- Aston Martin and titanium bicycle leader J.Laverack unite to create an innovative road bicycle handcrafted in the UK exceeding anything seen before
- J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R developed by high-performance designers with experience of Aston Martin’s sportscar and hypercar projects
- Offering a truly bespoke build for each owner, the world’s first online bicycle configurator offers the exact colours and materials available on Aston Martin’s ultra-luxury, high performance sportscars
- The bicycle celebrates the shared passion for cycling that originally introduced Aston Martin’s founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford more than 110 years ago
- J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R to make its public debut at Rouleur Live in London on Thursday 2 November
31 October 2023, Gaydon, UK: Aston Martin and British titanium bicycle leader J.Laverack have united to create a road bicycle without equal; the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R.
Developed with input from high-performance automotive designers, the .1R is the most bespoke, most advanced and most engineered bicycle ever created featuring a number of world firsts.
Synergising the shared values of the two high performance British brands, Aston Martin and J.Laverack have applied truly innovative design and engineering processes to produce a fully integrated ‘visually boltless’ design that possesses an aesthetic purity and obsession to detail beyond compare.
The J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R uses a flawless fusion of parametrically designed, 3D printed titanium lugs and sculpted carbon fibre tubes. 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, despite the intricacy involved in manufacturing.
Oliver Laverack, Co-founder of J.Laverack Bicycles, said: “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 J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R features faultless clean lines, where bicycle owners would
normally expect to find fixings at the stem or seat post. The integrated four piston brake calipers are clean sheet design and required the development of bespoke testing equipment. As a result, there is not a single exposed cable or hose visible on the whole bicycle.
Applying innovations from outside the normal sphere of bicycles, everywhere you look on the .1R there are new solutions. Developed in collaboration with the most innovative designers from the high-performance automotive world, the .1R not only adopts design mastery from Aston Martin’s supercar and hypercar programmes but also benefits from the pinnacle of road bicycle engineering.
Marek Reichman, Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer at Aston Martin, said: “The J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R is essentially a titanium hypercar on two wheels. 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.”
Each owner will be invited to Aston Martin’s headquarters in Gaydon where a full fitting will take place with the founders of J.Laverack, providing limitless opportunity to customise their uniquely personal .1R. Customers can select the exact same colour palettes and trim choices available on Aston Martin’s cars, providing the opportunity to pair car and bike, should they wish to.
Meanwhile, everyone will be able to specify their dream version of a .1R courtesy of the integration of the road bicycle into Aston Martin’s multi-award-winning online configurator. As well as the saddle and handlebar tape, this digital tool allows users to individually specify the colour of the tubes, lugs, forks, stem, seat post and handlebar drops.
If desired, the carbon fibre can of course be left bare in order to show off the beauty of the material. Accents such as the bottom bracket cups, brake calipers, and the brake disc centres have a special ceramic coating that can be picked out in bronze or muted in black.
When a customer then takes delivery of their custom J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R, they will notice that each bike and its components such as hubs, cranks and frame are numbered, forever linking them as part of a whole. The bicycle will also be supplied with its own case, either in aluminium or carbon, which will double as both a travel solution and somewhere to display the .1R appropriately. Each .1R travel case will also include a track pump that matches the bike, featuring Alcantara or leather covered handles, and sits securely inside the protective cases.
About the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R
J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R is not a bicycle simply to be gazed at – it has been purposefully designed with performance and riding experience at the core. For example, the integrated brakes are not merely attractive, the use of four pistons as opposed to the usual two gives greater progression and feel through the levers. The .1R’s frame demonstrates a similar blend of form and function: By using a combination of Ti 6Al/4V titanium, which is known for its lively ride qualities, and carbon fibre to provide the requisite stiffness, the .1R has a responsiveness that will delight everywhere from the rough cobbles of Flanders to the soaring climbs of the Pyrenees.
Further evidence that the .1R has been designed for long, enjoyable days in the saddle is manifested in the unparalleled way in which each bike can be tailored to its owner. Although custom fitting isn’t new in the world of bicycles, it is usually more in the realm of made to measure, whereas the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R is truly bespoke. Typifying this philosophy, each Sphyr stem – named after the hammerhead shark (Sphyrna) – will be 3D printed from titanium to each owner’s unique measurements. Reach and width can all be specified with absolute precision.
Continuing in this vein, while crank lengths are generally only available in increments of 2.5mm, the owner of a .1R will be able to specify his or her crank length down to fractions of a millimetre. This is thanks to bespoke, 3D printed titanium tips on the carbon crank arms. The saddle height will be adjusted using a set of beautiful bespoke titanium collars that can be interchanged. Each bicycle will also be supplied with a unique set of tools, that will sit alongside the collars, inside a beautifully handmade wooden tool case.
The phrase ‘badge engineering’ has often been associated with collaborative bicycle projects in the past, but the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R brings a rather different meaning to the expression. Set under the lacquer, the metal badges on this bicycle have truly beautiful engineering behind them. Each one measures just 40 microns thin and employs the same process used on the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s badge, which was dubbed the lace wing.
The hypercar’s wheel design can be glimpsed in miniature in the titanium piston caps of the brakes on the bike, while if you inspect the beautifully machined cups on the threaded bottom bracket of the .1R and you will notice parallels with the central wheel nuts on an Aston Martin Valkyrie.
Other details include the pierced stem, which artfully mirrors the side strake on an Aston Martin DB12 yet still allows enough room for the internal routing of the brake hoses. The titanium thru axles are also a work of art, with a wall thickness of just 0.7mm in places. And, unlike other bicycles, the end of each axle is hidden on the non-drive side.
Customers will be able to choose from any of the three 12-speed groupsets used by professionals in the UCI World Tour. Whether there is a preference for, Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, Campagnolo Super Record Wireless or SRAM RED eTap AXS, the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R can be built accordingly. The .1R’s bespoke chainrings are machined from aluminium and the sizes can be specified by each owner.
The AERA Components Æ|55 wheels are also unique to the .1R, featuring 55mm deep carbon tubeless rims with an internal width of 22mm. They are laced with 28 Sapim CX-Ray spokes that continue a black colour scheme on the wheels, as do the hubs that have been designed specifically for the .1R and are machined to perfection from high strength aerospace aluminium before being finished in a custom brevet black colour way. Continental has even created a 30mm wide special stealth black version of its GP5000S TR tyres, which are the optimal width for the specially made carbon rims and offer a perfect blend of speed and comfort.
The C13 saddle from British company Brooks has been specifically commissioned for the .1R. Each saddle can be trimmed in the owners choice of leather or Alcantara, and is finished with a single titanium rivet. The same material choice is available for the handlebar grips, with the full suite of Aston Martin colours on offer.
Blend the innovative with the traditional, the sublime beauty and precise functionality of the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R is something extremely special. Handcrafted in the UK it is a true collaboration between two companies that are at the forefront of their fields. Aston Martin’s founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford were brought together through racing bicycles at London’s historic Bath Road Club and there is little doubt that the .1R, the world’s most bespoke, advanced and meticulously engineered bike, is something they would have been thrilled by.
The J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R will make its public debut at Rouleur Live in London on Thursday 2 November. A celebration of cycling culture, Rouleur Live is taking place at Truman Brewery, London from Thursday 2 November until Saturday 4 November.
To find out more about the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R, please visit: https://astonmartin.jlaverack.co.uk
