Cube Agree C:62 Pro 2018

I try not to do too much research about the latest bike I'm riding until the test period is pretty much over, so as not to influence my judgement, and when I found out the Cube Agree C:62 Pro is actually aimed at the endurance market I was amazed. It all makes sense when you take a glance at the geometry table, but when you are out on the road, boy does this thing want to fly.

• Pros: Great frame and fork, quality component choice
• Cons: Wheels aren't the lightest

Fast and far

Cube's brief for the Agree C:62 was to create a bike that can be ridden long and hard while responding to your every whim. It feels so exciting to ride. The frame is buzzy and really in tune with what is going on beneath you; every tiniest detail of grip is sent back to you from the frameset, which gives you a real confidence to push the bike hard into the bends.

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Stiffness levels are impressive, too, which makes the Cube feel lively and it responds well to acceleration and climbing hard out of the saddle. One surprise was finding out the overall weight: 8.05kg (17.74lbs). The Cube feels way lighter than this, and it just goes to show that it is often worth ignoring the numbers on the scales.

Descending is also a joy, with the 72.5-degree head angle giving a precision and sharpness to the handling you really shouldn't expect. You can really chuck this thing through the bends and delight in its ability to get you to the bottom of the hill without drama.

But while the steering is quick, there is a real feeling of stability which comes with the 1,006mm wheelbase. It just takes the edge off what could be a twitchy ride and really helps to make this a bike that you can ride for a long time at speed.

On the flat the Agree covers ground quickly with a decent balance of speed and comfort. It isn't the plushest ride, right on the edge of what I'd fancy doing a 100-mile sportive on, but it's far from jarring.

I'd certainly say the design brief has been hit. If you don't want the slammed position of a race bike but still want to ride fast and far then the C:62 really manages to strike a sweetspot between the two.

Frame & fork

As I've hinted at above, the frame and fork of the Agree are slightly at odds with what you'd normally expect from an endurance bike. A lot of companies relax the geometry while also softening up the frame to increase comfort. But what if you still want that performance, the rigidity from the frame and fork, but with tube lengths that aren't going to see you stretched out to the extreme?

This is exactly what Cube has done here. It's created a fast performance bike that anyone can ride, regardless of flexibility.

We've got the 56cm model here, which has a 560mm top tube and a 170mm head tube, with a reach of 390mm (the horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube), and a stack of 573mm (the vertical measurement between those points).

This creates a ratio of 1.47 which is sporty; most endurance bike figures come in around the 1.5 to 1.55 area. Probably the biggest key to its mild manners is the chainstay length; at 412mm it's quite long for a rim-braked bike. It certainly gives you a feeling of confidence in the bends.

The frame of the Agree is quite aggressive, with plenty of boxy sections rather than more traditional tube shapes, and it follows the common theme of oversized at the front end and along the bottom for handling and power transfer, while going a little skinner elsewhere for some comfort.

The head tube houses a tapered headset and corresponding fork steerer, which gives a larger cross sectional area to attach the bulky down tube. The fork crown is also shaped to blend in with the down tube for aerodynamics.

Cube has gone for a press-fit bottom bracket, which won't appeal to everyone but this allows for a wider BB shell for added stiffness and gives more material to attach the chainstays and down tube to.

Cube has also kept the seatstays lower down the seat tube, which creates a smaller triangle for increased stiffness at the rear end.

Even though this isn't a race bike, Cube has focused on a small amount of aerodynamics and one way it says it's done this is by using an integrated seat clamp rather than having the usual bolt-on method.

As you can see from the photos, the Agree uses fully internal cable routing, making it compatible with both mechanical and electronic groupsets. My only criticism is with the setup of the rear brake cable, which my thigh rubbed on every pedal revolution, but if it was my own bike it'd be easy to rectify.

Groupset

This Agree is yet another bike that we've received with a new Shimano Ultegra R8000 groupset on, and it is absolutely awesome.

Its predecessor, 6800, was far from shoddy but this latest version delivers a slightly crisper, more defined shift as a result of the tweaked mech designs, and the shifters are a joy to use and ride on.

To match its endurance credentials, the Cube comes with a 50/34t compact chainset and an 11-32 cassette that's actually from the 105 parts bin rather than Ultegra.

This gives a good range of gears, especially for climbing, with the 50x11 giving you plenty of top end for those fast descents.

Cube has designed this frame to accept direct mount brakes rather than the more usual single mount dual pivot design. If you haven't seen them before, direct mount brakes have two fixing points drilled and threaded into the frame and fork to attach the callipers to. This gives a firmer fixing with no chance of any sideways play; you can notice a slight benefit in braking performance too.

Finishing kit

Cube provides all of the components – handlebar, stem and seatpost – which all do a decent job and match the look of the frame.

The handlebar has a compact shallow drop which, when paired with the 170mm head tube, gives a less aggressive position if you want to hunker down on the bottom of the bar.

All the components are plenty stiff enough without battering you about too much either.

While the Selle Royal Asphalt saddle looks way more padded than I'd normally use, I actually got on with it well. The padding is firm not bouncy and it didn't cause any pressure points even on longer rides.

Wheels and tyres

Mavic's Cosmic Elite wheels are a solid set of all-rounders. At around 1,770g they aren't the lightest, but they certainly don't feel especially weighty and still accelerate and climb well, with a 30mm deep rim and aero spokes.

If you want to really push the pace I'd say an upgrade would be on the cards, but straight out of the box and for the majority of riding I'd say they are just fine (and the matching graphics look cool too).

Throughout testing they threw up no problems at all in some difficult conditions. Loads of water and grit never saw an issue with grumbling bearings or freehubs.

Rather than supply Mavic's own brand tyres, Cube has gone with Continental's Grand Sport Race in a 700 x 25 size (though the spec says 28s). They aren't quite up there with, say, the Conti GP4000s in terms of grip and performance but they are very good tyres in their own right. I had plenty of confidence in them when cornering in the wet or dry, and had no problems with punctures or durability.

Value

When it comes to the money, Cube's RRP of £2,099.99 does look a little pricey against some of the other bikes we've tested with similar characteristics.

One bike the Agree reminds me of is the Boardman SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 which cost £1,999.99. That one obviously has disc brakes, and the closest rim-braked model on Boardman's books is the FSA/Dura-Ace equipped Endurance 9.2, with an RRP of £2,099.99 – the same as the Cube.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best sportive & endurance bikes

Now few brands can compete with Canyon on pricing, and there is no way we could forget to mention its Endurace model. Tass rode the WMN CF 9.0 Di2 (a unisex model with women-specific touches) which sounds a near-identical bike to the Agree C:62: racy but with that endurance geometry. An Ultegra-equipped, Conti-tyred Endurace CF 8.0 will set you back just £1,749 excluding shipping – very impressive indeed.

Conclusion

On the whole I reckon the Cube Agree C:62 Pro really nails it as a fast bike for the non-racers. At its heart is an awesome frameset which really feels alive and just wants to be ridden hard. Upgrade the wheels to drop the weight and this thing will fly.

Verdict

An endurance bike with a very sporty bias, the perfect balance between speed and a less extreme riding position