Focus Mares AX 1.0

[stevevw]

Here at last my new play thing / commuter. Pictures not great but you get the idea.

Just out of the box

Even comes with a pedal spanner and three way tool. I may forget to fit the reflectors and cheap flat plastic pedals.

The Mares was on offer at Wiggle £1099 - 20% £879.99 which I think is a bargain having Ultegra shifters, front and rear mech and lovely DT Swiss wheels the same as the ones supplied on the Cayo Pro. FSA chainset and finishing kit.

Only one problem with the bike the inside of the right hand sti has some minor marks on that look like have happened in transit. I am confident that Wiggle will put this right for me.

Spent yesterday evening applying clear film to likely rub points and giving the whole bike lashings of wax. Fitted a pair of SPD's but may need to get some white ones to match the rest of the bike which is a lovely pearl white.

Not ridden it yet as waiting for some clip on mudguards to turn up first and need to change the tyres to the Marathon 28's for the commute, may end up using some cheap winter wheels and saving the DT Swiss for the summer single track rides our club do.

So far I am liking every thing about the Mares, will keep you all informed as to how it goes over the coming weeks.



Steve Wheeler

 

[dan_bo]

Oo er.

Unfortunately the CX season is beginning to round off....

 

[ianrauk]

Hey Steve.. that's a cracking looking bike.
How long will that white bar tape last

I just love seeing a brand spanking shiny new cassette and chain...

 

[stevevw]

How long will that white bar tape last

Not long if all the monkeys here at work keep fondaling the bars.

It may get changed for something a bit darker if it looks cak after a while. Having said that the white tape on the Bianchi Pista has lasted Ok for the last 18 months.

 

[eldudino]

Looks lovely (really lovely ). Wiggle have some good offers at the moment.

RE: white bar tape, someone told me WD40 cleans it well, I've no experience with that though.

 

[stevevw]

I have a friend that has an old mountain bike with 20 year old plus brake blocks which he sprays with WD40 to stop them squeaking. Funnily they still work as brakes, just goes to show WD40 is not a lubricant.

 

[ianrauk]

Steve, did you get some new bibs shorts with the new bike

 

[stevevw]

Just had an email from Shane at Wiggle saying that a new shifter and bar tape will be in the post very soon.

Just as I thought Wiggle are great at customer care.

 

[stevevw]

Steve, did you get some new bibs shorts with the new bike

No of course not, it encourages people to take a turn on the front

 

[scotbiker]

Gorgeous bike Steve, looking forward to the ride reports

 

[stevevw]

Got the new shifter delivered on Friday from Wiggle, so spent Friday evening changing it over and fitting the Schwalbe Marathons (28mm). The Schwalbe Racing Ralphs that I removed are fantastically light I would say the pair weighs less than one of the Marathons. I have just ordered another set of wheels to put the Ralphs on so I can go and play on the trails around home when the fancy takes me. I rode the bike up to the garage and noticed that the brakes made a horrendous racket when applied, so went home and re set the blocks to toe in rather than out. Now have silent powerful brakes. it is a bit of a bugger getting the balance on brake cable tension too much and you can not release the cable on the brake when you need to change the wheel and too loose and the lever comes back to the bars I feel that the outer cables need some sort of adjuster rather than having to do the adjustment at the brake cable clamp.

Yesterday I went on a short 30 mile club ride and was very impressed with the Mares I only had to make one adjustment at about 25 miles loosening off the rear mech cable by a full turn as the changing up a gear was not quite right, down shifts where perfect. I put this down to the new routing of the cables with Ultegra under the bar tape adding a bit more friction to the inner cable. Once I had made the adjustment the changes have been silky smooth up and down. The braking from the hoods is progressive and fairly powerful nice and safe, from the drops I can see I will have to be careful not to lock a wheel as the extra leverage really bangs them on hard. The gearing is going to need a bit of getting used to being a lot more spinney in the mid and high range than I am used to, which is probably a good thing in the long run. The low gear is slightly higher than I have been using but I still got my immense bulk up all the bumps on the ride without too much huffing and puffing. It may be a bit different on the Cheam and Morden Hilly 50 or the C2C so I will have to investigate different cassette ratios for the hillier events.

The real revelation is the quality of the ride, it feels more like a good steel frame or even a full carbon than an alloy bike the comfort is fantastic on our terrible roads even with 8 bar in the tyres. A real joy to ride. On the first commute in today the only problem I had was finding a place to put the rear light, ended up having to stick it on the seat post below the saddlebag not ideal but about the only place without fouling the brake or hitting spokes I will try one of the smart lights tonight which should fit on the rear stay.


Out of 10 I would give the Mares 9 the only down side being the faf to adjust brake cable tension.

Out of 10 I would give Wiggle 10 for their service help and no quible exchange of the sti lever.

If you can get one with the 20% discount do it if you have to pay the full price still do it. A great bike that I am looking forward to riding for a long time to come.

 

[SimonB]

That is a lovely looking bike Steve. You should add it to the list of CCers bikes... and add a review of it to the Wiggle site too. There's only one so far.

Can I ask how much it weighs? I'm interested in the difference between yours and the carbon-framed bike - the Mares Pro - that they did last year and which they don't seem to do any more. Apart from the frame, the spec on yours seems very much the same.

I ask because I went for the Mares Pro last year. It looks identical to yours (which is why I think yours looks so lovely). I'd recommend it like a shot to anyone because I love it to bits but given that you can't get it any more it's a bit pointless me recommending it. The AX1.0 seems the obvious alternative.

I just love the flexibility, barrelling along the road with 23mm slicks on one day (I've done triathlons on mine) and then piling it through a field the next with the cross tyres on, sailing past people lumbering along on heavy mtbs. It's just insane fun.

 

[stevevw]

Simon
I do not know the weight but it is heavier than my race bike which is 16lb and lighter than the Ribble winter bike at 23lb Probably close to the Bianchi Pista which I also have no idea of its weight

I will be changing the cassette and rear mech for the Cheam & Mordon Hilly and the C2C. The gearing is great for normal day to day and fast off road but I need lower for to get my bulk up longer or steeper hills. I am currently running 28mm Marathons on the DT wheels and the Cross tyres on a pair of Aksiums. When the weather gets better I will change to 23's

I am also waiting for a pair of XL raceblades to make the rain stop I did try some Bike Hut guards but the fitting fouls the rear mech cable so they are now on the Pista, which looks awfull.

 

[gaj]

HI Steve,
I also purchased a Focus Mares Ax 1.0 and to found the brakes where a bad design. It is not possible to remove a wheel/tyre as it is physically impossible to unhook the brake cable. I also tryed slackening the cable to allow the cable to be unhooked but this allowed to much lever travel. I new a chap who had purchased a Ax 2.0 (105) so I arranged to have a look at it. On inspection his bike had two extra brake levers on the handle bars as most cross bikes have and an ajuster on the front cable bracket on the head stock allowing easy wheel removal. I contacted Wiggle and they have eventually agreed to supply the additional brake levers. Great bike apart from this problem.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I have a Mares AX 1.0, and I'm the guy who wrote the review on Wiggle. The bike is fantastic overall, especially if you can get the 20% extra, I got the 20%, but even without it I would have still purchased this bike.
I should just mention, while the wheels are basically the same as the Cayo Pro, the Pro actually has bladed spokes, but never the less, I've actually put these DT Swiss wheels on my Cayo Pro as my original DT's were starting to get tired, and I've put a set of Halo Aerorage wheels on the Mares with Schwalbe Marathon 28's for bulletproof commute reliability.
I totally agree with everything said about the Avid Shorty 4's, they don't inspire confidence out of the box waht so ever, but if you take a bit of time and set them up correctly they are much, much better. I was going to swop them out for something else, but the pads got trashed within a couple of weeks of commuting on winter roads, and once I fitted new different pads and set them up correctly they now work well within levels of acceptability.
If you want a CX bike, buy this. If you want a commuting bike, buy this. If you just want a well specced, do almost anything bike, buy this.
Bike 9.5 / 10