Tour Down Under tech: Up close and personal with the Gorilla's bike
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Andre Greipel has changed bikes for 2020. This season he's riding a Factor One(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Israel Start-Up Nation has just signed a deal with Bryton for 2020. When we grabbed Greipel's bike, the riders had just received their new computers(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Greipel is riding a Selle Italia Flite - Pro Team Edition(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
A small piece of electrical tape prevents the valve stem from rattling(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
CeramicSpeed provides the bottom brackets for Israel Start-Up Nation(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Greipel is running a 54T big ring(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
The 4iiii Precision Pro power meter has its work cut out keeping track of the German's power(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
With a 55/42T at the front, Greipel has a 30T cog in the back to help him survive the climbs(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Israel Start-Up Nation is the only team on SwissStop stoppers(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Elite Rocko carbon cages tote the German sprinter's drinks(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Now in his second season away from Campagnolo, Greipel should be used to the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 levers(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
The Shimano Dura-Ace shift/brake levers offer powerful performance in a diminutive size(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Black Inc provides the out-front computer mount, which is yet to be switched to the Bryton adaptor(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
The mechanics have utilised the hidden bar end junction box(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
The drop on Greipel's bars are relatively shallow(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
The split head tube is said to be more aero and provides somewhere to hide the front brake line(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
The downtube is split down the middle(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
The back end of the One looks burly(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Israel Start-Up Nation uses simple name labels for its riders(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
The German sprinter is using the Black Inc. Sixty rolling stock(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
It's been a while since we've seen any Maxxis tyres on the world tour(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
A small race plate holder is glued to the back of Greipel's seat post(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
A Dura-Ace Di2 rear mech guides the sprinters chain up the cassette(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
Israel Start-Up nation in one of two CeramicSpeed-sponsored teams using the oversized jockey wheels.(Image credit: Colin Levitch)
In Adelaide, German Sprinter André Greipel is donning the blue and white of Israel Start-Up Nation and with that, a new bike in the shape of a Factor One.
Greipel has come away at the top of the GC twice and has racked up 18 stage wins in Adelaide in years past. 'The Gorilla' has already been at the front mixing it up in the Schwalbe Classic criterium and the first stage of the Tour Down Under, and only time will tell if he can add to that number in 2020.
Until last year, Greipel had been using Campagnolo components as far back as 2011 when the team was Omega Pharma-Lotto. In 2019, he swapped to Shimano with Team Areka-Samsic and continues on the Japanese-made drivetrain for 2020. It's little surprise his bike is dressed in Dura-Ace, with a 55/42T combo at the front and an 11-speed 11-30T cassette at the rear. The German is also running 4iiii's dual-sided power meter which is paired to a Bryton Rider 430 cycling computer.
Factor's One aero bike has a radical design with a split downtube, said to help the frame cut through the wind. Factor calls it the Twin Vane Evo and says its the result of what the brand learned making the Factor SLiCK. At the front, the One Disc fork features a similar design to the Cervelo S5 and features a foil in front of the head tube which not only allows the brake hose to be routed inside but is also claimed to improve aerodynamics.
The German's cockpit consists of the ONE OTIS (One Total Integration System) Evo Bar and stem combo which bolts directly onto the external fork and routes the cables internally from the lever directly into the frame.
Israel Start-Up Nation is the only team on the WorldTour not matching rotors and brake pads to their groupset, running SwissStop Catalyst Rotors and the brand's Disc 34 RS brake pads.
Rolling stock comes from Factor's components Black Inc; with the Black Sixty carbon wheels bolted into the bike, spinning on CeramicSpeed bearings, and shod with 25c Maxxis Tubular tyres.
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Click through the gallery above for a closer look at André Greipel's Factor One.
André Greipel's Factor One full bike specifications
Frameset: Factor One
Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 Hydraulic Disc caliper
Based on the Gold Coast of Australia, Colin has written tech content for cycling publication for a decade. With hundreds of buyer's guides, reviews and how-tos published in Bike Radar, Cyclingnews, Bike Perfect and Cycling Weekly, as well as in numerous publications dedicated to his other passion, skiing.
Colin was a key contributor to Cyclingnews between 2019 and 2021, during which time he helped build the site's tech coverage from the ground up. Nowadays he works full-time as the news and content editor of Flow MTB magazine.
