Factor 'The Usurpers'
I can’t wait for my new custom Factor O2 to arrive back from the spray booth, so I can officially begin my ambassadorship with Factor Bikes.
Why Factor? I am uncompromising with my training and commitment to the cycling community. I only endorse and represent brands that share my values. I believe that Factor manufacture the best bikes in the world, their zero-compromise attitude aligns perfectly with my own. It’s like we speak the same language: “Our purpose is to pursue unparalleled excellence…. Convention and status quo are not in our wheelhouse.” - (Factor Bikes)
They put customers and the cycling community before profit, are progressive, challenge themselves to continually create world-class bikes and do so with class and style. That’s why I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Factor.
My custom bike will be a modern classic, unmistakably ‘Gareth’ - a reflection of my cycling history, values, aesthetics and riding style. Naturally, It will be built up with Campagnolo components and Black Inc finishing kit.
“Factor make the best bikes in the world? That’s a pretty bold statement, Gareth.”
“I stand by it.”
“Prove it.”
“How about this testimony from David Millar? “I believe Factor to be the manufacturer of the best road bikes in the world, because if it wasn’t, CHPT3 wouldn’t be working with them.”
“Yea, I guess he kind-of-knows what he’s talking about…”
“And I don’t? ” 😉
“Ha. Explain how you came to the same conclusion?”
“Grab me another coffee first, It’s your round.”
I’ve tried them all: Pinarello, S-Works, Merckx, 3T, Cervelo, Colnago, Cannondale, Ridley, Canyon, etc.
All world-class bikes, but none of them quite managed to usurp the ‘Carbon Throne‘ (yes, I’m making Game of Thrones puns today) from my beloved Colnago C50 👑(not even the C64).
(Though, I must admit… after riding Geraint Thomas’s Team Sky Pinarello Dogma F10 around the Alpes-Maritimes and Chris Lawless’s around Snowdonia last year, they were hard to hand back...)
For a long time, I believed that Colnago found the road cycling ‘Holy Grail’ back in 2003 when thy created the C50. In my mind, cycling manufacturers have only been producing ‘marketing-gimmicks’ ever since (3T? cough, cough).
The C50 is the ultimate all-rounder. Light enough to climb, stiff enough to sprint, comfy over a long distance, and handles like a dream.
📸 Jake Lewis Armstrong (First three images & no he’s not related to Lance)
Then I took the Factor 02 for a gallop around the Kingswood (New Forest) back in September with ‘House CHPT3’ - It changed everything.
The next day I sat on my C50. “Fuck...” The Factor 02 made my bike feel as flexible as Lord Varys’s Loyalty, as slow as ‘The Mountain’ up Mont Ventoux, as light as Gendry’s Warhammer and handle like a one-winged raven.
I exaggerate, but my C50 (ruler of the cycling kingdoms and the Carbon Throne, from the noble Colnago family of Italian descent, whose sigil is a three-headed black club adorned with the world champion stripes, blah, blah, blah.), has been overthrown.
Lord Eddy ‘the Cannibal’ Merckx rode with the great house of Colnago, as did Lord Johan ‘The Lion of Flanders’ Museeuw and many other brave Lords and Ladies.
But the Italian dynasty has ended. My Colnago collection has been usurped by Factor, the British Kingslayers. My C50 has fled into exile, my C40 resides in the safety of a bike box, and my C40-HP is off to be sold at auction.
Ok, enough of the Game of Thrones puns. As a ‘Rouleur’ I specialise in being an allrounder (an intentional contradiction). I adapt my training to the challenge ahead. The Factor O2 can do it all - It’s a Rouleur’s dream. Highly effective at any given road cycling task: climbing, motoring, sprinting, dancing, rolling, cornering, descending, etc. Uncompromising.
“A rouleur is somebody who knows the race and has the specialisms for it. Not really a good climber, but he can defend in the mountains and do some great things on the flat. A rider with a big engine who can ride alone, who waits to attack in the last ten kilometres, not for the finish. A rider who is always at the finish fast: that’s the meaning of rouleur for me.”
Before I continue to explain why I believe the O2 is the rightful ruler of the ‘Carbon Throne’, perhaps I need to give you a bit of insight into my sad cycling-obsessed mind…?
I have a bit of the ‘Merckx’ about me. Everything has to be hand selected to fit - nothing ‘off-the-peg’. I don’t mean it has to be ‘the most expensive’, for example, all of my bikes have a pair of cheap ‘Women's Mini Bicycle Handlebar-Black’ (Yes, calling these ‘women’s’ is like selling a left-handed hammer) £27.67 from Amazon.
Why do I use such cheap bars? Because ‘fit comes first’ the ‘hooks’ fit my hand like a glove. They are made from strong aluminium and the round-drop shape appeals to my cycling-traditionalism. This is far more important to me (in my handlebar selection) than ‘weight’ or ‘aerodynamics’.
I got through TWENTY THREE different types of handlebar until I found these. Every brand, material, price-point, and style.
I’m like Goldilocks - I like my porridge ‘just right’
Or maybe Cinderella? The shoe fits 👠
No, I think I’m more like ‘The Princess and the Pea’ - sensitive.
“Knowing how much hassle I went through to find the right pair of handlebars, imagine how much care I put into finding the right frame?”
Welcome to my sad, obsessive life. (perhaps you can relate?)
Add storytelling into the equation and I become a total contradiction - I approach so many things with logic, facts, and evidence - but if you throw in some history, sentiment and romance - my heart is yours.
My heroes Eddy Merckx and Johan Museeuw won all of my favourite races (The Tour of Flanders, Paris Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, The Giro & the Tour) while riding a Colnago. That is why I have been a Colnago-loyalist for decades because they appeal to the logical (world-class performance) and emotional (storytelling) parts of my brain.
📸: Graham Watson
The two great Italian houses, Colnago and Ferrari collaborated to produce the world’s first carbon fibre road bike. Factor also has roots in motorsport engineering, and have worked with Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ferrari, and many F1, Moto GP, and WRC teams.
Factor offers the logical side of my brain: innovation, performance, advanced engineering, zero-compromise, design, aesthetics, speed, aerodynamics, handling, rideability, continuous improvement, etc.
Factor are pioneers, first entering the cycling world in 2009 with the revolutionary FACTOR001 (years ahead of its time).
I respect David Millar as one of Britain’s all-time-greatest cyclists. I am honoured to call him a friend, and I’m a proud ambassador for his brand - CHPT3. David and Baden Cooke have worked closely with Factor to give professional insight and feedback to improve the function and performance of Factor bikes. When your heroes are woven into the brand and product - they become a reflection of your personality and values.
During stage 9 of the 2018 Tour de France, The Factor 02 made an appearance on the infamous cobbles of Paris Roubaix under the legs of AG2R, in the CHPT3 ‘One More Lap’ livery.
(‘One More Lap’ is the story of David Millar’s final Paris Roubaix. CHPT3 visually interpreted this story with a graphic motif, inspired by the Roubaix Velodrome. Executed across jerseys, kit, accessories and a Factor O2 Frame collaboration.)
Romain Bardet is my favourite rider in the current pro-peloton. Bardet is a ‘proper cyclist’, not just an athlete. He conducts himself as a gentleman, has classic style and is a fantastic writer (seriously, check out his articles in Rouleur Magazine).
During that stage, Bardet and his coéquipiers produced one of the most resilient performances I have ever seen. A series of punctures turned the stage into a hellish pursuit for survival, but Bardet hit like a ‘classics heavyweight’, despite being a ‘grand tour featherweight’ (much like the Factor O2).
Romain Bardet post-stage. Photo: Jered Gruber
(Above) Olivier Naesen goes over the top of Bora Hansgrohe rider Rafal Majka. Just a small insight into the brutality of that Parcours (📸ANP Press Buro). AG2R and Bardet chase for survival (📸Alex Rory Jacobs & Jered Gruber).
Factor Bikes have reached iconic status in my heart and mind. Like Bardet, the Factor O2 is a featherweight that hits like a heavy.
‘Usurper’ is a derogatory term for a person who takes a position of power illegally or by force. Sometimes a revolution is long overdue.
“That is why I believe Factor make the best bikes in the world.”
“Can I have a go on your Factor O2 when it arrives?”
“No, you won’t give it back….”
“Joking, sure you can. You have Speedplay pedals, right?”
Hopefully, my bike arrives before my trip to Mallorca. Let’s see If I can ‘dance my way’ to a new PB on Sa Calobra.
Either way, I look forward to sharing the experience of my trip with you.
Gareth.