For a long time, I bought my bikes with a fairly simple logic: compare, dissect the builds, look at the frame, then try to understand whether the price made sense. It was not very romantic, but it avoided quite a few bad choices.
Since launching Gravel Passion, I have had the chance to test high-end machines on a regular basis. That rationality sometimes takes a beating. A bike costing over €10,000 can be excellent – thankfully. But it is getting harder and harder to justify certain price tags when a brand like Cube turns up with this Nuroad C:62 EXC at €3,599.
Strengths:
- Outstanding spec-to-price ratio
- Excellent comfort
- Smooth steering and playful behaviour in technical sections
- Practical bolt-on top-tube bag
Could be better
- No in-frame storage
- PressFit bottom bracket
And here, you have to start with the price. Not the paint, not the promise, not the product page. The price.
At €3,599, the spec sheet shakes up the market
The Cube Nuroad C:62 EXC tested here is built on a C:62 carbon frame with a claimed tyre clearance up to 50 mm, UDH compatibility, internal cable routing, a one-piece carbon cockpit and a Newmen Advanced G.34 carbon wheelset.
The groupset is SRAM Force AXS XPLR E1, with a 42-tooth single chainring and a 10-46 cassette. My test bike was fitted with a Rival cassette, but the new 2027 range does come with a Force cassette. The crankset also integrates a left-crank power meter.
My size L sample weighs 8.3 kg. For a carbon gravel bike specced like this, that is very respectable.
It is exactly the kind of bike that explains why Cube so often comes up in discussions about the spec-to-price ratio. We already dug into this logic in our analysis on why Cube bikes are keenly priced, and this Nuroad C:62 EXC is almost the rolling example.
The trap would be to stop at the spec
Today, putting together an impressive spec sheet is not as hard as it used to be. Brands know how to assemble flattering builds, especially at a quick glance. The real topic is what is left once the bike is fired down a track, sprinted out of the saddle or thrown into a technical section.
The Nuroad C:62 is currently the carbon alternative in Cube’s gravel range. So understand it as a fairly broad platform, which the build can steer towards performance, fast endurance or broader versatility. Cube is not chasing extreme gravel here. This is a bike designed for a majority of riders: to ride fast, for a long time, on varied terrain, without turning into something too radical.
The geometry goes in that direction. The wheelbase is fairly generous, the chainstays are on the longer side, but the front end retains genuine agility. In size L, you get a 100 mm stem, a 42 cm handlebar and 170 mm crank arms. Cube has clearly revised its component choices lately, with dimensions closer to current standards. It seems secondary. In practice, it mainly saves you from having to replace three parts as soon as you leave the shop.
A natural position, but watch your size choice
I quickly felt at home on this bike. The frame is slightly sloping, with a relatively short seat tube, which gives plenty of seatpost showing. Visually, it works. On the trail, it also contributes to comfort thanks to the flex of the 27.2 mm carbon seatpost.
However, I would not recommend deliberately sizing down to chase a sportier fit. On this Nuroad you can quickly end up a bit short on seatpost extension. Also be careful with the size calculator on their product page, which is quite generous. For example, it was recommending an XL for me, which would not have suited my profile (1.85 m / saddle height at 78 cm).
The one-piece carbon cockpit is well integrated, without giving that sometimes unpleasant sensation of an overly locked-down front end. The steering remains smooth, easy to place, almost playful for a bike that still keeps a very stable platform.
A frame more responsive than brutally stiff
The behaviour of the bottom bracket area is interesting. It is not the stiffest bike I have tested, and very powerful riders will feel it on all-out efforts. But stiffness and responsiveness do not always tell the same story.
Here, the Nuroad C:62 EXC responds quickly. When you get out of the saddle, the bike picks up cleanly, without unnecessary inertia. On a short kick, out of a corner, on a little rise or a technical passage where you need to put the power down again, it feels livelier than its geometry suggests.
This is probably one of the bike’s best points: it does not try to mimic an ultra-harsh gravel race bike. It retains efficiency but does not punish. It forgives line errors, imperfect tracks, the long rides where you do not want to endure every vibration.
Comfort is one of its real strengths
The build plays a big part in this sensation. The Schwalbe G-One R Pro in 45 mm already give you plenty of volume. The Newmen Advanced G.34 wheelset, relatively shallow and undemanding, filters better than a taller, very stiff carbon wheelset. The carbon seatpost adds compliance. The cockpit does not over-stiffen the front.
The result is simple: the bike is comfortable, really. Not just comfortable for a carbon gravel bike. Comfortable full stop.
On twisty, technical sections, the Newmen wheelset suits the bike’s orientation very well. I already knew it from riding it on the Propain Teral CF, and I found again that sensation of an easy, predictable wheelset, pleasant when the terrain becomes less linear.
On long, fast-rolling tracks, it lacks a bit of inertia. That is the trade-off. If your goal is pure performance, a taller, stiffer wheelset would probably transform the bike’s behaviour. But in the stock build, Cube has made a logical choice: prioritise ease and comfort rather than chase artificial aggressiveness.
The moderate fork angle meant I encountered a toe overlap in some very technical spots. It is very slight and depends, of course, on the frame size, tyre volume, crank length and the positioning of your cleats under the shoe.
A SRAM Force XPLR groupset perfectly at home
The 42t single chainring paired with the 10-46 cassette suits the intended use well. It is neither too short nor overly ambitious. For versatile, quick gravel riding with rolling sections and rougher bits, the gearing provides enough range.
The SRAM Force AXS XPLR E1 groupset is one of the current benchmarks in gravel. Ergonomics, braking, shift precision, the simplicity of 1x – nothing gets in the way.
The power meter integrated in the left crank arm is also worth highlighting. Many cyclists will not use it every day, but for those who train seriously or want to pace their efforts on long rides, having it as standard at this price changes how you read the build.
No in-frame storage, but a well thought out top-tube bag
The only real criticism I can make of the frame concerns the absence of in-frame storage. On a modern gravel bike, especially with this versatile orientation, I would have liked to see an integrated solution in the downtube.
Cube partly compensates with two mounts on the top tube, very neatly hidden by a small finishing plate. On this model, the ACID Pack Pro 0.7 bag is fitted as standard. It bolts directly to the frame with two small screws that do not require a tool.
It is practical, stable, and tidier than a strapped bag that ends up moving or scuffing the frame. It is not completely waterproof: you can make out a small gap at the closure. But for a spare tube, a multi-tool, tubeless plugs or a bit of nutrition, it does the job very well.
Cube also pays attention to the small visible details
From a distance, this Nuroad C:62 EXC can pass for a fairly discreet black bike. Up close, the carbon’n’crisscross colour reveals more intricate patterns, with a really well executed finish. Cube also adds a few coloured touches, notably the purple chain and the bar-end plugs.
This is not essential to the bike’s behaviour. But it matters. Cube has long been associated with rational builds, sometimes less visually desirable than those of brands stronger on image. Here, the German brand shows it can also care for the object. And I think the 2027 range goes even further on this front.
One can, however, regret the presence of a PressFit bottom bracket. Even though over the test period I had no issues and no creaks, it is still hard to get convincing longevity for gravel use with this type of BB.
This Nuroad remains less Instagrammable than some much more expensive bikes. Good. It is also much harder to criticise rationally.
A gravel bike designed for the majority of riders
The Cube Nuroad C:62 EXC does not target extremes. It is not the most radical bike for ultra-fast gravel races. Nor is it a travel mule designed to carry heavy loads for several weeks.
Its strength lies elsewhere: it covers the centre of the market very well. Those cyclists who want a carbon gravel bike that is fast, comfortable, reliable, well equipped, capable of being quick on the road, handling a big day out on tracks and staying pleasant in more technical sections.
This is probably the profile of many riders in France. Not necessarily pure racers, not necessarily long-distance travellers. Cyclists who ride often, who like nice kit, but who do not want to turn every bike purchase into an impossible financial justification.
Availability, the last real issue
Cube has a fairly paradoxical problem: its bikes are sometimes hard to get. The brand is making strong progress on road and gravel, and demand regularly outstrips the supply available at retailers.
For this Nuroad C:62 EXC, that is perhaps the most concrete limitation. The 2027 collection has just been released and you will probably need to contact a dealer quickly to reserve one.
This is not a way of creating scarcity. It is just how Cube operates: very aggressive prices, shop-based distribution, but volumes that do not always keep up with the speed at which the brand is gaining credibility.
What this Cube changes in the equation
After this test, it becomes plainly difficult to defend some bikes sold at two or three times the price with an equivalent build. Not impossible, because there remain differences in frame, finish, prestige, sometimes in pure performance. But difficult.
The Nuroad C:62 EXC is not just a good bike for the money. It is a very good bike, full stop, with a price that puts things in perspective.
I had as much fun on this machine as on much more expensive rivals. And that is perhaps the most important sentence of this review. If you are a rational rider, who values ride behaviour as much as the spec sheet, this Cube is among the hardest carbon gravel bikes to ignore today.
