Factor Monza

A Factor at a factor of the price

- Words Laurence Kilpatrick Photography Mike Massaro

I used to be in this club called Nine to Five Racing,' says Graham Shrive, Factor's director of engineering. 'As you can imagine, it was for racers who also had a normal job. With the Monza, that's who we wanted to appeal to.

'Up until now we've been solely premium. We had a lot of doors closed to us in some territories because we didn't have anything in that meat and potatoes range. This is us growing the base of our pyramid a bit,' he adds.

The result is the Monza, a bike that overlaps significantly with the Ostro VAM, the aero bike ridden by WorldTour team Israel-Premier Tech, in terms of both its appearance and performance objectives. The differences lie not only in the number of zeros after the pound sign, but also in the bike's underlying design.

'We wanted to make a bike that's easier to build, easier to live with and more practical, a bike that rides differently and has bigger tyre clearance,' says Shrive. 'You can't just use cheaper materials; most frame-building costs are fixed. You could always chisel your factory, but we own our own factory.'

So how has Factor made the Monza around a third cheaper than its sibling?

Squaring the circle

'There are lots of unremarkable areas that, when combined, have a big impact on the cost of a bike's production,' says Shrive. 'Increased frame complexity increases scrap rate and lowers the speed at which mechanics can build up bikes.'

The main aim for the Monza's frameset was simplification. This has been applied throughout the bike, starting with the materials themselves.

'There is no exotic carbon in the Monza,' says Shrive. 'They're all workmanlike fibres that are easy to work with and readily available. It's easy to cut and lay. All of which contributes to a lower price.'