Dylan Johnson spotted atop what could be a replacement for the Factor LS
(Image credit: Factor bikes Facebook)
Instagram is a fantastic way to waste hours of your day, but as well as allowing you to see everyone's personal highlight reel to make yourself feel worthless it occasionally gives us a sneak peek of what bike brands are working on.
Factor sponsored rider Dylan Johnson recently posted some pics from Crusher in the Tushar where he appears to be riding a Factor gravel bike that doesn't currently exist. Some careful stalking revealed he was also atop this bike at Unbound too.
It's too early to say what the bike is however, but it's visually a more aero-optimised package than the current out and out gravel bike in the brands range, the Factor LS, so it could be either an update to that platform or a new standalone model.
Well, we have just a few event pictures to work on, but in comparison to the Factor LS the new model has a deeper headtube with a fork crown that is sculpted into the headtube area much more. The fork blades too are slightly deeper by the looks of things.
The rear end of the bike is visually very similar to the LS, with the same dropped seatstays, though this new bike seems to use a more aerodynamic looking seatpost; it's deeper in long-section, perhaps eschewing flex in favour of speed.
The bottom bracket area is much more chunky, with the upper reaches almost extending above the front chainring, which is in keeping with what we've seen in new aero releases like the Scott Foil and Trek Madone, chasing aero and stiffness gains.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
If you peep Dylan's stories on his Instagram in the next few hours you can get a close up video of the frame, but there's no guarantee this'll hang around.
Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.
