Cube Unleashes Carbon Nuroad Hybrid Gravel e-Bike With Fazua Drivetrain

Some e-bikes, on the other hand, are much more than just another way to get around town. Most people call them machines. One of these machines is the Nuroad Hybrid C:62 SL from Cube. If you’re unsure of what this team is about, a quick recap is in order.

Since 1993, when Marcus Pruener founded Cube out of the corner of a furniture factory, this team has been rising in popularity throughout Europe, eventually expanding to over 60 countries worldwide. Only recently has Cube hit the North American market, operating out of Canada. Today, this crew is known for producing bicycles of any caliber, from children's bikes to MTBs, e-bikes, and Tour de France-worthy rides.

The Nuroad, on the other hand, is the newest hybrid gravel bike from this renowned team. The catch is that it’s not available to the American or Canadian markets, not yet anyway. Currently, this trinket goes for an MSRP of $5,121 (€4,361 at current exchange rates), but depending on the country and dealership, you can expect to pay a bit more—rarely less.

The first thing to mention regarding the Nuroad is its carbon frame construction. Here, Cube used its C:62 premium carbon fiber to create the beautiful structure you see. Not only is it lightweight but also strong and flexible. The front fork is composed of the exact same material.

Like most gravel bikes, rarely will you find a traditional suspension system like a fork or rear linkage. Here, it’s all about frame composition, tires, and your knees. Speaking of tires, Cube has its own wheelset that it fitted to the Nuroad. This includes a set of Alexrims XC with a pair of Schwalbe X-One tires. That should be enough for grip, suspension, and all-around responsiveness.

Like any other e-bike on the market, here too, you can be sure to find a motor and battery system. What kind of motor and battery; that’s a different story. First, don’t bother looking for a classic Shimano Steps or a Bosch motor. Instead, look for a Fazua Evation system.

The Evation system is a bit different than other drivetrains you may have heard of. Instead of a motor being mounted as the bottom bracket, Evation includes a bottom bracket set in motion by a motor mounted separately from the BB and into the downtube.

It’s also here the battery for this system is mounted. What this sort of system allows you to do is take out the motor and battery mount altogether without affecting the bottom bracket, meaning you’ll still be able to use the bike as a non-electric vehicle. Anything over 25 kph (15.5 mph) completely disengages the freewheel, so it’s all on you from there.

Another famous name that makes its appearance on this bike is Shimano, of course. It provides a GRX derailleur running on an 11-42T 1x11-speed cassette as well as the brakes via another GRX setup.

All in all, you’ll be looking at a gravel e-bike that comes in with a solid 15.8 kg (34 lbs) of weight—decently light considering it’s an e-bike. The manufacturer's website also shows that this bike is suitable only for Category 2 terrains. It’s meant to stay on tarmac, bicycle routes, gravel and sand trials, and only paved hiking trails with very few roots; no jumps, no drops, no wheelies.

Personally, I feel it’s a great-looking bike that’ll give you exactly what you need and when you need it. The only downside I see is that you can’t wheelie it. A damn shame, I tell ya, I was really looking forward to that. I guess I'll just modify the electronics to ramp up the speed limit then.