An unreleased drop-bar variant of Shimanos Cues groupset has been leaked on the new Cube Nuroad Pro gravel bike.Released in early 2023, Cues consolidated Shimanos entry-level Alivio, Acera and Altus groupset families into an all-encompassing range of 9-, 10- and 11-speed drivetrain components.Though 2x mountain and urban bike components are available as part of the Cues range, it is primarily intended to offer affordable 1x drivetrains for all disciplines.At the time, Shimano also announced it would be phasing out its budget-oriented Tiagra, Sora and Claris road bike groupsets.Though it didnt go as far as confirming it upsetting some mullet drivetrain fans Shimano strongly hinted a drop-bar version of Cues would take their place.The new shifters look very similar to existing Shimano road hydraulic disc brake levers. - CubeThis unreleased drop-bar version of Cues bridges the gap between Shimanos premium GRX gravel bike and budget road bike groupsets. These are widely specced on entry-level gravel bikes, but have all been 2x to date.The RD-U6000 rear derailleur is compatible with wide-range cassettes. - ShimanoNotably, the bike is built using the existing Cues RD-U6000-GS rear derailleur, confirming the new Cues BR-U6030 drop-bar levers use the same cable-pull ratio as their flat-bar equivalents.This is hardly surprising given Cues focus on increasing compatibility. However, this marks the first time Shimanos mechanical drop-bar and flat-bar components have been officially inter-compatible since the 9-speed era.The levers themselves look very similar to existing Shimano hydraulic road bike levers.Like Shimano's new GRX groupsets, new Cues appears to be compatible with wide-range 11-50t cassettes. - ShimanoThe derailleur is paired with a wide-range Cues CS-LG400 11-speed 11-50t cassette.The 1x variant of Shimanos latest 12-speed GRX groupset is compatible with similarly wide cassettes.However, with the safe assumption Cues will be priced lower than GRX, this makes the new groupset Shimanos cheapest 1x drop-bar groupset.The crankset is a third-party option, but hints at things to come. - CubeOn this bike, the crankset is a third-party option from Cubes in-house Acid component brand.Given its focus on 1x drivetrains, we expect the complete drop-bar Cues groupset to use the same or very similar crankset options as its flat-bar variants.Cues U6000 is Shimano's mid-tier option for Cues, sitting beneath U8000 and U4000. - ShimanoThe bike is built using a KMC xGlide chain. Shimano Cues groupsets use Shimanos Linkglide technology and are not compatible with existing 11-speed chains. As far as we are aware, this is the first third-party Linkglide chain available for Cues.The new groupset was spotted on one of Cube's new entry-level gravel bikes. - CubeThe Nuroad is Cubes do-it-all alloy gravel-inspired bike platform.Pairing relaxed geometry and wide tyre clearance with mounts for mudguards, kickstands and racks, the Nuroad is also indicative of the type of bike we expect to see Cues specced widely on.At 1,199 / 1,199, the Nuroad Pros price is also telling.This is a price point few brands can hit using Shimanos existing GRX components, or SRAMs Apex Eagle family for that matter, without compromising elsewhere.Only one drop-bar Cues bike has been seen so far, so we cant speculate on the availability of 2x components, dropper-post compatibility or pricing. Shimano has been contacted for comment.