Chinook's Chrono Charger - Focus TT bike review

With the first part of my 2017 racing season in the books and not much else to do while the kitchen floor is being re-laid I decided it was time to write up my thoughts on my 2017 race machine bought at the Bicycle Lounge on the day of the club dinner, the Focus Chrono Max 105. At the time of writing it appears as though only the medium and large sizes are available so anyone shorter than me (or who doesn't have arms that go on forever, check rider stats below for further details) might need to look elsewhere. But if you're a power rider who is looking to smash your 10 mile PB or take the next step into triathlon, this bike has got to be on your shortlist.

It's been a penny-pinching time at Chateau Chinook and as such I wasn't really up for looking up any bikes with Di2 or ETap as they would only put me off from buying for another year while I stockpiled yet more cash and put off house improvements. So with that in mind I searched for TT bikes around the two grand price point (mainly from American brands) and a few trends emerged, not many of which were particularly promising. Your typical bike at this price point will usually have a good frame but will save money in just about every way possible, from own-brand proprietary parts requiring you to stick with the manufacturer's options through to compact chainsets, and the stock wheels and tyres that, once moved to your winter bike (you can rarely call them race day quality) will serve no other purpose than to keep your mates waiting at the side of the road while you struggle for 15 minutes with the wire bead rubber and old-school narrow rims. And that's if the hubs aren't made of cheese and the spokes don't weaken every time you venture off billiard-table smooth roads. Everything is disposable nowadays anyway isn't it?

Or is it? Here's another idea; as well as a market-leading frame from top designers Focus of Germany, how about a modular position with proper head tube blocks to make for proper aggressive riding in any position you like as opposed to stacks of spacers? How about race-day 52x38 gearing instead of those cheap compact chainsets favoured by so many marques? Why wouldn't you want a proper good set of Fulcrum Quattro wheels with good German tyres (Schwalbe Ironman, granted I upgraded to Continental GP4000s II) instead of some cheap wire bead offerings? How does a Fizik Arione Tri saddle that really sets you in place sound instead of the overly harsh or slippery saddles found on other brands' bikes? And to top it all off, you get some Profile Design aerobars which can easily be adjusted and swapped out for different rod shapes or arm rests instead of the cheap and flexy or overly technical options available elsewhere. And all this for less than the price of many other, perhaps better-known brands despite coming from the Eurozone (good this Brexit isn't it?)

Once set up and out of the shop I only needed to fit the bike computer and I was ready to go. As soon as it went out on its first ride it became apparent that this bike was unlike anything I'd ever ridden before. The first incline past Edge Hill has made me curse from a no warm-up position but this time it had me yanking on the "prow" of the bars for more acceleration, and did it deliver indeed. The best was yet to come, however, as I took the bike into Bickerstaffe and onto the 10 mile time trial course. Ordinarily this course has always started fast for me but had me struggling to maintain momentum over the first rise. Aboard the Focus, the ease of transferring from extensions to base bar kept the intensity higher than ever and the bike really worked with me rather than against me. By the end of the ride, which I'd been a bit nervous about before the start, I didn't want to get off; if I hadn't been off to work that afternoon I think I would have stayed in the saddle all day.

Much of is I feel is down to the ease of use, which is rare for such an aggressive bike. The adjustability and the fact that even little-leg me didn't need to cut the seatpost meant that seat angle and height can be easily adjusted to suit time trial or triathlon use. Indeed, you don't normally associate low positions with ability to run quickly afterwards but the first test in that regard came at the Nantwich Triathlon where despite having to dodge through some traffic calming cones I knocked nearly half a minute off my previous best time for the cycle stage. I half-expected to struggle with running after 33 minutes of being so tucked in but in the event my 5k time was nearly a minute quicker than the last time I visited the venue back in September 2015 thanks entirely to the steep seat angle and ability to set the seat in such a way that my back was flat without perching my rear end up in the air. Now if only I'd counted my swim lengths..........

The equipment, as mentioned above, is first-rate. You won't notice the difference they say you will between 105 and Ultegra and while the 11-27 cassette spread seems a little wide (I used 11-23 in Nantwich and moved the 11-27 to another wheelset) it does provide user friendly gears for Ironman wannabes. Similarly it's rare to have a £300 set of wheels on a stock bike but the Fulcrum Quattros have quickly become my favourite wheelset ahead of my Mavic Ksyriums and in fact I'll probably use them on my Specialized more frequently now that a set of deep aero wheels are installed. That said you could easily turn up with them at the start line on your next time trial and they certainly wouldn't slow you down like the cheaper, heavier wheels on many competitor's bikes.

Apart from the narrow stock tyres (Schwalbe Ironman 22mm) it's hard to fault the Focus Chrono Max. And it comes in a stunning paint job that makes you think of a Jaguar or, for those with a sweet tooth, Green and Blacks Organic chocolate (you knew a food reference would appear at some point). So if you've been bitten by the TT bug after our inaugural event last Saturday or you want to mix in a little swimming and running to your routine then  you'll probably want to equalise the n+1 equation when it comes to bike ownership, and with so much choice out there nowadays it's difficult to find a bike that stands out from the crowd and ticks all the boxes. As Tom Hanlon has showed to race-winning effect at the Rainford evening 10's, the Focus Chrono Max 105 could well do exactly that.

Now for a few facts and stats:

Size chosen: Medium (S/M/L/XL in size range)
Rider height: 1.78m
Rider arm span: 1.85m
Rider inseam: 84cm

Standout features:
Stiff, muscular frame, well designed integrated brakes, Fulcrum Quattro "do it all" wheels, quality finishing kit from top brands, with the highlight being the Profile T2 Wing/T4 aerobars locked to a chunky "prow" stem, and above all, an exciting, engaging riding experience

Significant shortcomings: 
Hard to say apart from the aforementioned narrow stock tyres (and even then it's more of a consideration for technical triathlon courses)

The Focus Chrono Max: your time trial bike for 2017, or your Ironman race rocket for 2018? Your call, make it the right one!