Serious cycling enthusiasts can appreciate excellence across the industry. Some are very brand specific in their affiliation, others are drawn to a sense of purity or excellence in the design, manufacture and performance of a finished product. Factor Bikes isn't a true boutique bike company, nor is it a mass producer of makes and models. Factor, born from bf1 Systems, a technology and engineering firm that worked with Aston Martin, Maserati, Ferrari, and other premium performance vehicle companies and teams. With a direct and impressive background in aerodynamics and carbon fiber technology, engineering and manufacture, bf1 Systems started working with major bicycle players and cycling teams, bringing new technologies, vertical integration in production, and knowledge to the massive growth of high-end carbon fiber framesets and components. Following the introduction of Factor Bikes first design, the Vis Veres, former pro cyclist Baden Cooke and cyclist/engineer Rob Gitelis bought Factor from bf1 and started building just a few select aero road, TT, and road frame designs. The O2 Frameset is the incredible road race design that weighs in at 740 grams (51cm), yet rides with preternatural smoothness, power transfer, handling, and overall performance.

Each size of the O2 has its own specific lay-up and definitive tube sizes. This is no cookie-cutter frameset. Factor has mastered the processes of Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and frame laminate design with it's Fibersim optimization program, using the only the absolutely necessary types and amounts of carbon fiber and resin for each frame. The company wastes as little material as is possible, and believes that frames are no the place for waste material. Each O2 is built with Factor's EM2 RGicarbon system, employs various amounts of three carbon fiber types: Standard Modulus, Medium Modulus, and the costly and difficult to work with High Modulus Pitch Fiber. Each is applied to it's greatest effect, in accordance with the desired properties of each frame section or tube. Due to the challenges and costs, Pitch fiber is rarely used except at the top-end of the bike world. Factor knows the process and material well, and uses Pitch fiber to it's greatest effect. That exacting process, zero waste, highly informed engineering, and optimal materials combine to deliver a 740 gram frameset that you will want to ride for hours every time you clip in.

Though the O2 is not an "aero road bike", Factor still applies their aerodynamic experience to the design. The tubes shapes, sizes and transitions belie this approach, but the most obvious zone to a layman's eye would be the fork, headtube, frame intersection. It starts with the Svelte fork, which has an organically blended fork crown/headtube junction, and sculpted lowers that all combine to minimize the surface area of the fork. The crown meshes perfectly with the frame. At the same time the design also elicits an incredible smooth and controlled ride quality, at a low overall weight. Both the Svelte fork and O2 rear triangle easily accept 28mm road tires, without looking oversized when 23 or 25mm models are preferred. Given the slim nature of the fork, most riders will be amazed at the lateral stiffness and cornering capability, and blown away by the compliance, even over the roughest surfaces. Those characteristics reflect the material knowledge and construction genius that Factor brings to the table. The O2’s Svelte fork employs a 1⅛" to 1⅜" tapered steerer tube and headtube, which precisely and effortlessly glides while turning on the provided Ceramic Speed headset.... Read More