The J.Laverack titanium J.ack Bicycle

Where the young TE Lawrence rode a three-speed bicycle in ‘sit up and beg’ style made by cycle manufacturer Morris of Oxford, I ride a J.Laverack titanium framed J.ACK II with mechanical gears, hydraulic brakes and carbon ÆRA wheels (36 front with dynamo hub plus E3 triple front light and Hope RS4 rear Supernova). Well, get that, won’t you…

The J.ack is a superb touring bike - robust and effortlessly able over rough country roads. Its titanium frame means it copes well with ‘road buzz’ - it soaks up the small bumps and chunks you would feel more keenly on a carbon or a steel frame. It is marginally heavier than other bikes, but has a gentle feel and crucially over long distances you can expect a more comfortable ride. Also, it looks bloody beautiful.

The J.ACK (officially a J.ACK II) is produced by a young company (J.Laverack was founded in 2015 and was one of the first to add disc brakes to a road bike) in a small, unfussy showroom with one or two parking issues tucked away on a light industrial estate in Oakham in Rutland. It’s fun to visit and great to see a small compamy like this at worl. Frames can be customised with pretty much anything you’d expect, from rack and guard mounts to personalised stencilling burned into the top tube.

In 2019 I rode the J.ack for more than 2500 miles in pursuit of TE Lawrence and other projects, including trips to Wales, to France and to Oman (Bikingman Oman). It had a final outing for the year at an event called Ride the Trafalgar Way, 500km non-stop from Falmouth to the Admiralty in London, in the trail of the naval lieutenant who returned from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 with the news that the French navy was defeated but Nelson was dead.

Disclosure means that I should mention that after riding 1000km in Bikingman Oman, I struck a deal with J.Laverack (yes, I liked it that much) in which they offered the J.ack bicycle at a reduced rate in return for the publicity gained through this and other projects.

See more about J.Laverack Bicycles

Morris Bicycles
TE Lawrence’s Morris bicycle was upgraded to three gears by 1907 – in his letters, he refers to his ‘fast gear’ - and he owned the bicycle until around 1920, when it was stolen while he was a fellow of All Souls College at Oxford University.

Morris was founded by William Morris, a bicycle racer, repairer and producer, in the last years of the 19th Century. In 1901 Morris started to work with motorcycles and eventually in 1912, he began to manufacture cars. Based in Oxford, his company produced models including the Morris Oxford Bullnose, the Morris Cowley, the Morris Six and Morris Eight, and eventually the Morris Minor. William Morris was later ennobled for his philanthropic work, becoming Viscount Nuffield.