Cube Nuroad EX 2022

The Cube Nuroad EX is a solid, versatile, and comfortable aluminium-framed gravel bike. While it might not sit among the very best gravel bikes you can buy, it certainly offers very good value for money.

It feels surprisingly nimble and lively when you take it out for a fast blast on gravel or forest tracks. It weighs in at 10.32kg (size large) – in line with other aluminium gravel bikes at this price – but is still perfectly chuck-aboutable when you want to dodge holes and bumps on the track surface or crack through tight twists and turns as quickly as possible.

> Order now: Cube Nuroad EX for £1,649.99 from Damian Harris Cycles

Hit the pedals hard on a steep climb and the Nuroad EX delivers. Get out of the saddle and there's no discernible movement through either the centre of the frame or at the head tube/fork. In fact, it feels taut all around.

Long rides are a comfortable experience, largely thanks to a relaxed geometry (we'll go into the geometry in more depth down below), 45mm-wide WTB Riddler tyres – which come with inner tubes but can be run tubeless at lower pressures – and Cube's Natural Fit Venec saddle which offers loads of flex in its shell.

You don't get a whole lot of buzz through the full-carbon fork and the Nuroad EX copes well with corrugated and rocky sections. Rather than rattling along, it soaks up most irregularities without fuss. There are certainly plusher-feeling gravel bikes out there but you can rack up the miles here without feeling that you're getting battered and bruised along the way.

The Nuroad EX is reasonably steady and stable on rough roads, although more mountain bike-influenced rivals will help you hold a line better when things really hot up. That said, the Cube is far from twitchy and the aluminium Gravel Race Bar has a useful flare to it – measuring 52cm (centre to centre) across the ends on this large-sized bike – the wide stance providing extra control when things get challenging without giving you the feeling that you're compromising your position too much for the fast sections. Get your hands hooked into the drops and you can tackle fairly technical trails, including steep descents, with confidence.

A gravel bike will almost inevitably see action on the road at times, whether that's on your way to and from tracks and trails or when linking up different sections. The Nuroad EX transitions naturally to tarmac, allowing you to get down into a reasonably efficient riding position on the drops – although the geometry is more relaxed than that of a typical road bike. Of course, the WTB Riddler tyres aren't as quick as road tyres and you'll run out of gears on fast descents, but you never feel like you're riding through treacle.

Frame and fork

The Cube Nuroad EX is built around a well-made aluminium frame – aluminium of the 6061-T6 variety that's very commonly used in the cycling world. It comes with a sloping top tube that's flared at both ends for larger welding surfaces. Those welds look tidy enough.

Like most brands these days, Cube has dropped the seatstays (so they meet the seat tube far lower than the top tube junction), the idea being to provide a little extra comfort, and you get a tapered head tube (1 1/8in upper bearing, 1 1/4in lower bearing), a press-fit bottom bracket, and flat-mount brakes.

There are mounts for full-length mudguards too, and if you want to run a rack Cube offers ones that attach at the dropouts only.

The fork has lowrider mounts if you want to carry luggage up front but there are no additional mounts for a top tube bag (although you could, of course, use one that straps in place) or a third bottle cage.

If you're interested in carrying loads, bear in mind that Cube gives a maximum system weight of 115kg for the Nuroad EX. That figure includes the bike, everything you're carrying, and yourself, so heavier riders aren't going to have a lot to play with here. For comparison, Trek gives a maximum weight limit of 125kg for its aluminium Checkpoint ALR. That doesn't necessarily mean there's any difference in frame strength; it's more likely just down to what each brand is happy recommending.

The hose for the front brake runs through the fork leg while the rear hose and gear cable take an internal route through the down tube before emerging just in front of the bottom bracket and going externally from there.

One thing I'd argue with is the wisdom of using an internal wedge-type seatpost clamp with bolts that you tighten with a 3mm hex key on a bike of this kind. More specifically, it's having those bolts sitting at the back of the seat tube, right in the firing line of gunk sprayed up by the rear wheel, that's the issue.

The heads frequently fill with grit and mud – every ride in a UK winter. Make sure you carefully remove it all before trying to make adjustments because those heads, tightened to 5-6Nm, are really easy to round out.

Geometry

The Cube Nuroad EX is available in five sizes from XS to XL. The large-sized model I've been riding comes with a 575mm effective top tube, a 527.1mm seat tube, and a 185mm head tube.

You get a seat tube angle of 73 degrees and a head tube angle of 72 degrees on this size – figures similar to those of a road bike. A lot of brands go for slacker, mountain bike-inspired head tube angles on their gravel bikes these days, along with long top tubes, the aim being to provide more stability on rough terrain. The Cube's geometry certainly feels pretty close to a road bike's in use.

The stack on this size is 609.5mm and the reach is 388.7mm, giving a stack/reach of 1.57 (our Bike Geometry 101 feature explains why stack and reach are important). As mentioned above, you can still get into a reasonably flat-backed riding position on the drops for the fast and open sections, but when your hands are on the tops you'll take a lot of wind on your chest.

Components

The Cube Nuroad EX is built up with a mix of Shimano's gravel-specific GRX components, and they all worked superbly throughout the review period. The hydraulic disc brakes are entry-level RX400, the chainset and dual control levers are mid-range RX600, and the rear derailleur is top-end RX812. This is a 1x11-speed system.

Even riding the bumpiest roads at speed, that rear derailleur never missed a shift. It features a clutch that resists forward movement of the cage to minimise chain bounce. This keeps gear changes smooth and helps stop the chain unshipping. You get a stabiliser switch that you can turn on to limit cage movement or leave off if you're riding smoother terrain.

I had no problems with chain tension despite riding almost exclusively off-road throughout a review period that extended over three months. The chain came off once when I had the stabiliser switch off and not at all when I had it on; Shimano's design works really well.

In terms of gearing, the Nuroad EX is fitted with a 40-tooth chainset and an 11-42 cassette. With the 700x45mm WTB Riddler tyres fitted, this gives you a gear range from 26.6in up to 102.0in.

I was swapping between the Cube and a Cotic Cascade with a gear range of 21.0in to 95.8in – they came in for review at the same time – and, not surprisingly, the difference was easily noticeable. I've got a couple of short, super-steep off-road climbs that I like to ride just for the hell of it and they were markedly easier to get up on the (considerably heavier) Cotic thanks to the lower gearing – but that's a bike that comes with a zillion-and-one mounts for carrying big loads so the itsy-bitsy gears make sense. (If you want to find out how to get ultra-low gearing, we have just the feature for you...)

The flip side is that on the Cube you can pile on the power for longer on fast descents. Turn your legs at 110rpm – quick but not crazy – and you can get up to 33mph in the 40x11.

Wheels and tyres

The wheels are Cube's GR 2.3s, made with Alexrims rims and 28 plain gauge, three-cross spokes front and rear. They're not especially light but the hubs both ran smoothly throughout the test period and they're as round and true now as they were on day one.

The 45mm WTB Riddler tyres are grippy and quick on gravel and anything hardpacked – for which they're designed – and they provide more traction than you might expect of a semi-slick option in light mud. They'll slip and spin in anything deeper, though. You can't have everything.

A 45mm tyre width is the maximum that Cube advises, by the way. Any larger than that and you're not going to leave yourself much clearance.

Although the Nuroad EX comes with inner tubes fitted, the rims are equipped with tubeless tape and the tyres feature WTB's TCS (Tubeless Compatible System) tubeless casing. Add tubeless valves and sealant and you'll be able to run them tubeless to reduce the possibility of flats. We have a video showing you how, if you're not sure.

Value

Compared with rivals, the Cube Nuroad EX offers very good value for money. Specialized's Diverge Elite E5 (£2,200) is a fairly similar proposition, coming with an aluminium frame, a full-carbon fork, and a Shimano GRX groupset. This bike is 2x10-speed so it comes with a front derailleur, an operating left-hand shifter, and a more expensive chainset, but the Cube is £550 cheaper.

Trek's Checkpoint ALR 4 (£1,875) has a spec that's very like that of the Specialized, although it features a compact (50/34-tooth) chainset and an 11-34 cassette which is more appropriate for the road than for gravel.

Of the bikes that we've reviewed lately, the closest in price to the Cube is the Genesis Croix de Fer 20 which was £1,499.99 when we reviewed it, but is now £1,699.99. Made from Reynolds 725 steel, it's a great bike with a 2x10-speed Shimano groupset, although you get TRP Spyre-C brakes. These are among the best mechanical disc brakes out there but most people would prefer hydraulics.

We were very impressed by the Vitus Substance CRS-2, although it's considerably more expensive than the Cube at £1,999.99. The Vitus Substance VRS-1 is closer in price at £1,599.99 (currently discounted to £1,359.99). Like the Nuroad EX, it is built around a 6061-T6 aluminium frame although it comes with a 1x11-speed SRAM Apex groupset. You also get DT Swiss's very good G 1800 Spline wheels. This one's certainly worth checking out, though sizes available are limited.

Conclusion

The Cube Nuroad EX has loads to offer. It doesn't look the flashiest bike in the world, but, comfortable and more nimble than you might expect, it quietly puts in a very good all-round performance. The frame and the spec are both solid and you're getting impressive value for money here.

> Order now: Cube Nuroad EX for £1,649.99 from Damian Harris Cycles

Verdict

A solid performance, plenty of versatility, and very good value for money from this aluminium-framed gravel bike