Cube Cargo Sport Hybrid - 1 Year Review

It's been about a year since we got our Cube Cargo Sport Hybrid 1000. How has it held up over that time? What do I like? What don't I like? Let's get to it!

We sold a car

So I think it's important to state this upfront - we sold our second car after getting this bike. This wouldn't be noteworthy elsewhere in the world but I think warrants a mention for Adelaide. This cargo bike is now our second car.

I get this wouldn't work for everyone. I mostly work from home, and even if I need to head into the city I prefer to bus or cycle. But still, we are a family of 4 and can easily do local trips by bike.

In the last 12 months we've clocked up around 1400km. This has mostly been kindy and childcare runs, groceries and Bunnings trips, some commutes into the city and weekend exploration.

How Has It Held Up?

The bike has held up rather well, with no major concerns. The bike just had a service at 1200km, and needed:

• New brake pads front and rear. The cost of being able to stop a 50kg bike (plus rider and cargo) so quickly and effectively is the tiny pads wear quicker. I'd be happy to trade some stopping power for longevity of the pads if there are other options out there.
• The chain was just about at 50% wear, which is close to needing replacement. Yes I ride everywhere on Turbo, but I really expected the chain to last longer.

Other than that, the bike is fine, and continues to ride just like new, in sun, rain, mud, wherever.

What's Great

Overall, the bike is fantastic, and represents great value for money. Cube did well on the fundamentals to make a really solid bike.

The Bosch Drivetrain is awesome. The bike has plenty of torque, and handles hills without issue. Having come from a bike with a cadence sensor, the torque sensor in the Bosch works really well to adjust the power output based on how hard you are pedaling. It really feels like it's just you, but with super-human legs. Being Bosch, I'm pretty confident in the reliability of the drivetrian over time.

The Range. We went for the dual battery 1000 model, mostly because at the time the bike was cheaper than buying the 500 model and then getting a second battery. Staying in our fairly hilly area, the bike consistantly gets 80km or so per charge. However, on flatter terrain (like Linear Park) the range is well over 100km. This is great, because I can commute into the city on the cargo bike and not be really disciplined with remembering to charge.

Oh, and we use Turbo mode almost exclusively. It's great.

The Frame is really solidly built. The box is huge, with plenty of room for grocery trips with children. If I had any complaints with the box it's that you almost need a second floor in there to be able to stack easier.

Including a Viscoset on the headset is a nice touch, I'm sure it's reducing speed wobbles at higher speed. Speaking of,

The Handling is just great. You can ride this bike more or less how you'd ride a normal bike. It feels totally comfortable at 40km/h, though with the motor cutting out at 25km/h you won't be going that fast unless downhill.

The Brakes are really strong, and give you confidence that you'll be able to stop even at high speeds with a full load.

What's a bit meh?

The core of the bike is fantastic, but I feel like some of the Cube parts bin components are a bit underwhelming. These are all easy to fix if they bother you. Here are the things that are a bit underwhelming but are definitely not show stoppers for the bike.

The Pedals are incredibly slippery as soon as they get any water on them. They are flat pedals with a rubberised surface, but the rubber is slippery when wet. I will eventually replace the pedals with something with a bit more bite.

The bell was shit. It came with a Knog style bell but the striker never hit the bell cleanly, and broke completely after a couple of hundred kms. I realize I'm complaining about a $10 part but it just felt cheap and broke so quickly.

The Steering Height Adjuster doesn't really go high enough. I'm already a bit worried that the handlebar will start hitting kids helmets before too long.

The Seat Post Quick Release is almost impossible to get tight enough to stop the saddle swiveling. My wife and I like the seat at different heights, and it's really annoying. This will be replaced soon with a dropper post.

The relative lack of accessories is a bit meh. They have the kids seat, but nothing for babies or toddlers. Compared to the range of customisation options for other bikes like the Urban Arrow or Bullitt, there isn't much 3rd party support for the Cube, and Cube themselves only have the basics, if you can get them.

Which brings me to 99 Bikes...

So 99 Bikes has an Australia-wide exclusivity deal with Cube. If you need anything, or something goes wrong, you have to go to 99 Bikes. And I'm a bit worried that they are half-assing support.

There are owners on Facebook that have been waiting months for the kids seat to become available. Months! This is a bike designed to carry kids, there should have been a kids seat imported for every frame.

They also decided to bring in the giant rain cover, but not the box cover. The box cover is far more useful, which led me to instead import this aftermarket model from Clarijs. If you ask your local store about getting something in they can't do anything, because it's all managed centrally. "Keep an eye on the website" is what I've been told.

I'm sorry but I'd you've spent this much on a bike then you should be fully supported with the full range of accessories. If you are the exclusive dealer then you should have everything. It's just a bit disappointing.

Go for a ride

Just to make it clear, these issues are pretty minor. The bike is great. Get one and go for a ride.