Zwift’s November update included a new frame in the Drop Shop: the Izalco Max 2020 from Focus Bikes. Rolled out in style with the three-day “Colours of PARI” event series, thousands of Zwifters now have this frame in their garage. (If you didn’t unlock the frame in the Colours of PARI series, it is available at level 8+, for 426,000 Drops.)
So how does it perform? And if you haven’t already unlocked the Izalco Max, should you drop some Drops and pick it up?
Performance Details
Comparatively speaking, the Izalco is more slippery than lightweight. It ranks in the top 83% in our flat (aero) tests, while only ranking in the top 58% for our climbing tests.
It is currently ranked 11th in our combined percentile chart, which ranks frames based on their combined aero + climb performance:
The Izalco performs almost exactly like the Pinarello Dogma F12, but is available at only level 8 and for less than half the drops of the F12! And it just edges out the Factor One which is available at the same level and price as the Izalco.
Held up against the gold standard of the Tron bike, the Izalco Max with disc wheels would be ~3 seconds slower on a 50-minute flat test. Throw some Lightweight Meilensteins on the Izalco, though, and it will be 3 seconds faster up the Alpe than the Tron bike. Still, the Tron is the better all-around performer by a good margin.
Who Should Use It?
This is a frame for beginners, and/or fans of Focus Bikes. It’s not as fast as some frames available at higher levels, but it’s the second-fastest frame available to Zwifters at level 15 and below, beating other popular beginner frames like the Zwift Aero, Specialized Tarmac SL7, Factor One, and Specialized Allez Sprint.
The Canyon Aeroad 2021 is still a better performer both on flats and climbs, so that’s still our recommend race frame for beginners. But the Focus Izalco Max 2020 would be our #2 recommendation. Use it in flat and mixed races, but go with something lighter in a pure climbing race.
Updated Posts
Given our speed test results, we’ve updated various posts today to include the Focus Izalco Max 2020:
- Fastest Beginner Frames
- Frame Performance Charts
- Shopping Guide: What To Buy at Each Zwift Level
- Fastest Bikes at Each Zwift Level
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
Thanks as always.
Any chance of doing some acceleration tests? Both from zero, and at highs speeds (for example from 35kph to 45kph).
mom forever jumping from front of group to back to front etc. not holding flat speeds like in these tests.
That’s what would give me a good idea of the best bike for rides and races.
cheers.
I’ve tried to do them before – there are two problems I ran into:
1) Timing isn’t precise enough. 1 second granularity in Strava doesn’t cut it, and the only way to get into partial seconds is to use a Zwift sprint segment.
2) Even when I thought I had done a decent test on a sprint segment… there just wasn’t any observable difference in acceleration between bikes.
Fair enough. Thanks for replying. Bit different to real life in this respect then maybe.
Acceleration differences is so minute of you do the sums in theory, and completely dwarfed by the difference in drag at the speeds required to “bridge” gaps – aero always wins over weight.
The why do pro pelotons not include super aero wheels and frames?
I thought the Aeroad 2021 moved down?
Yes, according to the “frame performance charts”, the Canyon Aeroad 2021 is a slower climber than Izalco.
I think you’re confusing the Canyon Aeroroad with the Canyon Aeroroad 2021. The latter is a faster climber than the Focus: 7 seconds faster in 50 minutes up Alpe de Zwift with a 75 kg rider.
I rode the Focus in each of the three stages of the Colors of Pari and it felt fast to me :):):). (just kidding — there’s no way to “feel” these minutely small speed differences).
They made it a worse climber… it was the best climbing bike AND a very good aero bike initially. It’s still the best all-arounder (other than the Tron).
Yeah, don’t get it confused with the old Canyon Aeroad… two totally different frames.
Thanks for a great review as always. Having picked one up on the weekend rides for free I have to say, with its skin it is a very good looking ride
Can you fix your chart? I count 52 bars but only 30-something bike names.
It’s a screen size issue, and I haven’t figured out a way to fix it. Try turning your phone to landscape format.
That doesn’t change anything, unfortunately. The same gaps are still no matter the orientation or zoom.
This is one of the more confusing aspects of Zwift! The rating systme is virtually meaningless. Two bike with the same rating(s) can perform dramatically different over the same terrain. You can buy a climbing bike only to find out that a non climbing bike performs better on climbs. This is the very very different than most shops on games.
Thanks for the article! Quick question. I didn’t get that frame in the event (unfortunately I had no idea about the event), but I was thinking of getting this frame as I should get to level 8 today.
My question is about the frame colour – if I buy it for drops will I have access to the colourful PARI stripes? I’m asking because when I viewed the frame in the drop shop the frame was all black.
Thanks!
No, if you didn’t do the Colours of PARI event, you won’t have the cool color scheme. You’ll just have the standard color slider.
Damn, I just spent some drops to get this frameset because of the color scheme. Thought that what I get is what I see, as it was shown in the drop shop with the PARI scheme. Now I’m dissapointed! 😥😥😥
Is there any trick known to unlock the color scheme? I guess the rides to unlock it where one time events and can’t be done any more?
Or can you return a bought frame???
Sorry, the special colour scheme was available only through the event. 😟
Is the canyon aeroad 2021 updated after nerf on the list?
Hi Eric,
I am an Eric as well. I am new to both cycling and zwift. Your articles are remarkable and I think a lot of the Zwift world thinks of you as a coach. I certainly do.. Anyway I apparently did not read your focus izalco article enough as I was disappointed not to get the colors of France. It’s 2022 now – I don’t know if you will even see this, but is there another way to unlock that skin or frame color set for the Izalco?