I Bought a Cube Gravel Bike for £450 – Worth It?

Picked up this Cube Nuroad gravel bike from Facebook Marketplace for just £450 – but is it any good? In this video I give a full look at the bike, the upgrades it already has (including Shimano GRX 1x drivetrain & hydraulic brakes), and take it out for a proper first ride test on gravel trails.
I compare it against my Canyon Grail, talk through potential upgrades like tubeless tires, SPD pedals, and bar tape, and share whether this budget-friendly Cube is worth it as a winter hack bike.
👉 If you’re hunting for a cheap gravel bike, looking at the Cube Nuroad range, or wondering if buying on Facebook Marketplace is worth it – this one’s for you.
⚡ Stick around until the end where I share thoughts on 700c vs 650b wheels, comfort, handling, and what I’ll be upgrading next.
💬 Got experience with the Cube Nuroad or other gravel bikes? Drop your tips and comments below – always love hearing what the gravel cycling community thinks!
📌 More cycling adventures, gear reviews, and bargain bike finds coming soon – don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you don’t miss the next ride.

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The bike I spotted this morning on Facebook was uh £450. Let’s take a look at it and see if it’s any good. Anyway, join me in today’s video. [Music] [Applause] Heat [Music] up [Music] here. [Music] So, I’m back from scum for after picking up this cube new robe from a Facebook marketplace ad. I paid £450 for it, which I think is fair. Uh, GRX 1x1speed hydraulic brakes, which is Shimano, so I’m guessing it’s someone’s possibly upgraded maybe the group set from I think this model had a Thira group set originally. uh aluminium frame, carbon fork. I’m going to hazard a guess it’s the bottom of the cube range. Year-wise, I think the bloke I bought it from seems to think it’s 2022. I don’t think it is. I think it’s a 2019 model cuz that’s the closest on the paint job I can get. Uh especially with the front forks looking like this as well. Regardless though, it looks um it looks almost in good condition. There’s a couple of nips and scrapes here and there, but for the most part, what I’m going to be using it for. I’m not really bothered at all. For me, this is going to be a winter hack and I’m going to be just uh freshening it around the link chair uh welds basically. So, the wheel set 700T currently 38 mil tires on these. I’m led to believe if it is the model, I think it is, it will go up as far as 45 millimeter on the tires, which is something the Canyon grill will not I don’t think do. Uh I’ve been after a 700c wheel set on the gravel bike for uh quite some time now. Um I’m holding out buying a shiny brand new one. Let’s put it that way. I could have bought say a giant Revolt. I think that starts out with the new Q’s group set at I think it’s about 1,000 pound or,100,200 pound. Uh, pretty good value for money, but uh I just want a winter hack just to uh get some practice in. I’ve got a uh I’ve got a well I’ve got a ride in mind for next year. In fact, I’ve got three rides in mind, but um I don’t know if I’m in or not yet, so I’m not going to say anything. That will come later, of course. And hopefully this thing will give me uh a bit of practice over the winter rainy months. something I’m not too bothered about freshing to bits. So, in regard to upgrades on the bike, things will need to be done quite urgently, of course, is SPD pedals, so I can actually clip in with my uh gravel boots, of course. Uh the disc brakes are well, yeah, I don’t think there’s much in there. The front one has obviously been cleaned. It’s got a lot of contamination on the disc rotor, so that one is squealing like billio at the moment. As well, uh handlebars is just the standard as they always are. FSA uh Vero as that is compact which looks like a it looks like a 44 actually might be a 42 cm but yeah it’s it’s comfy for the most part. New bar tape will be uh quite nice. The seat obviously we’ve got on here it looks like it’s a h yeah it’s a physique anterior which I’m sure I’ve got already actually on another bike but quickly removed. It’s quite comfy, let’s put it that way. But that’s what it is. But the tires I’m probably going to go for 45 mil straight up to the bat. Um I’m going to go with the Riddlers. I think maybe tubeless setup will be lovely, but it depends on how bad the uh the wheels are. So I’m going to try and get it into my uh my mechanic to uh tell me the bad news that it’s going to cost me a lot more money to go tubeless. But uh if we can on these with the repair, then that will be perfect. Um, yeah. All being well, I might even be riding this bike at the Dirty Reba next year. So, who knows? Morning. Thank you very much. This bit’s a little bit sandy. And uh already, even though it slips a little bit, it’s much more controllable on these bigger wheels than on the 650bs. I would like to say uh the 650b is slightly quicker. Haven’t really pushed it yet on this, but you never know, dear. Mountain to uh something the 650b makes a lot of vibration and it does on this one as well, but it’s manageable so far. But then again, I’m not going very fast, so not a fair test. And really the 138 same as the uh the Grail. I do feel a little bit more confident on the 700’s than the 650s. Might just be a a mental thing possibly. So these tires I’ve got on here are made by Specializ. They’re uh they’re not bad. They’re not fast either. Even though they got the slip down the middle, they’re definitely not as fast as uh any of the other ones I’ve got. So far, so good. Quite enjoying this. I do a little bargain. More to the point, I do I do enjoy not paying full price for something which uh I can get for a lot less. Let’s put it that way. keep the uh keep the nice bikes a little bit clean. Maybe last me a few more years and uh yeah, hopefully take the pain and suffering out on this thing if it lasts. Quite enjoying this ride actually. It’s uh a little bit more confident on the uh on the loose stop. It’s not major gravel, but it give me an idea of what to expect rather than get a bit of a shock like like I did last year when I went to uh the Dirty Reaver or even for that matter glorious gravel with Sherwood Pines. Thinking about that actually that’s on uh in a couple of weeks time. I might, I might not. It all depends. I’ve got a long coming uh coming weeks and months. going to be putting myself out. We’ll see how we go with that. Thank you very much. On other news, uh I’ve got my wild camping gear all pretty much prepped up and ready to go. Idea is uh try and go light as possible. We’ll test out, well, I’ll test out a few of the uh cheap decisions I’ve made, see if they’re any good, and then uh piece together what I’m looking for. Um the nights will be drawing in at the end of the month, whether they go cops go forward or back, and it gets dark quite quick. So, well, camp damping time. Might even join Mr. Lake for a couple of his little adventures, maybe. [Music] Oh, thank you very much. A bit sandy, isn’t it? Thank you. Overall though, pretty good. A couple of faults. Obviously, the front wheel is definitely slowing me down on top speed, but not too bothered. Um, the gears will need reindexing as well. It’s uh it’s a little bit on a couple of the gears, and it won’t get up to the top gear uh easily. Let’s work that way. But uh yeah, overall though, 700c tires has gone through uh the sandy bits on that little tiny trail back there absolutely beautifully. Um going across that on the Grail 7 of course with 650B tires. Um yeah, it’s a bit more choppy if you know what I mean. It’s a bit more slippy and loose. So whereas hit the big sand trap, it’ll come to a grinding hole with the front wheel going one way and you go another, this handles it a little bit better and just inspires a bit more confidence in the riding. So yeah, I think the 700C is definitely a good choice. Uh the wheel basease is definitely longer as well, which is uh a little bit strange coming from obviously a 650B short wheelbase on that one, but uh yeah, all fine. It just makes it a little bit more comfy on the ride. Little bit of a tweak on the seat. Seat’s going to go. Not very comfy at all. Uh handlebars possibly. I might go for some uh swept ones outwards and that will be a lot better as well. But uh yeah, overall though for for the price it’s uh you not get much better. So there we go. Thank you very much for viewing today. Hope you uh hope you like this video. If you do, give me a thumbs up. Uh drop a comment if you got anything to say or any any tips for this bike. what could be uh could be useful for me. And I’ll see you in the next videos. Bye-bye.