Cube Attempt Compact 105 road bike - 2011

Funding the bike:
I recently signed myself up to the cycle to work scheme my employeer was offering as with all the usual good intentions of getting that little bit fitter (the jury is out on how that goes at this early stage). The idea behind this scheme is you need to use the bike for some of your journey, and for at least 50% of your overal trips to work, you save (usually) the income tax, NI & VAT on the purchase of a bike (which can be up to a 50% saving) & its spread over a 12 month period. Most employers are happy to offer this scheme as it reduces their NI & tax liabilities they pay for the employee.

Choosing the bike:
I wanted the best bike I could get for £1000, so after a few hours of research online (reviews, forums & online shops) I’d narrowed it down to a couple of bikes, the Canondale CAAD8 105 and the Cube Attempt 105, both of which had very similar specifications & equally important, both looked great. I’d heard that the CAAD8 was probably the better bike to go for as they were well known for making good frames, but further research told me there was really not much between it and the Cube Attempt, as its not the same CAAD8 frame that everyone raved about anyway – its been redesigned & is made in the far east to make it more affordable now. So I called my local bike shop, Solent Cycles in Porchester and asked them to get both bikes in, the following weekend I went along, did my test rides on each of the bikes, I also looked at the Canondale Synapse 105 while I was there, but in the end I came away with the Cube as it just felt right.

The bike itself:
Cube are an established German manufacturer who follow the trend of throwing out competitively priced road bikes, the Attempt is highly specced for the money. Many of the features, like internally routed cabling and the nearly complete Shimano 105 groupset you’d expect to see on a bike costing nearer £2000.

One of the deciding factors that helped me choose the Attempt over the competition was it came fitted with high end Schwalbe Ultremo tyres & Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels, and since after the frame its the wheels/tyres that make a bike ride well (or perhaps not), this was a big plus to get these on a bike costing £1000.

I’m not by any means experienced enough to say if the bike is a really good ride or not, but to me the bike was firm, felt fast and handled well – so I’m happy. Coming from a background of riding mountain bikes, its a totally different experience riding a road bike, and so much easier due to the lighter weight & reduced wind resistance.

This is a great first road bike, which I’m very happy with myself & definitely recommend as a test ride if you are thinking about getting a road bike.

Accessories:
I picked up a few extras with the bike including the obligatory bottle holder & spare inner tubes & compact pump. The others were:

Giro Saros Matt Black / White Helmet:
 Shimano M077 SPD Cycling Shoes:
Shimano PD-M770 XT SPD Pedals:
 Topeak Aero Wedge Medium Bag:

Jason Vigus