This can't be that advanced. Still using a chain? Where's the belt drive?

You'd think they could have stretched to some bar tape

The split frame tubes seem a little odd. Do they actually do anything 'better'?

The extended fork just seems like a good copy of some of the TT fork/frame designs going around. Benefits vs. weight/cost out on the road at 30-40km/h?

I think that they've gone for all out stiffness. The industry had already 'been there, done that'.

The biggest thing about this bike though are the disc brakes. Something that makes sense and really, isn't difficult to integrate- that's something I could see in the future.

Titanium nitride coated chain - sweeet!

It may be quite "special", but in terms of actual performance - I wonder if it would have any performance advantage over a proper superbike? Or if you've got to have discs, there are some seriously nice disc braked crossers that will do the job just as well (if not better). And for £20k you could get yourself both and still have enough left to take them both on a seriously good cycling holiday.

If they really wanted to break from conventional technology/thinking and use the highest tech (and justify the silly price tag), why are the deraileurs cable operated? If they were serious, I'd have expected to see, at bare minimum, a belt driven Rohloff-esque hub with titanium internals and electronic shift control, a more radical frame design (I'm thinking Boardman's Lotus bike, not a simple diamond frame that really doesn't move things forward at all).

In summary, I think it misses the mark. You only have to put this next to the Giant TT bike to realise just how little of F1 it brings to bike technology.

Yes, those disc brakes look really interesting

i like it, bit to cheap for my liking though, a bike should be at least £33,000 before its any good

The brakes look interesting but still a drive train operated by a chain and external gears? Surely some kind of belt-drive and an internal (Rohloff?) gear system would be better.

I have often wondered why mag wheels went out of fashion post-BMX. Surely they can be made lighter and stronger than more conventional wheels now? And they're pretty much un-buckleable.

As for Rohloff gears and belt drives (and mag wheels for that matter), I guess all these things are best suited to hybrids and commuters. Less maintenance, not less performance.

The ride quality sucks. I'm trading mine for something a bit less harsh.

My phone has accelerometers and fitness analysis software. Can this bike play music and make calls for that price tag? what a rip off!

10 speed, pah!

I like it, it doesn't have any of those STUPID Specialized-esqe curvy top tubes that meet the seat tube nearly half way down. And it looks pretty cool.

jasburnham said: 10 speed, pah!

I say: 11 speed is for wimps who can't climb, 9 speed is for 'ard men, and 10 speed is a nice compramise.

Rear disc is a nice touch for balancing up the dishing on the rear wheel.

I'd want tyre warmers for my money though......Vroooommmmmmmm.

why has it got disc brakes

Discs are definitely the way to go for road bikes especially when you want to use some sweet carbon rims. Cannondale have already built a prototype road bike using disc-brakes and I am looking to do a custom built road-bike using discs as well soon.

It's a shame the UCI don't allow discs for road races now - when they do, you'll see some really nice road bikes with discs very very quickly.

As for the drive-train : a wireless electronic internal system is next on the list for new development.

The sensors [especially the ones on crank-torque] sound very interesting for monitoring and developing an athlete but SRM can do that more-or-less now.

What I'd like though is an air-drag sensor to see how you can slip through the air a little better in a solo breakaway!!!

Niiiice. LOVE it. Now, where can I get some of them wheels...?

But none of the telemetry data is being fed back to the bike. I'd love to see a true dynamic bicycle, one whose geometry and stiffness change based on the data being gathered. Think about that! Bike gets stiffer whenever you start climbing, gets more flexy when you're in cruising in the peloton, head tube angle and fork rake change based on how hard you're cornering in a crit. Core temperature starts going up, bike alerts you to drink more. Power output starts to drop off, bike plays theme from "Rocky" in your headset. Lots of interesting possibilities using all that data.

Never ridden a modern full-sus kloftus?!

interesting, but like many have already said, its not really pushing boundaries is it?! the frame is too conventional; wheres the low centre of gravity in that? and the belt drive and internal gears. the brakes and the wheels are the most "ooo" about it, but even still carbon discs are only good when they get hot.

I know that plenty of modern mt.bikes can change geometry but not instantaneously based on data and feedback gathered from monitors sensors attached to my body. But most importantly, none of them give me a Clif bar when my glycogen level falls to a crucial level. I'm thinking if you're going to see what technology can do for you, then take it to a James Bond level. That's what I want. Until then, I'm not buying this thing. Too low-tech for me.

Those disc brakes are the game changer, no question. Every modern mountain bike should switch from the regular design to this more integrated, protected design.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the quick-releases - or not?

Surely the key aspects to a good racing bike are weight, stiffness and aerodynamics. This bike might be a gadget freaks dream but has it addressed these key aspects with F1 technology? Comments so far suggest no and the text's only hint is "designed as a training tool", so if I was a teacher marking this for a technology assignment at school I would have to only give it a C - must try harder.

Does anyone else think this thing looks like a throwback to the '90s'?

Look at history and you'll find that materials used on bikes are usually like advanced aircraft of the time and ahead of motor racing. The Wright Brothers were bike manufacturers and understood the importance of weight and strength, they went back to the drawing board and even built their own engine because car technology wasn't up to it. Cycling is still pushing those limits because a racing bike has to be more efficient, take more punishment in more variable conditions for far longer than any F1 car does.

The British track team bikes are made by aerospace manufacturers who do a side-line in Cycling & F1. Cars don't really need to be as "on the limit" as military planes or bikes and have a level of redundancy and over-engineering that would slow a bike down.

The Factor 001 only shows that F1 tech lags behind what bike designers were doing 10 years ago and have abandoned either due to research or regulation. The sensor data is interesting but has been done before and abandoned because it's not really useful (wanna swallow a core temp probe or shove it up your "jacksy" and ride a 200 Km race in 40° heat anyone? No me neither).

I think I'll pass on this one.