The new Factor Ostro Gravel isn’t the brand’s first foray into off-tarmac. It already has what it calls THE gravel road bike (a title that will presumably carry over to the Ostro) in the LS model and the Vista, which is more of a long-distance road bike with some gravel capabilities.
Taking the name of the brand’s do-it-all aero road bike and slapping ‘Gravel’ on it gives a clue as to the stated goals of the new Ostro Gravel; Speed, gravel race wins, and finally more speed. Gravel racing seems to be here to stay, and this is a gravel race bike that’s firmly aimed at the top step of the podium.
Legality of the UCI
It’s easy to miss the little UCI sticker tucked away on top of the seat tube of every approved UCI bike, and until recently it wasn’t essential for bike manufacturers when making a gravel bike. Now in UCI-sanctioned gravel races it’s a requirement to compete and as the Factor LS isn’t UCI-legal if the brand wants to compete they either had to rework the LS or design a new bike and obviously they went with the the latter option, leaving the LS as more of an all-rounder in comparison.
Performance Details
While light weight has taken a back seat in recent years in favor of aero optimization, a frameset that weighs less than a kilogram is certainly at the forefront of the best gravel road bikes. It also indicates that there is little extra spare carbon to carry loads; no fork hubs, but there are dual sets for a bolt-on bento box on the top tube and down tube for what Factor calls an “E.coli catcher,” or a third bottle for you and me.
While 900g is feather light for a Gravel frameset (in the ‘Naked Grunge’ paint option – essentially raw with some spatter), there’s still enough material to mold the tubes into the required aero-optimized shapes and the OSTRO’s DNA VAM is pretty clear to see what Factor calls “leading aerodynamics”. The head tube is particularly deep and more akin to the best aero road bikes than those tuned for the rough stuff, with the usual truncated airfoils on the down tube and seat tube as well. It stopped short of a hinge-based head tube and instead opted for a round steerer and a more standard headset to increase strength, with the spacer stack aero-optimized to compensate for any disadvantages of round leading edges.
Tire size and the dreaded wheel flop
With the mostly slacker steering angles and correspondingly higher trail values that usually set gravel bikes apart from their street counterparts, the front wheel can tip over at low speeds. It excels on sketchier descents but plays with the handling on slower climbs. With that in mind, Factor went for a slightly steeper head angle of 71.2-72.3 degrees, depending on size, with two offsets to the fork, also depending on size. The goal is to keep the front end super snappy when using the maximum tire size of 43mm.
This also has the combined benefit of creating a handling package more akin to an endurance road bike, something Factor wants to promote as a clear secondary use case for the Ostro Gravel.
Black Inc. Finishing Kit
A top-notch aero frameset is one thing, but without the right construction it will still be crippled. Factor’s in-house component brand, Black Inc., is handling the process and providing a new wheelset, the Thirty-Four, optimized for tires larger than 30mm. Hookless, with hubs that accept Ceramicspeed bearings, we’re expecting an internal width around the 22mm mark, but this is yet to be confirmed.
A new slightly flared integrated stem combo is also fitted and features internal routing for brake hoses as well as a computer mount based on the Go-Pro mounting system to better handle the extra load of things like bike lights and action cameras, that are so often hung under a computer. Given the performance claims, it’s no surprise that the Factor Ostro Gravel is electronic only, and to say it’s also disc only kind of goes without saying at this point.
Build Options and Pricing
The Factor Ostro Gravel is available in either the aforementioned Naked Grunge or the slightly heavier White Grunge, and in a range of build and semi-build options.
The frameset is available including fork, seatpost, stem, Ceramicspeed T47A BB and Ceramicspeed headset for £4,730 / $5,499 / €5,450, while a rolling chassis option is available as a frameset but with the Black Inc. Thirty-Four wheels for £6,450/$7,499/€7,430.
Full builds are also only available in SRAM as follows:
- Makes $8,599/€8,520/£7,400
- Power with power meter $8,799/€8,720/£7,570
- Force XPLR with power meter $8,199/€8,120/£7,060
- Red $10,499/€10,400/£9,030
- Red with power meter $10,899/€10,800/£9,380
- Red XPLR with power meter $9,799/€9,710/£8,430
#Factor #races #Ostro #Gravel
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