which focus?

kenmc

i'm looking to throw some money away on a nice new bike, hoping that soon there'll be an influx of '09 bikes dropping the prices..
anyway, I had more or less decided to go for a cayo, until i saw the culebro. it's aluminium rather than carbon, yet comes in under 8kg, lighter than the cayo! I am not really up on Sram stuff, so don't know how the Rival groupset compares with shimanos' ultegra offering on the cayo.
Of course this is all before I try to work out whether I should go with the M54/L56 frame, being right on the 5'9" boundary between the two.... Never mind the double/triple decision....
Any opinions on both the bikes and the sizing? Help!!!!!
Cheers
K

TinyExplosions

I'd go cayo, for the snob factor of carbon. In terms of size, the range is pretty similar in geometry, so you're welcome to give my 56cm variado a go

unionman

Two weeks in so far so happy with the Cayo. Still can't believe the components make it heavier than my fixie (Langster).

I don't really have anything else to compare it to, but it keeps putting a smile on my face.

kenmc wrote: »

i'm looking to throw some money away on a nice new bike, hoping that soon there'll be an influx of '09 bikes dropping the prices..
anyway, I had more or less decided to go for a cayo, until i saw the culebro. it's aluminium rather than carbon, yet comes in under 8kg, lighter than the cayo! I am not really up on Sram stuff, so don't know how the Rival groupset compares with shimanos' ultegra offering on the cayo.
Of course this is all before I try to work out whether I should go with the M54/L56 frame, being right on the 5'9" boundary between the two.... Never mind the double/triple decision....
Any opinions on both the bikes and the sizing? Help!!!!!
Cheers
K

blorg

Weight difference is only 200g, I'd go for the Cayo. You would almost get that back by swapping the tyres and tubes! Rival would be comparable to Ultegra but is lighter, probably the main reason the bike is lighter. It seems to be full Rival including the cranks which is a good thing, most Focuses including the Cayo skimp on the front derailleur, crankset and cassette. Basically you are getting a better spec (as the full groupset) on a cheaper frame.

Diarmuid

As the guys said the Rival is around the Ultegra level. However being a Shimano fan I would stick with them unless there were compelling reasons to switch (I don't think there is)

Don't "they" say that if you are between size, that you should go for the smaller one?

So you are going to ditch the triple? tut tut

Chips Lovell

Generally speaking carbon is a nicer ride than aluminium, so if I was buying a Focus, I'd go for the Cayo.

As the lads said, the difference is probably down to some of the Rival parts being a bit lighter. 200g isn't a whole lot anyway. Unless the weight difference was absolutely massive, I'd put frame quality ahead of weight.