Your Year Riding Factor

"Brushing shoulders with current world tour professionals and the best UK gravel riders at the National Gravel Championship in September was a great experience. However, the best achievement is taking my first win a senior cyclocross race onboard the Factor LS. Nothing beats throwing your arms in the air!"

"Finishing 4th at Unbound, I was pretty stoked with my result! The race was so hectic! All the recce's of the course had been dry so when the storms came I did not know what to expect! I started off comfortable in the front bunch then at mile 10 we hit a horrendous stretch of mud that was unrideable. I was struggling to remove the mud and was sipping backwards significantly. ⁠
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I thought my race was over there and then. Then I gave myself a hard talking too and was like you have another 10 hours of racing to go so get a grip! From then I was on a mission to claw back positions. I had no idea where I was until I literally crossed the finish line! Turns out me and Sarah had been battling for 3rd for the last 80 miles! I'm pretty stoked with my result!"

"I entered and raced the Haute Route Alps. It's an awesome event, 7 days and a lot of climbing.”

“Completing the Round Norfolk Epic 200 mile ride 4 weeks after being knocked off my bike! (luckily the Factor wasn't involved!)”

"A week riding in Provence, enjoyed riding by lavender fields, lakes, lovely villages with quiet roads. Best ride of the week was the Gorges du Verdon Point de vue sur le Verdon. Me and my friend covered 85.39 miles and climbed 8695 ft in the day. The Factor bike was a joy to ride up and down hills, so thank you Factor. Over the week we rode 266 miles and climbed 21000ft. Considering I had only ridden 1500 miles before the holiday I was very pleased and surprised by my performance."

"It was a year of firsts for me, my first year riding on the awesome Ostro and first time taking on the French Alps. I rode the Ostro over some of the most challenging and iconic climbs such as the Galibier, Télégraphe, Alpe D’uez to name a few. Being able to conquer these was a massive accomplishment, but being able to ride over them on the Ostro made the experience for me."

"Without a doubt the second place finish at the U.K. Hill Climb Championships onboard the Factor O2 VAM. The bike was faultless and with a few tweaks to get the build to 6kg it was just a matter of me being able to do it justice. I put in the greatest numerical performance of my life on the O2 VAM, and it’s days like that where you create a special memorable bond with your bike."

Photo: Peter Clarkson

"Since getting my new Ostro VAM I just wanted to get out for long rides as I absolutely love how the bike feels.

Sent a WhatsApp to one of my friend with a link to a cycling documentary. Fast forward 48 hours later and we were all booked to go from London to Brussels, and what a ride it was! Our longest ride, from our doorsteps in London to “La Grand Place” of Brussels. Can’t wait for the next adventure in Calpe in March!"

"I set out to break Sa Calobra in sub-30 minutes. It took three attempts, two failures, lots of caffeine, and countless lessons.

Riding Sa Colobra in under 30 minutes is considered a high benchmark. I wanted to prove to myself that I can reach that standard. Aspiring to be your best self and striving to achieve greatness in the context of your life, to your own standard and definition, is the healthiest way to navigate goal setting. I got my bike down to 7kg, I got aero AF and fuelled the effort. First attempt: DNF. Second attempt: 30:47. Third Attempt: 29:53.

I dug deeper and used all my mental and physical power to attack the home straight, clinging to 400w. I was racing a previous version of myself. The gap on my solo breakaway was closing. The final 10 seconds felt like 10 minutes. My Hammerhead chirped: “New PB 29:53.” I f*cking did it… with 7 seconds to spare. Relief."

"This season I swapped out my TT bike for the road bike, racing Club and Open TTs on my Factor ONE. I was surprised and delighted by how fast I could go on the ONE. I knew already it was fast from racing on the road, but I did not expect to beat the times I was setting on my TT setup in the race against the clock. I had fun tweaking my position to get as aero as possible and look forward to racing more TTs on the ONE in 2024. I'm sure I can go even faster!"

“Definitely completing the Mallorca 312… the Ostro performed beautifully.”

"Coming top-5 (exact postion a matter of debate) on the Urban Hill Climb on the Ostro - who needs a climbing bike when an aero bike does the job!"

Photo: Bogdan Melnik - @teh_ld86

"I took part in the Liege Bastogne Liege sportive in April ‘23. Having now ridden all the Monuments I can categorically state LBL is, by far, the toughest. The terrain is rolling throughout with a mix of both short and long brutally steep climbs - La Redout being a prime example! The O2 VAM was more than enough for all the climbs - the 32T on the rear mech allowed me to ‘spin away’. More pleasingly, the bike was admired by a number of Pro’s out doing their recon rides; sitting on their wheels was an added bonus!"

"My biggest achievement was guiding a group of cyclists riding from London to Monaco! Even though it was my new Ostro's first ride since the build it completed the challenge without mechanical issues at all and I was as comfortable on Day 1 as I was on the last day! A credit to the bike and the build. "

"I raced this year's edition of the Haute Route Alps, a 7-day stage race from Mégève in the French Alps to Nice, on my Ostro VAM. I finished 85th/400 in GC in only my second season of cycling - a result I'm secretly proud of."

The race covered 755km and 21,000m of elevation over some of the most mythical mountain passes in the world such as the Col du Galibier, Col du Glandon and Col d'Izoard. My Ostro was the perfect machine for the race - light enough for the hors catégorie climbs and super fast in the valleys. I loved every minute racing on it."

"Sub 4 hours 30 mins at Ride London, a week in Majorca and the usual regular riding the 02 in the Peak District, taking it over 10,000 mile since ownership, and now upgraded to an Ostro for 2024!"

"I took my Miami Blue O2 back to Mallorca for my second attempt at the 312! I vowed never to repeat this event for fear of failing after a successful first attempt of the full distance a few years previous! However, things change. Following a road traffic accident in April 2021 where I suffered significant injury and my previous O2 was completely destroyed, I decided that was a reset and to go again! I failed to make the full distance and opted to renew my love for bike riding by enjoying the short tour (180km that day) and crossed the line with friends."

"Tour du Mont Blanc, in one word, was EPIC. The scenery was utterly mesmerizing, the climbs were brutally honest, and the entire day felt like an unforgettable adventure.

I'm borderline obsessed with my Factor (I ride a lot... currently on target to clock at least 30,000km this year). It's pretty much everything I could want in an all-rounder, so at least I knew my weapon of choice wasn't going to be a limiting factor (if you'll pardon the pun) on the day. TDMB throws everything at you... a series of long, testing climbs, technical descents, and roasting hot valleys. But it's nothing the Ostro can't handle. And on long days out like TDMB, you need a bike that feels comfortable from start to finish, and I'm confident that's what I have with this bike.

I was expecting TDMB to be my hardest day to date in the saddle, and yes, it's up there. But I enjoyed it more than I ever could have expected, and I know at least part of that was down to the fact that I have a bike I just love to ride. My friend, Lizi, and I were the first females to cross the line, and in the top 30 overall. Shortly after the race, the guy who finished first overall messaged me to say, "first man and first woman with the same bike!". And with Ed Laverack also clocking a speculator time on his O2, it was certainly a great day out for Factor."

"If anybody would have told me as a kid that I could continue to have as much fun on a bike in my 50s I would have never believed them. But fun is what the Strade Bianche Challenge is all about. Participating and completing (within the time cut) the Strade Bianche long course in April with its punchy gravel roads was the ride of dreams.

Then in September a 438mile ride over 4 days from Suffolk to Melrose Rugby Club - the home club of the late, great Doddy Weir. I with a motley crew of retired rugby players raised £190,000 for My Name’5 Doddy Foundation in the fight against MND. "

"Conquering Colorado and climbing USA’s highest paved road - Mount Evans at 14,130 ft. Pikes Peak hill climb - 40km 2,361m elevation at 14,115 ft above sea level and finishing the year with an Ironman in Wales!"

"The Dragon Ride in Wales was THE test on the bike and it didn’t disappoint! Super fast and super comfy over the 300k just super all round."

“I qualified for and rode in the UCI World Championships Grand Fondo!”

"Racing the National Hill Climb Championship and beating my personal best time and placing 43rd overall. Helping my friend who is the organiser of the event to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service. £14,000 raised in total and said to be the most well attend National HC Champs there has been in recent years.

It was a real privilege to be apart of such a monumental event. It was especially satisfying being on the most optimised equipment for the race and knowing the bike wasn’t the limiting factor in my performance. I enjoyed using the fitness I’d worked tirelessly for all year to pull off a result I could come away feeling properly happy with."

Photo: Peter Clarkson

"Ticked off another handful of big climbs, Croix de Couer (solo, day after Giro did it), weekend away for Nivolet, Mont Cenis-L’Iseran-Mont Cenis (same day), Lauteret and Galibier. This is one year on from closure of a congenital hole between my atria."

"I’ve had a great year on my Factor Hanzo this year picking up three medals at my key races. First a Bronze Medal at the National Duathlon Champs followed by a Bronze at the British Sprint Triathlon Championships and then to close the season out a Silver at the British Duathlon Champs. Also secured my place for next years World Duathlon Championships in Australia winning my age group at the trials."

"I took ownership of my Factor Ostro VAM in April 2023 after the fantastic experience of selecting the bike for me and having a bespoke fit from Hayden at Vires Velo. On July 2nd 2023 I completed the Maratona dles Dolomites ride in six and a half hours. The bike was fantastic and the experience was so amazing I’ve signed up for the 2024 event and my Ostro is being shipped over once again for me to ride! Apart from this every ride this year on the bike has felt like a special experience."