Focus at Performance?
06-04-10, 07:45 AM
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Focus at Performance?
I just stopped by the new Performance Bike store on my way to work and saw several Focus models on display. I was a bit surprised - I thought Focus was too high end for Performance.
06-04-10, 09:01 AM
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I've seen Focus in their catalogs bur never at the stores before. I was surprised about them carrying Focus as well.
BTW - did anyone see their Scattante CFR Pro in the catalog? It is equipped with Di2 and has an MSRP of $10K. It's on "sale" for $5K.
I can't imagine them selling too many of those.
BTW - did anyone see their Scattante CFR Pro in the catalog? It is equipped with Di2 and has an MSRP of $10K. It's on "sale" for $5K.
I can't imagine them selling too many of those.
06-04-10, 10:56 AM
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06-04-10, 10:59 AM
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Isn't Focus the wiggle.co.uk house brand? It's kind of like the European Scattante. At least that was my impression. I did see some in the store though and they looked pretty nice.
06-04-10, 12:44 PM
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Oh, wait, that was Cannondale...
Oh, wait, that was Cannondale...
06-04-10, 12:50 PM
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Last food trip to performance I picked up one of the Focus display bikes. Looked nice, felt like lead.
06-04-10, 01:13 PM
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BTW, my current scattante 60cm weighs in at 19.5lbs. So its no lightweight, but it feels lighter than the Focus display bikes. Especially the front. They must be using lead forks and handlebars.. Im going to bring the scale next time. (I have many bits that are heavy - brooks saddle, 25c tires and fat tubes, etc - that kicks me out of the 18lb class)...
Last edited by tj90; 06-04-10 at 01:18 PM.
06-04-10, 01:19 PM
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I was really excited about Focus' price points. Then I too picked up one of the display bikes and got less interested. Why would I "upgrade" my Scattante XRL by going "backwards" on the weight scale? I have to admit, having a german built carbon frame gets higher points than a Tiawanese Al frame with Scattante decals....
We are proud of our production location Germany. FOCUS – bikes made in Germany. This stands for quality and German Engineering skill. All FOCUS frames and technologies are developed in our Cloppenburg local region. According to the here developed specifications and the control of our staff, selected partners produce raw frames – which becomes a platform for the new FOCUS bike.
06-04-10, 05:03 PM
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I saw the Focus support car on stage4 of the ToC... looked rather nice. In-store they seem simply engineered, but look pretty for not having an obtuse amount of decals. The one I felt didn't seem to weigh much....
06-04-10, 06:22 PM
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06-04-10, 06:48 PM
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I bought a pair of FI Unos from them during a 20% off sale a few weeks ago. They were at MSRP as a base ($200), so I got them at $160 (plus some store credit), and had free 2nd day shipping. Pair of FI Unos I bought before that was from Ribble (UK), and was about $150 shipped and took 3 weeks to get here because of that volcano. Not bad I'd say. Either way, I don't think you'll find a price better than 20% off MSRP on Assos from any US-based store.
06-04-10, 06:56 PM
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Sounds to me like they are getting their frames from Taiwan too, they are just a little more low-key about saying so. Getting your frames from Taiwan is not a bad thing, of course, but I wouldn't go picking a Focus over any other brand because you think it's manufactured in Germany instead of Asia.
The world is changing.... Now "Made In Taiwan" is quality...
06-04-10, 08:29 PM
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For what it's worth, weight isn't the end-all be all for carbon bikes -- especially bikes for the masses. Go pick up the Colnago CLX 2.0. It's not all that light, but it rides really well. The EPS could be lighter as well, but it as a bit more weight because of the shaping of the tubes and lugs for ride quality.
06-04-10, 08:53 PM
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Focus bikes (started by Mike Kluge, former UCI mountain bike racer) has their frames manufactured in Taiwan, but has all finishing - including paint/clearcoat application, component installation, etc. - done at their facility in Germany. This was covered in one of the episodes of the VeloReviews podcast.
As far as their presence in Performance Bike stores: PBS is being very picky about which stores stock the Focus brand. The stores have to reach a certain level of service and support in order to be considered for a Focus "store-within-a-store" presence. This is the first time the Focus brand has had widespread distribution in the USA.
Just sharing what I know.
As far as their presence in Performance Bike stores: PBS is being very picky about which stores stock the Focus brand. The stores have to reach a certain level of service and support in order to be considered for a Focus "store-within-a-store" presence. This is the first time the Focus brand has had widespread distribution in the USA.
Just sharing what I know.
06-05-10, 12:51 AM
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06-05-10, 05:45 PM
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That's interesting that it has center pull brakes... Looks nice though.
06-05-10, 06:26 PM
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06-05-10, 06:27 PM
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06-07-10, 10:19 AM
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Focus have a pretty strong following over here, as being very decent frames for relatively little money. the Focus Cayo pro has been out for a couple of years now but blew away a lot of the competition because it was so aggressively priced. If the bikes feel heavy it must be the components, because the frames are c. 1.1kg. The only criticisms i've heard is that they're a pretty unforgiving ride.
