FAST BIKE FRIDAY – CUBE NUROAD C:62 SL

This week for our Fast Bike Friday feature we’re back on the gravel! Initially, walking around the Wheelbase shop floor the Cube Nuroad C:62 SL gravel bike may not catch the eye; there’s no garish colour scheme or quirky frame features designed to isolate you from rough terrain like you might see from other brands. But stop and take a minute to cast your eye over the Nuroad C:62 SL and you’ll soon realise this is a really premium gravel bike with a great carbon chassis, a fantastic SRAM eTap AXS wireless groupset and super-light carbon wheelset. And then there’s that paint job; what you thought was just a matte black finish actually includes some stunning iridescent glitter details.

Blink and you might miss it, but the Cube Nuroad C:62 SL is a premium gravel bike packed full of biking bling…

The Cube Nuroad C:62 SL frameset is fully constructed from carbon fibre using their C:62 carbon technology with ATM (Advanced Twin Mold) construction; to decrease overall weight Cube’s ATM construction technique minimises imprecise overlaps of carbon fibre in the monocoque building process; the end result is a lighter overall frame weight.

Cube’s ATM construction technique helps decrease overall weight…

Look close up and there’s some stunning iridescent glitter paint details…

As we’ve already mentioned the Nuroad C:62 SL doesn’t feature any overt, gimmicky features to isolate the rider from rough terrain, however the overall construction and frame geometry DO add compliance to the ride quality of this gravel bike; with a slim 27.2mm carbon seatpost and dropped seatstays Cube have definitely engineered some comfort into the Nuroad C:62 SL. It’s great to see that there’s tons of tyre clearance on this gravel bike even with wide 45mm tyres fitted and you may also notice the dropped chainstay on the driveside of the bike – a clever way of building in enough clearance for the bike’s chainset and fat rear tyre; it also means that Cube have been able to keep the year triangle nice and short making the bike sharp and responsive. This superlight frame also features internal cable routing, flat-mounts for disc brakes and bolt-on-bosses for mudguards or a rear pannier rack.

A slim 27.2mm carbon seatpost and dropped seatstays adds noticeable compliance and comfort to your ride… 

The Cube C:62 fork features a 1 1/8″ – 1 1/4″ tapered steerer tube for increased stiffness and steering precision…

The matching carbon fork also uses Cube’s C:62 Technology and features flat mounts for discs as well as bolt-on-bosses for a mudguard…

We’ve enthused over the SRAM Force eTap AXS wireless groupset during previous Fast Bike Friday features thanks to its simple, intuitive-to-use functionality. One of the best things about SRAM groupset componentry is that they’re interchangeable between groupsets; they’re even interchangeable between components designed for road and mountain biking. This is where Cube have really utilised this quirk, mixing SRAM Force eTap AXS road components with SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS mountain bike components; the XX1 Eagle wireless rear derailleur combined with a wide-ratio 10-50T mountain bike cassette works brilliantly with SRAM’s 12-speed road shifters. With this clever setup Cube have been able to provide an even wider range of gear ratios that you’d normally find on a typical gravel bike making the Nuroad C:62 SL really versatile when it comes to being able to negotiate anything from the steepest, loosest off-road climbs to the smoothest, fastest on-road sections. With a single 42T chainring upfront the groupset is a simple setup that provides crisp, precise wireless gear shifts while the narrow/wide tooth profile on the chainring combined with a fluid clutch in the rear derailleur means that your chain stays located and secure even when the terrain gets rough.

Cube’s mix-and-match approach when it comes to SRAM’s groupset components means you get a huge range of gear ratios…

The light, stiff carbon Sram Force D1 DUB chainset with 42T chainring is a work of art…

Mixing SRAM road and mountain bike components is a clever move, giving a very broad range of gear ratios…

SRAM’s XX1 Eagle AXS wireless 12-speed rear derailleur with a fluid clutch provides slick gear shifting…

SRAM’s Force eTap AXS wireless gear shifters and hydraulic brake levers are simple and intuitive to use…

The ergonomic levers work well off-road giving your hands a secure hold even over rough terrain…

Disc braking on the Nuroad C:62 SL is provided by SRAM Force, with neat flat-mount disc brake calipers located neatly within the rear triangle and on the rear of the fork. The disc brake rotors are 160mm diameter on both the front and the rear and provide plenty of braking power even in wetter, more unpredictable off-road riding conditions. The Force levers feel good with just the right amount of lever pull allowing you to modulate your braking so that you’re always in control.

SRAM Force disc brake calipers and rotors work really well together providing ample braking power in any conditions…

The Cube Nuroad C:62 SL really is a premium-spec’d gravel bike and an important part of that spec is the wheelset; to help ensure that this gravel bike is super-light AND super-fast on road and off road Cube have included a pair of fast-rolling carbon Newmen Evolution SL X.R.25 gravel-specific wheels. These wheels feature tubeless-ready carbon rims with a nice rim width (25mm inner and 29.5 outer) which gives your tyre a slightly more square profile to put more of your tyre in contact the ground while helping to prevent pinch flats.

Newmen Evolution SL X.R.25 gravel-specific carbon wheels help give the Nuroad C:62 SL its spritely, lively feel…

Wide rims change the profile of your tyres to put more of your tyre in contact the ground while helping to prevent pinch flats…

The Newmen Evolution SL X.R.25 gravel-specific wheels feature hubs with durable double-sealed bearings and super-secure thru-axles – 12×100 on the front and 12x142mm on the rear, this helps to stiffen up the junction between wheels and frame/fork for enhanced steering response and ensure perfect alignment between the disc brake calipers and rotors.

Newmen alloy hubs are durable and gravel-ready thanks to their double-sealed bearings…

 

Cube have spec’d a pair of tubeless-ready WTB Riddler TCS gravel tyres with a nice wide 700x45C size to help make your gravel rides more comfortable and your bike handling more controlled thanks to their fatter size and larger contact area with the ground. Despite their 45mm width these tyres are fast-rolling and work well in nearly all circumstances; with a blocky low central tread pattern you won’t be working against your tyres when pedalling on smooth terrain and when you do swing off the tarmac and drop into your favourite local trails the Riddler TCS tyres provide ample grip on loose off-road tracks. The tread pattern on the outer edges of these capable gravel tyres is larger with a more raised tread profile to provide extra grip on tight, loose turns.

With a blocky low central tread pattern you won’t be working against your tyres when pedalling on smooth terrain…

A more raised tread profile on the outer edges of the Riddlers provide extra grip on tight, loose turns…

A Cube alloy stem with a lightweight Easton EC70 AX carbon handlebar make up the comfortable, compliant cockpit…

Even the Natural Fit Nuance SLT Road saddle features carbon, with the rails helping to add even more comfort to your ride…

The Cube Nuroad C:62 SL really is a top of the range carbon gravel bike featuring a multitude of the very best componentry available; there are no corners cut here. With a superb frameset that’s been designed to be stiff and responsive while still being comfortable thanks to some clever engineering and manufacturing techniques, a fantastic carbon wheelset from Newmen and some super-light carbon finishing kit this bike is clearly built to perform. Last but most certainly not least there’s that brilliant electronic wireless groupset from SRAM which has been cleverly tweaked by Cube to include Sram’s wireless XX1 Eagle AXS 12-speed rear derailleur and huge 10-50T mountain bike cassette to give a greater spread of gear ratios and really open up the versatility of the bike helping you to excel on all terrains; perfect for when you’re taking on all-day-epics mixing fast road sections with technical off-road gravel and trail sections.

Nothing has been compromised here, every detail on the Nuroad C:62 SL is top-spec…

Click the link below for a full walk around of the Cube Nuroad C:62 SL…

The Cube Nuroad C:62 SL is available in-store and online now.

Full Specification:

• Frame: CUBE C:62 Advanced Twin Mold, Internal Cable Routing, Flat Mount Disc, Fender/Rack Option, 12x142mm, AXH
• Fork: CUBE C:62 Technology, 1 1/8″ – 1 1/4″ Tapered, Flat Mount Disc, Fender & Lowrider Mounts, Internal Light Cable Option, 12x100mm
• Shifters: Sram Force eTap AXS
• Rear Derailleur: Sram XX1 Eagle AXS, 12-Speed
• Cassette : Sram XG-1299 Eagle Rainbow, 10-50T
• Chainset: Sram Force D1 DUB, Carbon, 42T
• Brakes: Sram Force eTap AXS (160F/160R)
• Wheelset: Front – Newmen Advanced SL X.R.25, Carbon
• Wheelset: Rear – Newmen Advanced SL X.R.25, Carbon
• Front Tyre: WTB Riddler TCS 700x45C
• Rear Tyre: WTB Riddler TCS 700x45C
• Stem: CUBE Performance Stem SL, 31.8mm
• Handlebar: Easton EC70 AX Gravel, Carbon
• Handlebar Tape: CUBE Grip Control
• Seat Post: Newmen Advanced, Carbon, 27.2mm
• Saddle: Natural Fit Nuance SLT Road Carbon

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

 

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