British company Factor have published pictures showing their new FP04 road bike being tested. The FP04 is the company's latest development since the Aston Martin One-77 super bike was released last year. Factor have hinted that the production bike will be known as the Vis Vires, inspired by the Latin for ‘force’, ‘power’ or ‘strength’.
Early indications point to a frameset with similarities to the One-77 bike, with a familiar yet distinctive seatstay and seat tube intersection. Factor seem to have ditched the hydraulic brakes in favour of aero caliper brakes, though.
The front brake is tucked behind a new fork design, too – gone is the peculiar fork used on the Aston bike, replaced with a slightly more conventional design. The rear brake sits beneath large-section chainstays and behind a crankset that looks very similar to the one used on the One-77 bike; that's good news as that probably means a built-in wireless crank based power meter - as seen here on the One-77 bike.
The prototype is rolling on deep dish, ENVE-like aero wheels. These seem to feature Factor branding, though, so perhaps they are an in-house creation. Other notable observations include an unusually large leading edge to both the head tube and fork. The frame is also being tested using a full Di2 transmission.
We'll bring you more information on the FP04 as we get it. In the meantime, see www.factorbikes.com for information on Factor products.
The Factor FP04 prototype on test
