Focus Presents Its New Izalco Max

Where marginal gains count, Focus has sought to make its fastest bike even faster, by making it stiffer and more aerodynamic than its predecessor. The IZALCO MAX perfectly combines aerodynamics, stiffness, and lightness, to satisfy those who don’t want to compromise on speed. With it, there’s no “chill ride,” because it is the very essence of pace.

Source: Press Release

For the latest IZALCO MAX, the development goal was as simple as it was difficult: to make the fastest road bike ever produced by the brand. Starting from its predecessor and making it more aerodynamic. Also making it stiffer. But without making it heavier. All this without losing the very essence of riding pleasure that an IZALCO MAX should always provide.

Aero Gains

Speaking of marginal gains: engineers have deeply evolved the frame to achieve the highest level of aerodynamic performance. They managed to obtain more refined NACA profiles, offering an aero gain of 6.6 W compared to its predecessor.

Compared to a round tube, a NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) airfoil tube significantly reduces drag. The unique truncated NACA profile combines valuable aerodynamic advantages with greater tube stiffness, all for reduced weight.

The wind tunnel confirmed the NACA frame shape objective: the IZALCO MAX is uncompromisingly fast! By saving 6.6 watts at 45 km/h, it is 1 minute 47 seconds faster over a distance of 45 km compared to its predecessor.

And that’s not all: a standard water bottle placed on the down tube is almost completely shielded from the wind with a minimal drag of only 0.3 W. Because, unfortunately, not all of us have domestiques by our side to resupply us with water…

When Stiffness Rhymes with Comfort

Achieving the perfect balance between stiffness and comfort is the pinnacle of frame design. And this is a crucial point that Focus has particularly worked on for the new IZALCO MAX. The brand has also optimized the bottom bracket shell stiffness and the lateral stiffness of the fork.

At the same time, Focus has improved seating comfort by shortening the seat tube. The seatpost extension allows for more flexibility.

Intuitive Use

We all know that confidence makes you ride faster. The IZALCO MAX is known for being comfortable and playful. Focus has therefore preserved these characteristics by carefully refining its geometry to facilitate cornering, especially at high speeds. This should give you even more confidence and thus allow you to commit even faster with this bike.

Clean Cockpit

The C.I.S. road stem allows cables to be routed and hidden under the stem. This gives the bike a clean look and real aerodynamic advantages. It is also equipped with an integrated Wahoo and Garmin compatible mount. You can even attach a light or action camera if needed. For easy maintenance, you can also easily detach the stem from the handlebars, which also allows you to safely store your IZALCO MAX in a transport bag.

Seven Sizes

The IZALCO MAX is available in seven sizes. Add to that a stem itself offered in six lengths ranging from 70 to 120 mm, so it’s easy to find a bike made for you. You can easily switch from a shorter or longer stem version to refine your position, and add or remove spacers without breaking the bike’s line. All this reinforces the customizable nature of the IZALCO MAX and allows it to be truly adapted to your exact needs.

The higher bottom bracket shell, combined with the steeper head angle, results in greater maneuverability and better acceleration.

The Ideal Frame for All Situations

The weight of a frame results from many factors: aerodynamics, stiffness, composition and nature of carbon fibers, to name a few. If you change one of them, the weight will probably be impacted – for better or for worse. How does this translate on the bike? The IZALCO MAX is not just a road bike for climbing all the great passes in the world. And it’s not an ultra-aerodynamic time trial bike either. It is as light as possible while achieving high goals in terms of aerodynamics, stiffness, and carbon fiber quality. The frame weight is therefore 865 g for the 9 series and 1050 g for the 8 series in size M, adding 400 g for the fork.

The 9 and 8 series are distinguished by different frames in terms of carbon fiber structure and therefore weight: Both series share the same geometry, effortless handling, a clean and aerodynamic cockpit. The available sizes and stem lengths are also similar, as are their very high stiffness levels.

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