Cube Reaction TM One 2025 Review

Cube hits the bullseye with their new trail hardtail. For €1100, the Bavarian brand delivers a trail hardtail that seems to lack nothing at first glance. We put the new bike through its paces to see how much mountain bike you can expect for this price.

Many, especially young bikers, dream of a full-suspension bike for shredding trails. However, the budget is often the braking factor that bursts this dream like a soap bubble.

The Cube Stereo One 22 Fully is available from €1999, which is slightly less than double the price. However, it is equipped with slimmer tires and a smaller brake system, making it much more suited for touring than the bike here behind me.

Bikes that are more comparable in terms of usage are models like the Rose Root Miller, which starts from €2199, or even the Cube Stereo One55 Race, costing €3499 with a carbon frame.

You can shorten the market overview: Under €2000, it’s extremely difficult to find a full-suspension bike with the same range of use and similar elegant looks. So, the used market is basically the only option left.

Despite the budget-friendly price, there’s nothing to criticize about the Cube’s frame quality and aesthetics. The welds are not only absolutely uniform but also lay perfectly flat over the aluminum tubes.

A lot has really improved in aluminum processing in recent years. Cube knows how to perfectly implement the latest developments in aluminum frame welding. The threaded BSA bottom bracket and the cable routing through the down tube, or through the top tube for the brake line, are common standards for such bikes.

Details like the solidly braced direct-mount brake mount on the rear wheel, factory-prepared for a 180mm rotor, or the gusset in the seat tube area, show that Cube finally takes the needs of the target group seriously. The frame makes a significantly more stable impression than the old Reaction TM frame. Plus, the frame really looks sleek.

With 15.5 kg without pedals, the bike is heavy for a hardtail. While other trail hardtails in this price range have similar weights, full-suspension bikes like the Canyon Spectral CF manage to hit the same weight with a shock and more travel. Mind you, at four times the price.

Typically, a hardtail saves about 1.5 kg compared to a full-suspension bike, as the shock and pivots are absent in a rigid frame. However, the pounds of the Reaction TM aren’t hiding in the frame.

The Schwalbe tires offer massive grip and, with their double carcass, the puncture protection one expects from a trail hardtail. But they also weigh heavily on the scale at over 1300 grams per tire. Furthermore, the tires, with their wire bead, can only be run with tubes and not tubeless. Each tube adds almost another 290 grams to the weight.

That is indeed plush, and it makes the bike noticeably sluggish when pedaling or going uphill. The good part about this, however, is that it’s relatively easy to tune afterward. Once you’ve worn down the first set of tires, you can easily save up to a kilo in weight with a budget of 80 – 100 €, without sacrificing grip or puncture protection. The rims are tubeless-ready, allowing you to run them without a tube with the right tires.

High-quality mountain bikes are typically equipped with Shimano drivetrains above the Deore level (Deore, SLX, XT, or XTR) or Sram drivetrains. The installed Cues drivetrains are positioned below the Deore group in terms of quality. Shimano is aiming to achieve a lower price point with just ten cogs on the cassette. Nevertheless, the group is supposed to handle the fun on the trails. However, the chain shifts noticeably slower across the cogs compared to higher-end drivetrains.

This is mainly because the drivetrain has to make larger jumps per gear change. With only ten cogs, the gear steps are larger than with a 12-speed drivetrain. And this, even though the gear range with the cassette having 11-48 teeth is actually significantly smaller. These large gear jumps simply take a bit longer.

Overall, the drivetrain works reliably and at a level that is okay for mountain biking. However, when it comes to shifting performance and range, one should be aware that more expensive options have more to offer. To wrap up the topic on drivetrains, one must honestly say: It’s not the number one purchasing criterion for a trail hardtail.

Cube doesn’t cut corners with the brakes. The 4-piston Magura caliper on the front wheel, combined with the 203 mm rotor, is one of the most powerful stoppers you can imagine. The setup at the rear is slightly weaker, but still absolutely sufficient. Cube is investing wisely here, as brakes are one of the most crucial factors for downhill fun.

The SR Suntour suspension fork may not have the reputation of a Rock Shox or Fox fork, but it operates at the same level as the affordable forks from the market leaders in the high-end segment. The minimal breakaway torque that you feel when pressing down while stationary is not noticeable on the trail when the fork is in the sag position.

What is particularly important is that the fork uses an air spring, not a coil spring. Some forks in this price range still do that. The air spring has the advantage that with a simple shock pump, I can adjust the spring rate to my body weight or preferences on the trail. Additionally, it is noticeably lighter than the coil spring fork. Incidentally, coil forks are often referred to as “Coil” with the English term.

The rebound is adjustable and even the compression damping, the speed of compression, can be easily fine-tuned with 7 clicks. The last click here at the top of the right stanchion ends in lockout, and the first 2-3 clicks have little effect. We always rode the fork in the middle setting and got along well with it.

Especially with big, fast hits, higher-end forks dissipate energy better. With this fork, as with most others in this price range, you might reach bottom-out faster. And during rapid successive impacts, these higher-quality forks maintain contact with the ground a bit better. The bushing play you feel with this fork when stationary is also present in the most expensive forks on the market.

The basic functions on the trail are provided, and it’s important to remember that a current Fox 36 Factory or Öhlins fork, which many riders dream of, costs more than this entire bike.

Cube is finally on the right track with the geometry. With the new frame, Cube has entered the trail hardtail game. With the 65-degree head angle, they hit the nail on the head. In our comparison feature, you can see that the Rose Bonero, the Santa Cruz Chameleon, the Radon Cragger, and almost all trail hardtails actually have this head angle.

With the reach of 462 mm and the bottom bracket drop of 60 mm, the bike also remains within the values that have been established in the market for trail hardtails.

One thing that must be emphasized about the geometry is that with sizes XS and S, even a smaller, possibly not fully grown rider has two frame sizes to choose from. And these frame sizes are also equipped with smaller 27.5-inch wheels.

This is absolutely sensible. The weight is a factor with this bike, and with the smaller wheels, it becomes approximately half a kilogram lighter. This makes it easier to handle, even for lightweight riders. All the numbers and sizes are one thing, but the big question is, of course, how the bike feels on the trail.

The bike isn’t super nimble but tends to be more on the stable side. Long straights, sweeping corners or really gnarly sections play more to the bike’s strengths than super technical, slow trail sections.

It would be an exaggeration to say that gnarly trails like the Little Champery in Finale Ligure are a walk in the park for this bike. You need to stay focused with the rigid rear end and absorb the occasional hit to the rear wheel with your legs.

But what’s amazing is: the bike costs 1100 € and is still fun in rough terrain.

The combination of solid tires, well-executed geometry, and brakes manages to build confidence even when things get really tricky. And that’s a foundation upon which you can push yourself to your personal riding limits.

For €400 more, Cube delivers the Reaction TM Pro. The bike has the same frame but comes better equipped and weighs over 1 kilo less. Note: The Reaction bikes without the model addition TM have confusingly similar model names, but with only 100 mm of travel, they are aimed in a completely different direction. Our test shows that these are much more geared towards tours and hobby races.