Last month we showed a brief glimpse of the 2012 range from Focus. We’ve since travelled out to Germany to get the lowdown on the full line-up.
The big news was the first price we've seen for a fully equipped Ultegra Di2 bike, the Focus Cayo Evo 2.0 at £2,799. Costing £400 less than the Dura-Ace equipped Evo 1.0, it points towards the competitive pricepoint Shimano talked about at the electronic groupset's launch in June.
Road
While the Izalco Pro and Cayo both remain in the Focus range, two new road platforms have been launched. We posted shots of the bikes from the Munich show but this was our first opportunity to see the range in full and talk with Focus’s designers about the two new bikes.
Even though the Cayo Evo sits below the Izalco Pro, as ridden by team Katusha, Focus say they're still serious about the Cayo. With full UCI certification, the new Evo is intended to be raced at the very highest level.
The Evos range from the 3.0 at £2,299 with SRAM Force, through to the 2.0 at £2,799 with the all-new Ultegra Di2 groupset and Fulcrum Racing 5s, to the range topping Dura-Ace equipped 1.0 running on Fulcrum Racing 3s at £3,199.
The Focus Cayo Evo 2.0, complete with Ultegra Di2, costs £2,799
The Cayo remains but gains new graphics and a new full-carbon fork. Pricing ranges from £1,399 for the 105-equipped 3.0 up to £1,599 for the Force-equipped 1.0 with DT Swiss R1850 wheels.
Izalco Ergoride
The Ergoride takes is design cues from the pro level Izalco, with the geometry adjusted for a slightly shorter reach. This makes for a radically sloping top tube, longer head tube and a reworked rear. The Donna, a women's-specific Ergoride, completes the range.
Izalco Ergoride 1.0 with SRAM Red Black and Kysrium wheels for £3,699
The 1.0 tops the Ergoride range with full SRAM Red, Black Edition BB30 SRAM Red chainset and Mavic Kysrium Elites for £3,699. The base model 4.0 has full Ultegra and DT Swiss R1850 wheels for £1,999.
29ers
Moving onto the 29ers, they're new for 2012 and are split between two platforms. The aluminium Black Forest range starts with the 3.0 at £729, which is equipped with a RockShox XC 28 TK RL100 fork, Tektro Draco hydraulic brakes and a Shimano Deore drivetrain. The £899 2.0 shares the same frame (though a different finish), brakes and wheelset but gains an XT drivetrain and a RockShox Recon TK100 fork. The £1,499 1.0 range topper gains DT Swiss M520 wheels, a Fox 32 Float RL 100 fork and Magura’s new MT2 brakes.
The all-new Carbon 29er, the Raven 2.0, retails for £2,399
The Raven range makes the switch to a full-carbon frame. This features fully internal cabling and has provision for a remote adjustable seatpost cable. The bottom bracket shell is BB30 compatible. Other neat touches are the tapered head tube and flattened seatstays that provide a softtail-like amount of vertical flex for increased comfort.
Prices start from £1,899 for the 3.0 with Shimano XT drivetrain, Fox 32 Float RL100 fork and Magura MT2 brakes. Our pick of the range is the middle spec 2.0, which has full XT, Fulcrum Red Power wheels, Avid Elixir 7s and a RockShox Reba RL100 fork, all for £2,399. The £4,499 range topping 1.0 gains a Fox 32 F100, Magura MT8, full XTR, CrankBrothers Cobalt 3 wheels and finishing kit from FSA’s K-Force range.
Full-suspension & trail
Focus are offering four suspension bike platforms for 2012, from the superlight Marathon-specific FSL to the light 100mm-travel Super Bud all-rounder, 130mm all-mountain Thunder and 150mm enduro Project.
The top-of-the-range FSL offers 100mm of travel up front and at the rear courtesy of a RockShox XX shock and SID XX WCR RL 100 fork. The frame weighs in at only 1,850g. With Avid XX WC brakes, SRAM XX drivetrain and carbon Reynolds MTN XC wheels, the full package adds up to an all-up weight of just 9.5kg.
Focus reckon the Super Bud is a true all-rounder, light enough to race but plush enough to play. Prices start at £949 for the 5.0 with an RST Blaze RL100 fork, DNM air shock and a mixed Shimano drivetrain with an XT rear mech. The range tops out with the 1.0 at £2,299 with full XT, a Fox 32 and Float RL combo, and Fulcrum Red Power XL wheels. All the Super Buds share the same triple-butted hydroformed aluminium frame, with a tapered head tube and easy-access bearings in industry standard sizing.
The £949 100mm travel Super Bud features a triple butted frame, RST forks and an XT rear mech
The all-mountain Thunder features the Knuckle Box suspension design, claimed to offer improved lateral stiffness. As with the rest of Focus’s off-road range it features a tapered head tube, with the addition of a 12/142mm rear through-axle out back to improve rigidity while still allowing for easy wheel removal.
The top-of-the-range Thunder 1.0 at £3,199 is equipped with full XTR, including the neat Shadow Plus rear mech to reduce chain slap. Up front there's a 140mm-travel Fox 32 Talas RL, while out back is a Fox Float RP2 shock. Braking is from Avid's Elixir 5s. It rolls on Fulcrum's through-axle version of the Red Power XLs (colour matched to the frame). The 3.0 – the entry point to the Thunder range – sells for £1,849. It shares a frame with the 1.0 but comes equipped with XT, Magura MT2s, a RockShox Sektor TK140 and Ario R shock, and rolls on XT wheels.
The top-of-the-range Thunder 1.0 sells for £3,199
The longest-travel platform Focus offer is the Project range. With rear travel set to 150mm and a 160mm fork up front, this should be more than enough for most riders. The Project’s frame features a similar Knuckle Box linkage to the Thunder, a through-axle 12/142 rear and an ISCG chain guide mount, and is compatible with Truvativ's HammerSchmidt drivetrains.
The range tops out with the 1.0 at £4,199 with a Fox 36 Talas RLC 160 and Float RP2, Avid Elixir 7 carbon brakes, SRAM XX and HammerSchmidt drivetrain, all rolling on CrankBrothers Iodine 2 through-axle wheels. The base model 3.0 at £2,399 has a RockShox Revelation RL 150 fork and Monarch RT3 shock, SRAM X9 gears and Avid Elixir 5s. The mid-range 2.0 (£3,399) has X9 and HammerSchmidt, a Fox 36 Talas/RP2 combo and DT Swiss E2000 through-axle wheels.
The Project 3.0 at £2,399 shares the same frame as the range topping £4,199 1.0
Cyclo-cross
Now sitting alongside Focus's World Cup-winning Mares carbon cyclo-cross bikes is the entry-level AX 4.0, designed with UK riders in mind. The 4.0 has front and rear discs, a disc-specific butted aluminium frame and own-brand deep-section Concept wheels and mudguards. Equipped with Shimano Tiagra and an FSA Gossamer chainset, it retails for £899. A non-disc Avid Shorty equipped version without mudguards is available for £100 less.
The Mares AX4.0 features deep disc specific wheels, disc brakes and dedicated guards. It costs £899 and weighs in at 10.8kgs on the scales
The all-carbon Mares CX frameset has been tuned to offer more tyre clearance. It's now BB30 compatible and the front brake cable mount is integrated into the fork crown. The carbon rimmed, SRAM Force equipped range-topping 1.0 tips the scales at 7.9kg and retails at £2,799, with a tubular wheeled version at £3,299. The 3.0 starts the CX range with Shimano 105, FSA Gossamer 'cross chainset and Fulcrum Racing 7CX’s for £1,549, and tips the scales at 8.7kg.
