Factor Bikes (United Kingdom) - Press Release: Factor announces the new OSTRO, a superlight aero race bike that’s ready for cobbles, and the perfectly matched Black Inc Forty Five wheel.

The new OSTRO combines the best of Factor’s renowned engineering capabilities across lightweight, aerodynamics and comfort into one bike that’s ready for anything.

The OSTRO is an ‘everything’ bike, a quiver killer, a master of all trades. Searingly fast, incredibly light and supremely comfortable, it’s ready to win sprints, mountain stages and cobbled Classics. It’s the ultimate all-rounder because it refuses to compromise. If you’re the sort of rider who races with ‘the knife between your teeth’ no matter the parcours, this is the bike you’ve been waiting for. When we say you can have it all, we mean it.

Unapologetically future-facing, the OSTRO is only available for disc brakes and electronic shifting. The benefits of these technologies are now well understood and appreciated in the market and, by committing to them, Factor has enabled further gains to frame weight and integration.

Named after a southerly Mediterranean wind that sweeps through the Côte d’Azur and Nice, location of the Grand Départ of the 2020 Tour de France, the OSTRO is made for exactly the sort of mixed terrain and crosswinds that the riders of the Israel Start-Up Nation team encountered during the early stages of this year’s Grand Boucle. The OSTRO is making its debut at the Tour de France and is being ridden by the team.

“The OSTRO concept was born from my long experience working with pro teams and riders, especially at Paris-Roubaix,” explains Graham Shrive, Factor’s Director of Engineering. “Every year there would be a couple of riders who wanted to use their aero bikes to get that advantage, no matter how poorly suited they were to the cobbles. Plus, of course, pros have always wanted an aero bike with no weight penalty, or a super light bike with no drag penalty in the valleys, as the climbers might see it. Instead of battling to get them on a bike made for the cobbles, we decided to build them what they wanted, and it turns out to be a hell of a bike.”

Key features:

• Superlight frame weight – 780g for a painted frame in size 54 Flicker design, achieved through Factor’s industry-leading carbon fibre expertise and mass-optimised aero profiles. For using the very best materials and reaching such a low weight for its class, the OSTRO carries Factor’s VAM designation
• Mid-chord aero profile – The truncated NACA profile down tube has the same cross-sectional surface area as the down tube of an O2 VAM, optimising aerodynamic performance versus weight
• Wide stance fork – Optimises aerodynamics for a pro-spec 26mm tubular by widening the gap between the fork legs and the spokes, reducing the turbulence caused by the forward rotating spokes meeting incoming airflow, and gives clearance for a 32mm tyre
• Reversing Flow Energising Channel – A Factor innovation, this channel built into the crown of the fork relieves the stagnant airflow that is drawn up by the forward rotating wheel and tyre and collects behind the fork, where it disturbs airflow around the outside of the fork onto the down tube. Incoming airflow to the fork is focused through a converging nozzle to accelerate the reversed flow out of this area, significantly reducing the pressure changes in this area, improving laminar flow and cutting drag
• 32mm tyre clearance – Generous tyre clearance means the OSTRO is ready for Paris-Roubaix, super-long rides or your favourite back roads, and all without compromise to handling characteristics. Specifically, the OSTRO has ISO clearance for 32mm tyres mounted to rims of 21mm internal width
• Fully internal cable routing – Drawing on technology from the new O2 VAM, the OSTRO routes all of its cables 100% internally. Crucially, it does so while retaining a 1⅛ upper headset bearing for minimal frontal area and drag, whereas other brands resort to a 52mm upper bearing
• Compliant rear triangle – The pencil-thin, ViSTA-style seat stays directly add compliance in two ways: with controlled vertical flex along their length, and by meeting the seat tube at a dropped angle that creates a cantilever around the seat cluster, allowing a small, controlled amount of ‘travel’ at the saddle to deal with bigger bumps
• Identical geometry to the O2 and O2 VAM – This is the optimum racing geometry for confident handling and that is unchanged by this bike’s broader role. Consistent geometry makes it easy for our pro riders to switch bikes and for our customers to choose based on the riding that they do
• Very high frame stiffness – Frame stiffness is a weak area of aero road bikes which use traditional airfoil shapes. The OSTRO achieves exceptionally high frame stiffness for the category by using truncated airfoil profiles, resulting in stiffness levels at or above that of the O2
• Cockpit options – To give customers more choice, the OSTRO is compatible with the one-piece Black Inc Barstem for fully internal cable routing, and also with all separate bars and stems (cables enter below stem)
• Electronic shifting only – In line with customer demand and enabling aero drag and weight savings, the OSTRO is built exclusively for electronic shifting groupsets
• T47 threaded bottom bracket – Used for the first time in a Factor, the T47 standard ensures a secure fit and easy maintenance
• Three different fork offsets – Ensures optimum handling characteristics across all frame sizes so that every customer has the best ride experience
• New lightweight seatpost – Mid-depth profile seatpost balances weight and aero, available in 0 and 25mm offset options.
• Launches with Black Inc FORTY FIVE wheelset – The new Black Inc FORTY FIVE is the perfect pairing with the OSTRO and launches simultaneously. The FORTY FIVE is designed with an optimal balance of aerodynamic performance and lightweight for riders who want a single wheelset to do everything from high mountain gran fondos to flat road races to long training days, and everything else in between