported Chinese E-bikes or DIY conversions using aftermarket kits were never an option in our case.

Whether £2.5K per bike represents 'value' depends on the end-user, how much they use it, and how reliable & enjoyable it is. The 'fat lads on E-bikes' [their self-allocated name!] at the local forest think nothing of spending up to £10K on a carbon everything E-MTB!

 

[soundwave]

bosch dont sell motor parts not even bearings for the gen 3 power tube batts can not be recelled as the way they are put together.

with these bikes with no warranty its new motor or batt or it goes down the tip

 

[Ally Fish]

bosch dont sell motor parts not even bearings for the gen 3 power tube batts can not be recelled as the way they are put together.

with these bikes with no warranty its new motor or batt or it goes down the tip

I don't have the DIY competency for repairing E-bike stuff, save basic service and maintenance, but there's a fairly good aftermarket service and repair chain for Bosch Gen3 motors in the UK, so if the worst happened and the motor died on me out of warranty, I don't think it would be game over. But it would be a faff and no doubt somewhat expensive. I would never touch or attempt to repair a Li-Ion battery, or ever accept one that has been repaired. I have a spare Bosch 625 power tube that I got for a very good price. We're happy with the purchases we have made having done a reasonable amount of research prior.

 

[soundwave]

peter can get the bearings but if the controller in the motor goes bang its game over and thats for most brands anyway.

also older bosch motors that are not smart wont work and over time servers gets turned off and software becomes obsolete.

 

[Az.]

I guess that's relative

Indeed. It only proves how different we all are. I don't see anything in this bike what would justify such high price. Nothing at all.

...but I am happy that you both enjoy cycling. After all this is what really matters.

 

[AndyBike]

Mostly I use Eco mode

The thing I find about eco mode is it basically just about negates the weight of the bike itself. So you arent really getting the benefits of the motor, especially if you are carrying luggage or shopping, which means the bike can weigh upwards of 65/70lbs.

You might as well just opt for a standard bike.

For me it's turbo all the way baby.

And another thing. Touring , which is going to include luggage and a fair bit of extra weight, 625wh isn't really that much and you'd be forced to use the lower assistance settings so again you're just negating the overall weight, and that being the case the drive system is pretty much a burden.
That said, you have the extra boost settings - tour/turbo but that then eats into range.
Possibly an ebike that is denoted for touring should be a minimum of 1200wh as this will give you the type of range involved when holidaying and allow you to get on at a good speed.

Tortoise and the Hare, I'd rather be the hare.

 

[lenny]

"The 71-year-old’s £5,000 Cube bike with a fourth-generation Bosch electric motor stopped working outside the warranty.

Although it was resurrected by a software update and did not require a replacement, he says that after trawling the various cycling forums he was astonished by the number of motors that have had to be replaced. He says the problem is exacerbated by the fact that these units are not repairable – parts are not available from Bosch. Some owners say they’ve been told by Bosch not to ride them in wet conditions, which is clearly absurd."

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jun/15/the-big-problem-is-water-uk-ebike-owners-plagued-by-failing-motors

 

[saneagle]

"The 71-year-old’s £5,000 Cube bike with a fourth-generation Bosch electric motor stopped working outside the warranty.

he was astonished by the number of motors that have had to be replaced.

That's mainly because the dealers are all bicycle shops and they know nothing about electrics and how to fix them. I bet many of them had simple connection issues, magnetised torque sensors and things like that, though water ingress probably counted for a lot, and the the uninformed unthinking, who decided to ride their bike on the beach. Yes, even the mighty Bosch tends to get defeated on the beach.

 

[Nealh]

Eddies mighty bosh had issues with his mud plugging days.