Description
Detailed Aerodynamics
Every element of the OSTRO is optimised for aerodynamics. The mid-chord aero profile tube shapes, the wide stance fork featuring our pioneering Reversing Flow Energising Channel, and the aero cockpit with fully integrated cabling. The net result is a superlight bike that is close to the aero performance of the ONE and ready to blitz the fastest road races.
The tube profiles are derived from NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, the godfathers of aero) shapes, oriented along the waterline (horizontal) in line with airflow and optimised for ride quality and aero-to-weight balance by truncating the aero section aggressively.
As well as being lighter, stiffer and more compliant, these truncated aero sections also reduce drag in crosswinds and better accommodate bottles on the bike. In designing the OSTRO, Factor considered every aspect of the frame and applied the optimum aero profile, with particular regard to the transitions between frame sections (eg down tube to seat tube, fork and head tube to down tube) and to performance across a full range of effective wind angles.
Wide stance fork
The new wide stance fork features our highly innovative Reversing Flow Energising Channel. Both the channel and the fork’s wide stance address the aerodynamic challenge of incoming airflow meeting the ‘reversing flow’ of air carried by the wheel and tyre moving forwards through the fork.
Full Integration
The one-piece, aerodynamic Black Inc Barstem reduces drag by meeting clean incoming airflow with a clean shape. Fully internal cabling brings further gains and Factor has achieved this while maintaining a 1⅛” top headset bearing for optimised frontal area, whereas many other brands increase the head tube size to accommodate internal cabling, cancelling out the benefits.
Super Lightweight
The OSTRO is an aero disc-brake frame which weighs just 780g (painted, size 54, Flicker design). For using the very best materials and reaching such a low weight for its class, the OSTRO carries Factor’s VAM designation. It easily builds to the UCI limit of 6.8kg, equipped with a power meter and mid-depth aero Black Inc FORTY FIVE wheels.
Finally, here is an aerodynamic race bike with no weight penalty. Few rides or race routes are exclusively mountainous or flat roads so, naturally, you want it all: speed and lightness. The OSTRO is the ‘everything’ bike, making you fast whatever the terrain.
Comfort
The OSTRO is an aero race bike that’s ready for Paris-Roubaix. It’s a ground-breaker on the cobbles, whereas usually it’s the cobbles that break riders. Why be aero for Roubaix? Simple. It’s a 260km race that averages around 45kph and ends with a sprint in a velodrome. Any energy saved can make the difference to victory, and over that distance at that speed you can save a lot of energy. What’s more, the same applies to every single ride that you do.
The OSTRO achieves its remarkably smooth ride in three key ways: tyre clearance, ultra-thin seatstays, and carbon fibre layup.
Tyre Clearance
Tyre clearance of 32mm is huge for an aero race bike and it opens a world of possibilities. Take on the cobbles, the back roads or your longest ride ever. This clearance is enabled by the disc-brake-only design and wide stance fork.
ViSTA-Style Seat Stays
At the rear, the ViSTA-style pencil seat stays are designed to absorb road noise and cushion bumps. Furthermore, they meet the seat tube at a dropped angle which encourages the seat tube and seatpost to cantilever around the seat cluster to create an effective amount of controlled ‘travel’ at the saddle.
Carbon Layup
Factor has renowned expertise in carbon fibre, and because we own our factory we are able to iterate almost endlessly during the R&D phase of any project. For the OSTRO, the carbon layup was continuously refined in order to achieve a high level of frame compliance without sacrificing any of the power transfer efficiency.
Geometry and fit
Handling and position geometry are standardised with other Factor models and virtually identical to the O2 and O2 VAM. Stack and reach progression is linear throughout the size range.
New mid-depth profile, lightweight seatpost balances weight and aero, available in 0 and 25mm offset options.
To give customers more choice, the OSTRO is compatible with the one-piece Black Inc Barstem for fully internal cable routing, and also with all separate bars and stems (cables enter below stem).
The Factor OSTRO
The Factor OSTRO is named after one of the eight principal winds of the Mediterranean Sea. OSTRO is a southerly wind that sweeps through the Côte d’Azur. Of particular relevance this year, the OSTRO wind can blow through Nice, the Grand Départ of the 2020 Tour de France, where the riders required exceptional aerodynamic performance to negotiate the crosswinds on the fast coast roads as well as the climbing response of a super-lightweight machine for the surrounding climbs; the Factor OSTRO was created for exactly such mixed riding.
