The techguy

There is no fault with the DT Swiss hubs. People have told me that Shimano hubs are terrible but when asked when the hubs were last serviced I get a blank expression back from the customer...also taking your bike to your LBS doesn't mean they service the hubs, so be specific when asking what you want done in the service. I have had full on rows with customers because they bring their bikes in once a week for a wash and lube service but then when the hubs pack up (or BB/chain etc)they argue that the bike is in every week for a service...

In terms of handling it"ll be ***!!! the designers of the bikes spend countless hours and money to get them to ride like they do ad now you want to undo all their work and what's it going to accomplish?

Spend the money and get a Specialized BG Fit done by a trained technician...

Yes it"ll mess up the handling to no end...A fork/shock is designed to accomodate a certain travel therefore it may have shorter stanchions etc. a fork may be made a shorter travel but very rarely made longer travel.

Loctite make a "bearing retainer compound" for specifically this problem, holding bearings tight, smear a bit on the cups and press them in leave to cure overnight and problem solved. You should be able to find it at Builders warehouse, Mega Mica, Midas etc...

It's probably an OE deal for cube, Just like Specialized get custom coloured cranks, brakes etc...it's all about buying power, the more you buy the more power you have to choose colours...

I remember those flex stems, I saw my arse plenty cuz the handlebars snap down and then snap back up at you...

Just make sure they get in straight as I had a client who had a new steerer pressed in and the thing was skieff so it buggered up the crown and he wound up buying a new crown assembly after all...I have also seen a steerer tube that was pressed in come loose and the dude was in hospital for a week...think about it...

Use the DT Swiss spoke calc on their site, its never let me down...

I do servicing etc as well as wheel building etc...

Well done, you've just done something Doug Patterson did 3 years ago...