I thought I'd do a little feature of my favourite road bike, and here it is; Romain Bardet's custom painted Factor O2 - an absolute beauty one has to admit...
The bike has the line "take the risk or lose the chance" printed onto the top tube. And it runs true with Romain Bardet's very attacking and excitingly dangerous riding style.
British brand, Factor, joined forces with AG2R La Mondiale late last year replacing their previous partnership with domestic team ONE Pro Cycling. Factor is a relatively small brand, but certainly, make their bikes look absolutely stunning!
The bike has a Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 groupset, and a crankset provided by SRM. The crankset weighs in at 599 grams and Bardet opts for traditional chainrings of 53/39t, using Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 series chainrings and cranks from THM.
CeramicSpeed provides the French outfit with headsets and bottom brackets, as well as the jockey wheels on the Dura-Ace rear derailleur for as many marginal gains as possible.
Bardet likes to have his bars set at a rather perculiar angle, which can be seen in the image above.
Undoubtedly my dream Bike, and I'd certainly look into purchasing one if I had the money.
Full Specs:
Frame: Factor O2, custom painted for Romain Bardet
Fork: Factor RGi Carbon, Svelte
Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 with CeramicSpeed jockey wheels
Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace, 11-28t
Crankset: SRM Origin, 172.5mm, 53/39t chainrings
Bottom bracket: CeramicSpeed PF30
Wheels: Mavic Comete Pro Carbon SL
Tyres: Continental Competition ALX 25mm tubular
Handlebars: Black Inc.
Stem: Black Inc., 130mm
Headset: CeramicSpeed
Tape/grips: Fizik Superlight Soft Touch
Pedals: Look Keo Carbon Blade
Saddle: Fizik Arione 00
Seatpost: Black Inc.
Bottle cages: Elite Vico Carbon
Computer: SRM PC-8, customised for Romain Bardet
Keep posted for more Sports articles!