Factor goes gravel with the new Vista

Factor Bikes has focussed exclusively on high end racing machines, with its bikes ridden for the last couple of seasons by the AG2R La Mondiale team of Romain Bardet.

But its latest offering is a bit different: the brand had launched the Vista, a gravel bike, which it says is designed for those who want to ride fast over mixed surfaces. It’s worked with 2012 Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal to hone the bike’s handling characteristics.

According to Hesjedal: “I’ve ridden many Factor bikes in my retirement, so I was more than thrilled when Factor invited me to help them develop their first All-Road machine. Now that I can train and ride anytime, anywhere, the Vista’s versatility has quickly made it my go-to bike when I just want to get out and ride.”

The Vista shares the hinged front end of the Factor One aero bike, but the trail has been adjusted for greater off road stability. Its rear end has been tweaked with skinny seatstays with a bend in them for extra compliance and there’s a greater bottom bracket drop to cater for the increased wheel and tyre diameter.

Clearance on the Factor Vista is designed for tyres between 30 and 35mm, so the frame can’t take the extra-wide 40mm plus tyres of some other brands’ machines. As you’d expect, it uses disc brakes and thru-axles.

Factor has its own bar-stem combo for the Vista, which it calls the Otis_AR, which has a flat section for bar top comfort, coupled to a skinny top to bottom design to add extra front end compliance.

The Vista comes in five sizes between 49cm and 58cm. There’s a special edition Vista designed in collaboration with Chpt3, the design house of ex-pro David Millar, and featuring its latest Devisa colour scheme.

Prices start at £3750 for the Vista frameset.