Factor has officially launched the updated O2 VAM, which we spotted and took a close look over at the Tour de France Grand Depart in Bilbao.
Factor claims a 730g frame weight for the new O2 VAM in size 54 and that a complete build can weigh a UCI-busting 6.2kg. That’s with Shimano Dura-Ace and the latest Black Inc 26//33 carbon spoked wheels, which themselves have a featherweight 1,146g claimed weight for a set.
It’s the fourth iteration of Factor’s lightweight bike, which was launched in 2017 and acquired its VAM moniker with the 2019 model – a play on the Vertical Ascent in Metres’ acronym – while the 2021 model added cable integration.
Factor Bikes supplies the O2 VAM to the Israel-Premier Tech pro team, who asked for a bike that in race trim, complete with pedals, transponder and race number weighed under 7kg. Factor says that it’s achieved this, with a race-ready build that’s right on the 6.8kg weight limit. We saw Simon Clarke’s bike at the Tour, and it weighed 6.92kg.
It says that the new bike is geared for riding in the mountains or hills, allowing quicker climbing, more confident descending and greater speed on the flat. Factor points out that no ride is just climbing and aerodynamics are important on the way down and on flat sections. It also says that, for the pros, aero remains important even on climbs at a gradient of around 8%, due to the speeds they maintain.
Its market assessment showed that a bike such as the S-Works Tarmac SL7, while aero and designed for mixed climbing routes, wasn’t as lightweight as a pure climbing bike, such as the S-Works Aethos. But pure climbing bikes often lack cable integration and have round tube profiles.
Its aim with the O2 VAM was to develop a bike that achieved both climbing bike weight and aerodynamic gains, while upping frame rigidity, again at the behest of the pros, who said that these factors were limiting the use of the previous model in races.
In response, Factor claims that the new O2 VAM is 12 watts faster in its wind tunnel tests across yaw angles between +/-15 degrees, about halving the difference between the Ostro VAM aero race bike and the previous model O2 VAM. At low yaw angles, Factor claims that the new O2 VAM is only five watts slower than the Ostro VAM and faster than any other lightweight bike available.
Factor says that…
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