Cube Attain SLX
Great ride quality at an appealing price
While all of our three contenders can take mudguards – or ‘fenders’ for our American friends – they differ in their intended uses, so you need to think about the type of riding you’ll be doing before you choose your weapon.
Ridley’s Kanzo A has a lot going for it, notably quality gearing and braking and a high-quality pair of gravel tyres that work both on road and off. And it’s clear that a lot of care has been taken in its design, but it’s not that light and I found the ride a fair bit firmer than I’d expected. You could moderate some of this with a different saddle and tubeless tyres though. It’s now listed on the Ridley website at £1,499, with Forza Norte wheels, which I think represents better value.
The Cannondale has a lively road-bike feel but is still designed to accommodate mudguards, though oddly Cannondale doesn’t make its own Synapse-specific guards. But that’s one of the bike’s few negatives. It’s well appointed with mounts for carrying kit and, with wider tyres, you could take it on road-based bikepacking adventures. It’s equally at home for commuting and it would make a very handy year-round trainer that’s tough enough for winter but easily good enough to be your best bike. It beats our winner for versatility, and I’d recommend it highly but it’s much dearer than the Cube and you don’t even get a Shimano 105 chainset, having to make do with a non-series Shimano chainset instead.
The Cube Attain SLX is a bit more limited in its ambitions than the Cannondale – in theory it can take tyres no wider than 28mm, so you’re not going on any bikepacking adventures or hitting the gravel or any off-road trails. But for roads, even pretty poor roads, it’s a real treat. As with the Cannondale, it comes with Shimano’s excellent 105 hydraulic groupset with a wide range of gearing and excellent brakes. Unlike the Cannondale, you also get the 105 chainset. The contact points are excellent, with a swept-back bar that relaxes the riding position a fraction. Cube makes its own Attainspecific mudguards too, which rounds out a fine year-round trainer-cumfitness-cum-commuter bike.
“Shimano’s excellent 105 hydraulic groupset has a wide range of gearing and excellent brakes”