Cube Litening Aero C:68X Pro 2023

Cube's Litening Aero C:68X Pro is a quirky looking bike, with its aero profiles and jaunty angles, but it's definitely one that's been designed for a specific job. The racers, or those of you who prioritise speed over everything else, will be very happy with the performance and will most likely overlook the fact that it doesn't have the most refined ride quality on the market.

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> Buy now: Cube Litening Aero C:68X Pro for £2,379.15 from Bambobike

Many people consider the UCI's limitations on road bike frame design as stifling, but Cube seems to have pushed the Litening Aero's frameset pretty much to the aero boundaries through wind tunnel testing, as it feels very fast out in the real world. The way the tubes (if you can call them that) hug the tyres front and rear makes this a very slippery shape when paired with those deep-section wheels, and that means when the speed gets to the high teens mph and above it absolutely flies.

The geometry (I'll give you figures in a minute) is very much race orientated, so that means relatively steep angles at the seat tube and the head tube, putting you into an aggressive riding position to allow you to get the power down when seated, and the low front end helps those aero gains.

The handling is quick – this is a race bike after all – which gives great confidence in the bends, and high-speed descending is a lot of fun. One trade-off is that it can feel a little twitchy and vague at slower speeds, but that is to be expected on this style of bike.

One other thing is that the internal brake hoses are directed from the handlebar down into the head tube, like on many bikes these days, but the Cube uses a curved channel in the tube behind the steerer tube which limits how far the handlebar can turn in each direction. It really isn't an issue when riding at anything above walking pace as you don't tend to turn the bar that far; you can get caught out in traffic – say, where you need to make tight turns to filter, something I found when using the Cube for commuting – but mostly it's a psychological thing.

This is also a very stiff bike, with the large tube profiles on the lower half of the frame including fairly chunky chainstays designed to minimise flex. Both seated and standing efforts see the bike surge forward without any feeling of wasted energy. This makes the Litening a great sprint machine, and even a decent climber, even though at 7.77kg it's no lightweight mountain goat.

This stiffness does have a trade-off in terms of comfort, though. There is some compliance in the frame and fork, but it's not as plush as some. It doesn't feel harsh, and it doesn't beat you up exactly, but high-frequency buzz from typical UK road surfaces is noticeable through the bar and saddle. This bike is about performance, though, so it is understandable, but others, such as Orro's Venturi, manage to achieve that while also having a smoother, more comfortable ride quality.

Overall, though, this is an impressive bike in terms of performance, with great handling at pace.

Frame and Fork

This Litening C:68X is made from a material with the same name, Cube's own C68:X grade of carbon fibre, which it says uses six different types of fibre in its lay-up, allowing Cube to save weight without reducing the stiffness required.

Considering the deep aero sections of the frame, the C:68X comes in at a decent 980g, although Cube doesn't quote which size that is for out of the six on offer.

As I've mentioned, the Cube gets full internal cable and hose routing for a very clean look, and also sitting internally are the bottom bracket bearings as it uses a press-fit design. This allows for the actual bottom bracket shell of the frame to be wider, without increasing the distance between the cranks (the Q-factor). It also means the connecting tube profiles can be larger as well to give that all-important rigidity.

The bike also has clearance for up to 28mm tyres.

The seatclamp for the aero post is integrated into the frame, with adjustment being taken care of by the two bolts on the rear of the seat tube.

As for mounting points, you get bottle cage bolts in the usual position, although the down tube has three bolt options to give you a bit of adjustability.

The fork is also called the C:68X Aero, with a design that integrates smoothly with the bottom of the head tube.

The fork matches the frame in terms of stiffness. There is no hint of flex-induced understeer when cornering hard, and no chatter through the legs when braking very hard either.

By running the brake hoses through the channel in the head tube behind the fork, Cube hasn't had to flatten off any sections of the steerer tube, leaving it completely round. This has all been hidden, though, by the headset spacers and the stem section of the integrated cockpit, giving a smooth aero look to the front end.

The six sizes cover 50cm through to 60cm, with top tube lengths of 527mm to 592mm.

The geometry is fairly typical for this kind of bike, with no real surprises. For instance, a 54cm has an effective top tube length of 550mm with a 125mm head tube, although it's a little taller than that in reality when the lower spacer brings it in line with the top of the top tube.

The wheelbase is 984mm, which is what keeps the bike feeling nimble and responsive through the corners, and the chainstays are just 410mm in length.

The seat tube angle is 73.5 degree, as is the head angle. Stack and reach work out at 542mm and 389mm respectively.

Groupset

This Pro-level model comes with a SRAM Force AXS wireless groupset which suits it very well. We have a full review of the latest Force group on its way soon, so for now I'll just give you the short version.

It's a fully wireless electronic groupset thanks to the shifters and mechs each getting their own individual batteries – coin type CR batteries for the shift levers and fully rechargeable lithium ones for the mechs which, if the need arises, makes for very easy setup and adjustment.

Here we have a 2x, 12-speed system with a 48/35-tooth crankset and a 10-33T cassette. Those gear ratios may look low compared with those offered by Shimano, but I'm a big fan of the large spread of gears they give you overall.

The 48T large chainring proves very efficient – on everything other than steep climbs I didn't need to use the inner ring, I could just use the wide-ranging cassette, and while there are a few larger jumps between the bigger sprockets, the closely spaced lower half means you can keep your cadence to a narrow range.

With a 10-tooth smallest sprocket it doesn't lose out on top-end speed either. I've pedalled bikes at more than 55mph with this setup and still had a gear to push against.

The shifting at the levers is quick, and there are no issues with any kind of interference for the wireless signal. You control the gear changes with a single button on each lever, with the one on the right lever moving the chain onto a smaller sprocket on the cassette, while the left-hand one moves the chain back up the cassette. If you press them both together, the chain moves onto the opposite chainring. It's simple to use and I'm a big fan.

SRAM's brakes are also impressive to use, with plenty of power and modulation. Here you get 160mm rotors front and rear, which is more than enough stopping power than you need on a road bike.

Finishing kit

Moving away from the gearing, you'll find an integrated carbon fibre stem and handlebar, the ICR Aero Cockpit. As the name suggests, it's all about the aero, with a flat-topped bar and sleek lines into the stem, which is more rectangular than a traditional round option.

I found it a comfortable handlebar with plenty of hand positions and stiffness for hard, out-of-the-saddle efforts. Fitting extras like lights and computers is the only drawback with an aero bar, but Cube has included mounting holes for a Garmin/Wahoo computer mount under the central section of the bar.

The stem spacers can separate if necessary, so if you need to change your front-end position you can do so without having to mess around with the brake hosing.

The seatpost is a Litening C:68X Aero Comfort Flex with an inline saddle clamp. It comes with a Nuance SLT Road Carbon saddle fixed to it. I found it comfortable, with enough padding to soak up some of the firmness of the frame without feeling overly squishy.

Wheels & Tyres

On its website Cube lists the Pro model with Mavic's Cosmic SL 45 wheelset, but our review model (and others I have seen for sale online) came with a set of Newmen Advanced SL R.50 Streems.

They have a 50mm-deep carbon fibre rim, and at 18mm wide internally are quite a narrow set of wheels compared with what we are used to seeing. They work fine with the maximum 28mm tyres that you are going to be able to fit to the Cube, so it's not a major issue.

With a 21-spoke build on the front and 24 on the rear, the wheels are plenty stiff enough, and a claimed weight of 1,490g is respectable for their depth. Their biggest asset, though, is the aerodynamics on offer from the deep rim; they certainly work well with the frameset, as I said earlier, to create a speed machine on the flat.

Fitted to them are Schwalbe's Pro Ones, which I consider to be one of the best performance tyres on the market. They have a lovely supple feel even at high pressures, and they grip very well too. They have good wear rates considering they're race-orientated tyres, but they are a bit too fragile for year-round use, as you'd expect.

Value

At £5,499, the Aero C:68X Pro is in line with its rivals on price.

I mentioned the Orro Venturi earlier in the review, highlighting its ride quality, but Orro's bikes also tend to score well on value. We have the latest iteration of the Venturi STC Tailormade on its way to road.cc Towers for review, and it has a similar build with Force AXS, an integrated carbon fibre cockpit and deep-section wheels, though it's £100 less at £5,399.99.

Mat reviewed Giant's aero offering, the Propel, in June, in its Advanced Pro 1 guise and was very impressed. It's the same price as the Cube and comes with all of the aero components expected, like deep-section wheels and an aero cockpit. It also gets an electronic groupset, but it's a tier below, being SRAM's Rival AXS.

I rate Merida's Reacto highly if you are looking for a well-priced aero road bike. I reviewed the Reacto 7000 recently, which came with Rival AXS for £4,350, but a closer comparison to the Cube is the Reacto 8000 for £4,850, with Reynolds deep-section wheels and a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset, or the Reacto 9000 for £6,500, which also comes with Ultegra Di2 and Reynolds wheels, but gets the top-end CF5 frame over the slightly heavier CF3 frame of the 8000 and 7000.

Conclusion

The Cube Litening C:68X Aero is a lot of bike for the money, and if speed is your main focus then it is definitely one to have on your short list. There are others out there with a smoother ride quality on UK roads, but you can't discount this bike's stiffness and power delivery.

Verdict

A firm ride offset by real world aerodynamics and great finishing kit for the money