When the car brand Aston Martin is mentioned words like luxury, high-end, performance, speed, exclusivity and style come to mind. Since 1913, the British brand has become iconic across the globe for producing some of the world’s most desirable, ultra-luxury performance sportscars. Now, in collaboration with titanium bike builders J.Laverack, Aston Martin has brought its innovative designs and luxury experience from the high-performance automotive world to road cycling by launching its J.Laverack Aston Martin .R1 – a fully integrated ‘visually boltless’ custom-built bike.
Performance and riding experience are at the core of its design, and it is not just a bike to be gazed upon. The J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R bike is made from 3D-printed titanium lugs and sculpted carbon fibre tubes. The two British brands say this ensures a frame that not only delivers an exceptional blend of response and comfort but also sets new standards of elegance and beauty on two wheels. The smooth unions of the lugs and tubes are truly innovative, and the herringboned weave of the carbon fibre on display is immaculate, achieving clean lines where fixings would normally be found.
Oliver Laverack, co-founder of J.Laverack Bicycles, says: “Working with the team at Aston Martin has unlocked new ideas and innovations, the application of which has created a bicycle more advanced than anything currently available on the market. Working in collaboration with Aston Martin we have not only taken our titanium bicycles to new heights but have also unlocked true innovation within the cycling industry, creating a bicycle with unparalleled levels of craftsmanship and performance engineering.
“Every component is designed to be part of the whole and to marry perfectly with the adjoining elements, achieving an unsurpassed degree of integration, which lays the foundation for the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R’s boltless design.”
The bike’s brakes are also fully integrated, using four piston brake callipers compared to two for greater progression and feel through the levers, says J.Laverack. This also allows for no exposed cables on the whole bike, just a clean, aesthetically simple-looking bike, but what lies beneath is an “obsession to detail beyond compare”.
The supercar brand has worked previously in the bike industry, but this is a bike that has seen its most advanced engineering. Aston Martin’s founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford have a deep-rooted history with cycling themselves and were brought together through bike racing at London’s historic Bath Road Club, so it only seemed a natural collaboration for the supercar manufacturer to team up with bespoke British brand J.Laverack to blend innovation with tradition.
“The J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R is essentially a titanium hypercar on two wheels,” said Marek Reichman, executive vice president and chief creative officer at Aston Martin. “The simple, clever genius is how we’ve fused the engineering advancements throughout the bike with a purity of performance design to deliver a viscerally exhilarating riding experience. The result is a distinctive form, born through tradition and technology and handcrafted using only the most advanced materials, befitting the pedigrees and forward-thinking natures of our two iconic British companies.”
Almost every aspect of the bike has been custom-made specifically for the .R1. The C13 saddle has been commissioned by Brooks specifically, and the AERA Components Æ|55 wheels are also unique to the .1R, featuring 55mm deep carbon tubeless rims with an internal width of 22mm. Customers are also able to choose from three 12-speed groupsets – Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, Campagnolo Super Record Wireless or SRAM RED eTap AXS.
The luxury experience synonymous with Aston Martin does not end with the bike’s design. On purchasing one of these bespoke bikes, individuals will be invited to Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon, UK, for a full fitting with the founders of J.Laverack, providing customers with the opportunity to fine-tune their bikes with expert knowledge. The measurements from the fitting are down to fractions of a millimetre, says J.Laverack, with crank lengths specifically made for each rider and the Sphyr stem made with absolute precision due to the bespoke, 3D-printed titanium.
For complete individuality, customers will also be able to select from a range of Aston Martin car colours and trims (queue matching bikes and cars), as well as saddle and handlebar tape. There is also the option to have the carbon fibre left bare to show off the beauty of the raw material. Bottom bracket cups, brake callipers, and brake disc centres also has a customisable ceramic coating, either in bronze or muted in black.
When delivered, the bike arrives in an aluminium or carbon case that can double as a travel bike box and includes a matching track pump and bespoke tool kit.
The J.Laverack Aston Martin .R1 will make its debut at Rouleur Live 2023.
