Factor has teased a new aero gravel race bike, with design cues clearly influenced by its radical One aero bike.
The bike features a similar wide-splaying fork, which (on the One) is designed to disrupt airflow before it passes over the rider’s legs. The turbulent air created presents less resistance to the rider behind it.
We spotted the new Factor at the Traka gravel event in Girona, Spain.
The rigid fork crown also sports a similar chin protrusion, essentially starting the manipulation of air sooner than a standard design.
However, the design is far less pronounced than the One’s, with a slacker angle evident from the handlebar to the fork dropouts. This is likely due to the need for less aggressive handling over rougher gravel terrain.
The additional upside to the wide-arcing fork shoulders is enormous visible tyre clearance, with a higher crown granting more clearance for the knobs found on gravel and MTB tyres.
We first spotted the bike sporting new 42mm Michelin Power Gravel tyres, but it’s clear it can accommodate much bigger rubber.
We also found a bike fitted with new 2.1in (53mm) Schwalbe Race Pro Thunder Burt MTB tyres, which look much closer to the limit.
The seat tube curves around the rear tyre, much like the prototype Ridley ‘RS2’, and the dropped seatstays are notably thin compared to the Ridley or the also-unreleased Canyon Grail CFR.
In our experience, Factor has a track record of producing ‘firm’ bikes for road and gravel use – so rather than compliance, which would largely be delivered through wide tyres, we think this is a weight-saving measure.
Interestingly, on the bike with Michelin tyres, the Black Inc wheels also look to be new, with the number 64 printed on the front wheel. The aero Factor One road race bike comes with Factor Sixty Two wheels.
A new ‘Sixty Four’ wheelset debuted on a gravel bike would come as a slight surprise – generally, the deepest racing rims are reserved for road racing.
Elsewhere, the bike appears not to include storage bag mounts, with tools simply taped to the top tube, but it does feature down-tube storage in a design very similar to the Monza road bike.
