J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R

The J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R is probably the most exclusive bike in the world. It’s also gorgeous!

You know how it is? You wait all year for a super-bike, then two come along at once! Yesterday we wrote about the Lotus Type 136, which is an e-bike like no other. Today we have what is surely the ultimate road bike? The Aston Martin .1R by J.Laverack is designed to be the “world’s most bespoke, most advanced and most meticulously engineered road bike.”

This is what happens when a team engineers from the world of super-cars get together with a specialist bespoke bicycle company and use their know-how to produce a hyper-bike! The engineers from Aston Martin are the same people that designed the Valkryie, while J.Laverack are known for producing beautiful titanium bikes. This team was given free-rein and unlimited resources to produce the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R

This hyper-bike mixes carbon tubes with custom-printed 3D titanium parts. So far, not that unusual, but if you take a closer look you’ll see it’s not just the frame. Almost every part on the bike is bespoke. From the amazing aluminium and titanium 4-pot disc-brakes to the custom cranks, you’ll be hard pushed to find much that is stock beyond the groupset and wheels.

Marek Reichman, Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer said about the .1R; “This is simply the best bicycle in the world if you want something bespoke. We’ve pushed the boundaries of design and engineering to match the dreams of our customers. Every single element of the .1R can be personalised. The materials are very much about science, the art of creativity and the ability to create unique solutions that don’t detract from this exceptional bike’s performance capability.”

Integrated brakes

Where to start when there’s just so much to drool over? Let’s take a look at those brakes first. First off they are fully integrated into the frame and fabricated from aluminium and titanium. The calliper body is produced using cnc-machining, spark-erosion and then finished by hand. Once the four titanium pistons are made, they are then nitride coated to minimise friction and resist wear.

The attention paid to little details – like the piston caps which are shaped like the Valkyrie’s wheels – is astounding. The 160mm semi-floating rotors are made from stainless-steel with titanium centres. Both the callipers and rotor centres are ceramic coated and of course you can choose the colour! You can have any of the big three’s top-end gruppos fitted to your .1R, which means they’ve managed to make these brakes work, no matter the lever.

Handlebars and Sphyr stem

Then there’s the 3D-printed stem, which is custom sized to your dimensions. This is then bonded to carbon outers, also custom made and then wrapped in hand-stitched suede or synthetic Alcantara. The hammered finish of the Sphyr stem contrasts nicely with the herringbone carbon and all of this can be in the colour you want.

It’s not just that blend of titanium and carbon though that makes it stand out. There’s the question of how does the stem attach to the bike? There are no visible bolts or screws to tighten the stem to the steerer or adjust the headset. How is it all held together? I’m afraid we’ll have to buy one to find out!

Chainset

The chainset is another glorious combination of carbon and titanium. The cranks are moulded from carbon to your custom length and then topped with 3D-printed titanium tips. These are connected to chainrings in your choice of ratios, milled out of a single piece of aluminium.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie wheel nut inspired bottom bracket is BSA threaded with ceramic bearings and coated with an advanced, heat-resistant ceramic coating.

J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R frame and forks

Now we come to the individually numbered frame and forks. The .1R is made from aerospace grade 6AI/4V titanium lugs bonded to carbon-fibre tubes. Manufacturing this bike is incredibly labour intensive, each bikes takes over 1000 hours to manufacture. 516 hours of that time is spent CNC-machining. This process and the bespoke custom sizing allows for a bike to be made with an almost seamless construction. Take a look and you’re hard pressed to find any of the usual adjustable parts on a normal bike.

If you were to have a small fortune sitting around and wanted one, your first step would be to head over to J.Laverack’s website and spend a few, happy hours choosing your finish. Here you can select the colour of almost every part of the bike and once you’ve decided, download your personal brochure; then it’s off to Aston Martin HQ.

There you will spend half a day being measured up for your bike. Tube lengths, frame angles, handlebar widths and crank lengths are all bespoke and unique to you. Following on from the fit, you’ll have a consultation with one of the J.Laverack founders. They will help you finalise your choice of colours and finishes.

More details

Reading through the website and you come across crazy details; details like the minimalist logos. These are only 40 microns thick, that’s half the thickness of a human hair! They’re cut from stainless steel by the same person who makes the Aston Martin Valkyrie badge.

If you were to buy one, you wouldn’t expect it to turn up in a cardboard box, would you? Thankfully J.Laverack have this covered; the J.Laverack Aston Martin Luxury Travel Case comes with the bike. Inside you’ll find a matching track pump – with Alcantara or leather covered handles – and a bespoke plaque that matches the .1R frame number. There’s also a handmade wooden case containing bespoke tools for the bike and saddle.

Components

Choice of groupset is any of Campagnolo, Shimano or SRAM’s top tier offerings; naturally. Wheels are AERA Components Æ|55 tubeless wheels. These have 55mm deep carbon rims adorned with an ultra-lightweight 40 micron stainless steel Æ logo. The 28 black Sapim CX-Ray spokes have black brass nipples attached to aerospace aluminium hubs designed specifically for the .1R. The hubs have ceramic bearings and are finished in Brevet black. Locking them in place are logoed CNC machined Ti 6Al/4V titanium thru axles. All topped off with 30mm Continental GP5000S TR stealth edition tyres.

So there you go, the J.Laverack Aston Martin .1R hyper-bike, price? Well that is price-on-application, so I guess that means we aren’t going to see many of these out on the road. Which is a real shame as something as beautiful and advanced as this deserves to be seen. Unfortunately I imagine a lot of them will spend their lives locked in their luxury travel case or hung on a wall. While I won’t be riding one unless I win the lottery, you can see it at Rouleur Live. However if you do have some spare cash burning a hole in your pocket, buy one now!