Factor Bikes has unveiled two SpongeBob SquarePants-inspired Factor ONE special editions for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, because apparently even the upper reaches of WorldTour equipment are no longer immune to Bikini Bottom.
The new Factor ONE XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and Factor ONE XXRAY PLUS Patrick Star Edition will be raced by riders from Human Powered Health and Ma Petite Entreprise at the pinnacle of women’s stage racing.
The collaboration sees Factor apply XXRAY’s character-driven treatment to its aero race platform, turning the ONE into a pair of highly visible rolling billboards for SpongeBob and Patrick. Factor says the designs combine its engineering-first approach with the optimism and energy of the Nickelodeon characters. Perhaps a sentence that no one expected to read in connection with a UCI-level aero bike.
Under the cartoon finish remains the Factor ONE chassis, described by the brand as its most advanced aero racing bike in the professional peloton. The point, according to Factor, is to prove that elite-level performance and loud visual identity can coexist, even if the result may divide opinion.
The bikes will appear at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, where they are likely to achieve at least one objective immediately: being noticed. Factor is positioning the project as a celebration of creativity, craftsmanship and self-expression in cycling, while also leaning into the increasingly familiar idea that top-tier race bikes can double as pop-culture canvases.
David Millar, Factor chief brand officer, said: “Super bikes don’t have to be monochrome to be fast. This project is about bringing joy and personality into elite racing without compromising performance in any way. The ONE XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and the ONE XXRAY PLUS Patrick Star Edition are built to compete at the very highest level. It just happens to do it with a smile.”
Factor says the special editions retain the control, aerodynamic efficiency and handling expected from its flagship platform. The visual treatment, meanwhile, draws on SpongeBob’s underwater world of Bikini Bottom.
Human Powered Health and Ma Petite Entreprise will race the bikes during the event, with Factor presenting the project as an attempt to bring new audiences to women’s cycling. Whether SpongeBob and Patrick prove to be gateway characters for the next generation of cycling fans remains to be seen, but the bikes should at least make the television cutaways easier to identify.
Millar added: “For the fourth anniversary of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, we wanted to celebrate by creating something special and unique, something that would invite new interest in the event. We hope that this vibrant collaboration helps to get more people excited about women’s cycling and appreciate its inclusive energy.”
The Factor ONE XXRAY PLUS SpongeBob SquarePants Edition and Factor ONE XXRAY PLUS Patrick Star Edition will be available in very limited numbers through factorbikes.com and official Factor dealers.
Further information is available at factorbikes.com.
