Factor Bikes has launched its first gravel bike and it's a lightweight race-focussed machine with a carbon frame that is claimed to weigh just 950g.
Factor is best known for its racy road bikes, but the brand has previously dabbled in gravel with the all-road Vista.
The LS is designed to be a proper gravel bike, however. The LS features "race-proven geometry" and officially accepts tyres up to 43mm wide. A 54cm frame has 383mm of reach and 566mm of stack, which is certainly at the racier end of the gravel spectrum.
Factor describes the bikes as a "no-holds-barred gravel racer" and emphasises its optimised stiffness and racy handling. Unlike say Specialized's Diverge or Cannondale's Topstone, the new bike doesn't feature any fancy suspension tech.
The LS's frame is compatible with both 1× and 2× drivetrains and includes mounts for three bottle cages and a bento box.
With a slightly sloping top tube, it's designed to offer room for a frame bag, while the back end uses a now-ubiquitous dropped seatstay design, one favoured by many bike makers as a way to add rear end comfort while retaining lateral stiffness.
Like so many race-oriented gravel bikes, the LS doesn't appear to make any provision for mudguards/fenders. (Update 22 June 2020: Factor got in touch to say that the LS has hidden fender mounts.)
The LS will retail at £2,650 for a frameset, while a Gucci build featuring SRAM Force eTap AXS, and wheels and finishing kit from Black Inc will start at £6,999.
