SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star are set to appear at the Tour de France Femmes aboard the Factor One team bikes for Human Powered Health and Ma Petite Entreprise.
Factor revealed the special editions of its aero bike today, with the ONE XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and ONE XXRAY PLUS Patrick Star Edition said to represent “where performance meets play”.
“The custom graphics for the Factor ONE transform the brand’s elite, race-proven chassis into a rolling piece of pop culture. Vibrant SpongeBob-inspired artwork brings energy and personality to the peloton while preserving the control, aerodynamic efficiency, and handling demanded at the highest level of competition,” Factor said in a press release.
The starting point for the design was American artist Jason Freeny’s X-ray interpretation of SpongeBob and Patrick Star, which revealed the residents of Bikini Bottom’s anatomy.
Factor also says there is a “natural connection” between the brand and X-rays because it looks “beneath the surface”.
“[T]he ONE’s performance is also defined by what lies behind its visible form, its aerodynamic architecture, carbon structure and integrated engineering.”
Factor’s chief brand officer, David Millar, said superbikes don’t need to be monochrome to be fast: “This project is about bringing joy and personality into elite racing without compromising performance in any way. The ONE XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and the ONE XXRAY PLUS Patrick Star Edition are built to compete at the very highest level. It just happens to do it with a smile.”
With Human Powered Health and Ma Petite Entreprise racing the bikes at the fifth Tour de France Femmes, which gets underway on Saturday 1 August, Factor says the project “aims to connect with new audiences and celebrate the sport through a fresh, unexpected lens”.
Factor is no stranger to the unexpected. Earlier this year, it teamed up with Bugatti to release another special edition of the Factor One. And this isn’t the first time SpongeBob has made his way into cycling. In 2025, Supreme and Castelli released SpongeBob cycling kit.
Factor says the ONE XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and Factor ONE XXRAY PLUS Patrick Star Edition are available for sale as a very limited edition.
