Focus Mares CX Disc Ultegra review

The Focus Mares CX Disc Ultegra cyclocross bike is the brand's next to top of range crosser. We've put it through its paces in early season races and longer off road rides

(Image credit: chris catchpole)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

A quality cyclocross frame and components, although not as compliant over the rough stuff as some of its competitors

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Light

  • +

    Confident handling

  • +

    RAT thru-axles give quick wheel changes

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    A bit stiff off road

  • -

    Not tubeless ready tyres

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Frame

Focus has a real cyclocross pedigree, having been founded back in 1992 by three times world cyclocross champion Mike Kluge. Its Mares is a bike with a full carbon frame with internal cable routing. It’s got a flattened top tube which is comfortable for extended shouldering and a tapered head tube.

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Paul Norman

Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.

He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.