RIDDEN AND REVIEWED: FACTOR OSTRO VAM £10.999

Customisable WorldTour thoroughbred that delivers a responsive yet refined ride

- Andy Carr

I've spent the last few months dipping in and out of fantasy Factor Ostro VAM ownership, alongside pretending to own some other really exceptional pro-level road bikes. I swap them around during my testing schedule, and often end up riding very similar bikes back-to-back. So I was very keen to see how this bike performed alongside its nearest competition, while I had several of them to hand.

What’s obvious is that geometry-wise, there are very few outliers in the pro ranks. The only one is the BMC Roadmachine, which features an unusually long wheelbase and a trail of 63mm, which is well outside the average. At the other extreme is the Specialized Tarmac SL8 with a trail value of just 55mm - similar to the Cervélo S5, and to the others that sit between 56 and 59mm.

The Ostro VAM has a trail value of 58.6mm. That's smack bang in-between the Cannondale SuperSix EVO and the Giant TCR; at 58 and 59mm respectively, this pair are arguably at the most conservative end, if you ignore the BMC.

And that is why it’s hard not to be taken in by these machines. The physics dictate much of how they ride and feel and they're also very close. And, on a smooth road, for the most part, they all feel fantastic.

The real challenge then, for me, in terms of finding out whether or not the Ostro VAM is a good bike, is being able to discern if Factor has succeeded in making a bike that ticks all the right boxes for a fast road bike - light, fast, stiff, with telepathic handling - but that is also easy to live with outside of a stage race.

CONSTRUCTION

The Ostro VAM is Israel-Premier Tech's full-gas race bike and it is marketed as aggressively as it's designed to be ridden. If you've got the cash. At just £1,000 less than a top-tier Tarmac, it's still too expensive to call it a value option, so it has to deliver at least as well as those top-tier brands, despite its relatively cheaper ticket price.

Verdict