Factor hops on gravel suspension trend with unreleased Unbound race rig
The first of what we're told will be two new Factor gravel bikes on show at Unbound, this one doesn't have a name but is unlike anything we've seen from the brand before
Unbound Gravel is the premier gravel race on the calendar, and it is proving itself as the biggest gravel tech launchpad for brands to unveil new bikes, tech and more.
We've already brought you leaked images of the new Specialized Diverge, a second-in-two-weeks Campagnolo groupset, and my camera roll is bursting at the seams with tech the world had never seen until today.
Right now, it's the turn of Factor, who I'm told have not one, but two new bikes here on the ground, which will be beneath both CEO Rob Gitelis and Brand Director David Millar respectively on Saturday.
I've so far managed to find this one, the name of which remains under wraps.
While some brands are shady and secretive about the new bikes on show here, Factor very kindly allowed me to borrow the bike for a more detailed photo shoot. They were coy on details such as weight, tyre clearance, price and so on, but I'll do my best to discern what I can from the time I've spent with it this morning.
Such is the Factor way, I'm told the bike has gone all-in on being a performance race bike, and the modern interpretation of that is a bike that can absorb as much of the gravel road's imperfections as possible.
What that means in reality is big tyre clearance, suspension fork compatibility, and, evidently, a compliance-boosting rear end.
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It is seen here with 45mm rubber, but I spotted a pair of 2.1in Continental Race King mountain bike tyres leaning against it in the pop-up Factor store in town, suggesting at least that much clearance.
Looking at the gap between the seat tube and the rear wheel, I wouldn't be surprised if it were even more.
The seat tube itself is curved. This is a fairly common feature on aero bikes where it wraps around the rear wheel to smooth the airflow off the seat tube and onto the tyre. That could be the case here too, but the gap between the two suggests to me that rather than being an aero play, it's likely a result of ensuring decent tyre clearance while trying to keep the chainstays as short as possible for quicker handling.
Up front, the bike shown here is fitted with a Rockshox Rudy gravel fork, and the slammed cockpit comes courtesy of Black Inc's own one-piece bar and stem. The invisible rear brake hose suggests that cables can run internally, but given Rockshox's fork can only handle external cabling, there is a single hose on show for the front brake.
In what is presumably an aerodynamic consideration, the head tube is extremely deep. On this frame size, it's actually deeper than it is tall. No bike in 2025 will be launched without a consideration of aerodynamics in the tube shapes, but the frame here doesn't look like it's gone all-in on aero.
The down tube is notably shallower than that of Factor's Ostro Gravel and its road bikes, like the Ostro or the Monza, and the seat tube is a relatively round shape. The seatpost itself is completely round, which could suggest dropper post compatibility, and is held in place with a fairly burly-looking clamp.
On the non-drive side, we can see Factor has once again stuck with a threaded bottom bracket, complete with CeramicSpeed bearings inside. It's usual Factor practice to use CeramicSpeed's SLT bearings for the headset too, so we'd expect the same here.
There appears to be a storage door hidden beneath the down tube bottle cage, and since the bike is fitted with strapless bags both atop and beneath the top tube, it's a safe assumption that the bike has mounting points on both sides of the top tube.
The one big this we're unable to discern is whether this is a finished, production-ready bike or a prototype. The production-level paint finish suggests this bike is the finished article, but since it's the bike that Factor CEO Rob Gitelis will ride, it's not inconceivable that he simply wanted it to be complete with Factor branding, rather than the usual raw carbon finish found in prototypes.
Either way, you can be sure the Cyclingnews tech team will bring you the full lowdown and details as soon as we have them.
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
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