Factor ONE SP Time Trial and Triathlon Bike

More about the ONE SP

The ONE SP isn’t a new frame. It’s the ONE, the bike Factor built to hold speed for a whole stage and still win the sprint at the end of it, fitted with a time trial front end that was designed for it rather than adapted to it. Factor’s own classification: the fastest road Factor ever, built to beat the clock. Its distinctive wide-stance fork and integrated front end came out of an extensive program of iterations on the fork, head tube and front-end architecture, each one studied for how it interacted with the rider and the airflow around the complete bike. Once that design was proven on the road, Factor asked what else the platform could do. The same aerodynamic potential that makes the ONE exceptionally fast on the road made it, in Factor’s words, an obvious foundation for a dedicated TT front end.

That front end is the ONE SP Bar. Purpose-developed for the ONE in high-modulus carbon, it attaches directly to the fork head through a four-bolt interface, which keeps the connection between cockpit and bike clean, stiff and very much part of the frame’s aero envelope. The system offers an optional 10 mm of stack at the bar attachment, and the extensions take up to 35 mm of additional stack in 5 mm increments, alongside an extensive reach, width and rotation adjustment range. Cables run fully internal through cockpit and frame, with compatibility for electronic groupsets and hydraulic disc brakes. A dedicated Black Inc Computer Mount for Garmin and Wahoo and a BTA accessory holder complete the system.

Underneath it, the frame does what the ONE does. Chainstays hold at 405 mm across the range, with 408 mm on the 58. The head angle is 73.3 degrees on every size but the 47, and Factor keeps the steering geometry identical across sizes with toe overlap eliminated on the small frames, so a 47 handles like a 56. The seatpost gives an effective seat angle range of 73.5 to 77 degrees, which covers a proper time trial position. The frame and fork are optimised around tires up to 34 mm wide, so you can balance aerodynamics, rolling resistance and the demands of the course rather than being told what to run. It is 1x and 2x compatible with electronic groupsets from SRAM, Shimano and Campagnolo, with an adjustable front derailleur mount, a bottom-bracket-mounted Di2 battery, a T47A threaded bottom bracket and Factor’s low-profile Mini-UDH hanger.

Factor now build three ways to race against the clock. The SLiCK is the pure triathlon bike. The HANZŌ is the pure speed machine, and the one our own Regroup Racing Ironman athlete rides. The ONE SP is the one that stays a road bike everywhere but the front end: road-bike handling, agility and low weight, with the advantage of a super-aero time trial or triathlon position. Factor call it the best of both worlds for anyone looking to find their fastest speed, and their own riders describe it as fast and agile enough for short and uphill time trials while aerodynamic, adjustable and efficient enough for long-distance triathlon. If you race road and also race the clock, or your time trials go uphill, this is the bike in the range that makes the most sense.

Tempe is a triathlon town, and no bike rewards a proper fit the way a time trial bike does, because the position is the aerodynamics. As Factor’s premium partner in Arizona and beyond, we’ve built every model in the range across the years, and a ONE SP starts the same way every Factor does here: with a conversation about the racing you do, then a fit that settles your position before a single part goes on a build sheet. The ONE SP Bar gives us a lot of adjustment to work with. Regroup FIT is how we use it.

We wrote about the ONE SP and what the ONE SP Bar gives you when it launched. For the platform underneath it, read our Factor ONE review, forty years in the making and see how the ONE is made. And for what racing against the clock looks like from inside our own team, meet Regroup Racing’s Chelsea Wolfe.