OSTRO VAM David Millar Edition

What would you do if a bike brand asked you to design your ideal bike? Would you know where to start? Do you have strongly held beliefs of how it should ride, feel, and look? Or would you be lost in a quagmire of choice and indecision?

We sometimes think that professional riders get to dictate to their smallest wish how their team bikes will feel and look, but by and large, that is far, far from the truth. In fact, most of us, even if we are on a non-WorldTour budget, have more choice when we buy our bikes and clothing than even the top ranked pros have. It’s no mistake that one of the more famous clothing brand taglines is “Sponsor Yourself.”

Photo credit: dexaxars.studio

That’s something David Millar, in all his years of racing, was not able to do. Tied to sponsorship contracts and demands, he frequently ended up riding bikes that were poorly fitted, handled terribly, or were just too heavy. In fact, that lack of personalized quality may well have been the main culprit for David turning away from road cycling for many years, and focusing more on off-road, leisure cycling, and other ways to have fun. Many pros experience this after retiring. They have been forced to ride so hard for so long on inferior materials that they kinda just never want to ride a road bike again. Why do you think so many pros in their mid-30s are retiring and turning into gravel pros?

Of course, it’s just like riding a bicycle. That love for the road is still deeply embedded; all it takes is the right road bike to bring out the joy again. “I’ve gotten back into cycling pretty big time the past year and a half. I hadn’t been riding much so I hadn’t been on the new bikes and so when Rob (Gitelis, Factor Founder and CEO) and John (Ebsen, Factor Global Sales Manager) got me an OSTRO VAM last year, I was like, oh yeah, I’d forgotten what a race bike is like,” David explained.

“I had been riding on mountain bikes and gravel. I hadn’t any great desire or need for a fast bike. And then when I got back on the OSTRO, I was like, ‘I really enjoy this’ and so when the new OSTRO VAM came out, I was super excited about it.”

Photo credit: dexaxars.studio

Signature Edition

David Millar has a history with Factor. He and Rob Gitelis have been friends and working together for nearly ten years. He and his clothing company, CHPT3, have collaborated with Factor on several special edition bikes, but this is the first time that Factor has designed a bike specifically for Millar the man.

“This is the first signature edition that we have done. It just felt, because of my relationship with Rob and with Factor, it just kinda felt quite nice to do something this personal because it has been nearly ten years we’ve been working together,” David said. “So, the time seemed right. It’s ironic because I didn’t want to do a signature edition when I stopped racing. I guess it was too soon. Weird now that a decade later it feels more appropriate.”

Photo credit: dexaxars.studio

A design with that special je ne sais quoi

Since David was no stranger to working with Factor to create special edition bikes, he knew he’d have some apt partners to create something special. “I wanted something elegant. Something that added to the bike, or I wouldn’t say added, but rather was in tune with the bike.” For his CHPT3 editions, David has been unapologetically engaged in storytelling, making each design emblematic of his journey through the different phases of his career. However, with this OSTRO VAM design, he was looking for it more to feel rather than think.

“A lot of times in the past, I would do complex, narrative-based designs, which is often what we do at CHPT3. Everything has a story,” he said. “But with this, I just wanted to do something elegant and timeless. I didn’t want it to be overly complex. I didn’t want to have a deep narrative. I just wanted to have a beautiful bike. I wanted something that could stand the test of time, yet at the same time stand out from the crowd without being loud.”

To find the right design to fit the brief, David worked with Factor’s Creative Director, Jay Gundzik.

“The OSTRO VAM engineering and design speaks for itself, and I wanted to show a bit of respect towards that. I thought you didn’t need to add anything to this really,” David said. “So, when speaking to Jay, and he said ‘actually I’ve got this technique and color that I haven’t used before called Rose Gold,’ I was like Hells yeah! And that sounded perfect because it is so different.”

Photo credit: dexaxars.studio

Elegant high performance

“Normally top end racing machines are pretty brutalist. They are either very simple with a classic colorway or the paint is more in line with the team graphics. With Rose Gold it felt more like a piece of beautiful jewelry. It’s a jewel of a bike,” David explained. “When I am out riding it, people will stop me and remark on it. I think because it is just so elegant. It captures the design without being over the top. And I put a little bit of jade teal on the fork just to give it this little je ne sais quoi. It's like a Japanese design concept wabi-sabi. It’s kinda the imperfection that makes it perfect.”

Photo credit: dexaxars.studio

The OSTRO VAM in Rose Gold is not only intensely beautiful, it’s also a super high performing bike, which is essential to its DNA.

“Getting on the OSTRO VAM last year was super exciting for me. It’s what triggered my desire to ride on the road again. The road represents for me the ultimate performance. It is about speed and lightweight. Even if I am a bit older and a bit weaker, I still love all the equipment,” David said. “And being able to ride the fastest bike in the world, it’s fun. I think that’s when I realized this is what the road means to me.”

Enjoying a magical ride

Not only does David Millar have a long history with Factor, he has a deep friendship with Factor’s founder, Rob Gitelis. Just this past summer, he and Rob tackled the Migration Gravel Race together. That brutal story you can relive in the blog posts David shared with us. Even though that was gravel-oriented, the race aspect of it offers an appropriate introduction back to the competitive mindset that defined so much of David’s time on the bike when he was a professional.

“It’s about going fast, pushing myself to the absolute limit. And with Factor, that’s Rob’s whole value system, isn’t it? Just build pure performance machines,” David explained. “It’s the equipment I wish I had had when I was a pro.”

The type of bike that can inspire even a hardened pro who has seen it all must have something unique at its core. “We often do designs that stand apart from the bike that the bike has to sort of carry. Whereas I wanted something that really became part of the bike. Because the design is so simple, it accentuates the engineering. You really can see all the shapes and the framework,” David said. “In the golden hour in the morning or evening, it’s magical the way it lights up. It really changes and becomes this sculpture.”

Available to add to your collection

The special design of the OSTRO VAM David Millar Edition skillfully treads the line between simple monochromatic and flashy color hue. It’s a color that will match any kit, impress the casual onlooker, and motivate its owner to ride farther.

“The bike itself is just one of those ones that you want to have in your collection. For me it stands apart and feels very special. The OSTRO itself is very special, and this design seems to capture that in a way that when I get on it and go out for a ride, I know that this is the best bike that I have.”

The OSTRO VAM David Millar Edition can be ordered for a limited time. We have multiple build options available, including the Campagnolo Super record S Wireless groupset, which David has been using on his OSTRO VAM. If you would like to add the unique design to your collection, please contact us and one of our experts will be happy to help.