Focus Mares CX Disc Ultegra review

Frame

Focus has a real cyclocross pedigree, having been founded back in 1992 by three times world cyclocross champion Mike Kluge. Its Mares is a bike with a full carbon frame with internal cable routing. It’s got a flattened top tube which is comfortable for extended shouldering and a tapered head tube.

The bike that we’ve tested is the 2016 model, but the 2017 has moved from a 15mm to a 12mm front thru-axle and Focus has redesigned the fork with internal brake hose routing and flat mount brakes.

Specification

The Focus comes with Ultegra shifting and Shimano’s neater looking RS685 hydraulic shifters. There’s some shock absorption built into the frame and more at the seatpost, where Focus fits its carbon CPX design with a Y-shaped split head. There’s also a carbon stem and Fizik Cyrano bars and Aliante saddle.

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The thru-axle wheels are DT Swiss tubeless ready R24 Splines, shod with rather smart-looking (but not tubeless-ready) tan sidewalled Schwalbe Rocket Ron tyres. Focus uses its own RAT axles on the Mares. They are designed for very fast removal: the system has been timed at 12 seconds for a wheel change in an MTB race.

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Ride

The Mares has proved a steady ship in its race outings. It corners predictably and the light but sturdy frame means it is both easy to lift over the hurdles and to lay down the power on the straights. The flip side is it’s not the most cushioned of rides, even with the CPX seatpost.

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The robustness of the build also plays out through its components. Those chunky levers offer a reassuring grip, a chain guard has prevented de-shipment and the thru-axles make the disc brake performance all the more solid.

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While Schwalbe’s Rocket Rons are a good fast race tyre on dry, grassy early-season courses, one of them did blow out on a rocky dirt track during into an off-road touring trip.