Cube with CX or Active plus ?

[Powlo71]

Firstly Hi

After lots of research in fact too much as my head hurts I have come to the conclusion that a Cube Acid or Reaction would be the right bike for me and my wallet, but do I need the CX or the Active Plus.

My use is purely for fitness (want to get fit) and getting out in the great outdoors, I live within Dartmoor national park so plan to ride on the Moor plus some road use with lots of steep hills around here, my budget is around £1500 (although I was told I wouldn't be able to get a bike within my budget by a bike shop today).

Any help or ideas are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MikeS]

well I do a lot of hill riding with the Active Plus. It's not the best for the job but you do get fit
Apparently the Active Plus is much quieter than the CX (but I've never ridden a CX)
Mike

 

[Powlo71]

I test rode a Ghost emtb yesterday with the CX and I was very impressed, but it was over my budget the Shop wanted New money for a rental bike

 

[soundwave]

https://www.freeborn.co.uk/cube-reaction-hybrid-pro-400-29-2018-iridium-green-mtn-e-bike?gclid=Cj0KCQiA68bhBRCKARIsABYUGidvsi2ZHNc_m5ti-T-ApTpjb9ZAPCRWZiobeK99iy2eyNBmWJtHxgYaAqUpEALw_wcB

https://www.mhw-bike.com/cube-reaction-hybrid-one-400-iridium-n-white-2019-11097

 

[Powlo71]

https://www.freeborn.co.uk/cube-reaction-hybrid-pro-400-29-2018-iridium-green-mtn-e-bike?gclid=Cj0KCQiA68bhBRCKARIsABYUGidvsi2ZHNc_m5ti-T-ApTpjb9ZAPCRWZiobeK99iy2eyNBmWJtHxgYaAqUpEALw_wcB

https://www.mhw-bike.com/cube-reaction-hybrid-one-400-iridium-n-white-2019-11097

I've seen it here too..

https://www.leisurewheels.co.uk/m12b0s181p19807/CUBE-Reaction-Hybrid-Pro-400-2018

https://www.freeborn.co.uk/cube-reaction-hybrid-pro-400-29-2018-iridium-green-mtn-e-bike?gclid=Cj0KCQiA68bhBRCKARIsABYUGidvsi2ZHNc_m5ti-T-ApTpjb9ZAPCRWZiobeK99iy2eyNBmWJtHxgYaAqUpEALw_wcB

https://www.mhw-bike.com/cube-reaction-hybrid-one-400-iridium-n-white-2019-11097

 

[TobyAnscombe]

I’ve got the Cube Acid One 400 as I ummed and arr’d for ages but figured that I’d vote with my wallet.

Absolutely love it, don’t think that I made a poor choice!

FWIW my first bike was a Cytronex which I had for about 6 years. I’m 6’4” and about 19.5 stone and the ActivePlus seems to carry me along quite happily up and down hills..

 

[soundwave]

if you got the cash id not wait long as will soon be gone

 

[Artstu]

I'd take one with a larger battery and less power every time, in reality you'll rarely use all of the power of the cx motor, so this would be my choice.


https://www.leisurewheels.co.uk/m12b0s181p19805/CUBE-Acid-Hybrid-One-500-29-2018

 

[Chris M]

It's a bit of a drive for you but I recommend you have a chat with Race Co of Stourbridge. I found they gave good advice and will do a great deal on a new bike. I got my Acid from them. I have never ridden a CX but am very happy with the active line pro. I reckon it climbs really well but I have nothing to compare it with. The Acid is a very good trail bike and is great for everything I do but Cube don't recommend it for hardcore mountain biking. The upside to this is that the acid is a little lighter than a bike designed for the roughest work. Race co will recommend what is best for the riding you do.

 

[Powlo71]

I won't be doing any hard-core off roading (I'm not built for that) just light trails, track and a few roads

 

[Artstu]

I'd go hybrid then https://www.leisurewheels.co.uk/m12b0s184p19823/CUBE-Cross-Hybrid-One-500-2018

 

[Malcolm Jones]

Last spring I bought a the Cube cross hybrid race allroad 500 which has the CX motor and the 500 battery. I've done 1500 mile on mixed trails and roads in south Wales and Brittany, so mainly lumpy. I've been really pleased with it but would probably agree that the CX is overkill for what I do. Most of the time the power is either off or on eco. Consequently I get very good battery life. However, its nice to have tour and emountainbike settings from time to time. i've cycled for many years and do not regret my purchase on my 75th birthday.

 

[Gringo]

Cube acid one 500 for me, my third pedelec and the best so far
Full size chainring and no internal gearing makes it easier to pedal off power, it's quieter and unlike the CX motor it hasn't any bearing failures that I'm aware of ?
I'm not upto speed with pricing at this time of year but woul be surprised if you can't find one close to your budget
I should add that I've been through some pretty sloppy trails recently with a mate on a CX cube and he's not gone anywhere I couldn't, perhaps the CX's extra torque lets him pull a slightly higher gear but that's no big deal unless your in a race

 

[Andy McNish]

I have a Cube Touring 500 with the Activeline Plus and the range is insane. My cycling since Xmas suggests it's around 220km if pancake flat on mixed surfaces (Cheshire Plains), dropping to 130km or so when doing routes with some elevation (as in 1800 feet over 45km - up towards the Peak District).

You also literally cannot hear it on Eco. It is whisper quiet even on the higher boost modes.

As it is 1:1 with zero resist it is also easier to use over 26mph or with the assist off than the CX.

It's range with the same battery is c.30% further than that of the CX and you will probably use the assist less in normal use.

The real question therefore is what is the steepest gradient you can comfortably get up with the Activeline Plus. That will depend mainly upon your fitness and weight.
I haven't tested that myself yet but will report back when I do.
The routes I have done so far haven't had anything steeper than 10%. Certainly there were no issues with that.
I have seen reviews of it suggesting that you can get up 20% gradients with it but if you intend to be doing a lot of hills over 15% I'd suggest the CX would suit you more.

 

[Powlo71]

I'd go hybrid then https://www.leisurewheels.co.uk/m12b0s184p19823/CUBE-Cross-Hybrid-One-500-2018

That's a really nice looking bike and the one I'm planning on going for.

Thanks

 

[Crossroads]

If you are a heavy or unfit rider in hilly terrain, or you just want lots of assistance available, the CX, otherwise the Active line plus takes the range honours and is cheaper. You don't have to have EMTB mode with the CX, a dealer can reset it to SPORT so assistance is ECO 50% TOUR 120% SPORT 210% TURBO 300%. Use the Bosch Range software on their site, put in all the parameters and see what is best for you. The CX is quiet, I only hear it on TURBO going up steep hills.

 

[MikeS]

.....
The real question therefore is what is the steepest gradient you can comfortably get up with the Activeline Plus. That will depend mainly upon your fitness and weight.
I haven't tested that myself yet but will report back when I do.
The routes I have done so far haven't had anything steeper than 10%. Certainly there were no issues with that.
I have seen reviews of it suggesting that you can get up 20% gradients with it but if you intend to be doing a lot of hills over 15% I'd suggest the CX would suit you more.

I am fit but a poor cyclist (no quads). My BoschactiveLine Plus managed the hill at Garrigill but only just. I thought I was going to have to get off but just managed it. Seems like the steepest bit of that is 17% https://veloviewer.com/segment/4140450/Garrigill+climb
On the other hand I managed the very long climb up to Hartside with ease and was hardly out of breath and I don't think the motor was in turbo mode at all. Although its an elevation change of about 400m the road snakes a lot so the steepest climb is only about 8%. Even so it used 35% of my Bosch 400 battery in 25 minutes.
https://veloviewer.com/segment/6681248
Mike

 

[sjpt]

I did a quick calculation yesterday (for myself) to find that raising 100kg (possible weight of rider plus bike) through 100m will take around 27wh; or allowing for motor inefficiency probably 35wh. You can easily scale up/down from there for different weights, heights and to allow for rider contribution.

That ties with 400m to take 140wh; exactly 35% of 400w ... but ignores any effort you may have put in yourself.

I find the Bosch range assistant (https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/) very helpful even for non-Bosch motors, but despite other things being a bit more precise its options for terrain are very vague and limited.

 

[Andy McNish]

I did a quick calculation yesterday (for myself) to find that raising 100kg (possible weight of rider plus bike) through 100m will take around 27wh; or allowing for motor inefficiency probably 35wh. You can easily scale up/down from there for different weights, heights and to allow for rider contribution.

That ties with 400m to take 140wh; exactly 35% of 400w ... but ignores any effort you may have put in yourself.

I find the Bosch range assistant (https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/service/range-assistant/) very helpful even for non-Bosch motors, but despite other things being a bit more precise its options for terrain are very vague and limited.

Yes - I'd find their 'terrain' factor more helpful if it was based on metres of total elevation over the ride rather than vague descriptions like 'upland tour'.

I'm not young or fit and never push myself to heart rate max, yet output up to 200W average on some Strava segments on my normal bike.

When cycling up into the Peaks last week I found that 550m total elevation over a 46km ride used up about one third of my 500Wh battery on the Activeline Plus (so that would be about 166 Wh in total - but that was a two and a half hour ride). To be honest I suspect battery life is all about elevation - on the flat the Cube Touring bike needs very low (if any) levels of assist.

 

[Powlo71]

I visited another bike shop again being told to get either the Yamaha or the CX I tried a Giant Fathom E +3 2019 and a Haibike Sduro Cross 9.0, I preferred the style and seating of the Sduro but although a good price as it's an ex demo @ £2000 (new £3700) it's more than I want to spend, the Fathom was nice although the controls for the assistance don't have a an LCD display just LED lights.