£4,199 Adventurous accessories abound on Focus’ rugged new gravel machine
Weight 9.36kg (L) Frame Carbon Fork Carbon Gears SRAM Rival eTap AXS, 12-speed (40t, 10-44t) Brakes SRAM Rival eTap AXS Wheels DT Swiss GR1600 Finishing kit Easton EC70 AX carbon bar, FOCUS integrated C.I.S. stem, Easton EC70 seatpost, Selle Italia Boost saddle, WTB Riddler TCS, 700 x 45C tyres
THE ATLAS 8.9 CARBON FOLLOWS on from the original alloy Atlas 6, which was also all about big-mileage adventuring. It’s still capable when the going gets testing, though, and features every mount you could wish for, with accessories and racks also available.
Three types of carbon fibre balance frame stiffness, durability, and compliance. The brand claims a 995g weight for a Medium frame; much lighter than I’d have expected. The thick, angular fork offers clearance for 700 x 45c tyres, or up to 2 inches wide in 650b size, and asymmetric chainstays and widely spaced seatstays help deal with this. The head-tube has a deep triangular-shaped junction with the huge down-tube, then there’s a flattened top-tube.
Load it up
The down-tube is protected by a rubberised plate underneath, while the slim seat-tube joins to slender seatstays, designed to boost compliance. Mounts allow you to run a rear mudguard and rack at the same time.
There are triple mounts on the front fork legs, each one with a 3kg carrying capacity, three sets of bottle bosses, with two position options on the down-tube for larger frame-bag compatibility, plus bento box mounts on the top-tube.
The frameset has full internal brake hose routing so hoses stay out of the way of bar bags, plus internal dropper post compatibility with the 27.2mm-diameter seat-tube. A wider Boost 148 x 12mm wheel-axle standard adds resilience and stability on rougher terrain and when the Atlas is loaded up. My XL test bike (broadly 58cm equivalent) weighs 9.36kg with a bento box bag and rear racks fitted.
My bike has a long 420mm reach and tall 630mm stack plus a short 80mm stem. The seat-tube angle is a steep 73.5°, pitching you over the bottom bracket, but the head angle’s a more relaxed 70.5° to calm the handling. The lengthy 1,088mm wheelbase should aid stability (especially under load), but the chainstays (at 425mm) are relatively compact to give sharper reactions.
Big build
The Atlas runs on SRAM’s excellent Rival eTap AXS XPLR groupset. The 40-tooth chainring and wide 10-44-tooth cassette offers a smallest gear well below 1:1 ratio, which should see you up the steepest gradients, even with a fully laden bike.
Up front, Focus’s C.I.S. stem clamps to an Easton EC70 carbon bar wit
