Reasonable budget dream bike build

I wanted to share my reasonable budget dream bike build! Coming from a full aluminum, mechanical bike last season, I really wanted to experience firsthand all the things I was seeing on YouTube and Reddit.

I ended up getting a Cube Attain GTC SLX, which I don’t believe they sell anymore. I managed to snag it for 2200 EUR (discounted from 2500 EUR). The frame geometry suited me, and it came equipped with a 105 Di2. However, I knew I would want to replace the finishing kit down the line. The bike weighed 9 kg without pedals in its stock form, and it has tire clearance up to 32 mm, which is a nice bonus.

Here are the upgrades I made:

• Zipp Service Course Stem – 40 EUR (Liked the look, and the stock one felt flexy)
• 170mm 105 Crankset – 129 EUR (It originally came with a 175mm crankset)
• DEDA Zero RHM 02 Handlebar – 40 EUR (The stock bars were too wide, and I wanted to try a compact handlebar)
• Lightbicycle AR56 Rims, DT Swiss 240 EXP Hubs, CX Ray Spokes – ~1000 EUR (With brass nipples and 28 rear spokes, they came out to 1500g)
• GP 5000 Tires – 75 EUR (The picture shows Pirelli Cinturato Velo, but I'm switching them out)
• Carbon Seatpost from Aliexpress – 20 EUR
• Bottle Cages from Aliexpress – 15 EUR
• Dura-Ace Rotors – 110 EUR (Just because I love how they look)
• RideNow TPU Tubes – 10 EUR

Total cost: ~3650 EUR, or ~3200 EUR if you exclude the finishing kit upgrades, which are more about personal preference.

With these upgrades, the bike now weighs around 7.9 kg (including bottle cages and a computer mount, but without pedals), which I’m really happy with.

I know that the value isn’t necessarily there when comparing to the absolute bargains that Cube is putting out this year like the Cube Agree C:62 Pro which comes in at 3300 eur and Ultegra Di2. However, I love tinkering with my bike and it is like a whole separate hobby for me haha so I have no regrets – I bet I would have ended up making the same upgrades if I bought a more expensive bike.