Bike: Focus Paralane 9.9 (road) and Focus Atlas 6.7 (gravel)
Why bought?
The Paralane is a Volvo – fast, safe and comfortable with a nice upright riding position for old blokes like me. My top of the range model also has Di2 electronic gears and excellent disc brakes which I need. I bought the Paralane in August 2020 when arthritis in my wrists meant I couldn’t pull the brake levers hard enough on my old bike. Hydraulic discs work brilliantly!
Other options I looked at were the Specialized Roubaix and the Trek Domane. They both have inbuilt suspension providing a smoother ride, but under COVID their availability and prices were a bit problematic. The local bike shop had a Focus in my frame size and a distinctive colour scheme – deal done.
My Atlas gravel bike is a bit of a tractor – a low-cost ($2,500) adventure bike for rough roads. I bought it in October 2021 to encourage exploration rides in the country, starting with a great 4-day trip around the Central West Cycle Trail in November 2021. The Atlas has a long wheelbase like a mountain bike, is very stable on rough surfaces, and has fantastic light and progressive GRX brakes. It also has a helpfully low bottom gear with 46-30 chainrings and an 11-36 cassette.
What’s it like riding?
I love the Paralane on the road for its responsive handling, strong brakes and super-smooth Di2 electronic gears. As they say “If you won’t buy Di2 don’t try Di2.” Riding the Atlas with its mechanical gears reminds me how good Di2 is, especially when the brand new gear cables on the Atlas kept stretching and needing adjustment – Di2 makes cable adjustments a thing of the past.
Fitted with fat 40mm gravel tyres the aluminium framed Atlas is heavy (3kg more than the carbon-fibre Paralane) so the Paralane feels like a Ferrari after riding the Atlas!
On the other hand the Atlas is super-stable on rough stuff and inspires confidence when rolling through mounds of loose gravel, sand and the like. Among gravel bikes the Atlas is not a speed-focused racer like a Cervelo Aspero; it’s more of a solid touring option for dirt roads and the gentler kinds of single-track. A bike for nature trips and light bikepacking adventures.