{"id":338739,"date":"2025-12-11T09:45:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T09:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/338739\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T09:45:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T09:45:12","slug":"factor-one-aero-road-bike-first-ride-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/338739\/","title":{"rendered":"Factor One aero road bike first ride review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Approaching the new Factor One aero road bike at the launch event in Girona I had the same sense of trepidation that I imagine jockeys feel when being introduced to a racehorse for the first time. That feeling of: \u2018What is this thing going to do to me?\u2019<\/p>\n

It just looks so aggressive. The near vertical seat tube and fork legs, and the way the bars sit out ahead of the incredibly deep head tube, make the bike look like it\u2019s leaning forward into the road, straining to get off the leash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bow legs of the fork give it the impression of a track bike <\/a>more than a road bike<\/a>, and it\u2019s all so relentlessly aero that my initial assumption was that rideability would be sacrificed at the altar of straight-line speed.<\/p>\n

Related questions you can explore with Ask Cyclist, our AI search engine.If you would like to ask your own question you just need to , or subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Turns out I was wrong. The Factor One is most definitely a fast bike, but the first thing that struck me when taking it for a test ride was just how \u2018normal\u2019 it felt. Despite looking nothing like my usual setup, the position was immediately familiar, and the sensation was of a well-mannered, easy-to-handle road bike, and not the bucking bronco that I was expecting.<\/p>\n

The reason for this is that Factor\u2019s engineers put a lot of time into creating a geometry that balances a safe, stable platform with the desire of modern pro riders to get into an aggressive, forward-leaning position.<\/p>\n

As Rob Gitelis<\/a>, owner of Factor<\/a>, puts it, \u2018Stems were getting way too long on traditional aero road bikes. With the advent of big tyres and 165mm cranks, centre of gravity was getting all out of whack from where it should be. So those were the things we wanted to address with this bike.\u2019<\/p>\n

Playing the angles<\/p>\n

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At the launch presentation for the Factor One, chief engineer Graham Shrive whizzed through the new bike\u2019s aerodynamic credentials in about four slides. Lessons learned from the Ostro VAM <\/a>and Hanz\u00f5 track bike\u2026 Changes to UCI rules on frame dimensions\u2026 140 iterations in CFD\u2026 Weeks spent sleeping on the floors of wind-tunnels\u2026 Rider feedback\u2026 Yadda, yadda, yadda\u2026 \u2018World\u2019s fastest UCI-legal road bike\u2019.<\/p>\n

His hurry was so that he could then spend the next 40-or-so slides explaining the complexities of the geometry <\/a>of the bike. For the specifics, read our launch article here, but the basic thinking is that current trends for shorter cranks, wider tyres, slammed forward saddles, narrow bars and super-long stems are making race bikes unbalanced, and so the One aims to address this.<\/p>\n

It does so partly by dropping the bottom bracket, steepening the seat tube and stretching out the front end so that racers can have their aggressive ride position but still have their centre of gravity in the right place to ensure stable handling and prevent crashes from flipping over the handlebars.<\/p>\n

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That sense of balance was evident during the first ride I took on the bike. Despite having a very high saddle position (the curse of long legs) I still felt \u2018in\u2019 the bike, rather than perched on top of it, as is often the case with test bikes. The wheelbase is reasonably long \u2013 1,020mm for a size 58 \u2013 so the bike felt stable in a straight line, while the 57.5mm trail kept steering as nimble as you\u2019d expect from a race bike.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most excitingly from my perspective, the stretched-out front end meant there was absolutely no toe overlap with the front wheel. It may seem like a minor thing, but for those of us blessed with feet like canoes it\u2019s a genuine issue and made a real difference to my enjoyment of the bike.<\/p>\n

As for speed, I have no comparative data to assess how well I did on the out-and-back time-trial circuit near Girona where we tested the One, but it\u2019s safe to say: yes, it\u2019s fast. We can aim to get a more precise idea of how fast when we get hold of a model for a full test in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Similarly with comfort. The test rides were too short and the roads of Girona too smooth to get a real sense of how I might feel after several hours on Britain\u2019s blistered tarmac, but my initial thoughts were that the One was more comfortable, and the position more sustainable, than I had imagined prior to the test.<\/p>\n

Are you one for the One?<\/p>\n

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Factor is pitching the One as a \u2018leadout\u2019 bike or \u2018breakaway\u2019 bike. These days, a lot of races are won by riders pushing off the front of the pack and soloing to victory, and the idea is that if a team can calculate how long rider A can sustain power B over distance C then they can work out the exact moment to go for the break. And if the One can help rider A sustain a higher speed at power B, then he or she will have a better chance of winning the race.<\/p>\n

As Shrive puts it, \u2018The rider\u2019s job is to win the race. Our job is to help the rider win the race.\u2019<\/p>\n

And if Factor\u2019s claim to be the \u2018world\u2019s fastest UCI-legal road bike\u2019 holds true, it makes a very strong case to for a rider to invest in the One. If you\u2019re racing.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not racing, the incentive is not as strong, especially when the cheapest version comes in at \u00a310,899 for Shimano Ultegra and goes up to \u00a312,899 for SRAM Red. But that doesn\u2019t completely discount the One for everyday riders.<\/p>\n

For starters, there\u2019s the looks. To my eye, the Factor One is a striking, dramatic bike that makes most other road bikes look pedestrian by comparison. It doesn\u2019t hurt that Factor has come up with some pretty funky paintjobs for the One as well. I liked the grey\/green of my test bike, but given the choice I\u2019d go for the pink and yellow \u2018blush\u2019 colour \u2013 no point being subtle with a bike like this.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the speed. The Factor One is built to serve the specific needs of WorldTour racers, but you don\u2019t have to be a pro racer to want to go fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The One is a bike that will turn heads and smash PBs (brand director David Millar already claims to have got the fastest time of the year on one of his local segments aboard a One that wasn\u2019t even set up for him). It\u2019s just a shame that until Factor finds a new WorldTour team to sponsor, we won\u2019t see the bike racing at the top level for a while.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that\u2019s all the more reason to get one now \u2013 you\u2019ll be one of the only Ones out there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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