Colourway inspired by bikes Paul Smith has owned and loved, reflecting Factor’s carbon craftsmanship and both brand’s meticulous approach to detail.

Factor Bikes, the premium performance bicycle brand, and celebrated British designer and passionate cyclist Paul Smith, have announced the Paul Smith Edition Factor OSTRO VAM – an exclusive limited-edition colourway available to purchase worldwide 2nd November 2023.

This collaboration is a true celebration of Paul Smith’s love of colour and Factor’s engineering expertise. Each colour block is inspired by bikes loved by Paul both past and present, both in colour and texture. Featuring shades of blue, greens and the venerated Paul Smith pink, high-shine and matte lacquer finishes add another layer of contrast to areas of raw carbon visible through clear gloss.

Searingly fast, incredibly light, and supremely comfortable, Factor’s OSTRO VAM has proved itself at every flagship race of the professional cycling calendar; from the legendary cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the infamous cols of Le Tour de France. The location of the colour blocks throughout the frame reflects the way Factor’s engineers lay up carbon fibre in the OSTRO VAM mould to achieve its famed smoothness across all road surfaces – ensuring compliance without sacrificing efficiency in power transfer.

Paul Smith chose to highlight the positioning of these different sheets of carbon fibre and draw a parallel with how patterns are cut and constructed in clothing design. 

Iconic Paul Smith design features are integrated throughout the frameset. A gold foiled Signature logo is central to the Black Inc bars, a Signature stripe runs down the seat post, plus abstract scaled-up Signature logos are positioned across the forks and downtube – echoing the oversized logo tradition of the pro-peloton.

Factor and Paul Smith are united through a passion for the sport of cycling and matchless attention to detail. To complete this collaboration, Paul Smith and Factor’s component and accessories brand, Black Inc, worked closely together on an exclusive bar tape design featuring embossed Paul Smith logos on the tape and bar end caps.

Sir Paul Smith, said: “I used to be a cyclist as a young man, and I’ve stayed close to the whole world of cycling,” says Paul. “Factor is a company whose technological approach to their bike making has been really impressive, and so it’s with great pleasure that I’ve customised one of their new bikes. I hope you like it.”

Rob Gitelis, CEO, Factor Bikes, said: “Paul Smith’s passion for cycling and racing heritage is no surprise, but working so closely alongside him and his team on this limited-edition design has illustrated how deeply into the detail and DNA of performance that this passion runs.”

The Paul Smith Edition Factor OSTRO VAM is available exclusively from Factor dealers and select Paul Smith stores worldwide.

It can be purchased as a frameset, frameset with Black Inc FORTY FIVE disc brake carbon clincher wheelset, or as a complete bike in sizes 49, 52, 54, 56, 58 and 61.

Pricing, geometry and details of options including SRAM and Shimano groupsets are available here: https://factorbikes.com/paul-smith-edition-ostro-vam

The Paul Smith Edition Black Inc Integrated Aero Barstem and Paul Smith Edition Black Inc Bar Tape are also available to purchase separately.