Focus Cayo or Culebro?

andy81

I've currently got a Carrera bike from Halfords, and looking to upgrade to a bike in the region of £900. I like the look of the Focus bikes on the Wiggle website, but not sure whether to go for the Culebro (currently at £861), or the Cayo (currently £989). My first thought was to go for the Culebro, as its RRP is higher, but looking closer it seems to be a trade-off between an aluminium frame with Ultegra, or a full carbon frame with 105 groupset.

I've found plenty of reviews of the Cayo, but not much on the Culebro (thought imagine they're both great bikes). The dilemma is whether to go for the Culebro, or gamble and wait to see if the Cayo is reduced in the near future.

Any thoughts?

vision267

Get the carbon cayo, carbon is lighter faster and will climb up hills better and you will enjoy the fact you will be able to ride longer and not be as tired.

crabstix

I got a 2008 Culebro discounted 25% last October and love it. Its very light, even in my XL size,I think even lighter than the Cayo, but you might want to check on that. That said i have the SRAM version with mavic wheels. Some people reackon the alu frames are buzzy but I haven't noticed that as a problem to be fair. Others reackon carbon can crack or shatter, but that might be urban myth? Whatever one you go for though, they are value for money. The alternative would be the Kiron. That is basically intermediate between carbon and alu as it has carbon front (forks) and a carbon rear (seat&chainstays). It got spanking reviews when released and is just a bit more than the Focus's.

Anonymous

Go for the better frame.

Padre 1

My wife just bought me a Culebro and I love it; first real use was on an 8-man Lands End-John O'Groats-Wigan relay, which included all kinds of riding as you can imagine. The bike performed flawlessly, including climbing Shap and those hills near Helmsdale, and received good comments on its weight etc. from the other guys, who were riding some very fancy carbon bikes. I did read a few adverse comments in reviews about the Cayo's finishing, but I'd say you're on a winner with either.

shane515

Cayo but I'm biased......I love mine, you wont regret it!!!

nicky_7751

Also got the 2008 Culebro with the Sram groupset last December & find it very good. It's lighter than some of the full carbon bikes I have seen as well so can't be bad!

ShaunL

I have a Focus as well and I would highly recommend the 105 groupset.

Do you want to save £100 odd for the better groupset, or go for the carbon frame?

Tough one, both bikes will give you great value, personally I'd go for the Culebro.

andy81

Thanks for the advice, I must admit I'm edging towards the Cayo. Just noticed that Wiggle have the Cayo Team Replica model reduced to £1,299 - whilst I'm not prepared to go up to nearly £1500 for the Cayo Ultegra, at a push I could go for the replica.

I've had a look at the specs, and it seems like the main differences between the Cayo and the replica are 105 groupset vs SRAM Rival groupset, and RS10 wheels vs Aksiums. There are other minor differences, and a reduction in weight of around 1/2 a kilo, but is it really worth the extra £300?

bendertherobot

Yes. Worth the difference for Rival IMO.

I have to say I've always liked the look of the Culebro and the spec of it. As said above it really is very very light.

Aguila

I chose between exactly the same 2 when picking my summer bike last year.

In the end I got a Cayo, the consensus was that the frame is better, C+ reviewed the culebro and didn't rate it as highly as the cayo (for what its worth). I've not ridden a Culebro but can tell you that I love the Cayo. It came with full ultegra SL groupset last year for less that £1000 so a bit different to this years. It is so quick and handles brilliantly, I rode it in the C+sportive at the weekend and it was flawless, recording a quick time.

I suspect you will love either of them but I do think the Cayo's frame is better making future upgrades more sensible.

porton

Hi, i am also considering the Cayo but cant make up my mind between the 105 & the SRAM versions

volvine

can only comment on the 105 groupset which i have and find it really good so i wouldn't let that put you off i have it on my Trek Madone and it all works perfect it's just me that dosn't lol

Alex__W

I have an '08 Culebro, which has impressed me so far in daily use on the lumpy roads of Essex. Any concerns I had about the relative obscurity of the SRAM Rival groupset were allayed very quickly, as it has performed without issue and the ergonomics of the shifters seem particularly good. As said above, it is a particularly light bike for the price. Focus is quite a rare brand, particularly out here in the provinces, and even my Culebro gets the odd enquiring glance.

redddraggon

vision267 wrote:

carbon is lighter faster and will climb up hills better

Why do you say that? Do you have any qualifications in the field of materials?