Built Differently: Rob Gitelis on How Factor Does It

Recognising that the inscrutability of the bike industry is a frequent complaint among cyclists, we have compiled a selection of interviews and podcasts that can act as the perfect key to unlock the mysteries and peek behind the curtain of how a modern bike brand works.

Over the years, Rob Gitelis, founder of Factor and Black Inc, has given a series of extremely open and insightful interviews. His rare mix of huge experience and unguarded insights can add to the understanding of even the most well-versed cycling fan.

Though most of the interviews inevitably cover similar territory, such as how Rob found his way from the Miami cycling scene to Taiwan in the mid 1990s, every interview offers unique nuggets of insider intel that will help to lift the veil on what at times can seem like a very secretive industry.

Talking Marginal Gains with Josh

Rob joined Josh Poertner from Silca on his well-respected and informative Marginal Gains podcast during the height of covid in 2020. Their wide-ranging discussion covered everything from how Rob started in cycling, to how he ended up in Taiwan, and the various companies he worked for before he turned Factor into the leading brand it is today.

Rob and Josh are friends from way back, which makes this a particularly enjoyable interview to hear; more like two friends swapping stories over a beer than a typical Q&A. It reveals that many of the hallmarks that define Factor’s best qualities have been essential to Rob’s way of doing business from the beginning. For instance, when Josh was working for Zipp and coming to Rob’s factory prior to his founding Factor, Josh remembered that “Yours was the one company that was investing heavily in testing product.”

Rob’s claim that owning his own factory meant that they could “make a frame in the morning and test it in the afternoon,” still resonates with how Factor can quickly and efficiently iterate designs.

You’ll hear the origins of Rob’s work making the very first Cervelo as well. And perhaps just as importantly, you’ll hear how Rob, based in Taiwan, chose not to follow those who moved to other southeast Asian countries that promised cheaper labour. Cheap manufacturing costs necessarily equals poorly paid factory workers and other potential human rights lapses, something Rob has always been totally against.

“You have to draw a line in the sand,” Rob said. “I believe in paying a living wage to my employees.”

The podcast reveals many more choice quotes and not generally known bits of information, making the 49-minute runtime fly past.

Coffee and Van Chats

In February 2022, Rob appeared with John Croom on his Coffee and Van Chats podcast. If you’ve already listened to the Marginal Gains podcast, you will have heard the story of how Rob ended up in Taiwan, which is where this podcast naturally enough starts. But the conversation really gets interesting about five minutes in when Rob starts talking about the challenges the company and the industry as a whole faced with covid still raging.

This interview was recorded just a few months after Alex Dowsett made his second attempt at the Hour Record, this time on a specially made Factor HANZŌ track bike. Remember that 3D printed rear triangle? Guess who Rob turned to when he needed something so high quality at such short notice.

Rob on Roadman pod

Appearing on the Roadman podcast in January 2023, Rob continued to explain the intricacies of the bike industry, particularly once carbon fibre became the material of choice, while also retelling the now familiar story of how he ended up in Taiwan.

Disarmingly, when asked at the beginning why he decided to start a bike company, Rob explained: “I like bikes. There is no other reason to own a bike company.” As the saying goes, the only way to make a small fortune in the bike industry is to start out with a big fortune. But actually, that saying doesn’t really hold true for Rob since he has managed to build up an important bike brand while investing and reinvesting in the product. Essentially, profit is necessary to keep the company afloat, but creating the highest quality product possible is the true goal. 

However, running companies like Factor and Black Inc inevitably inflicts a personal toll, something Rob is quite open about in the course of this conversation. True to character, he reflects the belief that nothing worthwhile doing is ever really easy.

Brass tacks with Geek Warning

In the summer of 2024, Escape Collective printed an article about why modern bikes cost as much as they do. Rob Gitelis was quoted heavily in the piece, probably because he was the only brand owner who was willing to lift the lid and put some figures to the complicated process of researching, developing, designing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling high quality bicycles.

But there is no need to read what they wrote because the EC crew also released the recorded interview that they had conducted with Rob in January 2024 while everyone was on-site at the Tour Down Under. As good of a read as the article was, the recorded interview goes so much more deep, clearly outlining a lot of the process and costs related to carbon bike production.

If you’ve ever wondered how frame manufacture happens in Taiwan and China, Rob gives a detailed explanation regarding the cost of bikes and modern bike production, while illustrating some of the challenges every manufacturer faces.

Visiting Wolfi’s

In the spring of 2025, Rob visited the renowned Wolfi’s Bike Shop in the UAE to discuss Factor, his career, and love of the sport. If you have listened to all the other pods we’ve listed here, you’ll already know many of the stories, but don’t pass it by; there are still enough unique and interesting pieces of insider knowledge to make this half-hour easily fly past.

Up for a good read?

If listening to podcasts is not your thing, you can visit this interview with Rob that cyclingnews’ Josh Croxton published in March 2024. It goes into quite a bit of detail, providing a useful backstory and roadmap for what values are important to Rob and how that has shaped Factor and Black Inc’s philosophy.

Sticking to his roots

Rob Gitelis loves bikes. He loves going fast. And he encourages the collaborative effort that goes into creating the fastest, highest quality bikes in the world. Producing products that add value to his customers’ every ride experience means that he and his team of engineers, industrial designers, and carbon lay-up experts strive continually to push every boundary, question every generally-held-belief, and look to what is just over the horizon of material development and design.

It's an attitude and commitment that helps make Factor what it is today.

Never Status Quo.