Have you heard of Jemm (or J-emm) bikes? Yeah, me neither. This Italian custom brand is doing some truly mad things with bikes, including this astonishing 1× aero road bike with a custom ‘lefty’-style rigid fork.
- The Bombtrack Hook EXT C has the most bosses I’ve ever seen on a carbon bike
- Are non-stick chainrings the answer to improved 1x drivetrain efficiency?
- Vielo’s V+1 takes a dropper, 650b tyres and mudguards (but it's still a road bike)
We spotted this bizarre machine, called the Gravel 5.5 HC, at this year’s Bike Place show, and it’s just one of the strange and wonderful things Jemm makes.
Alongside relatively conventional custom carbon bikes, Jemm builds frames using ‘carbotanium’, a carbon-titanium weave as used in the construction of supercars like the Pagani Zonda.
The motorsports connection is not an accident — Jemm is based in the Emilia Romagna region’s so-called Motor Valley, a stone’s throw from the headquarters of manufacturers including Ferrari, Ducati and yes, Pagani.
According to Jemm’s Jon Iriberri, carbotanium offers some of the advantages of carbon — albeit at an increased weight — with the ride quality of titanium.
All of Jemm's frames are built in house, and the weirdness doesn’t stop at metal-carbon composites. Jemm also builds frames using a kevlar honeycomb, which purports to offer superior vibration absorption to conventional carbon, at a similar weight.
Jemm's bikes are all custom, so you can mix and match frame designs, materials and paintjobs to your heart's content.
On that last point, the Jemm colour palette tends towards the lairy and Euro. The brand even makes mountain bikes, ones with a distinctly Euro flavour.
If you’re interested in the brand, its website can be found here. Make sure you click through the gallery above for more pictures of these unusual machines.
