SpongeBob Factor bikes will bring a cartoon twist to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, with two Factor-sponsored teams set to race custom One aero machines.
Human Powered Health will use a yellow-and-blue One XXRAY Plus SpongeBob SquarePants Edition. Ma Petite Entreprise will race a pink-and-purple One XXRAY PLUS Patrick Star Edition.
Both designs place characters from the animated series across the radical Factor One platform. SpongeBob appears on the deep fork leg of the Human Powered Health bike. Patrick Star runs down the fork of the Ma Petite Entreprise version.
SpongeBob Factor bikes bring Bikini Bottom to the peloton
The bikes also include details inspired by Bikini Bottom, the undersea setting of SpongeBob SquarePants. Starfish symbols and bright colour cues run through both frame designs.
Factor said the project aimed to add a livelier look before the fifth Tour de France Femmes. The race starts on 1 August in Lausanne, Switzerland.
David Millar, Factor chief brand officer, described the collaboration as an unexpected meeting of performance and playfulness. He said the Factor One remains the brand’s most advanced aero race platform.
Millar said the SpongeBob, Patrick and XXRAY concept added “optimism, personality and playfulness” to a serious race bike.
The artwork comes from Jason Freeny, who designs the XXRAY pop culture collection. Factor global creative director Jay Gundzik translated Freeny’s work onto the race bikes.
Millar said the One’s broad aerodynamic surfaces gave the design team a larger canvas than a conventional frame. That allowed the characters to appear at greater scale and impact.
The result is more than a small decal treatment. The graphics form a major part of each bike’s overall visual identity.
WorldTour and ProTeam squads receive matching builds
Human Powered Health race at Women’s WorldTour level and are based in the United States. Ma Petite Entreprise are a French ProTeam outfit.
Both teams are sponsored by SRAM. Their Factor Ones will use SRAM Red AXS groupsets during the race.
The builds will also feature Black Inc 62 wheels. Black Inc is Factor’s in-house component brand.
The SpongeBob Factor bikes continue a run of distinctive cycling collaborations involving the cartoon franchise and Factor. Supreme released SpongeBob-themed jerseys and bib shorts with Castelli in 2025.
Factor has also used collaborations to promote special bike designs. The Bugatti Factor One used a deeper, vented fork influenced by Bugatti’s motorsport expertise.
At this year’s Paris-Roubaix, some riders from Modern Adventure Pro Cycling and Human Powered Health raced Factor Monza bikes. Those frames carried graphics designed by Belgian artist Vexx.
Factor says it will offer a limited run of both SpongeBob SquarePants designs. The bikes will be sold online and through official dealers.
The racing debut gives Factor a high-profile stage for a project built around contrast. The bikes pair elite aero engineering with one of television’s most recognisable cartoon worlds.