Ashchest Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 First of all, let me say that it has been a while since I visited this forum. It must have been 2011 or '12? Since then I got married and now have 2 lovely boys aged 3 and 6. Anyway, as it happened, with family responsibilities, the focus shifted from being able to cycle 3 times per week including every Saturday for 4 + hours , to once in a month and eventually once in 3 months and as I stand here today once in 4 years! Yes my last ride, apart from this weekend, was 4 years ago when my wife and I did a race in Bela-Bela while she was 5 months pregnant !- and then soon after our 2nd boy was born. From there our focus shifted completely and I exchanged my love for outdoor by mountain biking with with enjoying the outdoors by camping and touring with a camping trailer - which is probably more family orientated? So, my full suspension rocket ship was hanged up against the wall (inside the house) where I could see it every day for the last 4 years. The thought came up many times to sell it, but experience with my first mountain bike prompted me not to, a DiamondBack accent EX , which I wish I never sold back in 1995 - imagine having a retro Mountain bike like that today?? So a friend at the school where my eldest son is, told me about their very "competitive" Mountain Bike group for guys in their early 40's and asked me to join them every 2nd weekend for a ride!! That was about 3 months ago. Slowly the thought came back to me and I started "thinking" about taking the bike off the wall and attempt to get it going again. I knew the tubeless sealant would have become rock hard by now and that my front and rear suspension would need a service and along with hydraulic brakes that I hope still worked with seals intact .... and I remember a unpleasant noise on my stem / handlebar after the last race - so I was in for quite a job to attempt to get my Cube roadworthy again Well, it took me 3 months of thinking and dreaming about the bike and eventually I took it off on Thursday to inspect the situation. Friday was wheels day and it took me nearly the entire day to service the wheels, but altlast it was done and they are as good as new! Saturday (yesterday) I did the rest and took everything apart and it took the entire day to service my bike. Oils, grease, lubricants, brake fluid, cleaning and inspecting and calibrating .... My Stem was cracked, but luckily I have a spare (the original one) and otherwise everything is still in excellent condition! I finished last night and couldn't believe in what good condition the setup still was. But I had to take it for a test drive first. So this morning I took her out and managed to cycle for about 15 km's while checking out everything including suspension lock outs and gear shift and brakes (including my heart rate) I won't be lying if I say that there are almost no scratches on my bike - I guess I Iooked after her very well (well I did pay alot of money for the setup back in 2010!) Now after doing some reading and research I learned that while I was making babies and being a father, that things in the Mountain Bike Industry also changed and new babies were made there also. To my surprise I learned that 26er's have been discontinued and you cannot buy them anymore and that the new smaller wheel alternative are now a 27.5" !! What? Will I even be able to get spares and tyres for my rocket ship? Does this mean I have to save up again and start thinking about an all new bike in the future since I am now ready to get back into cycling again? And, what do I do with my awesome 26er? Is she now absolete, must I frame het or is there still hope and a purpose for her? Are people buying these bikes and is it worth selling? Or should I hang on to her for whatever reason?
ChrisF Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 Welcome back KEEP the 26 '' !!!!! While you were on nappy duty, something else happened : https://www.spurmtbleague.co.za/ Your oldest can take part already And the way these little ones grow, he will be eyeing the 26'' in about 3 years .... I am now busy restoring a 26'' for an 8 year old ... well, he is turning 8 end of June - https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/181779-mongoose-rebuild-project/ It is getting more and more difficult to buy decent 26'' bikes for kids..... so hang onto this gem ! Still easy enough to get 26'' tires. Shocks are shocks .... your local bike shop can service it if needed. Gears ... easy enough (though costly) to upgrade the bike to modern gearing .... Brakes ... when the old ones go it is easy enough to replace with new. So YES, you are able to keep this lovely bike going for years to come. About the only part that could be an issue - if you can get a spare "hanger" for the rear derailure ... BUY IT !!
Stretch Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 You can still get parts for a 26. There's absolutely no reason to upgrade just to upgrade. Unless you plan on being Uber competitive then that 26" will keep you going for another 10 years.
tinmug Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 It's a terrible bike. Definitely get rid of it. It's worthless. Call me, I will look after that piece of . (A few 26er entries in the Cape Epic this year.Yours is a beaut, hang on to it)
johanpre44 Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 My almost 14 year old have been riding my old 26er for about a year now, and he loves the bike (at least I don't feel that bad considering the money spent on upgrading the very cheap bikes wheels and drive-train). No problem with tires, all the other parts (drive-train/brakes) are readily available. Finding different sized frames and decent 26er air forks is a mission... Your bike looks like a pretty good one, even though it's still a 9 speed. Don't let all the new bikes make you feel like you need a good one, as long as it works you can still have all the fun you used to have.
eddy Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 Will I even be able to get spares and tyres for my rocket ship?Keep your bike, tyres are available but some spares may become difficult to find in future, so keep your eyes open on the Hub for a 26" saddle and seat post as well as 26" pedals and put them away in case you can't get some later...
ChrisF Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 Keep your bike, tyres are available but some spares may become difficult to find in future, so keep your eyes open on the Hub for a 26" saddle and seat post as well as 26" pedals and put them away in case you can't get some later... Eddy I did a quick check in the garage ... Seems the modern 24'' Titan bikes share the same seat post diameter with the older 26'' bikes, as do the pedals share the same bolt sizes. I know there are the odd totally custom frame that fray from the norms .... with any luck the CUBE shares the standard sizes. EDIT ... ag sies man Eddy ... Comic Sans would have been nice ... PS - after owning an infernal TREK where everything is proprietory I fell for it hook line and sinker ...
King_Crispy Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 Eddy I did a quick check in the garage ... Seems the modern 24'' Titan bikes share the same seat post diameter with the older 26'' bikes, as do the pedals share the same bolt sizes. I know there are the odd totally custom frame that fray from the norms .... with any luck the CUBE shares the standard sizes.Not the sharpest tool in the shed...Methinks he would also be wise to stockpile a new handlebar in case he crashes and breaks his current one?
Ashchest Posted April 21, 2019 Author Posted April 21, 2019 Noted. I will make sure to get an extra 26" saddle and some 26" pedals. Luckily I have many 26" water bottles so no need to worry about that.
King_Crispy Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 Bleed your brakes and your old beauty is good to go. Still a great bike????
Ashchest Posted April 21, 2019 Author Posted April 21, 2019 Bleed your brakes and your old beauty is good to go.Still a great bike Did that, thanks. She is still GOOD! Took her for a spin this morning and the only limitation was me
CdT85 Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 Nothing wrong with rocking a 26er. Had a 2008 26" mongoose teocali until August last year. Was awesome leaving all the newer, fancier bikes in my dust in the race or 2 i did. The only things i scored with my new 650b machine, is more forgiveness from the bike side for my lack of skill. Still regret selling the teocali
Eddy Gordo Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 Nice bike!26ers rock.I am looking for a large frame, but in no rush.You can get plenty spares as many have mentioned.
Shebeen Posted April 21, 2019 Posted April 21, 2019 Radness, I love the look of these cubes.The floodgates on 29ers was about 2012/13, but your bike did not become bad overnight! I don't think you will gain much going 1x, but if you're drivetrain is toast then at it.Dropper post might be a thing to look at. Otherwise it's still just two wheels, and just like riding a bike it comes back to you easily
PhilipV Posted April 22, 2019 Posted April 22, 2019 It's going to be very satisfying if you start klapping the guys on 29ers in that group. Nothing like a bit of humble pie to negate the "investment" they convince themselves they made when they upgraded to 29ers.
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