2012 Cube Litening is their “Fastest Road Bike Ever”, Already Trickles Down to 2nd Tier
Cube is saying their new 2012 Litening Super HPC frame is “without a doubt the fastest road bike CUBE has ever put on wheels.”
It is lighter without losing stiffness, more comfortable and looks fast as lightning – which it is. A true racing machine, the LITENING SUPER HPC transforms every pedal stroke into sheer acceleration. Looking at the design and the lines of the carbon fiber frame we have to call it a piece of art.
Compared to last season CUBE shaved off 150g, bringing the frame to 860g on the scales (claimed). This was achieved by removing all aluminum parts – the dropouts and BB area are full carbon now. Their “Advanced Twin Mould” technology let them use minimum amount of material without compromising stability or safety. In fact they says it’s just as stiff, yet more compliant (comfortable), thanks to a flattened top tube and thinner seat stays along with a smaller diameter Syntace Flexpost. The design also claims to reduce road buzz, helping keep the rider fresher, longer.
The frame gets hybrid cable routing and a “Multi Purpose Hanger” that works equally well with mechanical or electronic shifting systems.
Up front is an all-new is Cube CSL EVO carbon fiber fork that weighs only 320g and ceramic headset bearings save more grams.It’ll come in four trim levels for 2012: Litening Pro, Litening Race, Litening SL and Litening SLT
2012 CUBE AGREE GTC
FOLLOWING TEXT IS FROM THE PRESS RELEASE: The new AGREE GTC frame for 2012 is a direct descendant from the new CUBE LITENING.
With the brand new Shimano Ultegra Di2 the AGREE Di2 is the top of the line and shows significant advantages to other bikes in this class. Combined with the new comfort-oriented features and a dynamic shape we have put a real racer on the road that is perfect for long and epic rides. This means anything but soft, though. A tapered head tube in combination with the new CUBE CSL EVO full carbon fork (320g) on the Agree GTC Di2 and SL and the new CUBE CSL Race fork with tapered aluminum steerer (485g) provides outstanding front-end rigidity which gives the rider a feeling of security and absolute control in any situation.
The monocoque construction of the AGREE GTC using twin mold technology guarantees even layer structure and prevents dangerous folding on the inside of the frame. At the same time the proportion of resin is kept to a necessary minimum, reducing weight.
Variants available in 2012: CUBE AGREE GTC PRO, CUBE AGREE GTC RACE, CUBE AGREE GTC SL, CUBE AGREE GTC SLT, CUBE AGREE GTC Di2
Comments
Does this remind anyone else of the Focus Izalco?
@Uri, or Does this remind anyone else of the other 20 leading carbon fiber bike!
Wow, I used to think Cube does great painjobs… But this Litening thingy is almost impressively hideous!
It absolutely looks like the other 20 leading carbon fiber frames. It’s a double triangle frame just like the others. Interestingly, in 1976, the 21st bike in the list of the top 20 leading frames of that year looked a lot like the 20 top leading frames of that year. Also, 7 of the 8 planets in our solar system have the same boring shape and look like the top 20 leading planets in the known universe. Also, all the top leading airline aircraft look a lot a like.
Critical thought be damned.
Right on Robin!!!!
@ Chris. You see what I mean about rocket science.
Are these frames hand-made by Germany’s most skilled carbon fiber craftsmen?
Yup, a 2d photo of a 3d object never works that well. You need to get hands on with bikes to appreciate the nuances between them. Given that bikes are still working with 130 year old parameters, they will tend to look pretty similar. Lapierre, cube and focus in particular will look similar as they run clean classic tubing. If you want heavy, flexy curved tubing, sign up for a specialized!
I have a 2011 Litening and would never buy one again. The frame is not parallel at the back and drop out had to be bent to ensure spokes are not ripped off and BB has broken out of carbon frame. Here is why you should think twice about buying a Cube: My warrenty claim has been going back and forth for 3 months and last week I was asked to send more pictures and fill a warrenty claim in AGAIN. With that back up buy anything else but a Cube. Plenty options out there, something Cube has not figured out yet. My first and last Cube, good riddence.
Usually I do not put any comments on forums. I just like to read what people say, to hear some opinion about things of my interest.. But now I will respond to this last comment. I also have Cube bike. It is 2012 CUBE Agree GTC Pro.. Carbon fiber bike with Ultegra/105 groupset. Frame on my CUBE was taken straight from the Litening series. And after riding a lot of bikes I can state that Cube is the fastest and the best bike I have been riding. State of the art bike. Nice race geometry with shorter top tube (than competiton on same size bikes) wich I really like. Perfectly built, looks stunning, very responsive to pedal stroke, great package for great price (carbon, Ultegra, DT SWISS wheelset, Ultremo tires) and the most important thing – for people who want to go fast – it shoots you like a rocket. I will never ever buy any other bike than Cube.