Interbike 2009 – New Focus Izalco Team Road Bike for 2010

INTERBIKE 2009 – We’ve teased with a few photos of this bike, but now we have the complete run down from the German brand- and product manager himself, plus lots of photos of the frame details.

The 2010 Focus Izalco Team road bike is a beauty to behold, and vastly re-worked from the 2009 model we had in here for review just before the show.  Featuring teflon internal cable routing, it runs the cables are directly as possible and uses the tunnels to help reinforce the frame.  Special 60 and 40 ton high modulus carbon fiber layups improve strength in the head- and down tubes and bottom bracket for stiffness, including a reinforced front section of the top-tube where the handlebar would hit in the event of a wreck.  The stays and top tube are 40 ton for a bit more compliance and weight savings.

All in all, this is a great looking bike that appears to improve on the already fast and efficient Izalco platform.  Hit ‘more’ for close-ups and see what it weighs on the Park Tools scale…

The 2010 Focus Izalco Team Milram Edition tips the electronic scale at a mere 14lb 6oz., which falls under the UCI minimum weight of 14.99lbs (6.8kg).  According to the UCI, then, this bike must not be safe…sshhhh, don’t tell anyone.

Yep, $10,000.  Besides the sweet frame, Lightweight wheelset, custom 3T Funda Pro tapered fork and SRAM Red BB30 drivetrain, what do you get? Well…

It’s spec’d with an FSA Wing Pro alloy handlebar, OS-99 carbon/alloy stem w/ Ti hardware and Carbon K-Force seatpost. It has a Fizik Antares K:IUM saddle and Continental Competition tires.  Other than the Lightweight wheels (which are available, just not common), these are all parts you may have on your own bike.  However, it’s the $5,000 (MSRP) Lightweight Standard 3 road wheels that drive the price into the stratosphere.  You can get this same frame in the Izalco Extreme for $7,800 w/ Dura-Ace and $8,900 with Super Record 11.  So, here’s more about the frame…

The seatstays and most of the top tube use a lighter carbon, which also softens the ride a bit.  The shape of the seatstays, combined with the narrow 27.2mm seatpost, help take the edge of the road’s bumps.

They’re wide near the top, but relatively flat, which gives them lateral stiffness for power but vertical compliance for comfort…or at least what likely passes for comfort on a pure-bred race bike.

The seat tube tapers up from the bottom bracket asymmetrically to provide more room for the embedded front derailleur mount, then juts out again on the driveside.

The downtube, bottom bracket and headtube use a stronger carbon fiber to increase stiffness in critical areas.  Note the “ribs” where the cables enter the frame.  The Focus Izalco Team frame has internal tunnels with Teflon lining to provide clean lines while reinforcing the frame slightly.  They also keep the cable runs very direct, which is highlighted in the video.  For example, the cable you see above is for the rear derailleur, and it runs down the side of the downtube, over the bottom bracket and pops out to run along the top of the chainstay:

Click to enlarge and you can make out the rib that runs over the top of the bottom bracket.  This provides a more direct route than the typical under-the-bottom bracket run you see on most bikes.

The front derailleur cable tunnel, however, dow go under the BB.  You can see the tunnel coming down the non-drive side of the downtube (look for the bulge at the red Focus logo) and the shadow on the bottom of the BB shell.  It runs this way because it has to end up coming up for the bottom pull front derailleur:

The rear brake housing has its own tunnel that enters at the front of the top tube and pops out near the rear.  It’s worth noting that the red housing you see does not run through the frame.  There are ferrules just inside the frame that the housing butts into, then the cable is guided through the internal tunnels.

Lastly, the new carbon rear dropout design is formed this way to augment the “comfort” design of the seatstays.  They also look wicked cool.

This is Part One.  We also have their Mares Cross cyclocross bike and award winning Raven XC hardtail mountain bike coming up…