Unbound Gravel bike test: Factor Ostro Gravel in the mud!
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2023
- Unbound Gravel is the world's premiere gravel race - and its challenge and variability is nothing to be scoffed at.
I took a Factor Ostro Gravel to this year's edition, where I did the 100 and finished 17th.
There was a lot of walking, cursing, laughing, and general tomfoolery.
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This guy gets the win for great temperament
Nice recap. I’ve finished the 100 miler. Then had the bright idea to race the 200 mile the next year. Got to mile 131 before collapsing into a ditch with an asthma attack. Had to call the support crew to retrieve me. Fortunately had enough meds with me to prevent a catastrophic situation. I’m just thinking 200 miles on gravel with limited access for rescue situations is not a good fit for me. I love adventure but my family doesn’t treat me well when I do really risky stupid things. 😂
Hats off to everyone! The family of roadside angels made me smile. Awesome!!!
Been looking forward to this video, and it delivered. Well done Ben on getting through a very tough day and serving up more quality content.
Ben is the best. Love his demeanor and his ability to connect with all levels of cyclists. Keep making New Mexico proud Ben!
The pro tour rider that opted for road shoes must have been in serious trouble when the hiking started. What a wild race!
Larry had some great quotes afterward! "There is no way you could pay me enough to do this every day..." And that was after a Giro where it poured rain for seemingly all three weeks...
Hi Ben, great summary. It was a lot of fun indeed.I was there and had road cleats with road shoes. I have no experience with that kind of mud and didn’t know what to expect so I rode as much of it as I possibly could. Ended up 23 rd on 200mile course.
Saw you at the expo there.
Bravo. Glad you enjoyed it!
Wearing road cleats is one way to motivate yourself thru the muck ;)
Thanks Ben. Excellent as always.
Got the hat, and it’s perfect. Thanks for your vlog. One of my faves.
Thanks for your support!
Kind of like the brifters in the pov footage... Feel like I'm really there.
I also did the 100 mile and that muddy section was definitely my definition of HELL
Great summary, Ben. Saturday was a booger for me. I think the mud run threw off my nutrition plan so I got to enjoy lots of cramps in the latter half of the 100. Like you, I really appreciated the locals doing their independent volunteering in their driveways. Without them I don’t know if I would have gotten across the finish.
Cheers. I hear you on the vitality of the local support. Every year I underestimate the last 25 miles. "Oh, it's just 25 miles; I don't need more than a bottle..." And then the check engine light comes on....
Great breakdown, really enjoyable. Cheers
Awesome video as always. Congratulations for the race!
Good job I've got an aero bike, makes all the difference - comment of Unbound - good work getting round, great video as usual!
Thanks! 👍
As always Ben, great stuff. Luv the adobe house building tips including ‘the grass adds structure’.
When you said that the grass adds nice structure to the mud, made me think of adobe homes. LOL Great job out there.
It WAS adobe. Sheesh!
Brutal. Cheers to you for keeping a smile on your face 🤘🍻🤘
I am new subscriber and am totally digging your content, thank you.
Thank you. I appreciate the support.
Thxs Ben glad you made it to the finish in one piece. Grateful as always for what you do. Excited to get my hat!
Cheers. Thank you for your support. My daughter spent yesterday packing them all up!
Another great vid. Love the "aero is everything until..." Great finish and you still get interviews, I would be decimated after the race. You provide a great commentary and exposition of our sport...
Thank you.
Thanks Ben - placed my order for the Factor today :) - Im going to see to have a go at the race next year
I will look forward to meeting you out there. Thanks for the Super Thanks! I appreciate the support.
Ben, I just listen to your podcast on Choose the Hard Way. Love what you’re doing man keep it up. I also ordered a hat from your website. Looking forward to some more merchandise when it becomes available. Appreciate your perspective and the way you’re going about your CZcams channel much respect to you, brother.
Thank you very much, Dennis. I appreciate the support. 🤜🤛
Love this! Thanks for sharing, brother!
Cheers.
AWESOME VID BEN, THANKS FOR SHARING, IT LOOKS PRETTY EPIC IN THAT MUD
Thanks man great video!
Shifters in the goPro aren't bad, feels like a real POV. Great recap, amazing you had the pep to shoot this right after you finished!
Ben”s breathing when demuddding his bike indicated he was no longer in zone 2!!!
Great Video as always. Looking back, 3 miles of hike a bike sure was fun…not so much at the time. I was sure happy to make it back before the rain.
Hike 3 = Type 2
Proof that everyone's idea of fun is different. This just makes me glad I don't do gravel. 😀
But, I do admire each riders perseverance.
"Fun." Seriously though, doing it alongside a few thousand other people somehow makes it feel like a thing. If you were doing that solo, you'd be a crazy person. In a big group.... you're a whole bunch of crazy people.
Great recap; reliving the muddy hike-a-bike there…😂😂😂 I am the guy riding into the frame at exactly 14:57 (on the right, with the white shirt) and hence feature for precisely 1 zillisecond in your footage. My moment of fame… thx Ben!
Haha. Nice. What a silly day, eh?
I love how such an expensive event still needs volunteers.
How the hell do you not have more subs? Great content!
Dunno. Tell your friends. :-)
So glad to hear I’m not the only knucklehead who forgot a paint stick!
We clearly need adult supervision.
I got one the day before i left for emporia.... wow what a graet choice that was. LOVE to whoeever told me to get it.
Great to meet you there.
Likewise!
Fun stuff great video and commentary , makes me want to give a gravel “race” a go!
They're fun. Come on out.
I can't wait for you guys to see my upcoming gravel bike frame. I've been working on it for a while, and this kind of mud should be no problem for it. Seeing this horror show has redoubled my motivation to get it done!
that ranch family was still out there at 7:30pm when i rolled through on the 200 handing out stuff..
Solid!
Nice. Go old guys! Ain't no shame in walking in the mud.
Thanks so much, Ben, I am enjoying being in the bleachers for all of your Unbound recollections and please tell us why some riders were riding through the mud, or at least remounted and got back in the saddle, while others were still trudging through it on foot. Was it leg strength, force of will, tire size, frame color, what was the deal? And congrats on your excellent finish and now you have to do a vid on that and root and toot your own horn!
like your style. Subscribed. 👍
Thank you.
Saw you messing with your chain - should have said Hi! but you didn't look happy...so I motored on. Congrats on your finish...And yes Trail Angels are the best! Cheers! 🥃
I was not happy! 😂
I'd say the matte finish on that Ostro added to your pain regarding the mud. A glossly paint finish with a ceramic coat might have helped taking some of that mud off. Great video.
When you're aero and going nowhere fast! It was the mad bike handling skills that got you through the sludge.
Man, nothing like going to Emporia to take your bike for a hike through the mud! Looked brutal this year...
Maybe someday, I'll attempt the 100 mile version - just need to be a bit in better shape for it.
Loved the video and thanks for sharing, sir 🍻
There's also the 25 and 50. Lots of options.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney Thanks, sir. I live just down the road from you here in Colorado - Emporia is a long drive so I'd want to make worth my while so 100 mile would be it. 🍻
@Karl R you could always do the 200 or 350 XL. More miles for your drive out!
I think aero bikes in Gravel races are a waste of money. Once the bike gets dirty, the advantage is nulled. Even a dusty road can mess with aerodynamics. If I wanted to win races (I'm just happy to finish), I would be looking for a light and compliant rig. Go Ben :)
Best report i've seen on the '23 races in YT Land.
Thank you.
Champagne comedy as usual. Great vid mate…..looks like it was a blast. Congrats on your finish too. All that filming and you still monster it!! 👏
Cheers. It was a blast. Happy to share the experience.
I just thought with anything else but internal cables one would've been f** up entirely ... with that mud &gras mixture you could have build a solid house :D cheers from GER
Check out Seven Serpents unsupported Gravel Race in South-eastern-europe. Same conditions this year for 850km but with 16.000m of Vertical gain and no Support :D
Great duathon race
😂
I learned in the 90's not to ride in the mud....even now with internal gears, still no mud. Mud, but not sloppy mud, the midwest mud.
Great recap Ben! Did the Ostro paint survive? I heard the peanut mud was lchewing on it.
Great review Ben. I gather these tyres were more puncture resistant than the more open tread of last years race….
Thanks. Same tires as last year: G-One RS. Different kind of dumb luck this year.
❤
Now I believe that Josh was there! Not that he stopped by to see me!
Congrats on a class finish. Great vid, if I could give 5 thumbs up I would!
Glad you enjoyed it!
It was cool to to ride with you for a bit Ben. We both had the issue of divorce between chain and chainring. I sadly DNF'd at 80 on the 200 but I'll be back again next year!
Doh! See you next year.
Great content as always, but Ben, did I miss the part when you actually give your final takeaways on the frame and whether you like or disliked the Factor?
That was just initial (100-mile, muddy) impressions. I rode the bike once before Unbound, so want to spend some more time on it before a full review. Thanks.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney Great to hear - can't wait for your final verdict.
Do you think a ceramic frame coating would have helped with the mud?
Pressure washers must have been in huge demand after this race!😂
..and during the pit stops.
Muc-Off had a bike wash setup after the finish line, enough to clean you up for travel. My drive train is still "crunchy".
The line for the Muc-Off crew stretched for 100 miles. Or, at least, a couple blocks.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney yeah it was a long wait! Certainly appreciated it being there though.
@theRidewithBenDelaney hats off to you for doing your post race summary immediately after and for the cheerful in race footage. Its tough to stay positive after that mud hike although its a bit like being in a massive traffic jam - once you get moving again it feel’s awesome regardless how slow. And for those who weren’t there you know the mud was extreme when the tires & frame clogged up even just walking the bike - then as more and more folks trample down the grass shoulders those too turn muddy. I did slip once and get hung up on the barbed wire, but luckily did not have the chain clogging you faced. As they say misery loves company
I ran a chain catcher, and it did the trick in the mud, basically forced it into place.
Nice. Glad to hear it!
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney Thanks! What I did not account for was the mud taking a few ply's of carbon from my chainstays as payment for otherwise safe passage. Did you have any such issues on the Factor with 40s? (I was on an Upper)
Ben also digs the mud.
perhaps the gravel equivalent to "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" will be "Everyone has the right bike until mile 11.. 🤣😂
Word.
I wonder how one of the 29" drop bar bikes that fit a 2.4", 2.6" or even bigger tire would work at unbound. sure they are much less racy in geometry but with a 35-40mm gravel tire they would have several cm of tire clearance and maybe plow through without needing to stop and clean the chainstays.
I ran 47s on my cutthroat and was very happy for the clearance. Same thing happened though, just took longer.
As always, great video…. I find the secrecy around the “secret” bikes mildly humorous…. Honestly, what on earth could be so crazy? We already have folks making graphene frames… Suspension? 1x14? The laws of physics, material sciences, USAC rules, and aesthetic limitations inform a continuation of evolutionary changes, not revolutionary…. Ah well, thanks again for your exceptional work!
'Secret' = a way to market a bike before you start marketing a bike
Thanks!
The guy running with the bike said it well. He forgot to mention that you paid for your travel, lodging, incidentals only to have to deal with fucked conditions to ride your bike!
Small note, the GoPro issue could be solved with a $5 little extension. Or talk to a friend with a Cervelo, as all current ones come with a computer and GoPro accessories kit that includes a really nice extension, better than the Amazon ones, and nobody ever uses them.
Good shout - thanks!
That's not mud that's concrete!
Which selle italia saddle is that? It looks comfortable.
I bet you were glad you could hand what’s left of the bike after the race😢
Bike is actually okay, but yeah, it's easier for me to laugh off the carnage when I haven't spent my own money for test bikes. I certainly don't want to make light of that.
18:00 that's valtteri's girl hope to see both racing unbound would be epic to see who is faster 😂😉 who are we kidding it's ofc Tiffany but I wanna see how much of a challenge valtteri be.
Was the last time the mud pit section about mile 10-11 used back when it rained in 2015 I think? Not sure. That section of the dirt is cursed to make a rainy mud year.
2015 was an epic mudder, yeah. Yuri and Amanda Nauman won that year. Kristen Legan (who won the XL this year) was second.
So what happens when you put the goPro upside doen?
Hi Ben I do love your detailed analysis. So much so and thanks to you I decided to purchase the SRAM etap for my GIANT defy many moons ago. Have you had the chance to review of the new Eagle SRAM transmission ?
Cheers. I haven't ridden Eagle with the direct mount yet, no. Hopefully soon!
Hey buddy. Soooo totally unrelated question, but what is that saddle you have on the Factor?? Cheers for the vids
Selle Italia SLR Boost Superflow. Just what came on the bike, but it's also what I have on my personal bike. I dig it. alnk.to/9T6yg6c
CONGRATULATIONS MY FRIEND ....
I heard some top riders used a hydrophobic coating on their bikes that essentially helped keep the bike cleaner and the mud more easily fell off……any insights to what kind of coatings may have have helped?
Next year I'm spraying my entire bike and body with PAM.
Maybe if there was less clearance at the seat stays the mud would mostly get scraped off there, and then your BB and chainring would stay cleaner.
The BB area was definitely the logjam - first for the rear wheel and then it accumulated and pushed into the chainring and chain.
Will a round-ordinary tube be easier to clean from mud than deep-flat-aeroish tube?
I think so, yes, just because there is less surface area for mud to cling to.
Hey Ben! What size G-One RS were you using. I have an Ostro gravel and I’m looking to find a good tire for Midsouth/muddy races! Are you from the 505? Thanks, Jeff (ABQ)
40s, like almost always. That's my favorite tire, hands down. And heck yeah, I am.
Hey Ben, many thanks for your thorough coverage. I'm from Germany and Unbound does not get any attention here, let alone decent videos.
So basically, every German bike website used your footage 😂
Too funny. I didn't realize that. I hope they at least linked to my video.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney They did. Most of them even included a link to your IG profile.
Oh, great. I appreciate the journalistic integrity!
I Have the same bike
I am going for the challenge of completing the 200mi course
do you think the 44 chainring and 10-44 is enough
or you recommend 2x or maybe a Mullet?
I´m training with fascat buy sometimes I doubt myself
Yeah, that gearing is plenty and what I used. The Judge hill might suck a little, but the rest is fine. Glad to hear you are on FasCat! That is what I used when I got 3rd in the 100 and 30th in the 200. Just stay consistent with your training and you will be good!
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney tnks for your answer.
The last one
40mm or 45mm?
@JohnWick-wp5ef I have always gone 40 and will do so again this year.
I wonder how a Koga Beach Racer would have fared.
Probably great on that muddy stretch.
They should rename the race to "Unrideable". Somebody donate money to add gravel to the muddy road section.
The local paint store must have been packed!
And the clerk being like, 'why are all these weirdos in stretchy pants coming in here to buy paints sticks?'
Great video as ever Ben, how about we ( you.. ;) try ceramic coating your bike and go back and see if it stops this muck sticking as bad as it did? perhaps another time.. 🤣😂
Sounds like a good video idea for next year... I was thinking about Pam spray or something as I watched some riders ride past those of us who were walking/lugging/dragging/cursing our clogged bikes.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney sounds like we need a control group test 😃 control group A nothing as it comes out the box. Control group B Ceramic coating from
Brand x, control group C, what ever my wife mops the kitchen floor with.. as I just had a wtf’ moment… 😂🤣😂
Hi Ben . How wide were your handlebars?
38/100stem
what do you think about aurum manto?
Have never ridden it.
Factor: we have a demo bike for sale 😂
Only ridden twice!
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney 😂
So how many gravel riders/racers actually trained for Unbound by walking through mud with their bikes for several miles? Pedaling for 200+ miles on rolling resistance terrain is challenging enough in one day for me. I don't mind competing in cycling events to see whether we can pedal faster than one another within certain range but adding elements such as peanut mud to disable a bike from its pedal efficiency in the course is just stupid.
An event of attrition… not so much a race ¯\_(ツ)_/¯… solid day nonetheless Ben 👍
how tall are you? what size of bike do you use?
6ft, 56cm
@@TheRidewithBenDelaneythanks a lot
I am stunned that at a major event, riders need to hire private groups to provide nutrition/water or tech support. I have competed in running, cycling, Tri since the 80's. Why are they paying an entry fee?
I think it comes from the history of the event being a self-supported thing. It is pretty ironic though that the 'history of self-support' turns into the pro riders having like 10 people help them in the checkpoints like an F1 pitstop. It's a far cry from all the riders in the first few editions going into gas stations to keep themselves stocked up.
Unbound mud.
刺激
1:53 what is a mud stick?
Just a simple paint stir stick you use to scrape off your bike, particularly around the wheels.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney that's awesome. I never would have thought of using that.
Life is too short for type 2 fun. People will only take so much cycling misery before they realize ‘just riding’ is much more fun IMHO.
Kaius 01 one or ostro gravel?
Video coming up!
@@TheRidewithBenDelaneythanks a lot from spain
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney im nervous about it
3:12 This chain between frame and crank 🫨 poor carbon 🫨
There is a metal plate that covers *some* of the driveside chainstay near the ring.
@@TheRidewithBenDelaney oh that's a relief. Lol😂
I'm in the market for a new bike..Factor, Crux pro s-works or Santa Cruz Stigmata? Recommendations?
Apparently none of the above. Get a Trail Donkey so you have the mud clearance.
I haven't ridden the current or forthcoming Stigmata, but I'm keen to. Keegan seems to do okay on it. :-) Of course, Keegan could ride a lead singlespeed and crush...
Stay tuned for more. To CJohnson's point, Rodeo's bikes are worth a look. Stephen and crew were out there crushing again this year on singlespeeds.