James Gallagher - Latest Comments

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

Shadi Traish — Sun, 23 Aug 2020 01:18:36 -0000

How were you able adjust the belt tension? I can't seem to find the instructions anywhere...

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

James Gallagher — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 17:14:04 -0000

Sounds like a nice setup there :)

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

James Gallagher — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 17:12:44 -0000

Hi Krijn
I've a similar feeling with the tires but I've also had no issues. I spoke to somebody at another bike shop (random conversation) and his view was that it's a great tire.

I had the hub serviced just before 5000km - the bike shop where I bought it did the service. They flushed the existing lubricant and replaced it. The mechanic mentioned that there was very little dark material or anything else that shouldn't be there so we're happy with the hub condition :) I'm at ~6500km now and zero problems with the hub.

I had a problem with the belt around 3500km which was a little surprising but not unheard of - 5000km +/- is the expected life of the belt. Gates felt it was a little early when the bike shop chatted to them about it and offered to replace it as a warranty issue. They mentioned they weren't 100% happy with the Cube frame design. I would have been happy to pay for the belt as the distance I had travelled had been problem free under a variety of wet and mucky weather conditions. I have had no problems since.

The squealing brakes issue is common according to my bike shop. They explained it as oil and other contaminants from the road getting on the rotor. So they cleaned it and applied an isopropyl alcohol spray (I think there are a few suppliers). That was the end of the squealing!

Hope you enjoy cycling yours as much as I do :)

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

zenit_b — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 17:15:17 -0000

I have recently bought the 2018 Cube Travel Pro which is broadly similar to the Travel SL but with fatter (29 x 2.15") tyres more suited to my canal towpath route. Bike shop didn't tighten the eccentric bottom bracket properly so I have had the belt slipping although I have now learnt how to tension it properly myself. I raised the stem of mine just like James did, with an adjustable riser stem. Now the belt is sorted it seems really smooth and the 29er wheels seem unstoppable. Mine is Nexus 8 speed rather than Alfine 8 with a twistgrip but so far this aspect has been good with instant changes stationary or moving. For the last 4 years I have done around 3000 muddy commuting miles a year on my old Cannondale MTB - with lots of new chains, v-brake blocks, derailleur pulleys, cassettes etc. I am hoping the Cube will be much lower maintenance. Time will tell I guess..

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

Krijn — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 08:40:09 -0000

Hi,

Cool to read this. Own the exact bike since like a year.
I have some questions i'd like to ask, as we seem to have similar experience.

Tires: I still find them kinda hard, and don't trust them with cornering at speed. How do you like them now? Did you switch to another tire? I'd like something stickier once this wears out.

Did you do any service to the hub so far? Any idea on belt life?

Last question: My disk brakes are making an extreme squeling sound when braking, it's horrible. Did you encouter this? Any idea for a solution?

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

Peter — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 01:37:46 -0000

Hi James, many thanks for your opinion. I found nice pictures (attached) Cube Travel Sl 2015 and it's looks like everything is ok. Probably this solution i.e. kickstand adapter instead of washer works properly. Anyway thanks for your help. Cube Travel Sl is marvellous ;)
Best regards
Peter

https://uploads.disquscdn.c... https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

James Gallagher — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 17:16:51 -0000

Hey Peter, really sorry I missed this message. You're right about the washer having been replaced with the kickstand. Mine's almost the same kickstand. I haven't seen any problems caused by this so hope you're enjoying your cycling on it :)

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

Peter — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 13:07:15 -0000

Hello James, I'm Peter from Poland. I've read your marvellous Cube Travel Sl review. It's very professional. I bought that bike last month (second hand). I have question about the non-turn green washer on the left hand side (Alfine hub shoud have a blue washer on the right hand side and a green washer on the left hand side). My bike hasn't the green washer. There is a cube kickstand adapter and kickstand Hebie 663. In my opinion the adapter is instead of washer. What is your opinion? Has your bike a similar solution? Please find attached a picture of a new
brand cube travel sl 2016.

Best regards
Peter

https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Re: Me@n Meetup

greenfields — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 04:14:10 -0000

Luxurious villas in Hyderabad
It was very nice Thanks for sharing for your thoughts with us. https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

Gareth Copley — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 11:51:31 -0000

Hi James I enjoyed reading your review. Do you still have the bike and how is it going as your article is from 2016? I'm thinking about upgrading to this model in a couple of weeks time , And I would just like to know would you recommend it. I recently had a cube travel rf. Thanks, Gareth

Re: Fecking around with blogging software again

James Gallagher — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 17:49:49 -0000

Testing a comment

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

Tyler Ashcroft — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 14:49:55 -0000

I bought the adjustable stem it's worked great, but I think I may still buy a set of comfort swept back bars, then I just need a far more comfortable saddle and I'll be all set.

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

James Gallagher — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 16:28:37 -0000

Hi Geert, I've had no problem while cycling with rear pannier loads of ~15-20kg. However, I did break a spoke shortly after a trip where I had about 14kg in a single pannier and cycled on very poor roads (hidden potholes). So I'm now adding a front rack so I can distribute the load better - I'm ~90kg so with all factors I wasn't overly surprised at breaking a spoke :) The mechanic was surprised that it happened but on the positive side it didn't throw the wheel out. In terms of the actual cycle, not a problem at all and the range of gears was fine on the hills. As an example, there's on stretch where over a distance of about 1km I went from an elevation of 61 metres to 90 metres and while I definitely felt the effort I was ok with the range of gears.

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

James Gallagher — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 16:15:22 -0000

I've updated the post with some additional photos of the stem. Not sure if they help or not - basically I'm almost completely upright when cycling now as I've raised the stem angle further. I did that by loosening the allen head screws on the stem and changing the angle. Then when I'd tightened them back I loosened the front screws and rotated the handlebars slightly so the grips were level again.

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

Geert — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 08:18:36 -0000

Hi, I'm taking to get the 2017 version of this bike. But I'm wondering: will it be good for short bike-tours of max 1 week, carrying 2 pannier bags, a tent in between on the rack and a handlebar-bag? Can it take that load and still get you up some hills decently?
I don't plan to go to the Alps with it but I should be able to climb some hills of a few kms. What is your idea on that? Can the alfine-8 handle that or should I stick with the regular gears? But a belt-drive + alfine hub sounds quite good in terms of maintenance :-).
It would be either this bike or the Delhi Exc, since they have the same price-tag.

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

James Gallagher — Sun, 02 Oct 2016 17:59:32 -0000

Hi Tyler, sorry I overlooked your comment. I'll take some pictures and send them on to you in the next 2 days

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

Tyler Ashcroft — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 00:02:02 -0000

Hi James I just bought the same bike here in Canada it's been years since I've ridden. So I thought this would be a great all around bike for me to ride with the kids and work up to commuting. So it'll be more casual use for a while, I prefer the more upright riding position anyhow I was wondering if you could send a couple of pictures of your stem and bars setup. I'm thinking of doing exactly the same thing pictures would give me a better idea if it'll do what I'm looking for.

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

jhnbrssndn — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 06:23:07 -0000

Many thanks. I agree that the factory-fitted accessories was tempting me too, plus some of the components (tyres, for example) seem to be better on the Travel.

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

James Gallagher — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 14:21:45 -0000

Sorry for not getting back to you quicker. I looked at the Cube Hyde Race and that was going to be my purchase until the spec for the Travel SL came along. What changed my mind was that the Travel SL had the rack, dynamo lights and mudguards out of the box - all of which could easily be added to the Hyde Race but I figured factory fitted would be "cleaner". I had also looked at some smaller German manufacturers who were doing hub and belt drive but they were around the €2k mark. I wasn't aware of Marin but that Fairfax SC 4 Belt looks like a great bike - there aren't many commuters out there with that sloping frame geometry (which I really like). The only thing that would put me off it is the Nexus hub - I had a 7 speed Nexus on my previous bike (Kona Dr Good) and when it failed, we (LBS and I) couldn't find parts/replacement hub: it felt a bit abandoned by Shimano. I did find an 8 speed Nexus hub eventually and they are much better regarded, however the Alfine hub seems to be better regarded so I decided to make that one of my "must haves". I'd suggest talking to your LBS and see what their view on the hub is and how confident they are about the supply lines for maintaining it over the next few years.

Re: Cube Travel SL Review

jhnbrssndn — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 04:45:28 -0000

Very interesting and helpful review. I'm looking at buying a bike when our BTW scheme reopens next month, and I'm currently torn between the Travel SL, the Cube Hyde Race and the Marin Fairfax SC 4 Belt. Did you consider those, or any other bikes, before you decided on the Travel SL?

Re: Custom Gitlab to Slack notifications with Zapier

James Gallagher — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 07:00:13 -0000

Thanks Alison, hopefully it's of use to someone who might want to do something similar and isn't aware Zapier could help them (I'm turning into a Zapier fan now!)

Re: Custom Gitlab to Slack notifications with Zapier

Alison Groves — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 13:52:24 -0000

This is great James! Appreciate you sharing with everyone.

Re: Using Nozbe to manage projects/tasks i.e. GTD

James Gallagher — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 04:14:18 -0000

Hi Enwongo, I don't use Nozbe anymore I'm afraid, so can't answer the label questions. I tend to use OmniFocus these days rather than Nozbe

Re: Using Nozbe to manage projects/tasks i.e. GTD

Enwongo Ettang — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 03:31:42 -0000

Hi James, I stumbled upon your article from a Google search. I know that it has been a while since you wrote this article. I have two questions...
* Do you still use Nozbe?
* How do you work with labels?

Thanks as I anticipate your response at your convenience.

Re: Dexy & Asciidoc(tor): A Business Analyst’s documentation tool to look at

James Gallagher — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 19:35:23 -0000

Apologies for the delay Michael, I've created an example in the next post: Example for Dexy & Asciidoctor