The "Mares Expert" scores with exorbitant stiffness values - this is mainly due to its weight: the newly developed aluminium frame weighs more than two kilos; even the decent equipment cannot fully compensate for this. At 9.65 kilos, the bike is the second heaviest in the test. The fork is the same as on the carbon crosser, which is more than twice as expensive. Thanks to the combination of the tapered steerer tube - a 1-1/4-inch bearing rotates at the bottom - and Berner's flexible cable counterholder, fork flutter is not an issue. However, the cantilever brakes lack bite, especially in the wet. We liked the "Ultegra-SL" brake levers, which are still exemplary in terms of functionality. Their advantage over the new "Ultegra": The shift cables can be changed much faster and they also harmonise better with cantilever brakes.
Web: www.focus-bikes.de
Weighted weights; **test frame size greased; ***projected dimension from centre of bottom bracket to upper edge of head tube75 ****Saddle-headtube rise at 75 cm seat height (centre of saddle frame - upper edge of headset cap)
