Pro bike: Dominik Roels' Team Milram Focus Izalco Team
Power transfer the key in 2010 flagship
Another road professional with a track background, Milram's Dominik Roels is in his third year with the German squad and his second aboard a Focus Izalco. At over six foot and weighing 75kg, Roels is powerful in build, and is hard on his equipment, requiring rigidity and durability.
The 2010 Focus Izalco offers this with developments made from last year's model, which Cyclingnews learned of at the recent Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia.We looked at Wim Stroetinga's 2009 Focus Izalco at last year's Tour Down Under and while it may appear as though the only changes are cosmetic, there is some substance to the alterations.
Jan, from Focus Bikes' headquarters in Cloppenburg, Germany, told us about the asymmetrical downtube design, which aids in power transfer from the drive side. The downtube becomes asymmetrical as it approaches the BB30 bottom bracket shell to provide a platform better equipped to handle the loads associated with power transfer in this area. The tubing flares towards the cranks to ensure that power is more efficiently transferred from the rider without being lost in frame flex.
Further assisting in the stiffness factor are alloy inserts moulded inside the carbon tubing, which serve two purposes - providing smoother, 'rub-free' guides for the internal cable routing plus the aforementioned rigidity in a key section of the frame, the junction of the top, head and down tubes.
This latest version of the Izalco also switches from standard threaded bottom bracket cups to the oversized BB30 standard, thus shedding weight and adding heel clearance while also marginally improving drivetrain stiffness. A quick survey of other bikes in the Tour Down Under peloton showed that the standard is also continuing to gain hold among other teams and manufacturers as well.
The team continues with its componentary sponsorship from the likes of SRAM, FSA, Lightweight and Speedplay. Like Stroetinga, Roels opts for alloy bar and stem thanks to his track background; the need for strength and reliability outweighing the need for low mass.
Lightweight Obermayer wheels again feature on the Team Milram bikes; whilst the frame gives up a little in the weight stakes, the renowned German hoops contribute to a low reading on the scales of 6.96kg, perilously close the International Cycling Union (UCI) weight limit.
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One last key piece of equipment is Roels' new Garmin Edge 500 computer. As compared to its Edge 305 and 705 predecessors, the 500 foregoes an on-board mapping display in favor of a smaller and lighter package with an updated and easier-to-use interface. Should Roels opt to train with a power meter, though, ANT+ wireless connectivity on the Edge 500 will also display his wattage, too, and all of the information can be later downloaded by team managers for evaluation.
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