CUBE PARTNERSHIP

When you’re trying to beat Daniela Ryf at the Ironman World Championship and go under eight-hours for a full distance race, there’s no room for compromise.

“Small margins make huge differences,” CharlesBarclay said of her new partnership with Cube Bicycles announced in January. “Cube, as a brand, were willing to work with me on all of those small things. I see it as a full partnership where we’re working together to create the fastest set up for racing.”

While the company is not as well known in Canada, Cube was founded in 1990 by Marcus Pürner in a small section of his father’s furniture factory in Waldershof, Germany. Those days are long gone, though – the company’s German headquarters now has space for 220,000 assembled bikes, accessories and components. The company sold 100,000 more bikes (800,000 in total) in 2020 than it did in 2019, and is expecting more growth in 2021.

With aero-design help from SwissSide and further refinements with input from Andreas and Michael Raelert, the company’s flagship Aerium C:68 SLT tri-specific bike routinely tests as one of the fastest triathlon bikes available. As with all triathlon superbikes these days, aerodynamic hydration is a key component to the bike – there’s a 750 ml front hydration system for easy access while riding in the aero position, along with behind the saddle and downtube options. There’s lots of adjustability and a super-sleek cockpit that Cube developed even further for CharlesBarclay’s bike, adding some custom handlebars for her. Charles-Barclay said she was comfortable on Cube’s flagship Aerium C68:SLT bike right from the first time she got on it.

“It instantly felt super comfortable and it immediately looked like a good position,” she said. “We’ve taken it to the wind tunnel and really liked the results from the start. At Challenge Miami I felt strong and comfortable on the bike. It handled really well. It’s stiff in the right places, and I’ve never felt so comfortable in the aero position on the bike.”