Cyclist
Like the Factor Ostro VAM but not the £10k pricetag? Meet the £6,500 Factor Monza
Factor has launched the Monza, a more affordable bike based on the design and tech of the Ostro VAM. There have been a few changes to lower production costs, while retaining the same overall appearance, comparable geometry and, it claims, similar aerodynamics.
The Monza also has 34mm tyre clearance and in-frame storage. It’s sold as full builds with either SRAM Force AXS with a power meter for £6,599 or with Ultegra for £6,399, or as frameset-only.
Factor Monza: A simplified, less pro design
The Factor Ostro VAM aero all-rounder and the lightweight Factor O2 VAM have won plaudits for their ride quality and aerodynamic performance. But they’re both pro-level bikes raced by Israel-Premier Tech and Human Powered Health and come with the corresponding £10,000-plus pricetag.
So Factor has designed its new Monza to use the best tech and the aerodynamics from the Ostro VAM, while simplifying the construction, which dramatically lowers the price. Albeit with lower spec groupsets and wheels, the Monza offers a significantly more affordable package.
Factor says it has slightly increased the stack height and decreased the reach from its Ostro VAM, so riders are less stretched out, at the same time retaining the key aspects of the geometry: head tube angle, fork offset, wheelbase and chainstay length.
For the size 56 bike, for example, the Monza has a 574mm stack and 389mm reach, compared to the Ostro VAM’s 565mm stack and 392mm reach.
The carbon layup has been chosen to reduce the cost of materials, but Factor says it’s done this without sacrificing the ride feel or frame stiffness of the Ostro VAM.
The Factor Monza is designed around 34mm tyre clearance, 2mm more than the Ostro VAM.
Factor has even added down tube storage, to help you lower your drag when you’ve not got a team car to hand you up gels or sort your mechanicals and have to carry extra stuff yourself. The brand reckons this saves around six watts over bulging pockets or a saddle pack. There’s a tool wrap supplied to fit inside the cubbyhole and stop the contents from rattling.
Less narrow profile
The Monza has a slightly less narrow frontal profile than the Ostro VAM and the head tube is slightly less waisted, simplifying construction. Factor has also simplified the design around the fork to head tube lower junction, with a straight interface, rather than the Ostro VAM’s shaped joint, again saving manufacturing complexity and cost.
The Monza is fitted with Factor’s new HB04 one piece bar/stem with what it calls a semi-aero profile designed to fit a wider range of hand sizes. It’s a little less aero than the Ostro VAM’s bars and in a new design to fit a round steerer rather than the Ostro VAM’s D-shaped steerer tube. Factor says the round steerer makes cable routing and removing the bars for travel easier.
The bars have a 75mm reach, an 8° vertical flare and 115mm drop. The HB04 curves slightly rearward, which reduces effective reach by a further 5mm relative to the Ostro VAM. The computer mount is made in stiff materials to support a computer as well as a GoPro-mounted action camera or a light.
Factor says it has also simplified its front-end integration, to allow easier adjustment and maintenance. There are industry standard 1.5” upper and lower headset bearings, with internal cable routing between the upper bearing and the steerer tube rather than the CeramicSpeed SLT 1-1/8″ and 1-3/8″ bearings used in the Ostro VAM, again for ease of assembly, maintenance and replacement.
There’s also a new dust cap, which at 5mm is lower than that on the Ostro VAM and that Factor says gives a sleeker look to the bike’s front end.
There’s more simplification at the seat stay-to-seat tube junction, where the tube sections are thicker and the curves wider than on the Ostro VAM, while maintaining the same overall shape. As with the front of the bike, the Monza is not quite so skinny in profile here as the Ostro VAM.
The seatpost has the same shape as that on the first generation Ostro VAM, which allows a Shimano Di2 battery to be fitted inside, something that’s not possible with the ultra-skinny seatpost of the second generation Ostro VAM. There’s a saddle mount available with a GoPro connection, which allows you to add a rear light or a radar unit.
Factor has designed a new two bolt seatpost clamp, which clamps the seatpost at the rear of the seat tube. It says this should be easier to maintain than that on the Ostro VAM.
The Monza has adopted common industry standards, with the cranks spinning on a T47 bottom bracket and UDH mech hanger, ensuring compatibility with SRAM Full Mount derailleurs. Factor says that it will in future use a mini-UDH hanger in place of the standard UDH design, which will reduce weight.
The Black Inc 45 wheelset is also new and designed for longevity. It comes with steel spokes, standard steel bearings and a wide rim bed.
Factor Monza sizes, colours and prices
The Factor Monza will be available in six sizes from 49cm to 61cm. There are three frame colour choices: Steel Green, Solar Blue and Pearl White.
Full bikes are priced at £6,399 ($6,799 / €7999) with Shimano Ultegra and £6,599 ($6,999 / €8,299) with SRAM Force AXS with a power meter. A frame kit is available for £3,799 ($3,999 / €4,699).
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