Factor Unveils The Vista All-Road Bike
Factor best known for its high-performance road bikes, including the One and O2, is coming to the all-road sector with the launch of its new Vista carbon road bike.
Factor uses a lot of words and marketing language to describe their tuned ride concept (see below) what you really need to know is that the Vista is an aero road bike with room for a 35mm tire which is built with a carbon layup designed to dampen vibration.
The Vista comes with all the high-end aero road features you’d expect like an integrated bar but adds in some fun stuff like the ability to fit 650b tires for riding on dirt. For the 1x, the front shifter mount is removable.
One standout feature is integrated fender mounts, how other manufacturers get away with not including them on all-road bikes is beyond me.
The Factor Vista is available starting tomorrow at all official Factor retail partners, Vista comes in two flavors: Stone Grey and CHPT3’s Devesa. The Vista starts at USD $4,799/GBP 3,750/EUR 4,690 (RRP) for the frame only option.
FACTOR VISTA is the ultimate all-road machine, designed and engineered to ride longer, faster and discover more without limits. The VISTA is a bike for the most demanding riders, those not confined to paved roads, those experienced riders that pedal to discover without limits.
As with all FACTOR bikes, the VISTA is a highly engineered chassis designed to go fast under power and with excellent handling traits no matter how technical, fast or hilly the route might be. The all-road specific geometry is optimized for tyre sizes from 30 to 35mm wide, with special attention to the fork trail and BB drop, to keep the best handling across all sizes. The balanced combination of Stack and Reach together with the innovative OTIS-AR barstem puts the rider in the best position to ride faster and longer. Combined with our all-road, size specific carbon layup, the VISTA can tackle the roughest roads and bring you fresh home for a final sprint.
The VISTA is designed as a system-integrated chassis comprised by frame, fork, barstem and seatpost.
FACTOR has worked exhaustively on the development and testing of the carbon layup for the VISTA. The size-specific carbon layups have been optimized for shock and off-road roughness absorption, for a more comfortable and controlled riding over long distances.The seatstays, upper portion of the downtube and fork legs have all been specially optimized. By having our own carbon manufacturing in-house, we can quickly and thoroughly make carbon lay-up changes and experimentation until we get the desired results for both stiffness and compliance.
The optimized absorption has been achieved while keeping FACTOR’s characteristic torsional BB stiffness when pedaling out of the saddle. This stiffness comes from our continuous downtube-to-chainstay “power-drive” construction. On the front of the bike, the combination of the torsionally stiff headtube-downtube joint and the OTIS external fork and barstem provide excellent front wheel tracking precision when cornering and descending.
The all-road geometry of the VISTA is designed to go fast under power and with excellent handling traits no matter how technical, fast or hilly the route might be. Special care has been paid to the fork trail and BB drop, to keep the best handling across all sizes, resulting in a stable yet quick reacting machine as in all Factor bikes. This geometry and handling characteristics are built around tyre sizes from 30 to 35mm wide, not compromising the geometry trying to handle a bigger range of tyre sizes. The balanced combination of Stack and Reach together with the innovative OTIS-AR barstem puts the rider in the best position to ride faster and longer. Combined with our all-road, size specific carbon layup, the VISTA can tackle the roughest roads and bring you fresh home for a final sprint.
Taking advantage of the proprietary Factor OTIS design, the VISTA features an all-road optimized version of this system. The fork legs’ carbon layup has been optimized for shock and vibration absorption, while it remains torsionally stiff thanks to the external, double clamp design and solid connection to the barstem.
This fork also features hidden fender mounts, flat-mount brakes, 12mm thru axle with removable threads and clearance for 35mm tyres (clearance for 35mm wide measured tyres, with more than 4mm at the narrowest point).
The OTIS design also allows for easy and totally hidden internal cable routing for drivetrain cables and brake hoses.
Additionally, the VISTA OTIS-AR fork has been shaped using Factor’s aerodynamic know-how and CFD capabilities, based on our experience developing the ONE and SLiCK.
The FACTOR VISTA has been designed around tyres ranging from 30 to 35mm. The actual space between the frame and a (measured) 35mm tyre is 44mm, to comply with EN standards and have a good safety clearance of over 4mm at the narrowest point. Focusing the frame design on this tyre width range makes it for a no-compromise handling bike, for a quick but stable handling and feel characteristic for all FACTOR bikes.
The FACTOR VISTA is compatible with 1X and 2X chainsets, mechanical and electronic drivetrains. In every case the internal cable routing stays hidden all the way from the shifters to the derraileurs, thanks to the OTIS headset system, for the cleanest look and protection for the cables. FACTOR’s expertise manufacturing carbon frames and components also shows when routing the cables internally, as the inner surfaces of every tube are clean and smooth. The OTIS fork and headset also allow to adjust the handlebar stack height (with provided spacers) at anytime without the need to redo the cabling or cut the fork.
Factor VISTA is supplied with a removable FD hanger, a 1X cover and all grommets needed electronic drivetrain cables.
The FACTOR VISTA’s barstem and seatpost have been designed and engineered as an integral part of the frameset, to complement and enhance the desired riding characteristics: stiff and precise where it needs to propel you forward, but shock absorbing and comfortable to keep you riding longer and fresher. The shape of the barstem and seatpost has been optimized through intensive FEA, as well as numerous layup iterations at the FACTOR carbon lab. The prototype components have been put to test for many miles under our test rides to come up with the final carbon layup and materials.
