My first ride on the Factor LS was a social ‘Strade Bianche’ event around the city of Vejle in Denmark with a lot of gravel sectors and some nice paved roads in between.

After the first gravel section, I found myself in a smaller group of 6 riders who wanted to push the pace. I quickly got the feeling that this bike was made for speed and racing, as every pedal stroke effortlessly transformed into power and speed.

The LS felt really stiff, and the handling skills were great – both on gravel and paved roads. With my previous gravel bikes, I had the feeling of heaviness, of no power transfer and difficulty with handling in the corners. With the LS, I am not disappointed. This bike is by far the best gravel or cross bike I have ridden.

In my opinion, the perfect gravel bike will be as close to a road bike as possible, and I think the LS frame is very close, if not spot on. When you look at the frame you can tell that Factor has used some of the know-how from the O2 frameset and made more room for bigger tires, added additional space for bottle cages and made the frame more resistant to small impacts from rocks and other hard objects.”

Stepping into the gravel scene with the LS, I chose to name the bike after someone who lived the ethos of gravel long before gravel became popular. Larry Shahboz put me on my first race bike and gave me my first job at a bike shop. He welcomed and created a space for other “misfits” who loved bikes, and supported a long list of up and coming athletes. Gravel is founded in the principle of community and welcoming all even as it becomes an authority in racing. Larry created a community in the South Florida cycling scene, simply through his love of cycling. While he may not be here to witness the emergence of the welcoming gravel scene, I know he would have fully embraced and loved its core values based in community.”