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PC17: Factor O2 Disc race bike added to lineup, SLiCK TT bike splits time on the road

Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike
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Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike

When Factor started under BF1, it was all about data collection and looking at it from an engineering point of view with an F1 background. That led to The One’s split downtube and other unique designs and electronic integration. When Rob Gitellis and Baden Cooke bought the brand two years ago, Rob was already intimately involved in extremely high end carbon fiber bicycle design and manufacturing, and Baden became a test pilot and brand ambassador. They created the O2 and sponsored AG2R La Mondiale.

With that sponsorship, the team started riding the O2, which has a more traditional round tube frame, but they needed a TT bike. The rest of us, however, needed a disc brake road bike. Fortunately, Factor made both…

Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike

New for 2017 is the O2 Disc, which uses the same frame as the rim brake version but with no brake bridge on the seatstays and the needed reinforcements at the brake mount areas.

Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike

Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike

They say it’s about 40g heavier, making it around an 800g frame, and fork is about 20g heavier.

Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike

Since switching owners and becoming Factor Holdings, they’ve opened up or acquired additional sections. EM2 is the design firm Rob created, Acme is his carbon fiber parts manufacturing with its own proprietary processes and materials, Factor Design is the bicycle design and line they bought from BF1, and Black Inc. is the component line, which they make 100% themselves except for the Sapim spokes used on the wheels and CeramicSpeed bearings in the bottom bracket, headset and hubs.

Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike

This gives them complete control over all of the manufacturing, but also lets them tune cockpit and wheels to the frame to offer a more cohesive package. They’re sold as a chassis, a rolling chassis with wheels, and a complete bike. Like the original O2, it uses a BBright bottom bracket shell, which works with BB386EVO, Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo cranksets.

Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike

Factor O2 Disc brake road race bike actual weight

A complete bike in size 56 weighed in at 16.23lb (7.36kg). Available beginning of August, likely starting around $4,999. Builds will include their Black, Inc., Thirty, Fifty, or Eighty wheels (or a mixed combination front to rear). They’ve started making their own hubs to keep bearing seat tolerances ultra tight so they’re no binding (they were using DT 240s before). Disc brake versions of existing wheels will run about $50 more and use Centerlock rotor mounts. O2 Disc bike cockpit includes their one-piece 295g bar/stem.

Factor’s first 275 frames were all shipped to sponsored teams; they say they had about $3 million invested in the brand before they ever sold a bike. Now, they’re finally getting production up and running to deliver customers’ bikes. But for the teams, development never stopped once they had them on the ONE and O2. The latest is called SLiCK, it gets the split downtube design that carries all the way through the BB section.

Like The ONE, the Twin Vane Evo split downtube is designed to minimize drag. This bike takes it a step further and splits the lower part of the seat tube, too, letting air pass directly to the tire and move around the wheel and eliminate any pressure zones between tire and frame.

The seatstays are spread very wide to prevent pressure zones and minimize turbulence. They also spread the bottom bracket out as far as possible by using BBright and gave it oversized chainstays to maximize stiffness. This was one part of the effort to make the bike handle well, something not always associated with TT bikes.

Up front, the fork is also split wide for better stability and steering precision. Brakes are integrated for aerodynamics, which is complemented by the unique single-post aero bar platform. Rather than using two individual masts mounted to the bullhorn handlebar, this one’s a height adjustable single mast design with elbow pads and extensions firmly attached to a one-piece top. Both are also adjustable for width and length, and the design is much cleaner.

Wires and brake lines are all hidden. Pricing ranges from $6,299 to $12,499. Available now.

FactorBikes.com

 

 

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GoFunkYoself
GoFunkYoself
7 years ago

“They’ve started making their own hubs to keep bearing seat tolerances ultra tight so they’re no binding (they were using DT 240s before).”

Now, I’ve read some ballsy statements in my day, but seriously, the implications of that statement… wow. So DT Swiss’s tolerances weren’t tight enough, eh?

fealakwen
7 years ago
Reply to  GoFunkYoself

Agreed.

So they are telling us that their brand new OEM components are better than the most reputable hubs on the market.

Bold. And pretentious.

Large D
Large D
7 years ago
Reply to  GoFunkYoself

Bontrager made the exact same claim back in 2008 when they claimed they had designed a superior hub to DT (their previous supplier), now you see whose intervals they rely on today (hint: DT).

dl
dl
7 years ago

Does the waterbottle mount diagonally? Seems like that’d ruin aero gains?

Andrew
Andrew
7 years ago
Reply to  dl

I was wondering the same, haha

rob Gitelis
rob Gitelis
7 years ago
Reply to  dl

The intention is most people will only mount a water bottle cage on the seat tube. However if someone does want to have a down tube water bottle, there is an adapter which goes between the two bolts on the down tube to allow mounting a water bottle in this location. This way the two vane down tube remains open when not using any cage in that location.

cracked frame
cracked frame
7 years ago

I hate that you can’t turn off that video on the their website. Annoying.

Dave
Dave
7 years ago

Beautiful job on the new Disc bike. I have a Factor One and it is a rocket ship!!!!!!!!!

tyler
tyler
7 years ago

great looking bike. rivals the BH Ultralight.

Motarded450
Motarded450
7 years ago

this bike is a total Disc Race

Nikolai
Nikolai
7 years ago

A question about the Factor Slick mast. What is it made of? Aluminium or carbon?

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