Factor ONE first ride impressions

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zappafile123
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by zappafile123

Factor are a burgeoning British brand run by a bunch of former F1 carbon engineers and Aussie Ex-pro Baden Cooke. They make what I like to call "rocket-ship bikes". They look fast, mean and unique. I was lucky enough to test ride a Factor ONE today for about 15 minutes around Olympic park.

The bike was built up with DA9070 and 80 mm deep Black Inc. wheels rolling on ceramic speed bearings.

Where to start? First off, big kudos to the Black Inc wheels. The braking modulation is very good. This is no doubt helped in part by the extra power afforded from the 9010 direct mount brakes. At least the sensation was better than my Xentis wheels whose braking performance has really dropped off as the rims have worn in (Coupled with Record dual pivot brakes). Despite their considerable depth, they were surprisingly lively and picked up speed with aplomb. I appreciated the extra comfort afforded by the wider rims. It really goes to show that narrow (i.e. ~20 mm) rims are obsolete. Finally, the ceramic speed bearings make for a buttery smooth rolling sensation - felt pretty much the same as my old Campy Bora Ultra IIs.

Rolling along at low speed the frame has that rare 'alive' feeling. It felt full of energy, raring to go. There was no brittle chatter from the road, rather a light but confident road buzz. Jumping on the pedals, the bike is very very stiff. It hurtles up to speed with a nice linear trajectory, and most importantly, it feels easy to hold that speed. Though I might have forgotten what I've ridden before, it struck me as being the one of the fastest feeling bikes I've ridden. It was exceptionally fast. No doubt this would have been helped by the 80 mm deep wheels. That being said it wasnt a perfectly stiff responsive pedaling platform, rather just right up there with the best I've tried. For example, you might find a 2014 TCR SL is a bit stiffer or feels a tad harder through the pedals or a Cervelo R5 might get up to speed a bit faster. I can only imagine what a lighter set of wheels would do for the ride - 50mm aero tubulars would be heaven. As for the bike's climbing ability, I have no idea - the roads were dead flat.

Unfortunately I only rode the bike over high quality tarmac, so comfort is hard to judge. I can confidently say, however, that it felt smoother than my Oltre XR2. In fact, I'm pretty confident its an admirably comfortable bike you could ride all day. As such, provisionally this bike is a step closer to that holy grail of a friggen stiff, responsive beast that isnt gonna beat you up.

Based on the geometry charts, I pegged myself for a 51. I was given a 54 today with what was apparently a 120 x 42 cm cockpit with a 10 mm spacer below the stem. The setup felt surprisingly short and upright riding in the hoods. The reach on the 54 is somewhat long at 589 mm so going into the test ride, I was expecting to feel a bit stretch out. For reference, my 53cm oltre has a 383 mm reach and runs a slammed 6 degree 120 mm FSA stem. Basically, it might be hard to get into a genuinely aggressive racing position with the ONE. If thats the case, they recommend getting the ONE-s which doesnt have the integrated bars/steerer tube fork. Id recommend getting a good fit before buying one of these frames because replacing the integrated cockpit would be an expensive exercise. Finally, on their website, they say you can get a 0-offset post with the frame, but it looks as though they wont be available for the first shipment of frames.

I rode around only one hard corner (I should have looked on my phone map, there were heaps around!) and the handling is on the sharp side of things. Basically even a little input yields a big change in direction. Oversteer could easily happen. Nonetheless, this stiff cockpit with whippy handling makes for a good crit bike. Corning at speed felt surefooted and modestly stable.

One issue that bugs me about the frame is that its Di2 specific. They don't make a version that's compatible with mechanical drive-trains. I think this was perhaps poor judgement on the part of Factor as it will deter people from buying their bikes - Di2 is expensive and feels funny! As a hardened fan of cable shafting its going to be a bit of a transitional phase getting used to Di2.

Finally, it looks as though Factors are going to be available for sale late June. The ONE retails for 15,500ish (could be wrong there) and the frame with integrated bar/stem, seatpost, and ceramic speed BB is $5200.

To conclude its defiantly one of the best bikes Ive ridden. It is better than my Oltre, which I love. But to put things in perspective, its only marginally better. The question I need to answer is whether the marginal gain in ride quality is worth all that money!

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Last edited by zappafile123 on Thu May 12, 2016 9:46 am, edited 3 times in total.
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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

Hey Zappa, if you take time to think it over,... are you swayed by the looks to a point it affects your senses?
Or does it make you achieve (or feel) something that makes a change worth the plunge :wink:

I must admit (yes, it's off topic), that gravel riding made me sense i felt tarmac (only) was boring once i went back to it!
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zappafile123
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by zappafile123

wheelsONfire wrote:Hey Zappa, if you take time to think it over,... are you swayed by the looks to a point it affects your senses?
Or does it make you achieve (or feel) something that makes a change worth the plunge :wink:

I must admit (yes, it's off topic), that gravel riding made me sense i felt tarmac (only) was boring once i went back to it!


Yeah I think it looks fantastic in stealth... not as flash in white and blue however. My problem is that I am pretty desensitized to bikes now - its hard for something to get me excited haha

One day, when I stop spending so much money on the next best road bike, I will buy a cross bike or something and go find gravel climbs.
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kgt
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by kgt

Many thanks for the review!
This is a great looking bike for sure.

Bely
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by Bely

Waiting for mine ;)


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MichaelB
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by MichaelB

Was lucky enough to ride both a Factor One and O2 when they launched at the Tour down Under in Adelaide earlier this year.

Outta my price range, but would love the O2 with discs.

Looking fwd to seeing your bike when you get it Bely, what model/spec did you end up getting ?

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zappafile123
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by zappafile123

MichaelB wrote:Was lucky enough to ride both a Factor One and O2 when they launched at the Tour down Under in Adelaide earlier this year.


Mate, gotta tell us how the O2 rides! Whats it like compared to the ONE? The O2 is mech compatible which is nice.

I have this problem - the first bike I fell in love with was a sprinters bike (08 Ridley Noah). I've been meaning to buy a climbers bike for years (seeing as p/w is my strength) but I've always been concerned that I'd just miss the punch you get from *absolute* stiffness oriented bikes.
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Bely
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by Bely

Went for the ONE,mIght go etap instead of di2... But got to see if the cogsets work together with my other shoes and groups


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zappafile123
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by zappafile123

Bely wrote:Went for the ONE,mIght go etap instead of di2... But got to see if the cogsets work together with my other shoes and groups


I'd consider etap too - the tactile feedback from each shift is definitely nicer than Di2. But its completely overpriced IMO - a 3 piece group is only $500 short of an entire DA9070 group. I reckon I'll buy ultegra for now (cause Im poor) and buy 9170 when(if) it comes out early next year
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Bely
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by Bely

I might go etap with THM cranks and we brakes? If that's possible?!?


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zappafile123
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by zappafile123

Bely wrote:I might go etap with THM cranks and we brakes? If that's possible?!?


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We brakes? They are direct mount only
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Bely
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by Bely

Ee brakes sorry


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DartanianX
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by DartanianX

You do love cable shafting don't you Zapper! Is Park bikes picking up Factor?

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wingguy
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by wingguy

zappafile123 wrote:Based on the geometry charts, I pegged myself for a 51. I was given a 54 today with what was apparently a 120 x 42 cm cockpit with a 10 mm spacer below the stem. The setup felt surprisingly short and upright riding in the hoods. The reach on the 54 is somewhat long at 589 mm so going into the test ride, I was expecting to feel a bit stretch out. For reference, my 53cm oltre has a 383 mm reach and runs a slammed 6 degree 120 mm FSA stem. Basically, it might be hard to get into a genuinely aggressive racing position with the ONE.


I think this is a pretty silly determination to make after having only ridden a frame that was bigger than you wanted and with an extra spacer. Your 53 Oltre has a 383 reach and 529 stack. The 51 One has a 384 reach and a 519 stack. So you could run it more aggressive than your current setup if you wanted to.

Other than that, good info!

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zappafile123
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by zappafile123

wingguy wrote:I think this is a pretty silly determination to make after having only ridden a frame that was bigger than you wanted and with an extra spacer. Your 53 Oltre has a 383 reach and 529 stack. The 51 One has a 384 reach and a 519 stack. So you could run it more aggressive than your current setup if you wanted to.

Other than that, good info!


Yeah... I think I was just confused by how short and upright the 54 felt. Its got a taller head and seat tube, so the saddle --> hb drop is probably a few cm's shorter. This would reduce the perceived reach. Nonetheless the rationale was that if the 54 felt too short/upright, the 51 would fix the upright problem but potentially be too short. But, as you say, if the numbers are right, then there shouldnt be a problem and I'll need that spacer to replicate the position on the Oltre.
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