Bike Check: Phil Atwill’s Cube Two15 HPA 29 - European Cup: Round 1 Maribor
2019 sees Phil Atwill aboard the Cube Two15 HPA having left Propain and joined the Cube Global Squad, racing team. Phil struggled with injury last season and will be looking to put that behind him with his new team when the season kicks off next weekend.
Cube has made this bike a bit bigger to accommodate Phil so he'll be riding a slightly bigger than normal XL bike on 29-inch wheels front and rear. As well as a new frame the team change brought a lot of new components for Phil but having moved to Greece over the offseason he will no doubt have been enjoying the dry winter to get lots of testing in. He was one of the first riders to make it to Maribor and if the footage of him shredding the tracks on an ebike is anything to go by, he is already up to speed in Slovenia.
Phil gets a custom (X)XL front end as he joins Cube for 2019.
There's not a great deal of new tech on this bike but Phil has said he's working on developing Funn's Ripper pedals further. The pedal was first released at Eurobike in 2017 but with Phil's input, it's going to be honed even further throughout this season.
Phil makes the move to Fox suspension front and rear this year having been on XFusion and Formula in previous years. He also switches tyres from Vee to Schwalbe and gets components from RaceFace, as opposed to Propain's in-house brand, SixPack.
Phil makes the move to Fox suspension front and rear this year having been on XFusion and Formula in previous years. He also switches tyres from Vee to Schwalbe and gets components from RaceFace, as opposed to Propain's in-house brand, SixPack.
Frame: Cube Two15 HPA 29
Shock: Fox Float Factory X2,195psi, 4 tokens
Fork: Fox 49, 80psi with 7 tokens
Wheels: Race Face Atlas, 29 inch
Tires: Schwalbe Magic Mary, ProCore
Brakes: Magura MT7
Cockpit: Race Face Atlas
Size: (X)XL
Weight: 17kg
More info
Shock: Fox Float Factory X2,195psi, 4 tokens
Fork: Fox 49, 80psi with 7 tokens
Wheels: Race Face Atlas, 29 inch
Tires: Schwalbe Magic Mary, ProCore
Brakes: Magura MT7
Cockpit: Race Face Atlas
Size: (X)XL
Weight: 17kg
More info
Phil likes a high set up so has put an 8mm spacer under his forks to raise everything up.
Although he has a wildman reputation, Phil is very precise with his set up, as we showed in our ultimate bike check last year. He scratches in his bars so he knows exactly where all his controls sit.
Everything in its right place.
Phil is running Procore this year set at 5.5 bar (80psi). He then runs 24psi at the front and 27 psi at the back.
As for his forks, Phil is on 80psi with the maximum 7 tokens.
Phil runs his shock at 195psi with 4 tokens.
Phil has been working on developing the Ripper pedals with Funn, they are still a work in progress but will probably be updated later this year.
A neat shock protector should help if Maribor delivers one of its regular deluges later today or next weekend.
Magura's MT7 stoppers will be providing braking power for Phil in 2019.
Phil goes back to aluminium after a couple of years on the carbon Propain Rage.
With Phil and Gaetan Vige coming on board and Max Hartenstern looking super fast in pre-season races, it's going to be an exciting year for Cube.
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As a short-ish, light rider I don't feel the need to complain about chainstays being too short or seat tube angles being too slack or components being too frail, but the clydesdales are constantly being reminded that things just aren't built for them and come here to complain about it.
Or, maybe in America it's mostly just big ol' clydesdales who MTB.
Given that 177 is usually the split between medium and large, and that almost every bike manufacturer makes an extra large, your 184 comment is nonsense.
It really makes you feel for the beanstalks of the world, I wonder how someone like Cathro could've performed if he'd been riding World Cups on a bike that fitted him. Hell, Minnaar and Peaty must've ridden most of their careers on bikes 3 sizes too small.
I am lucky that I am just 178cm as well and total average and for my country even below average.
I don't understand how someone can be comfy on those small sizes and why the manufactures build such stupid sizes. I see alot who have problems with to large frames and a lot with to small frames.
I just tested a 515mm reach sled , worked for me and even the XL with 535mm was okay and they even make XXL. Most manufactures don't even reach the 515 mark with XXL.
Furthermore I frankly don't give a f*ck who rides what and how they set it up. Do you only ride and use what the Pros use?
The bike btw I tested last week was a Nicolai G1 in Large, total different purpose also would not buy a DH with less then 500 reach for my size. If you can't handle that reach it is not my problem.
Assuming that the stanchions are normally run with the top caps at the crown, you aren't making the bar higher, just lengthening the head tube (ie. sliding the bottom crown down). Also he is running an almost flat bar on an already tall Fox 49... seems like he is trying not to make the front end too tall imo.
Makes me shudder to think of that leading to a broken bar, so terrifying if you've ever experienced it.
Phil, just mark it with tape or a paint marker!
I’m appreciative of any free content but if the point is to highlight the bike then the clarity of the photos should be a priority. Go figure.
Everythiiiiiiiing
and 80PSI in the pro-core is that really how hard schwalbe say you should run it ? 0_0
my gripes with the bike aside , I really like Phil and hope to see him take some top spots this year #bwoah
PS: He runs one fork on his bike at a time so it is "fork" not "forks"