2007 Focus Cayo vs 2008 Focus Culebro

Mog Uk

£900 to spend... Looking for opinions on the following...

2007 Carbon / Ultegra Cayo
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360026005&n=Focus%20Cayo%20Road%20Bike%202007

or

2008 Aluminium / SRAM Rival Culebro
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360032368&n=Focus%20Culebro%202008

The components on both are decent ( although I'm not that familiar with SRAM ) and can if neccesary be upgraded over time so I guess my main thought is the Carbon frame vs the Aluminium frame, I'm looking for arguments that will help me decide..

Bike will be used for Sportives, club runs, and the odd TT.......

Cheers in advance.....

Eat My Dust

I have the Cayo and can't fault it. It's not the lightest carbon frame out there, but I notice the difference in comfort straight away from my aluminium frame.

wildmoustache

Fibreglass steerer? I haven't heard of one of those before.

I'd rather have Ultegra to Rival. Proven track record though it doesn't look as nice.

Wheels and tyres are the same. Not sure what the deal is with the Concept Extreme stuff. Stupid name, but that is no guide to performance.

I'd rather have the Focus Carbon frame to the alu frame. Almost certainly more comfortable. No idea about weight and stiffness, though the carbon Cayo frame has got good reviews.



Focus Cayo
Specifications
Frame 28" Focus Renner carbon frame
Fork Carbon racing fork with alloy stem
Shifting System/Rear Derailleur Shimano Ultegra rear, Shimano 105 front
Shift Lever Shimano Ultegra Double
Chainset Shimano FC-R600, compact chainset
Gear Ratio Front 50/34, Rear 12-27
Handlebar Deda Piega
Stem Concept
Seat Post Concept
Saddle San Marco Ponza K
Brakes BRR-560
Brake Lever Shimano Ultegra Double
Front Wheel Mavic Aksium, 622-15, QR
Rear Wheel Mavic Aksium, 622-15, QR
Tyres Schwalbe Stelvio, 23-622, foldable




Focus Culebro
Specifications
Frame Focus X-Tro Light G7 alloy racing frame
Fork Carbon racing fork with fibreglass steerer
Rear Derailleur SRAM Rival
Shift Levers SRAM Rival
Transmission Front: 50/34, Rear 12-27
Crankset SRAM Rival
Brakes SRAM Rival
Brake Levers SRAM Rival
Handlebars Concept Extreme alloy race bars
Stem Concept Extreme aluminium ahead stem
Wheelset Mavic Aksium 622-15
Tyres Schwalbe Stelvio foldable 23-622
Saddle Concept Extreme
Seat Post Concept Extreme, 2-bolt, aluminium

Mog Uk

wildmoustache wrote:

I'd rather have the Focus Carbon frame to the alu frame. Almost certainly more comfortable. No idea about weight and stiffness, though the carbon Cayo frame has got good reviews.

Alu bike is lighter than the Cayo @ 7.85kg

Is a lighter bike the be all and end all...??

Eat My Dust

Mog Uk wrote:

wildmoustache wrote:

I'd rather have the Focus Carbon frame to the alu frame. Almost certainly more comfortable. No idea about weight and stiffness, though the carbon Cayo frame has got good reviews.

Alu bike is lighter than the Cayo @ 7.85kg

Is a lighter bike the be all and end all...??

You're only talking about a few hundred grams, I doubt you'd notice the difference, but. like I said before you will notice the difference in comfort (although the saddle is cack, I changed my one)

wildmoustache

i'd guess a fair bit of the weight difference is in the steerer. alu steerers tend to be a lot heavier than carbon (and I assume fibreglass).

I'd put the aksiums in reserve and get some shamals to take the weight right down.

dcj

for me a decent quality carbon frame with ultegra for under £900 would be hard to resist.
In 1999 when Trek were early on the scene with 'budget' carbon you would have been paying £2000 for similar spec.

leguape

I'd recommend the SRAM groupset. Switched to it from Shimano and it kicks it into a cocked hat for reliable shifting, ease of keeping clean and low wear rate. plus ergonomically speaking it is light years ahead of the other two in terms of position and comfort. I'm running it on both my cross and road bikes now and would thoroughly recommend going with it.