IN BRIEF
The Human Powered Health team is riding the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on a Factor ONE XXRAY painted in SpongeBob SquarePants colours. The artwork is taken from artist Jason Freeny’s XXRAY series, which shows the imagined anatomy of cartoon characters beneath their familiar appearance — a parallel Factor claims with its own philosophy, where performance comes from what lies hidden under the paint. Both limited editions, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star, are already on sale to the public through Factor and a selection of official dealers. The brand, however, is not disclosing how many will be built.
| Models | Factor ONE XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and Patrick Star Edition |
| Frame (team bike) | TeXtreme, Toray, Nippon Graphite pitch-based fibre |
| Fork | ONE Wide Stance Fork |
| Drivetrain | SRAM RED AXS, SRAM Quarq power meter |
| Wheels | Black Inc SIXTY TWO |
| Cockpit | Factor Integrated Barstem, 80 mm reach, 120 mm drop, 380 mm width |
| Tyre clearance | 34 mm measured |
| Axles | 12 x 100 mm front, 12 x 142 mm rear |
| Price | From $7,899.00 (Factor pricing, US market) |
Special liveries are part of the Tour’s folklore: brand anniversaries, regional tributes, gold leaf. All that was missing was a sea sponge in square trousers.
A SpongeBob SquarePants Factor ONE XXRAY at the Tour de France Femmes
Human Powered Health lines up at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on custom-painted Factor ONE bikes in the colours of the cartoon series. The character’s yellow covers the large aero surfaces of the frame, fork and cockpit; on the fork leg, SpongeBob appears full-length, half cartoon, half anatomical plate.
The choice of artwork has its logic. The drawings come from artist Jason Freeny’s XXRAY series, which consists precisely of opening up cartoon characters to reveal their imagined skeletons and organs. Factor sees an echo of its own message in that: “The concept mirrors Factor’s engineering philosophy, where the ONE’s true performance comes from the advanced aerodynamic design, carbon construction and engineering that lie beneath the surface,” the team’s press release explains. It is a clever marketing argument — but it holds up.
“Superbikes don’t have to be monochrome to be fast”
It is David Millar who sums up the intention. The former Scottish rider, now Factor’s Chief Brand Officer, puts it this way:
Superbikes don’t have to be monochrome to be fast. This project is about bringing joy and personality into top-level racing without compromising performance. We hope it will help introduce even more people to the excitement of women’s cycling.
David Millar, Chief Brand Officer at Factor
It was the brand’s Global Creative Director, Jay Gundzik, who adapted Freeny’s drawings to the ONE’s sculpted aero frame. The team, for its part, owns the gesture on the ground of visibility: according to its press release, “the bold graphics celebrate the personality and growing cultural appeal of women’s cycling”. At a televised race, a bright yellow bike gets noticed.
Two editions already on sale, with no numbers announced
The part that will interest collectors comes down to one line of the press release: the public can buy the Factor ONE XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star limited editions “through Factor Bikes and select official dealers”. The second applies the same principle to the starfish’s world: it is the one ridden by Ma Petite Entreprise, the other team equipped by Factor at the race.
The team’s press release, though, remains sparing: Rennrad-News noted on 31 July that Factor was presenting both versions as heavily limited, without giving the quantity, the specification or the price. Since then, the brand has put both colourways on sale on its own site, with seven builds listed on its product page, starting at 7,899 dollars and rising to 14,799 dollars for the Campagnolo Super Record 13 — prices quoted for the US market. The number of units built appears neither in the team’s press release nor on Factor’s product pages.
What we do know is what the riders are on. The spec sheet published by Human Powered Health details a frame in TeXtreme, Toray and Nippon Graphite pitch-based fibre, a ONE Wide Stance fork, a SRAM RED AXS groupset with a Quarq power meter, Black Inc SIXTY TWO wheels, a 380 mm-wide Factor integrated cockpit, Wahoo Speedplay pedals, Challenge tyres and a Wahoo ELEMNT Roam V3 computer. Maximum measured tyre clearance: 34 mm. Under the paint, it is a thoroughly serious modern aero bike — which was precisely the point.
