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TECH NEWS
Tour Tech 2017: Romain Bardet's Factor O2 race bike
The AG2R La Mondiale pro cycling team switched from Focus to Factor bikes this season, replacing the German brand with a brand that started out as a British company as an offshoot of an F1 engineering company. The stock team bikes are a lovely shade of blue, but GC hopeful Romain Bardet has a custom white bike to help to spot his bike in the peloton that little bit easier. Just don't confuse it for the white Treks...
The O2 is Factor's newest and lightest offering, with a claimed weight of 740g for the frame. As well as being light, the tube shapes have been shaped to offer some aerodynamic benefit, which is fitting for a company that made its mark with the extreme aerodynamics of the Vis Vires, the company's first proper production bike (and the only test bike I've ever crashed. Ahem).
AG2R also switched from SRAM (it helped the US company test its eTap wireless groupset) to Shimano this season, so it's a full complement of Dura-Ace Di2. Naturally.
The main deviation from the Shimano theme is the SRM Origin carbon fibre power meter with Dura-Ace chainrings, and the bonkers CeramicSpeed Oversized Pulley Wheel System. The huge 17t jockey wheel is claimed to improve drivetrain efficiency and can save 3W at 250W power output. But you pay a hefty price for those watts, it retails for £400.
We like this motivational message on the top tube very much so.
There's more Tour Tech coverage on the other side of this link.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
Latest Comments
- chrisonabike 1 min 56 sec ago
It's below the bit that says you MUST obey the speed limits at all times, unless you are a member of a service with a specific exemption. Or in an...
- Sredlums 6 min 23 sec ago
Agreed that coaster brakes aren't suited for descents, but when you said "but it's still lunacy if you are only going to have one brake to select...
- quiff 17 min 21 sec ago
If the sashes are original (single glazed?) then it's likely any company quoting will be quoting for new, sympathetic, double-glazed sashes. It's...
- quiff 55 min 14 sec ago
I'm sure they'd ask Lime to do that too. Come and collect your bikes and my neighbour - they're in pieces.
- brooksby 1 hour 1 min ago
Ireland seems to have a lot of problems with their cycle lanes… Almost as many as England
- quiff 1 hour 20 min ago
Fair point - I was restricting myself to pedal bikes. As I've never spent that kind of money on anything though (mortgage doesn't count), it's kind...
- brooksby 2 hours 23 min ago
And finally: I wonder how many of the "more than 3,000" signatures on that petition are actually locals, who live or work there (and are not just...
- Doug_D 3 hours 59 min ago
Another book suggestion - I can highly recommend "Lost Summers and Half-Forgotten Afternoons: A Mint Sauce collection" - a beautifully presented...
- mdavidford 5 hours 49 min ago
I think you're missing an opportunity to pack even more tech into it - add accelerometers that can detect whether they're pedalling or stepping....
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8 comments
Why is the Ceramic Speed cage "bonkers"?
Have you only just got into cycling the last couple of years, it's not like this is new or unknown tech.
The bigger 'tension pulley' aids in lowering friction due to the chain not having to bend as much on a smaller diameter pulley's.
I bet you're still feeling silly/cringing about that reply you made last year when reviewing a bike and were challanged re being able to fit 28mm tyres and guards for all purpose gravel bikes and you dismissed 28mm as not being that common for road use/not wanted by riders.
It's bonkers because it's a sh*t load of money, and doesn't make one bit of difference to the drive train efficiency ( well, less than half a watt according to all independant studies).
It's bonkers because it's (the 17 tooth wheel) larger than life, unnecessary, stands out... all these things generally fit under the banner bonkers.
I very much doubt, as a professional journalist he's smarting at all from some reply he got from an interwebs jockey over a year ago. As for just getting into it? I suggest you read his bio.
He clearly doesn't hold a petty grudge nearly as long as you do.
Don't feed it. I use a Safari extension to block his comments, but unfortunately he still shows up when quoted.
That Ceramicspeed cage/jockey wheels look cool. Not sure I would want to put up with the extra noise of those aluminium jockey wheels though...
That CS cage actually improves that appearance the new Dura Ace rear mech.
I thought Factor would last 5 minutes with their weird split downtube etc. however they're getting some good exposure on this tour. Nice to see a British company doing well. If I could only afford one, I could see myself riding a Factor.
"The huge 17t jockey wheel is claimed to improve drivetrain efficiency and can save 3W at 250W power output. But you pay a hefty price for those watts, it retails for £400. "
£400? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaidiots.
As custom finish bikes go this one's nice and understated, and keeps with the kit colours nicely. I quite like the O2, although it reminds me quite a bit of Canyon's bikes for some reason (not necessarily a bad thing)