CUBE STEREO 170 RACE 29
£2,999 German brand’s best enduro bike yet, if a little short
Cube were missing a long-travel, big-wheeled enduro bike from their line-up – until now. The Stereo 170 29 has been designed to enable you to push your gravity-fuelled limits and have a lot of fun while doing it. So, is Cube’s new bike a bit square, or will it run rings around its rivals?
The frame
The 170 29 uses a four-bar linkage suspension design, like the rest of the Stereo line, but it has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. Firstly, there are two shock mounts – one for an air shock and one for a coilsprung damper. These deliver di erent leverage curves, which are designed to get the best from each type of shock. It also comes with adjustable headset cups, which let you maintain the 64.4-degree head angle should you fit a 180mm fork, or otherwise, steepen it to 65 degrees. These don’t require any special bearings or need to be aligned and pressed into the fame.
Hydroformed aluminium tubing gives the frame a clean look, along with internal cable routing and hidden pivots. Cube only o er the 29in-wheeled Stereo 170 for taller riders, with the 18in frame we tested (equivalent to a medium) being the smallest available. This has fitting geometry for a modern enduro bike, including a reasonable 446mm reach and 1,220mm wheelbase. However, the reach only increases by 20mm with each step up the sizing range, while the seat tube length jumps by 50mm, so some riders are likely to find the larger frames a little cramped and may not be able to size up.
The kit
The Race 29 sits at the bottom of the three-bike range but still has quality kit for the price, including a SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain and Code R brakes with plenty of power. Fox’s Performance-series 36 fork and DPX2 shock are competent units. The Newmen wheels are solid, especially when paired with Maxxis’s Assegai and Minion DHR II tyres, with beefed-up EXO+ casings. They’re tubeless-ready, but you’ll need a valve to convert them. The Race Face Chester bar and AE ect stem are good choices at this price, leaving the dropper post, saddle and grips as the only own-brand components. For a non direct-sales bike, you get great value for money.
The ride
As you’d expect, this 170mm-travel, gravity-seeking machine isn’t going to claim you any climbing KOMs, and we don’t think it should either. However, its well-considered 76.7-degree e ective seat angle will allow you to climb in comfort and conquer any steep technical climbs that your legs and lungs can winch you up.
We never had a problem with any of the kit on the Stereo 170 Race 29 – it all worked as it should, even in the grottiest of conditions. We’d convert to tubeless immediately, but other than that we don’t see any need to upgrade anything immediately, and it’s great to see a bike come with usable tyres straight o the showroom floor.
Point this bike downhill and it doesn’t disappoint. Our 18in frame was well-proportioned and balanced, and easy to ride fast. We found the shock a little lacking in mid-stroke support, but never noticed any harsh bottom-outs. A shock tune or volume spacer is worth considering if you want to hit big features though. LUKE MARSHALL www.cube.eu
Well-specced for the cost and capable on the descents, but larger sizes could use more reach