Almost a year from the original post with no opinions. I'm pulling this one back from the dead as I'm now curious as well. I have been looking for a new road bike and one of my local shops is now a Factor dealer so interested in the bikes as well. Tough thing is I doubt my LBS will be stocking these so getting a demo bike might be tough. I have been looking at the Canyon (Ultimate), Cervelo (R5d), Wilier (Cento10NDR & Cento10Air Disc), Trek (Emonda & Madone) and now Factor (O2). I really start to wonder if many of these bike are really just so similar in construction and ride characteristics that a coin flip is in order.

I have a 2017 Factor 02. Overall my favorite frame to date. I think they did a good job with BB/HT stiffness ratio for sure. The bike is so good to maneuver through the pack and technical punchy situations. The front end is noticeably more nimble than any other bike to date as well. Not twitchy. Just super predictable and positive. The rear end is very stiff. If I had to find one thing that I'd like to see change is a little more compliance back there. On long rides not pushing much power I just notice more coming through the saddle. Hard to describe but, coming off the 2016 Scott Foil 10 and all I can say is my crotch gets sore a little more (same saddle/wheels/tires). I've heard the 2018's are more compliant but, can not confirm. I'll see Phil Tinstman this week end and ask him to verify...

The Black Inc. integrated stem/bar is easily the nicest system I've used to date. It just feels so good. To be fair the drop and reach are exactly what I like yet, the shape of the bar is so comfortable. The Black Inc. seatpost is nice as well. Feels like many high end carbon post and the clamp mech is easy to use so that's cool.

The Ceramic Speed BB and headset are nice touches. The headset is overkill but, it comes standard no matter which package you buy.

My buddy showed me a site where you can buy one of these frames for under $1k straight from the factory.

Pretty sure the Black Inc. components are just rebranded open mold tatt. The wheels certainly are...

I didn't know that. I can find out for sure soon. I was under the impression they were not as they own the factory. I did demo a set of wheels and honestly they didn't do anything for me. I can't see myself buying anything other than ENVE for a while...

Ahhh.. are you looking at aliexpress? If so, I wouldn't call that 'genuine' or straight from the factory.

Not saying aliexpress frames are bad (I have had my fair share of good experiences with Ali purchases), but let's not kid ourselves that these are straight from the real factories.

I actually saw my first Faketor the other day. One sure way to tell is where the seat stays meet the seat tube.

My buddy who researches these things was quite certain of their quality. I have no idea though.

Normally, I can spot some minor differences, but this one is harder for me. Seat stay/tube junction looks similar, and even the fork and how it joins with the down tube.

There's more than one then. The one I saw looked more like a BMC or Foil back end...

Yes

Quality: They can be good, no question. But they're rarely as good as the genuine article. ...I picked up a genuine 2012 Madone 6.9 SSL this past fall and fit and finish of it is noticeably better than any of my china frames. It's not a night/day kind of difference, but more like a 'very good vs. great' difference.

The more I research these Asian frames, the less I'm certain about the details of where they are all produced. Conversations with the resellers reveal some details and it's obvious that there's a lot more to it than just getting the same frame from the back door of the manufacturing plant.

Factor owns its own factory. This is definitely a replica/fake.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

Fair wheel Bikes is testing one and should have a review up sometime soon. I'm thinking about an O2 disc.

Hard to see any difference from these two images:

From aliexpress:


From cyclingtips:

Easy to spot the difference there;)

what's with the fascination with buying Aliexpress "bike shaped objects" rather than say a base model carbon bike from a reputable manufacturer?

wow, this got a bit off track!

No idea. I'd rather not bet my life on a dubious quality frame.

However, you won't see me on a Factor because of the dentist pricing. I'm pretty sure I can get 99.9% of the bang for a lot less bucks.

Factor Bikes are a legit (not knock-off Aliexpress) bike brand that has their own manufacturing. https://factorbikes.com/
Not following your comment on Factor dentist pricing........and their pricing is right in line with every other bike brand on a comparable bike.

O2 build with Di2 is showing $11k on Factors website, but you can build the same on Competitive Cyclist for $8.5k which is right on line with all the other similar bike builds in various brands.

$5k starting price for just the frame isn't dentist pricing?
There are many fine bikes you can fully build for that price with Ui2.

I'm sure Factor bikes are pretty damn sweet to ride, but I think your paying a premium for a nice paint job and some pro team cool "factor" (pun intended).

I’d have to look around, but I almost guarantee that a similar spec’d Cervelo R5d or a Trek Emonda would all run around the same price. Not saying there aren’t less expensive brands (Giant or Canyon).

I have had an O2 for a couple months now. I don't have a ton of road miles, but from what I have gathered it is a very impressive frame. Super light and stiff. I previously had a Scott Addict SL for a few years. As I tried new bikes, I never felt like they were an upgrade over the Addict. This was the first one I thought was an upgrade.
Built up it was 14.5 lbs as seen below.

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When you buy "just the frame" that also includes: Black Inc. integrated carbon stem/bar, Black Inc. carbon post, ceramic speed BB and headset, all hardware and a carbon railed Fizik Arione saddle.