Just in: Cube Streamer

No doubt about it, Cube make some nice looking bikes. Top of that particular list is the Litening Super HPC SL but apparently some people don't have four and a half grand to throw at a new road bike. The Streamer is a long way from the heady heights of Campag Super Record but it's well specced and easy on the eye.

The Streamer's heart is a double butted 7005 Aluminium frame mated with a Dedacciai Carbon fork. Seven sizes are available, from 50cm to a whopping 64cm although the bikes don't come up that big. The 56cm we have on test has a 55cm effective top tube and the 20cm head tube puts it squarely in the sportive camp rather than being an all-out racer, even though the geometry is 'ready for race', according to Cube.

There's bits and bobs of technology trickling down from Cube's higher echelons here. The aero flex stays are shaped to provide a bit of vertical flex as well as offering a slippery profile to the wind, and you get internally routed cables too. Other slightly less impressive highlights include the 'frame save system', known to the rest of the cycling world as a replaceable gear hanger, and the 'wet paint surface' which we can confirm refers to the look of the paint, rather than its consistency... 

At £1,229 you'd expect good quality transmission gubbins and you won't be disappointed; the Streamer boasts Ultegra brifters and rear mech with a 105 chainset. On top of that you get a good quality pair of hoops – Easton EA30s with custom graphics and pimpy white spokes to match the frame – and good quality FSA finishing kit.

Without pedals the Streamer sneaks under the 9kg mark by the barest whisker, recording 8.99kg (19.8lb) on the office scales of truth. The overall impression is a very pleasing one; The bike looks nicely specced and well put together. Let's hope the ride lives up to the look, we'll be slinging a leg over in the coming weeks.