2023 Factor Ostro Gravel

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

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
romanmoser
Posts: 573
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 8:30 pm

by romanmoser

Yeah and you'll run the exact same position
Gearings
Wheels , cassette , chainrings , tires for both kinds of rides

////

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Steve Curtis
Posts: 1314
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:20 pm
Location: Hampshire UK, Dublin Ireland and Geneva Switzerland.

by Steve Curtis

Michenfelder wrote:
Thu Sep 29, 2022 6:58 pm
I have ordered one. Not so much because of the aero benefits on gravel but because it will be one frame that can replace two bikes. It's fast enough to be a road bike and I can run the aerobars and do the local TT series. It'll be fantastic on gravel. Sounds like 45ish days till I get the frame. I'll do a full write up when I have it in hand.
Congratulations 🥳 looking forward to an overview when it arrives.

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

by CasualRider

Debating if I should buy Ostro Gravel and sell my Crux which I love. My concern is that Factor might not be as smooth as Crux. I rode Ostro Vam briefly, it was stiff but not as comfy as SL7. Any thoughts?
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

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

by Michenfelder

The crux is a great frame. I built one up for my wife last year.

I really think it depends on what you are using the bike for. If you are looking to maximize your performance and the factor fits you well then it may be worth it.

For me, after riding a SL7, I much prefer the look of no exposed cables. I've also had the chance to look at Dylan J's Ostro Gravel in person and it is very nice. The aerobar integration is CLEAN. If you don't care about any of that than I'd keep the crux and enjoy it.

robeambro
Posts: 1829
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:21 pm

by robeambro

CasualRider wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 4:53 pm
Debating if I should buy Ostro Gravel and sell my Crux which I love. My concern is that Factor might not be as smooth as Crux. I rode Ostro Vam briefly, it was stiff but not as comfy as SL7. Any thoughts?
Personally, I would say that there would only be two valid cases when the switch would be warranted:

- you like the aesthetics of the Ostro much more.
- you are looking to use the Ostro as a N=1 bike.

On gravel there is genuinely not much that the Ostro would give you that you don't already have. If you expect to be faster, I'd think twice - frame tube aerodynamics matter even less than on the road when you've placed fat knobby tyres and tons of mud and grit around them. If anything, if you had to compensate for the likely stiffer tubes by fitting even wider tyres, you may end up with a setup that is not more aero at all (e.g. SwissSide found that going from a 40mm to a 45mm Schwalbe tyre was a nearly 7w penalty at 45km/h, which is probably a decent chunk of the theoretical aero advantage that the Ostro might give you.

If you race, the aero extensions integration offered by the Ostro would be neat, but nothing stops you from achieving a similar result with the Crux, it would just be a bit more effort perhaps.

On road, I do think that perhaps the Ostro with road wheels and tyres may be "quite a bit" faster, but this links to my second point on using the Ostro as a N=1 bike. Which is what I'd love to do, but I can't be bothered with the frankly silly price tag.

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

by CasualRider

robeambro wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:05 am
CasualRider wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 4:53 pm
Debating if I should buy Ostro Gravel and sell my Crux which I love. My concern is that Factor might not be as smooth as Crux. I rode Ostro Vam briefly, it was stiff but not as comfy as SL7. Any thoughts?
Personally, I would say that there would only be two valid cases when the switch would be warranted:

- you like the aesthetics of the Ostro much more.
- you are looking to use the Ostro as a N=1 bike.

On gravel there is genuinely not much that the Ostro would give you that you don't already have. If you expect to be faster, I'd think twice - frame tube aerodynamics matter even less than on the road when you've placed fat knobby tyres and tons of mud and grit around them. If anything, if you had to compensate for the likely stiffer tubes by fitting even wider tyres, you may end up with a setup that is not more aero at all (e.g. SwissSide found that going from a 40mm to a 45mm Schwalbe tyre was a nearly 7w penalty at 45km/h, which is probably a decent chunk of the theoretical aero advantage that the Ostro might give you.

If you race, the aero extensions integration offered by the Ostro would be neat, but nothing stops you from achieving a similar result with the Crux, it would just be a bit more effort perhaps.

On road, I do think that perhaps the Ostro with road wheels and tyres may be "quite a bit" faster, but this links to my second point on using the Ostro as a N=1 bike. Which is what I'd love to do, but I can't be bothered with the frankly silly price tag.
Great points! I kinda had similar thoughts about this. I have no plans to sell my SL7 road bike so Crux -> Ostro would be for gravel and training/intervals on road.

What if you had an opportunity to get Ostro Gravel at a pretty deep discount (20%+), would that change anything? thinking of 1x Force setup, maybe swap the wheels and crank with mine. Here is my current setup.
https://ibb.co/689q88L
Image
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

robeambro
Posts: 1829
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:21 pm

by robeambro

CasualRider wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 3:02 pm
robeambro wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:05 am
CasualRider wrote:
Wed Oct 26, 2022 4:53 pm
Debating if I should buy Ostro Gravel and sell my Crux which I love. My concern is that Factor might not be as smooth as Crux. I rode Ostro Vam briefly, it was stiff but not as comfy as SL7. Any thoughts?
Personally, I would say that there would only be two valid cases when the switch would be warranted:

- you like the aesthetics of the Ostro much more.
- you are looking to use the Ostro as a N=1 bike.

On gravel there is genuinely not much that the Ostro would give you that you don't already have. If you expect to be faster, I'd think twice - frame tube aerodynamics matter even less than on the road when you've placed fat knobby tyres and tons of mud and grit around them. If anything, if you had to compensate for the likely stiffer tubes by fitting even wider tyres, you may end up with a setup that is not more aero at all (e.g. SwissSide found that going from a 40mm to a 45mm Schwalbe tyre was a nearly 7w penalty at 45km/h, which is probably a decent chunk of the theoretical aero advantage that the Ostro might give you.

If you race, the aero extensions integration offered by the Ostro would be neat, but nothing stops you from achieving a similar result with the Crux, it would just be a bit more effort perhaps.

On road, I do think that perhaps the Ostro with road wheels and tyres may be "quite a bit" faster, but this links to my second point on using the Ostro as a N=1 bike. Which is what I'd love to do, but I can't be bothered with the frankly silly price tag.
Great points! I kinda had similar thoughts about this. I have no plans to sell my SL7 road bike so Crux -> Ostro would be for gravel and training/intervals on road.

What if you had an opportunity to get Ostro Gravel at a pretty deep discount (20%+), would that change anything? thinking of 1x Force setup, maybe swap the wheels and crank with mine. Here is my current setup.
https://ibb.co/689q88L
Image
What if? I'd ask you to hook me up! :D

I don't think this can be justified as a "rational purchase" at any price but hey, nothing stops you from doing it anyway :)

User avatar
prebsy
Posts: 1044
Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:52 pm
Location: there or thereabouts

by prebsy

Yeah probably not much over the crux when you've also got an SL7 bookending it. Also idk if you are saying you CAN get the ostro gravel for 20% off but generally speaking deals are back in a lot of places will likely persist. I wouldn't buy a bike just because of a deal anymore.... I've had to readjust from covid times where sometimes "in stock @ MSRP" was a deal :oops:

boots2000
Posts: 1393
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:28 pm

by boots2000

Other thing to consider is real world aerodynamics during an event. Pretty much all events call for a handlebar mounted number. Many events specifcally disallow you from wrapping the number aorund your headtube. Given that I would venture to say that the net aero factor for the Factor Ostro gravel is pretty minimal.

robeambro
Posts: 1829
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:21 pm

by robeambro

boots2000 wrote:
Thu Oct 27, 2022 4:21 pm
Other thing to consider is real world aerodynamics during an event. Pretty much all events call for a handlebar mounted number. Many events specifcally disallow you from wrapping the number aorund your headtube. Given that I would venture to say that the net aero factor for the Factor Ostro gravel is pretty minimal.
Even if they did allow you to wrap the number, that would make the headtube of the Factor equal to that of the Crux. Considering that downtube is partly moot due to fat tyres, it's really just the fork and cockpit 'doing the aero work' in a race.

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

by CasualRider

I totally agree on really world aero. It sounds like no Ostro Gravel for me even at a very good price, will keep enjoying mine. I think it would be easier to get bikes under msrp pretty soon if not already. I was surprised when I got 10% off Crux 6 months ago from a local bike shop that "wanted the sale today".

Other brands seem to be doing the same, road race bike adjusted for gravel, Scott, BMC and now from Factor while other brands are pushing for more comfort like the new Diverge. I know it's a different bike but still. Interesting to see who comes up at the top. And the prices will need to come down.
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

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

by Michenfelder

Frame has arrived.

52cm, black. 895g naked.

Fork, uncut, 502g

Setback seatpost, 236g

Frame looks good. Happy it was under 900g. I'll update as the build progresses.

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

by kode54

That was fast! Looking forward to your build!
- Factor Ostro VAM Disc
- Factor LS Disc
- Specialized Aethos Disc
- Sturdy Ti Allroad Disc
- Guru Praemio R Disc

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

by Michenfelder

I was able to fit a 34/50 Shimano Dura Ace 9200 crankset with the supplied BB and spacers but had to run more spacers on the driveside than the non drive side to space the inner chainring out far enough from the driveside chainstay - 9200 front derailuer doesn't seem to mind. 4i power meter did fit on non drive side with plenty of clearance.

Rest of build is pretty much full 9200 and I didn't run into any issues. I'll try to detail everything once I get the fit dialed in later this week.

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

by kode54

Sounds excellent. Amazing that this Ostro Gravel came in under 900g. That's impressive. Curious how they handled the rear tire clearance by BB since you fit a DA9200 crankset on it.
- Factor Ostro VAM Disc
- Factor LS Disc
- Specialized Aethos Disc
- Sturdy Ti Allroad Disc
- Guru Praemio R Disc

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply