I don’t have any first hand experience mate, but I don’t usually let a minor detail like that hold me back from having an opinion !
It’s a very healthy budget you’re looking at there mate. So you’ll have lots of choice amongst the usual contenders. Synapse, defy, canyon endurance, trek domaine etc? So maybe even if you’re 90% sure you want a focus have a look around to see how much bang you’re getting for your buck.
You have a focus frame already Berty. So I have a feeling you like the brand, but you’re thinking the one you have is too aggressive or racey and this one is more suitable for you? That’s fair enough, you’re not getting any younger!
( morning mate
).
Just reading the frame spec it says it has a max tyre clearance of 35mm so all good there. And it has mudguard ringlets of some type, so useful for your planned touring ride. I can’t find a weight for it though Berty. And that might mean they don’t want to say.... might not... But I’d like to know if I was planning on riding up the Pyreneese. No point in weighing 50kg if you’re driving a tank!
The spec offered seems spot on. Sometimes they’ll say it comes with a certain groupset but when you look closer they’ve scrimped on certain components. Not here. Full ultegra and a set of wheels from a decent builder. Again though, how heavy are those rims?
For me personally I’d rather buy a frame and source the components separately. Ecspecially when you have multiple bikes you can swap wheels between frames. In this case the groupset is nice. But are the wheels an upgrade on what you already have? Maybe you could sell them on if the answer’s no? Is it cheaper to buy the components on their own or does the complete bike work out cheaper?
On a side note I don’t like
Evans cycles. I think whatever they set a price at you’ll find it cheaper elsewhere. They used to have a really good price match system but now they’ve really limited the amount of other shops they’ll do price match with. And most the staff may as well work in Burger King for what they know about bikes.
Have you considered a Single Speed?
