2023 Factor Ostro Gravel

The spirit of Grav-lo-cross. No but seriously, cyclocross and gravel go here!

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CasualRider
Posts: 118
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 1:36 am

by CasualRider

Just to play devil's advocate, the frame weight itself if not that important, you need to add a fork weight and possibly seat post. That fork is very heavy for gravel bike in my view, most are 50-100g lighter. Crux 10R frame is 825g and fork is less than 400g.
Tarmac SL8 Maganta Gold
Crux Green Pearl

Previous bikes:
Crux Forest Green
Tarmac SL7 Snake Eye
Venge Bora Team
Venge Purple
Trek Madone SLR 7

by Weenie


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yinzerniner
Posts: 206
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:54 pm

by yinzerniner

CasualRider wrote:
Thu Nov 03, 2022 4:38 pm
Just to play devil's advocate, the frame weight itself if not that important, you need to add a fork weight and possibly seat post. That fork is very heavy for gravel bike in my view, most are 50-100g lighter. Crux 10R frame is 825g and fork is less than 400g.
Can see the uncut fork weight being higher due to the extra material/bracing to support the internal routing and the complex shaping. The Crux fork doesn't incorporate internal routing. Also the steerer tube above is probably a bit beefier due to the internal routing construction/molding so can see it being roughly 60-70g heavier when cut vs the Crux fork.

But yeah, the seatpost is very heavy for that shape/size and it's proprietary.

tmanley
Posts: 334
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:53 pm
Location: San Jose, CA
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by tmanley

Keep in mind the length of the gravel seatpost. When I ordered my Ostro VAM and shared with Factor my fit needs, they shipped me the gravel seatpost which measures out to 400mm. Some folks may not need 400mm of seatpost and it could be a candidate for cutting down in case it's the right call for some riders and their fit needs.

kode54
Posts: 3749
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 9:39 pm

by kode54

You can also order a Darimo seatpost for the Factor Ostro/gravel with custom length.
- Factor Ostro VAM Disc
- Factor LS Disc
- Specialized Aethos Disc
- Sturdy Ti Allroad Disc
- Guru Praemio R Disc

FlatlandClimber
Posts: 2491
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 3:37 pm

by FlatlandClimber

Any ride Reviews so far?
The bike looks really awesome.
Also, how do you get the handlebar that Dylan Johnson has, with the attachments for the Hanzo Extensions.
Cervelo P5 Disc (2021) 9.1kg
Factor Ostro Gravel (2023) 8.0kg
S-Works SL8 (2023) 6.3kg

*weights are race ready, size 58/L.
Sold: Venge, S5 Disc, Roubaix Team, Open WI.DE, Émonda, Shiv TT, Crux, Aethos, SL7

rjich
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:38 am
Location: NYC, NY

by rjich

That's an attractive looking frame!
I'm fond of the hidden cables as I barely fettle with my current ones these days or would drop it off at a shop if needing work after initial fits. I've been injured off my bike since August but once I'm back on it then maybe I'll find an excuse to swap for something shinier... Although I think titanium bikes are more catching my eye. I've had a good few months to window shop!

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nickf
Posts: 1428
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:34 pm

by nickf

All the local gravel racers talking about this frame. It's nice and aero until we all line up at the race with a big number plate strapped in front of the headtube.

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cyclespeed
Posts: 1120
Joined: Mon Jun 06, 2016 8:45 am

by cyclespeed

Factor is popular in Mallorca and in the recent Rapha Prestige race there were at least 2 x Ostro gravels. Looks very nice, beefy. The frame was 1025g naked (but white paint) with no ancilliaries at all. Fork 540g uncut.
I went for the Topstone 1 Lefty for my gravel bike because;
a) it was 6500 Euros instead of 10kE for the Ostro
b) it is more different to my road OStro. For me, no point in having 2 very similar Ostros. The Topstone is more fun and interesting for me.

Michenfelder
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2010 1:40 pm

by Michenfelder

I have mine built and have ridden it twice outside - once on the road with roval wheels with 25mm tires and once on gravel with boyd wheels and 38mm tires. I was impressed with it on the road - felt very similar to my tarmac sl7. It was equally impressive on gravel - felt very good on the downhills and in high speed loose corners. Weighed in right at 16.0 lbs with the rovals and pedals. Closer to 17.3lbs set up for gravel. When I get the Factor/Black bar installed (early December) I'll post some pics. So far, I'm impressed.

CasualRider
Posts: 118
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 1:36 am

by CasualRider

I was able to ride Ostro Gravel today. It feels very much like Ostro Vam, stiff, no flex in seatpost. Proper race bike in my opinion. Note, comfort is not as good as many other gravel bikes. I decided against buying Ostro and will keep my gravel bike.
Tarmac SL8 Maganta Gold
Crux Green Pearl

Previous bikes:
Crux Forest Green
Tarmac SL7 Snake Eye
Venge Bora Team
Venge Purple
Trek Madone SLR 7

hobe
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:41 am

by hobe

The Ostro Gravel is one of the frames I'm looking at to replace my aging Stigmata. What was your approach to adapting your fit to the frames more progressive geometry? Just reduce the stem length by an equal amount to the increased frame reach?

It also sounds like you got a 9200 working with minimal issues?

Definitely interested in any photos too!

cycleboyco
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 1:19 am

by cycleboyco

hobe wrote:The Ostro Gravel is one of the frames I'm looking at to replace my aging Stigmata. What was your approach to adapting your fit to the frames more progressive geometry? Just reduce the stem length by an equal amount to the increased frame reach?

It also sounds like you got a 9200 working with minimal issues?

Definitely interested in any photos too!
Compared to my other bikes, the Ostro Gravel (OG) was 5 to 10 mm longer for reach. With those differences and also providing Factor my measurements and getting their recommendations, I decided to decrease my normal stem length by 10mm. Unfortunately, I did not account that those other bikes were GRX and I purchased an OG SRAM build, so my reach is actually shorter than my other bikes by 10mm-I could have kept my normal stem length. I am getting a fit on the OG and may try to get a new barstem depending on the fit results.

Not a great pic, but there are lots of good photos on the Facebook Factor Owners Group.
Image


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hobe
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:41 am

by hobe

Thanks for the photo (I deleted my Facebook account years ago :) )

My current frame is a ~58mm 2015 Stigmata with a 120mm, -10 stem. The Ostro Gravel 58mm has 20mm more reach and 7mm more stack. It seems like the included black inc. barstem at 100mm and -6mm would line things up reasonably well and let me remove a bunch of spacers. I'd also be going from 9100 to 9200 shifters which I think have 4.5mm more reach on them but that should still be in the right ballpark.

Michenfelder
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2010 1:40 pm

by Michenfelder

Hobe I agree with what you say - 9200 shifters are longer than 9100 for sure. Love them! Still waiting on my stem/bar from factor, once I get those installed I'll post pics.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
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hobe
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:41 am

by hobe

I've built my 58cm up and gotten things mostly dialed in. It came out to right around 8kg with fairly heavy tires / wheels. It's not a lightweight focused frame though so it won't ever really approach something like the new Crux.

I was able to fit the Shimano Dura Ace 9200 50/34 crankset without any issues or spacers, though the 34 ring is only about 1.5 mm away from the chain suck guard on the chainstay.

This was also my first time building up a fully integrated front end. I really like the clean final look but it was a bear to get the brake lines through the handlebar, I can totally see why people perfer non-integrated.

A few key weights from mine:

Frame: 1010g
Fork: 495g
Seatpost: 234g
420mm/100mm Barstem: 413g

Image

Small ring clearance (tough to get a photo of):
Image

One more addition I needed to make to get my front light mount horizontal:
Image

And possible NSFW photo of the old setup vs the new. The Factor has 20mm shorter stem, though also differenty shaped bar and hoods. Everything seemed to equal out to be within a few mm though.:
Image

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