All-new Focus Izalco is stiffer and lighter

Since last year German brand Focus has been supplying bikes to Team Milram and subsequent feedback from the riders has resulted in the development of an all-new Focus Izalco.

It’s a total new design from the bottom bracket shell up, with concerns to deliver a stiffer frame that is also comfortable, all the while being lighter too. Too achieve these aims the result is a frame that bares a resemblance to the current Izalco but under the paint there are many many big changes.

One such big change is the new tapered head tube (1 1/8in to 1 1/4in) with the fork supplied by 3T, an exclusive Funda Pro being supplied with gives a stiff front end. Down below there’s a BB30 bottom bracket shell with substantial oversizing in evidence. The seat tube is as wide as the BB shell but tapers dramatically to take a a 27.2mm seatpost (compared to 31.6mm on the current frame). ‘Elbowed Comfort’ seat stays should give the frame a little bit of give to increase comfort while carbon dropouts reduce the weight even more.

One measure to reduce weight is to increase the finishing quality of the internal walls of the frame, with a ‘Wrinkle-Free Inner Moulding Process’ leading to smoother walls and thinner tube wall thicknesses, further lowering the weight.

Current Izalco frames feature internal cable routing for the rear brake but the new frame takes this to a new level, with ‘Reinforcing Integrated Cable Tunnels’ seeing separate cable channels inside the tube walls and visible externally, creating an odd look but one that keeps the cables out of the way of elements while avoids any difficult cable routing which can occur with internally routed cables.

“Our new technologies, especially the Integrated Cable Tunnel, lend the new Focus Izalco an extremely impressive design. Rounded lines and soft forms unite with the aggressiveness of a truly unique language of form”, states Jörg Arenz, product manager at Focus.

The new frameset will be available in various builds:

Izalco Team Milram
Izalco Team Milram Replica
Izalco Extreme Campa Super record/ Dt Swiss Wheels
Izalco Extreme Dura Ace / Zipp Wheels
Izalco Pro 1.0 Dura Ace / Focus Fullcarbon clincher Wheels
Izalco Pro 2.0 Dura Ace / Fulcrum Racing 5
Izalco Expert Campa Chorus 11 Speed/ Vento Wheels
Izalco Expert Ultegra

More at www.focusbikesuk.com and www.wiggle.co.uk