Am trying to work out a good first bike to get for 70.3 races, with the idea of moving up to full Ironman in about a year’s time and have come across a pretty good deal on the Focus Izalco Chrono Max 3.0.
Trouble is, there don’t seem to be too many reviews out there on it’s triathlon capabilities… does anyone have experience/knowledge of this bike?
http://www.focus-bikes.com/gb/en/bikes/2016/road/aero-izalco-chrono-max/izalco-chrono-max-30.html
Thanks in advance!
Nice looking bike… I am interested as well…
Anyone?
Jeff
I bought a Chrono Max 3.0 last year as a replacement for my 7 year old Cannondale Slice and really like it. I use it mostly for TTs and have seen a significant decrease in times - for example, I did a 7 mile TT last year and my time was about 2 minutes faster than in previous years, even though the conditions and my power numbers were comparable. The handling seems to be a bit twitchier than my Slice and it’s heavier than you think, so probably not the best bike if you have a lot of hills. It is really cool-looking though and so I’ve had quite a few people ask me about it at races since I’m usually the only one riding a Focus bike.
Nice job on smashing your TT time!
Yep it certainly does look cool… But good to know re the weight - I didn’t realise that one. I think I could probably deal with the twitchiness for a 70.3 as I’ll have nothing but my road bike to compare the handling to. Have basically found a good deal on a frame + extras, so thinking of building it up into a unique but solid first bike.
I have the red/black Chrono max. I also rode their older TT bike. I love them both. The newer one is definitely lighter than their older model. Both are great bikes. The fork/front end can be a pain since it is integrated but if you have a good mechanic and follow their online videos for assembly it should be all good. For travel I got the SciCon bike bag so I did not have to mess around with disassembly.
There are two stems—one that is flat and one with a slight rise. I also sized UP from my old Focus TT bike since the stem only has one length and I ride pretty aero and stretched out. Medium on the old bike and large on the new one (I am 5’9").
Emily Cocks
http://emilycocks.com/
The Triathlon Preview Show
Just an aside…
I have hardly ever seen a Focus bike in my my races and travels in the USA and Canada.
Was down in Panama for the 70.3 and they were very prevalent with the Costa Ricans, Panamanians, and Colombians. Focus must have a good distro network down there.
It’s a long/low bike so if you fit on it it can give very fast positions
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in what universe? a new cervelo stack/reach would be 506/397 vs the focus at 537/390
the thing is the opposite of long/low, it makes current cervelos seem long/low and they are not anymore
I agree on the low/long. It’s not, especially with the fixed stem length. That is why I had to size up to a large. Needed more room to stretch out.