Factor Elara: The Aero Gravel Race Bike, Explained

Summary

• The Factor Elara is a gravel race bike presented at Misano in September 2026. It takes the hourglass head tube and bayonet fork from the Ostro VAM and the One and puts them on a frame that clears a 57 mm tyre in a 1x setup.
• Factor claims 5 to 8% less drag than the Ostro Gravel, measured in the wind tunnel with 47 mm tyres, at a design speed of 36 km/h.
• Raw frame under 1,100 g in size M. Factor does not publish a complete bike weight.
• Six builds from €10,999 to €13,599, plus a €7,199 frameset. Two colours, six sizes.
• Whether the extra clearance matters depends on the courses you race. On smooth, fast gravel a 47 mm tyre already fills the frame.

What the Elara is

Factor already had a fast gravel bike. The Ostro Gravel is the one you see in pre-owned listings, and it still holds up. The Elara does not replace it as a do everything bike. It is narrower in purpose: gravel racing, where courses are getting faster and tyres are getting wider at the same time.

The front triangle is where the road DNA shows. The head tube has the hourglass profile of the Ostro VAM and the bayonet fork sits ahead of it with a wide crown, the same idea Factor used on the One. Behind that, the frame is built to run a 700x50c tyre as standard and up to 57 mm in a 1x configuration. There is a storage compartment in the down tube under the bottle cage.

The integrated bar is new. The Black Inc AB07 is a one piece carbon cockpit that stays narrow at the levers and flares 17 degrees outward in the drops. The frame is designed as its interface, so this is not a bike you buy planning to fit a different bar.

The 57 mm tyre and why a racer asked for it

The platform was designed for a maximum 700x50c tyre. The push to 57 mm came from Magnus Bak Klaris, the Danish rider who won the Gravel Earth Series in 2025 and was part of the development group. His reasoning, as reported by BiciDaStrada, was about holding speed on rough sectors rather than about comfort. A wider tyre lets you keep pedalling through the section where a narrower one forces you to brake.

That logic holds if your races have those sections. Many European gravel events do not. On hardpack and white roads a 45 to 47 mm tyre is already the fast choice, and going wider adds weight and frontal area for no gain. Treat the 57 mm figure as headroom, not as a recommendation.

Aerodynamics: what Factor claims and what it is measured against

Factor says wind tunnel testing shows a drag reduction of between 5 and 8% compared with the Ostro Gravel, with both bikes on 47 mm tyres. The design speed is 36 km/h, which is a realistic average for the front group of a flat gravel race and optimistic for most amateurs.

Two things are worth stating plainly. First, this is a manufacturer figure and no independent test has been published yet. Second, the comparison is against Factor's own previous gravel bike, not against a competitor. A 5 to 8% saving on the bike alone is real but small once a rider is on it, because the rider is most of the drag.

The wheels are part of the aero story. The Black Inc 64 has a 64 mm rim, 30 mm internal width and 40.25 mm external width. The idea is that a high volume tyre and a wide rim form one continuous surface so the air stays attached. The set weighs a claimed 1,620 g with steel spokes and ceramic bearings.

Geometry

Factor publishes the following for size M, which it labels 56:

A 423 mm chainstay is short for a bike that clears a 57 mm tyre. The 80 mm bottom bracket drop is deep and is there to bring the rider back down after the larger tyre lifts the bike. The head angles are on the steep side for gravel, paired with a longer reach for stability. In practice this should feel closer to a road bike than most gravel race bikes do, which is the point.

The full geometry chart is published by Factor. Our size guide for the Ostro Gravel and LS is a reasonable starting point until the Elara has its own.

Builds and prices

Colours are Virescent Blue and Matte Carbon. The Campagnolo option is interesting: a 1x13 Record on a gravel race bike is rare, and the Italian groupset is a large part of the price gap to the Force build.

What is missing

Factor has not declared a complete bike weight or a fork weight. The 2x clearance figure is not published, and the article we read did not mention a delivery date. If you are comparing against a road bike, remember that the Ostro Gravel's own frame weight is not directly comparable either, because the Elara number is for a raw, unpainted frame.

Elara or Ostro Gravel

If you race and your calendar includes rough, technical events, the Elara is the bike Factor built for that. If you ride fast gravel with the occasional race, a pre-owned Ostro Gravel does most of the same job at a fraction of the price. The Ostro Gravel is also the bike with a track record; the Elara has a manufacturer data sheet and a champion's endorsement, which is a good start and not the same thing.

The Factor collection on Bikeroom lists the current stock, including the Ostro Gravel, the LS and the Ostro VAM for the road. The gravel category covers the alternatives from other brands. For an overview of the aero road thinking the Elara borrows from, the Scott Foil 2027 article is a useful companion, and our groupset explainer covers the SRAM and Campagnolo electronic systems specified here. Our IBF 2026 roundup puts the Elara next to the other launches from Misano, including the Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0, which chases the same rider with 58 mm of clearance.

If you are unsure which of the two Factors fits the riding you actually do, talk to our concierge.

Sources: BiciDaStrada.it, Giovanni Bettini, 4 September 2026; Factor Bikes, Elara official page.