2013 Cube AMS 120 Race 29 On Review

Cube AMS 120 Race 29

Cube claim that their ams 120 race 29 offers the same ‘lively handling feel’ as their 26in wheeled bikes. that’s a pretty brave statement, notably after you throw within the whole ‘all mountain configuration’ decal by the prime tube. a race-focused 29er that’s all-mountain capable and handles in addition just like a 26in wheeled bike ? let’s know if it stacks up…

ride & handling : effortless ability out to tackle even troublesome terrain fast

let’s deal in the hype 1st – there’s no approach that the ams 120 race 29 rides as a 26in wheeled bike. however then, it is certainly terribly shocking if it did. as a result of that would mean rewriting the laws of physics.

cube’s designers have done an excellent job in that bike to achieve the weight below 30lb ( 13. 6kg ). thinking about the travel on tap and of course the further weight of these massive hoops, it bests abundant of one’s smaller-wheeled competition. however massive wheels have additional mass rotating additional coming from the wheel’s centre.

whatever it is that you do out to minimise that mass – lighter tyres, lighter rims – it’s still heavier, like for like, in comparison to the 26in wheeled equivalent. and having a fundamental result by the approach that a bike handles.

within the whole case of one’s cube – and like most 29ers we’ve ridden – it’s most noticeable with the front. massive front wheels seem out to have additional inertia than smaller ones, which translates out to a ride feel that’s less ‘flickable’ than the usual smaller wheeled bike.

the ams 120 race 29 doesn’t need as being thrown around within the whole approach that a 120mm ( 4. 7in ) travel 26in wheeled bike would possibly do. however that’s not essentially a problem, as a result of those massive wheels conjointly roll over only regarding something you set with their path. place merely, 29in wheels with 120mm ( 4. 7in ) of suspension is roughly equivalent out to 26in wheels with 140mm ( 5. 5in ) of travel.

in practical terms that makes the cube a formidable companion for covering ground terribly quickly indeed – whether or not upwards or downwards – and regardless of trail conditions. it doesn’t raise as being muscled through tricky trail sections in the very same approach as many of the smaller wheeled competition, which are able to make it feel a bit less entertaining out to ride.

however don’t let its unflappable nature fool you – this can be a much more capable bike than its ‘race’ tag would possibly suggest…

frame & equipment : nice spec connected to well designed, well finished frame

shoehorning 120mm ( 4. 7in ) of rear wheel travel towards a frame that conjointly has out to accommodate 29in wheels isn’t quite as straightforward because it would possibly seem. no surprise then, that the cube bristles with style details and an virtually obsessive attention out to detail.

the most triangle’s triple-butted, hydroformed tubes connect the tapered head tube out to the offset seat tube, that sits slightly ahead of one’s bottom bracket to increment rear tyre clearance ( it says here ). hmm. tyre clearance close to the bottom of one’s swingarm is by the tight aspect, however there’s no denying there’s lots of house behind the seat tube itself.

gear cables are routed internally – out of every muck and harm’s approach – and there’s a group of bolt bosses by the prime tube and get a remote dropper post retro-fit. that’s a pleasant touch connected to bike that few riders would associate in the more than a little riding that would warrant a dropper post – kudos out to cube for bringing the ‘all-mountain’ tag seriously.

the suspension setup is classic four-bar territory by having horst-esque chainstay pivot, low main pivot and rocker-activated shock. it’s not radically new or completely different, however most likely all the higher for it.

the bike justifies its price tag by having prime set of parts that’s terribly troublesome out to notice fault with.

the fox float fork and shock – the fork with custom offset and 15mm through-axle out to improve front-end handling in the massive wheels – each feature the proprietary ctd setup for quick and straightforward management in several riding things.

the wheels have straight-pull spokes and are shod with massive volume, grippy schwalbe nobby nics, whereas finishing kit coming from the likes of selle italia and syntace is all sensible trying and purposeful ( though the blue flanks of one’s saddle lasted merely a one muddy ride before these started out to rub off and be scruffy ).

the spec highlight, though, has as being the shimano deore xt groupset ( apart coming from the shifters, that happen to be slx ). a little over twenty years when its introduction, this can be still the benchmark for performance, durability and all-round worth in shifting and braking. enough same.

Source = bikeradar

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