The evolution of bicycles seems to have no end. The new Factor Ostro VAM 2024 arrives on the market daring to compare itself with the Specialized Tarmac SL8, which it claims to improve in aerodynamics and with a reduction in the weight of its frame that leaves it within the 6.8 kg limit set by the UCI.
The evolution of aerodynamic bikes seems unstoppable and, just as in Formula 1, with each new version, each new model, manufacturers manage to scratch a little wind resistance here and there.
However, the big news in recent years is the renewed race for lightweight bikes while improving aerodynamics. The latest to take this fight to the extreme is the new Factor Ostro VAM, which makes no secret of comparing itself directly with what seemed to be the undisputed queen of aerolight bikes for a long time, the Specialized Tarmac SL8, which this Factor Ostro VAM claims to surpass in the numbers coming out of the wind tunnel, while matching it in terms of weight and certainly not lagging behind in other important parameters such as stiffness.
Just in its second generation, the Factor Ostro VAM has taken care in its design that the airflow is properly guided taking into account the rider as the element that brings more resistance to the whole. To achieve this optimization, Factor has divided the bike into different zones, focusing on the aerodynamic improvement in some and deciding in which it could do without it to lighten the bike as much as possible.
Thus, the fork receives narrower legs and a deeper profile while other small details such as the integration of the brake caliper or the thru axles barely protrude are improved. For its part, the steering head pipe has a much more pronounced hourglass-shaped section, reducing its front profile to the maximum in the central area of the same. In any case, it is also narrower in the bearing area.
The top tube, less important in terms of aerodynamics, has been used as a source of weight reduction. Even so, it retains a certain profiling with which it seeks to guide the air coming out of the pipe smoothly to the rear of the bike where it meets the elaborate seat tube that becomes one of the key areas for the aerodynamics of this Factor Ostro VAM.
A seat tube that now more clearly envelops the rear wheel. In this area, Factor has also worked on the design of the bottle cages, which play an active part in guiding the air flow, collecting the turbulence coming from the front and concentrating it so that it flows more smoothly towards the rear wheel.
The frame of this Factor Ostro VAM, after the lightening process, is 820 grams, 45 less than its predecessor and the frame, fork, wheels, seatpost, handlebars, manages to reduce the whopping 267 g. In turn, it achieves an improvement of 7 W at 48 km/h compared to the previous version.
To achieve optimal aerodynamics, the Factor Ostro VAM is accompanied by Black Inc wheels, the front with a 48 mm profile and the rear with a 58 mm profile, profiles so generous that they increase the merit of achieving a bike within the weight limit set by the UCI. In fact, the pair has one of the lightest weights on the market, leaving the scales at only 1,270 grams.
Source: www.brujulabike.com