Milram on Focus

German sprinter Gerald Ciolek and his Milram squad are riding Focus bikes this season. The German brand supplied the team with Izalco bikes in 2009, and incorporated rider feedback into a completely reworked version for 2010. Changes include a SRAM BB30 bottom bracket shell, internal routing with contained channels for the cables, and a tapered head tube.

Lightweight, also a German brand, provides the ultralight carbon-spoked wheels.

Italy’s 3T provides the beefy fork, which tapers from 1 1/8-inch up top to 1 ¼-inch at the lower race.

The 2009 Izalco had internal cable routing to the rear brake, but the shift cable ran traditionally down the sides of the down tube. The 2010 Izalco has “cable tunnels,” which are visually distinguishable down the frame. As any mechanic who has spent time fishing cable around inside an open down tube knows, internal cable routing can be a pain; this system provides a fixed sleeve throughout, so threading the cable through is similar to using regular housing.

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