Yesterday

British-designed Bugatti Factor One revealed

We expect the extraordinary from Bugatti - new 'UCI-illegal' limited edition bike lives up to its reputation

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Let’s cut to the chase: the new Bugatti Factor One, limited to just 250 examples worldwide, costs 25,799 euros. The ‘standard’ Factor One, claimed by its maker to be the world’s fastest road bike, is 15,499 euros. So if you take nothing else away from the revelation that Bugatti has lent its name to a humble (comparatively speaking) bicycle, know that the project has washed its face - and then some. 

Of course, there is more to it than just white Bugatti script on a very fetching Bugatti blue background, though it is additionally worth considering that the range-topping Factor One absolutely looks the part. Responsibility for this naturally rests with the less well-known half of the partnership (to us, at any rate), Factor Bikes. Though any PHer with a passing fondness for cycling - or possessing exceptional powers of recall - might remember that this is the same manufacturer that produced the so-called One-77 bike in conjunction with Aston Martin back in 2012. 

As you might expect from this track record, calling the British manufacturer high-end is like describing the iPhone as moderately popular. The fact that its origin story owes much to F1 (again, devotees might recall the mind-bendingly expensive Factor001 that signalled the firm's arrival) is another pleasing tie-in to the world of automotive. At any rate, the Bugatti Factor One’s claim to fame is another shift in the performance benchmark, albeit of the marginal sort. 

See, while the two-a-penny Factor One is compliant with the UCI (cycling’s governing body) regulations for race bikes, the Bugatti version ‘eschews the rulebook, resulting in a frame with a wider fork stance and lower drag numbers’. In other words, the collaboration was all about finding the fastest possible configuration, no matter the cost or complexity - a sentiment that you could obviously apply to several of Bugatti’s record-setting road cars. 

“The Bugatti Factor One is not simply a bicycle,” noted company founder, Rob Gitelis. “It is a statement. This project challenged us to rethink every assumption and push engineering boundaries in the same way Bugatti has done in the automotive world for over a century.” In other words, it is for customers who ‘demand the extraordinary, both from themselves and their equipment’. 

And from their bank account, needless to say. Nevertheless, wonderful details abound (customised Continental tyres? Check. Black Inc Bugatti Hyper 62 Wheels that 1,298 grams a pair? Check. Exposed carbon finish that uses a unique 3K twill weave to mirror Bugatti’s composite? Check.) A full rundown of the Bugatti Factor One’s unique specification can be found here, where you can also declare your interest. Probably best to do that promptly, though; we’d imagine the huge asking price, as with any car that bears Bugatti's name, will prove no impediment to popularity whatsoever.

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[Edgey1]

For all that money and you still get dirt trapping derailer gears, and they don't look aerodynamic either.

[Billy_Whizzzz]

Looks a hell of a lot better than any car they’ve designed in the last 70 years

[Picanto_superleggera]

Hmm. Looks like they just put a new fork on the standard bike and then sent it for painting. But then Factor have always been a marketing exercise to extract money from the clueless.

[tight fart]

A pushbike without pedals

[V41LEY]

Claims about making the fastest bike surely depend on the person riding the thing.

[_Rodders_]

Edgey1 said:

For all that money and you still get dirt trapping derailer gears, and they don't look aerodynamic either.

Neither does big disc brake calipers stuck out in the wind.

Doubt it's noticeably faster than my bike but that's not really the point.

[v8notbrave]

Surely just a piece of art in the multimillionaire's designer pad, I wonder if the bike service cost is as astronomical as the car? (I'd do it far cheaper!)

[Prohibiting]

You’d look like a right prat riding that on your Sunday social club ride. I’d look at this as art than actual bike and more suited to being hung in a millionaire’s garage.

[S600BSB]

Very nice.

[vikingaero]

tight fart said:

A pushbike without pedals

It's 26k€ for the bike and 100k€ for the special shoes that fit into the hole. They're not daft!

[SDK]

Prohibiting said:

You d look like a right prat riding that on your Sunday social club ride. I d look at this as art than actual bike and more suited to being hung in a millionaire s garage.

Oh sure, if you're a good enough cyclist to benefit from the aero, design and high end kit then you get given these bikes to ride for free to win races (Pro's)

Doesn't mean people can't buy them for their own pleasure though.

Else every non-pro racing driver with a hyper, sports or super car is breaking the 'rules' too.

vikingaero said:

tight fart said:

A pushbike without pedals

It's 26k for the bike and 100k for the special shoes that fit into the hole. They're not daft!

All proper bikes (road and off-road) come without pedals, for 30+ years already

You fit the pedals and clip mounting you prefer.

[SDK]

V41LEY said:

Claims about making the fastest bike surely depend on the person riding the thing.

The claim is taken from a wind tunnel test - reading the bike drag and amount of rider power (measured in watts) the rider requires to reach a certain speed.
A bike requiring less watts is a faster bike

For sure - If you are riding in a 3 week race and the difference between winning and 2nd place is measured in a few seconds then this matters.
Else it's just a marketing tool and something to brag about.

Edited by SDK on Thursday 19th March 08:10

[Sway]

V41LEY said:

Claims about making the fastest bike surely depend on the person riding the thing.

It'd be perhaps slightly more accurate to say 'most efficient' bike rather than fastest. Idea being for a given power input, it'll achieve the highest speed.

Nice enough for what it is, however it's not for me. A new fork, cosmetic twill first layer and some decals on the tyres aren't the most in depth development going!

If I wanted 'the ultimate speed machine' to hang on my wall, I'd have to look at a combo of Lotus and Hope for the generational development of track bikes with a 108 and HB.T.

[ettore]

V41LEY said:

Claims about making the fastest bike surely depend on the person riding the thing.

Same as a car and its driver?

Of no relevance to me, but what a wonderful and beautiful bit of engineering. Perfectly within the Bugatti ethos - Ettore himself designed a bike.

[The Driving God]

tight fart said:

A pushbike without pedals

It'd be a waste of money to include pedals, not a single one of these will actually be ridden.

[WPA]

Edgey1 said:

For all that money and you still get dirt trapping derailer gears, and they don't look aerodynamic either.

Just love all the clueless comments that this is going to bring, no racing bike is ever going to be fitted with an internal hub gear due to the weight.

Bikes have had derailer gears for 70 odd years, they work just fine and make no difference to the aero as the forks will be designed to push the air out and around the rider.

tight fart said:

A pushbike without pedals

No pushbike over £1200 is normally supplied with pedals as riders will have their own to use.

[MountainsofSussex]

While you'd look a bit of a plonker turning up for a damp Saturday club ride in Brighton on one of these, I imagine there are club rides in places like Monaco or Puerto Banus where something like this is perhaps not normal, but not that much fancier than everyone else's bikes. But you'd better have the legs and lungs to make use of it...

[Billy_Whizzzz]

tight fart said:

A pushbike without pedals

Yup. That’s how proper bikes come

[fantheman80]

Billy_Whizzzz said:

Looks a hell of a lot better than any car they ve designed in the last 70 years

I actually think the opposite..! Bugatti the only one smashing it out the park design after design lately

As for the bike, thought it would be more- they could charge what they like as some mush will only hang it in their 7 berth garage

[Firebobby]

It's only twice the cost of a top end "tour de France" bike available now. Don't see the problem with it personally. If I had the money it'd be in my list. Probably a bit quicker than my Ribble even with my aged legs...