New Factor Ostro VAM

Factor announces the new Ostro VAM, an aerodynamic, comfortable, and lightweight competition bike, matched with the new Black Inc. Forty Five wheels.

Source: Press Release

The new Ostro VAM combines the best of Factor’s renowned engineering capabilities, for a bike that promises to be lightweight, aerodynamic, and comfortable. Very fast, incredibly light, and extremely comfortable, it is ready to win sprints, mountain stages, and cobbled classics. It is the ultimate versatility, without compromise. Forward-looking, the Ostro VAM is only available for disc brakes and electronic drivetrains. The benefits of these technologies are now well understood and appreciated in the market. By choosing this path, Factor was able to save even more weight and improve integration capabilities.

The bike is named after a Mediterranean wind that sweeps across the French Riviera and Nice, the location of the Grand Départ of the 2020 Tour de France. The Ostro is designed for all types of terrain and crosswinds that the Israel Start-Up Nation team riders may encounter on the first stages of the Grand Boucle.

Alongside the O2 VAM and the One, the addition of the Ostro to the Factor range creates the ideal option for those who want to do everything with a single bike.

Key features

• Super lightweight – 780 g for a painted size 54 frame, achieved through Factor’s carbon fiber expertise and weight-optimized aerodynamic profiles. For using the best materials and achieving such a low weight for its category, the Ostro bears Factor’s VAM designation.
• Wide-stance fork – Optimizes the aerodynamics of a 26 mm tire by widening the gap between the fork legs and spokes, reducing turbulence caused by the interaction between forward-rotating spokes and incoming airflow, and allowing for 32 mm tire clearance.
• Reversing Flow Energising Channel – A Factor innovation, this integrated channel in the fork reduces stagnant airflow that is drawn in by the forward-rotating wheel and tire and accumulates behind the fork, where it disrupts airflow around the outside of the fork onto the down tube.

• 32 mm tire clearance – Generous clearance means the Ostro is ready for Paris-Roubaix, super long rides, or your favorite back roads, all without compromising ride characteristics. Specifically, the Ostro has ISO clearance for 32 mm tires mounted on 21 mm internal width rims.
• Fully internal cable routing – Building on the technology of the new O2 VAM, the Ostro routes all its cables 100% internally. Crucially, it does so while maintaining a 1⅛ upper headset bearing for minimal frontal area and drag, whereas other brands use an oversized upper bearing.

• Traditional rear triangle – The very thin ViSTA-type seatstays increase comfort: by controlling vertical flex along their length and meeting the seat tube at a downward angle, which allows for a small, controlled “movement” at the saddle to handle larger bumps.
• Geometry identical to O2 VAM and O2 – This is the optimal race geometry for confident riding and has nothing to do with the versatility of this bike. Consistent geometry allows professional riders to easily switch bikes and users to choose based on their type of riding.
• Very high frame stiffness – Frame stiffness is a weakness of aerodynamic road bikes that use traditional airfoil shapes. The Ostro achieves exceptionally high frame stiffness for this category by using specific aerodynamic profiles.

• Cockpit options – To give customers more choice, the Ostro is compatible with the Black Inc. one-piece cockpit for full cable integration, and also with traditional stems and handlebars (cables enter under the stem).
• Electronic shifting only – In line with customer demand and allowing for reduced aerodynamic drag and weight, the Ostro is exclusively designed for electronic shifting groupsets.
• T47 threaded bottom bracket shell – Used for the first time in the Factor range, the T47 standard ensures a more secure fit and easy maintenance.

• Three different fork angles – Ensures optimal handling characteristics for all frame sizes so that every customer has the best riding experience.
• New lightweight seatpost – The medium-profile seatpost balances weight and aerodynamics.

• Launch of the new Black Inc. Forty Five wheelset – The new Black Inc. Forty Five is the perfect pair for the Ostro.

The tube profiles follow the NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics) standard, oriented along the horizontal line according to airflow and optimized for ride quality and aero-weight balance by truncating the aerodynamic section. Essentially, this means cutting off the long tail of an airfoil shape. Airflow behaves as if it still follows a full airfoil, resulting in low drag.

Owning its own factory allows Factor to use a more expensive and time-consuming process to achieve the optimal shape without passing that cost on to consumers. In addition to being lighter, stiffer, and more compliant, these truncated aerodynamic sections also reduce drag in crosswinds and better accommodate water bottles on the bike. When designing the Ostro, Factor considered all aspects of the frame and applied an optimal aerodynamic profile, particularly with regard to transitions between frame sections and performance over a full range of effective wind angles.

Lightweight

The Ostro is an aerodynamic disc brake frame that weighs only 780 g (painted, size 54), allowing the complete bike to easily reach the UCI weight limit of 6.8 kg.

Comfort

The Ostro is an aero race bike ready for Paris-Roubaix. Why aero for Roubaix? Simple. It’s a 260 km race averaging around 45 km/h and ending with a sprint in a velodrome. Any energy saved can make the difference for victory, and over that distance at that speed, you can save a lot of energy. What’s more, the same applies to every ride you do. The Ostro gets its comfort from tire clearance, ultra-thin seatstays, and carbon fiber layup. The 32 mm tire size is allowed by the disc brake frame design.

Black Inc. Forty Five

The new Black Inc. Forty Five are ideal with the Ostro and are announced simultaneously. The Forty Five are designed with an optimal balance of aerodynamic performance and lightness for cyclists who want a single pair of wheels to do everything, from road races to high-mountain sportives, and everything in between.