The M2L Collector's Edition

Some bikes begin with a brief. This one began with a route. The M2L Collector's Edition was created with Simon Mottram for the annual London to Manchester ride: an iconic route from central Manchester to Rapha HQ, London, raising money and awareness for Ambitious for Autism.

Ambitious about Autism is a truly remarkable organisation. They have been a huge support to my wife and me and to my son Oscar over many years through Treehouse School and more recently Ambitious College. Their passion, expertise and, perhaps most of all, their sheer ambition makes a vital difference to all the families whose lives they touch and I'm very proud to be one of their ambassadors.

– Simon Mottram, founder of Rapha

The bike is based on our Durmitor platform, adapted around the specific requirements of M2L. For the M2L edition, that foundation becomes something more personal. The geometry, finish, luggage system and component choices were brought together around a particular idea of travel: light, purposeful, exacting and quietly romantic.

Only five frames will be made. Each one features a Hyperion titanium frame, a hand-painted ENVE In-Route fork, bar and stem, a 3D-printed titanium seatpost and a bespoke white M2L luggage system from Tailfin, specifically customised for this bike. The result is a bicycle that sits somewhere between performance object, travel tool and collector's piece.

Simon's involvement gives the project its centre of gravity. His relationship with road cycling, design, endurance and the culture around bicycles is unusually clear. M2L is not simply a name applied to a frame. It is a ride, a reference point and a way of thinking about what a bicycle should allow.

The M2L Collector's Edition is a bicycle for a particular journey and a particular kind of rider: someone who sees distance not as a number, but as a sequence of decisions, stops, weather, rituals and small acts of trust in the machine underneath them. That is why this project exists.