Aethos Jet Fuel Project With A Pretty Radical Customisation

Specialized kicks off its Aethos Jet Fuel project with a pretty radical customisation.

- Kenneth Tan

When Californian-based bicycle manufacturer Specialized launched its range-topping S-Works Aethos last year, it threw out the rule book on bike design and laser-focused its 46 years of accumulated wisdom to create the purest expression of riding. Following a secretive one-year development, the resulting Aethos emerged. It was hailed as a high-performance bike, which prioritises ‘the perfect ride’. Boasting the world’s lightest production disc-brake bicycle frameset (617g), Aethos succeeds in its mission to confer utmost handling and ride quality with an ultralight carbon fibre structure. This was achieved through over 100,000 computer simulations on the frame shape, with Specialized deriving a structurally efficient road bike that is incredibly responsive, stimulated on climbs and evens out road imperfections.

Most intriguingly, the Aethos frame doesn’t offer much by way of branding, eliminating logos on the down tubes and other discernible brand signals. The Aethos Jet Fuel frameset (S$8,250) however, was sanded and pre-prepared for custom paint. All of that makes perfect sense with this month’s launch, which showcases the creative heights that owners can aspire to.