Cube Attain SLX review

Cube claims the Attain SLX's combination of aluminium frame and carbon fork provide “exactly the right blend of pace and comfort”.

Although it undercuts much of the opposition on price, Cube has managed to squeeze in a full Shimano 105 R7020 groupset with wide-ranging gears to cover pretty much all eventualities.

You can fit mudguards too, with Cube making a pair specifically for its disc-equipped Attain bikes, though the frame is limited to 28mm tyres.

However, that's about the only real failing I found on the Cube, which broadly lives up to its billing.

Cube Attain SLX frame details

Cube has called the Attain SLX's frame “awesome”, perhaps over-egging the mix, but it's certainly a very good-looking frameset in an understated sort of way.

The frame has all the usual features you'd expect for a mid-price alloy road bike.

The smooth-welded 6061 aluminium frame is compact and made from double-butted tubes to keep the weight down, with slim dropped seatstays aimed at improving comfort.

The cabling is routed internally through the frame, but I'm glad it isn’t routed through any proprietary handlebar, stem or headset.

The full-carbon fork has a 1 -⅛in to 1-¼in tapered steerer tube and, like the frame, features flat-mount disc brake fittings and standard 12mm thru-axles.

The Attain's road-specific ambitions mean not only are there no luggage bosses on the fork, but the frame only has the usual two pairs of bottle cage bosses – no bento box fixtures and no rear rack bosses.

Considering the Attain could make a nifty year-round commuter bike, I'd have liked rack mounts at least.

Mudguard fittings are present at the bottom of the fork and rear dropouts, and there's a bridge across the chainstays, though there isn't one across the seatstays.

Instead, Cube makes its own Attain Disc Mudguard Set that has a bridge section built on to the top of the rear guard to keep it sufficiently rigid.

You will be able to fit other permanent full-length mudguards, though you'll be restricted by the limited clearance. Crud's Roadracers would also be an option, thanks to their fitting method.

The claimed maximum tyre width is only 28mm – which is pretty modest when some road bike tyres are ballooning out to 30mm and beyond.

You might get 30mm-wide rubber in there, albeit without mudguards, but I think anything wider would be a no-go.

Cube Attain SLX geometry

The Cube Attain has far racier geometry than the Cannondale Synapse 1 and Ridley Kanzo A I tested it alongside.

It's not full-on race bike geometry – the same size Cube Agree race machine has a near-2cm longer reach and a slightly lower stack figure thanks to a much shorter head tube. But on the flipside, it's a long way from endurance bike geometry.

The frame angles – a steep 74-degree seat angle and 72-degree head angle on my test bike – aren't that far removed from those of a classic race bike.

The same is true of the wheelbase, which is an imperceptible 1mm longer than the Agree's.

Cube Attain SLX specifications

The Attain's spec is pretty much all you could hope for from an aluminium road bike at this price in 2024.

The very neatly finished frame is decked out with a full Shimano 105 R7020 groupset, unlike the Cannondale Synapse 1, which makes do with a less expensive non-series crankset.

However, the Cube is considerably less expensive than the Cannondale.

Shimano's groupset delivers its usual slick and efficient performance, with a wide range of gears and light-acting, powerful hydraulic disc brakes.

I'm always keen to see a groupset make the most of its potential gear range, and Cube has done that by speccing the compact 50/34T chainset and wide-ranging 11-34t cassette.

You can go smaller (as shown by the Ridley Kanzo A’s gravel gearing), but the Cube's one-to-one ratio bottom gear should please most people most of the time.

The braking performed perfectly and without complaint in some truly terrible conditions. There's plentiful power at your fingertips without putting in much effort.

The wheels are Cube's own RA 1.9 Aero Disc alloy models with tubeless-ready rims, though the fitted tyres are not tubeless-ready, which increasingly seems like an oversight given the steadily growing popularity of tubeless tyres.

If you want to go down the tubeless route, you'll have to shell out not just for new tyres, but also for valves and sealant.

The Continental Ultra Sport tyres performed pretty well in poor conditions.

Nominally 700x28c, they measured 29mm on the Cube's rims. They're surprisingly supple for such modestly priced rubber, but they do have a 180 TPI (threads per inch) thread count.

These tyres are aimed at use on tarmac. They coped with better parts of my local canal towpath and were okay on poor roads, but I wouldn't take them on any major off-road forays.

Cube Attain SLX ride impressions

Cube describes the Attain SLX's ride as offering “a beguiling blend of comfort and pace”, and while any marketing spiel must be treated with a healthy dose of salt, it isn't a million miles off the mark.

The Cube Attain SLX weighs 9.64kg. The ride has something of the old-school winter training bike about it, in a good way.

The Attain SLX’s tyre clearance limits its all-road and gravel riding potential, but combines with a tight wheelbase to make it a pleasingly nimble machine.

The tight, semi-compact main triangle and dropped seatstays offer an extremely rewarding ride.

Long rides on poor surfaces in near-freezing conditions resulted in no discomfort and when I put the hammer down, acceleration was excellent.

I got on very well with the Cube's relatively short (24cm) saddle. I like truncated seats, and the bar tops are swept back a couple of centimetres or so, which means in spite of the semi-racy geometry, you're a little more upright in the saddle.

This makes it great for commuting and group rides alike, where the fender-friendly frameset will keep you popular (as long as you fit the mudguards).

It's a nifty little climber too, either in the saddle helped by the one-to-one ratio bottom gear or out of the saddle, thanks to the taut, tight frame.

The hydraulic disc brakes mean you can tackle descents confidently too, whatever the weather.

The only real weakness is that the Attain lacks the all-surface versatility of the Ridley and Cannondale bikes I tested.

It was okay on tightly packed gravel, and the tyres were fine on the sort of poor road surfaces we're all familiar with, but this bike is much more at home on tarmac than the rough stuff.

Cube Attain SLX bottom line

This isn't a bike for adventuring off-road and onto tracks and trails. However, if you want a fairly light, fast and comfortable bike for year-round riding, it's a box-ticker and then some.

The full-Shimano 105 R7020 groupset, with wide-ranging gears and light-to-use hydraulics, remains impeccable and is good to see at this price.

To get 105 on a similar Trek or Cannondale, for example, you're looking at £1,850 or £1,900, and there are no obvious compromises on the frame or cockpit components here.

I'd have liked the Attain SLX to be able to accommodate wider tyres – at least up to 32mm – for greater rough-stuff riding potential. But if most of your riding is on tarmac, that won't be an issue.

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