Focus Paralane: All-Weather Usage

For casual riding, you would normally only go cycling when the weather is good, which is defined as not raining. Most people avoid riding in the rain, or even after rain, as the wet roads will make the bike very dirty, due to the water and dirt that is splashed up onto the bike and the rider.

However, if you are commuting to work by bike, you don't always have the luxury to choose when to ride. If you choose not to ride home that day (due to rain or wet roads), it means that the next day or next time you commute to work, you will not be able to ride, as the bike is still stuck at the office.

This was why I had a dedicated commuting bike, which uses belt drive, internal hub, disc brakes, mudguards and other rain proof designs to ensure that I can commute regularly even when it is raining or if the roads are wet. The Avanti Inc 3 was first, followed by the Fabike C3 which is lighter in weight.

Then, once I realized that a good rust resistant chain is available, it opens up the possibilities as I can just use a regular road bike with mudguards as my all-weather commuting bike. The Focus Paralane is set up just like a road bike, but with additional mudguards.

Thus, I get an all-weather road bike that rides fast and is not afraid of rain or wet roads, which allows me to commute regardless of weather. Of course, when there is heavy rain, I will still be unable to ride, but that is because of the low visibility and slippery roads, rather than a bike limitation.

Here are some pictures of the Focus Paralane, going through wet roads and getting splashed with water and dirt, just like an all-weather commuting bike.

No one else on the wet park connector, as it is just after rain.

Wet roads? No problem!

With full mudguards and a host of rust resistant components, riding on wet roads is not a problem for me, even at road bike speeds.

At West Coast Park, with oil rig construction in the background.

Good for exploration, as I don't need to worry about getting the components dirty.

How it looks after wet rides, and this is with mudguards. It would be a lot worse without mudguards.

These components are pretty much rust proof with respect to rain water. Dirty but still perfectly functional.

With a large 11-36T cassette and a 40T chain ring, the Focus Paralane can even make it up Jalan Dermawan, one of the steepest slopes in the west.

This is not a camera trick, it really is this steep. Just look at the fence and the bike resting against it.

I'm surprised to see cars at the top of the slope, as it seems quite challenging to drive up and down this steep slope safely.

Good challenge for those who likes climbs. This is a short but steep slope.

I'm really happy with this all-weather road bike, and I can go out for a ride without worrying that I will get caught in the rain. For me, getting wet in the rain is not the issue. Rather, it is the work needed to clean up the bike after a wet ride, to prevent rust.

Focus Paralane: SKS Bluemels Mudguards

One of the most important accessories for an all-weather rain bike is mudguards. It is necessary to avoid road spray onto the bike and rider, when the road is wet. This is what allows me to ride at normal speed through puddles, instead of having to slow down a lot.

Although the Focus Paralane comes with its own special set of mudguards, it cannot be used due to a variety of factors as listed here. Therefore, I got a separate set of mudguards that can be mounted onto the Focus Paralane.

As previously used, the SKS Bluemels is a solid set of mudguards that has never given me any problem. Although installation is a bit tricky, it has never needed any adjustments after that. 

The mudguards come in a large variety of widths and wheel sizes, in addition to matte or gloss finishing.

I chose the 35 mm wide, matte black version, for 28" (or 700C) wheels.

Actual width is accurate at 35 mm wide.

The set of mudguards for front and rear wheels

Lots of hardware provided for mounting the mudguards to the bike! Choose the suitable ones depending on your frame.

These are the parts that I will use, and they weigh 510 grams for the set. 

Test mounting the rear mudguards, to see if it fits properly.

Added a plastic spacer under the chainstay mount, to avoid direct metal contact onto the frame.

Also added a spacer at the mounting point behind the bottom bracket junction, to make the curve of the mudguard match the curve of the tire. Comfortable clearance here.

Using the original bridge to fix the mudguard bracket to the frame. Does not look very secure though as it is only held by friction.

Small but sufficient clearance with the 28 mm wide tires.

35 mm wide mudguard is just enough to cover the entire tire, which is the ideal case. The previous mudguard was 45 mm wide which looked bulky.

Mudguard mounted on the front wheel as well. Note the long and low flap which is important to minimize water spraying onto the shoes.

Added spacer behind the fork bridge, so that the metal bracket will not touch the frame.

Small clearance between the tire and the mudguard

Also added spacer at the fork mounting points, to push out the mudguard stays from the brake caliper.

Sufficient clearance between the tire and the mudguard stays. The metal stays have not been cut to the correct length yet.

After cutting the metal stays to the correct length, the rubber caps can be attached to cover the tip, which also prevents the nut from self-loosening.

Front mudguards completed!

Curve of the mudguard matches the curve of the tires closely, to improve the appearance.

Neatly balanced and aligned with the tires

Rear mudguard also adjusted to match the curve of the tires.

Once the mudguards have been attached, the whole appearance of the bike changes. It immediately looks like a commuting bike. However, it still has proper road bike components and geometry, which means that it will still ride like a proper road bike.

In the next post, you can see how it looks once fully equipped for all-weather riding. The objective of this project is to have a bike that rides 100% like a road bike, just with some weather resistant features for all-weather riding.

Focus Paralane: Curana Fenders and RAT Thru Axles

The Focus Paralane is designed to be an endurance bike, with its tall stack for a less aggressive riding posture. It is one of the few road frames designed to have integrated mudguard mounts. In fact, this frame is so integrated that special mudguards are included, specially designed and made by Curana to match this frame!

Here is how the matching mudguards are supposed to look on the bike.

This picture shows the newer version of the rear mudguard, with two pairs of mudguard stays to support the mudguard.

For a sleek look, the mudguard is almost flat across the sides, without a deep curvature.

Textured wording and design makes the mudguard look really premium.

As seen above, those are marketing pictures that I found online. Unfortunately, I was not able to replicate these pictures, as explained below.

Mudguard with a combination of matte and gloss texture, looks really good.

At the rear seat stay area, the mudguard is pinched inwards, for clearance with the seat stays.

Measures about 39 mm across at the widest point. This should be wide enough for 28 mm wide tires.

It narrows to 35 mm at the pinched area.

This is the condition which I found the rear mudguard. It was bent and deformed, even before using it.

It is not possible to fix it properly, as the aluminium mudguard has already been deformed to this extent. 

As I had already planned to use my own SKS mudguards, the bent Curana mudguards was not a deal breaker for me. However, if I had planned to use the stock mudguards, I would be extremely annoyed as I can't use it, due to it being bent out of shape. Even if it is repaired, it will probably not have a smooth curve to match the tire.

At the other end of the rear mudguard, there is a cutout for clearance with the front derailleur.

The set of mudguards as I received it. Bad condition, luckily I didn't need to use it.

Mudguard stays with straight ends, to match this frame.

There are only two mudguard stays, as there is only 1 set for the front and 1 set for the rear. Normally, there are 2 sets for the rear, as shown by the pictures at the beginning of this post. Sadly, that is the improved version with 2 stays for the rear mudguard, not the older version that I have, with just 1 stay at the rear.

Based on research prior to getting this bike, I had already planned to use my own SKS mudguards instead of using the stock mudguards. Reasons are:

1) Rear mudguard only has 1 mudguard stay, which means that the top part of the mudguard is not supported well. Over bumpy roads, the top part of the mudguard will bounce and touch the tire. This is what I read from online reviews.

2) Rear mudguard has a cutout at the front derailleur area. It is necessary for clearance, but also means that this area will have water splashing through due to less coverage. Not ideal as it will spray water all over the chain ring area.

3) Front mudguard does not have enough coverage at the bottom, as there is no rubber flap. This will allow water to splash up onto the chain ring and also the rider's feet.

Nevertheless, there are some parts which I need from the mudguard set. These would be the brackets that hold the mudguard to the frame.

This is the plastic piece that holds the top part of the rear mudguard to the mount. The flashing on this resin part is very bad. I will not require this.

Unique bracket to hold the rear mudguard in between the seat stays.

There is no built in mudguard mount in between the seat stays, so that it has a clean look if mudguards are not used. However, if needed, this additional bracket will fit in between the seat stays.

These are the parts that are included with the stock mudguard set. Good to have a part list to check.

Just for fun, I weighed the stock mudguards that I will not be using. These are lightweight at just 377 grams.

I will be using a new set of SKS mudguards, so these stock Curana mudguards will not be needed. I will only require the chain stay bracket, and nothing else. Detailed info on the SKS mudguards will be shared in a later post.

Another component that came stock with the Focus Paralane are the unique RAT thru axles. In theory, they make wheel changes really fast, as only a quarter turn is needed to loosen or tighten the thru axle.

Both front and rear thru axles are 12 mm in diameter.

RAT stands for Rapid Axle Technology.

Instead of a M12 thread at the end, a T-shaped hook is there instead.

Basically, you slot the T-shaped end of the thru axle into the nut, and twist it 90 degrees to lock it in place. Then, the lever is closed to apply locking pressure.

However, due to frame and hub width tolerances, it is necessary to fine tune the axle length, so that when the lever is closed, sufficient closing pressure is created.

The adjustment nut under the lever can be adjusted by hand, which fine tunes the axle length. If the lever does not close tight enough, the nut should be adjusted to shorten the axle slightly.

Nominal front thru axle length

Nominal rear thru axle length

Note that thru axle lengths, not just RAT thru axles, are very dependent on the thickness of the frame or fork dropout. Taking the fork as an example; Even though the hub width is 100 mm, the fork leg width and nut thickness will affect the length of the thru axle required. This is why most frames come with thru axles included.

Front thru axle weighs 56 grams

Rear thru axle weighs 61 grams

The weight of both thru axles is this 117 grams, which is a bit lighter than the pair on the Cervelo Aspero, that weighs 129 grams.

The weight of the thru axles don't bother me. However, what bothered me was the design of the RAT thru axles. I identified three issues that I could not live with.

1) During insertion of the thru axle, it was difficult to determine which angle to push the thru axle in, so that the T-shaped end slots neatly into the nut on the other side.

2) Due to the thickness of the adjustment nut and the lever, the RAT thru axle sticks out a lot from the side.

3) The lever resting angle cannot be adjusted, which causes the lever to stick out at awkward angles.

Although the thru axle length can be adjusted, the lever angle cannot. It is determined by the slot angle on the nut. Since the slot angle on the nut is fixed, the lever angle is also fixed, unfortunately at weird angles. I saw that newer RAT thru axles allow the nut angle to be adjusted, which in turn enables the lever angle to be adjusted.

There are aftermarket thru axle designs which can be used to replace the stock RAT thru axle, but that is a story for another day. Once again, similarly to the mudguards, I will not be using the stock thru axle design. 

It may be curious to you, why did I get this Focus Paralane frame, if there are so many aspects that I didn't like (mudguards, thru axles, tall head tube, press fit BB, etc). The thing is, I didn't have other choices, if I wanted a lightweight carbon road bike frame with integrated mudguard mounts. There were a few other options, but the tire clearance became really small when mudguards are installed.

For example, the Specialized Diverge is a high end frame, but the S-Works version actually weighs about the same (995 grams) as this Focus Paralane (1005 grams). The lower grade versions weigh more and yet cost more as well.