After putting a thousand miles on a new Factor Ostro VAM, I have surprisingly few thoughts to share, and that is not a bad thing. Acquiring a stock or off-the-shelf bicycle takes fewer steps than getting a new custom-made bike: you choose a brand and model, and you're off. To do that, you can take friends' advice, buy the marketing spiel, read forums, and pick the bike that won this or that race. I used to choose the one that looked the coolest, cross my fingers, and hope it worked as advertised. I didn't care how awesome a bike was advertised to be; if I didn't like how it looked, I didn't buy it.
We go into a few more qualifiers now, but it has to look the part. Luckily, the Factor Ostro VAM does it for me. The bonus is that the people behind the scenes are great. We were lucky enough to spend some quality time with three of them at the AC Invitational a few weeks ago here in Sausalito. From the management to the design and sales team, they were fantastic folks and also great riders, which does tend to help with the trust part of the equation.
We've had access to Factor bikes for years but didn't jump in with them at first due to limited access. We also like to let something simmer for a little bit to work the kinks out. With the new Ostro VAM, we were ready.
As I stated above, getting onto a stock production bike has fewer steps than my normal process of getting a new custom bike. Pick out the size needed and choose a color. I went back and forth between the 54 and 52 for the sizing. I'm 5'10" with shorter legs (720mm saddle height) and a longer torso (~580mm reach), which is one reason why I generally go the custom geometry route. The 54 fit a little better from a reach perspective, while I liked the look of the 52 size a little more due to that extra 20mm of exposed seat post. And luckily, Factor makes a long 14cm stem with narrow bars (I chose the 40cm version). This is another thing I like about Factor: they had every conceivable length and width of their one-piece bar/stem combo available. Many manufacturers assume incorrectly that if you rock a 14cm stem, you are a really big human and won't need a narrow bar, or vice versa, but with these folks, that is not an assumption they made. Finishing off the sizing, I used the taller headset top cap and a 10mm spacer under the 14cm stem, and the fit was pretty good. Not as dialed as my custom Sarto Raso that I was coming off of, but that was not expected.
Fit was not bad on the bike, though it did take me a few rides to really get used to the feel of the smaller bike with the long stem. I was pretty far out over the front wheel and had to adjust my descending form a bit. The first few corners on the first few descents were a little interesting, but after some adapting, it was all good. The main thing is that I did not have toe overlap. Nope, it was more like foot overlap! This is a huge concern for a lot of folks, from new riders to very experienced ones; they just can't deal with toe overlap. Since I ride smaller sized production frames I have toe overlap on pretty much every bike I own, even most of my custom bikes. I don't love it, but it does not bother me. We could write a book on this subject, but I'll spare you for now. Suffice it to say, with a little practice doing tight 180s and track standing at a traffic light, toe overlap is not a big deal.
Riding the bike was great. I looked up a few reviews just to see what others thought, and it seemed like we were all on the same page. For a pure aero race bike, this thing felt great all over the road. Climbing really surprised me; the bike felt light and stiff and accelerated very well when I got on the pedals. As I stated above, after learning the nuances of this particular frame, the descending was on point. As in, point it into the corner and it held the line well but was easy to adjust. And that is riding a really small frame with a super long stem; I imagine it would only have been better on a 54 with/ the slightly longer wheelbase, but it was close to perfect on the smaller bike.
Is it faster than the other bikes I've been riding? Honestly, from the gun, it felt super fast, but after a few miles, you start growing accustomed to that feeling, and it's hard to say if it's quicker or not. Also, before getting into that, I would say that most of us are not hitting the speeds required to maximise the aerodynamic properties of the bike in the first place. I've been spending the year riding at an endurance pace for a few reasons, and thus, I have not done a deep dive into the data to see if I'm travelling faster on this bike over my others. And honestly, I don't care that much anyway. As I said at the beginning of this article, I love how the bike looks, the fit is good, and it rides well everywhere; what else can I ask for?
The Build
If the Factor OSTRO Vam is a bike you are considering, talk to us about the best stock build for your needs and budget. It does not make too much sense to buy a frame only and build it up yourself as I did. You'll end up spending more money for basically the same thing. For my bike, I put on a Dura-Ace Di2 group with an SRM power meter (carbon arms and titanium spindle) and used the same Duke wheels that I was riding on my Sarto Raso. I ran Vittoria 32mm wide tires as well. I run 47 psi in the rear and 44 in the front. That is a bit low for my 175 pounds, maybe, but it feels pretty good. If I were racing right now though, I really think I'd use the narrower 23mm internal width wheels (the Duke's have 25mm internal width). The wheels that come with the bike run 30mm wide tires at slightly higher pressures. Everything besides the saddle I use (and pedals) comes w/ the bike and works great. Also, considering that the bike comes stock with Ceramicspeed hub, bottom bracket and headset bearings, the value of the Factor is pretty damn high. As it stands right now, I can't see a better production bike out there.
We'll be putting more miles on our bike and playing around with more parts as the year winds up, so stay tuned for more here! In the end, if you are looking for a fast, good-looking bike that you can get on and ride in a short amount of time, let us know, and we'll help get you set up.
Thanks for reading!
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