Bastion’s creations are things of rare beauty, with hand-crafted carbon fibre tubes mated to sculpted titanium lugs. The Australian brand's bikes are considered by many as masterpieces of bicycle engineering.
It has been a decade since Bastion released a new road bike and the new Archetype brings everything it has learned in the intervening years to the fore.
It’s the combination of mirror-polished 3D-printed titanium, raw filament-wound carbon and exquisite attention to detail that makes this custom aero race bike stand out.
Combine all that with a wind-tunnel proven design and, in my opinion, the Archetype is 2025’s best-looking bike.
Filament-wound carbon
Each tube is constructed using filament-wound carbon fibre.
Continuous individual fibre strands are woven around a mandrel to construct high-strength lightweight hollow tubes.
True aero profiles
The Archetype’s tubes are different. For the first time, the tube profiles are based around NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) true aerodynamic profiles.
That makes the new Archetype one of the first fully custom aero road bikes available. These tubes are then bonded to aero-optimised 3D-printed titanium lugs.
The new bike has tyre clearances of 34mm and uses a Universal Derailleur Hanger rear dropout for added practicality.
Wind-tunnel tested
The complete bike was wind-tunnel tested at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub by Stephen Roche of the Bike Tailor.
The complete bike, with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and Partington’s R39/44 wheelset, was compared to Bastion’s Icon Superleggera. The Archetype reduced drag by 6-8 watts across 0-15° yaw angles at 35 km/h – speeds said to be typical for Bastion’s clientele.
For an 'average' rider outputting 200 watts, this represents a significant advantage. At higher speeds, the gains are even more dramatic. At 50 km/h, the Archetype slashed aerodynamic drag by an impressive 18-25 watts, according to Bastion.
10 years in the making
Ethan York, Bastion's R&D manager, explained the design behind the Archetype: "Our mission was to increase aerodynamic performance without compromising stiffness or weight. The Archetype achieves this with refined tube profiles and an ultra-efficient joining structure.
"We approached the Archetype with the mindset of evolution, not just innovation. We’ve taken the lessons of the past decade – from filament winding to moulded carbon fibre techniques – and redefined their potential in a new aerodynamic context."
Attention to detail
The head badge hasn’t been spared the aero overhaul. Instead of Bastion’s usual 3D-printed badge, the Archetype’s is etched from a 0.05mm-thick slice of stainless steel. It's placed under the finished frame's clear-coat finish.
Pricing hasn’t been announced, but I’d expect it to be somewhat POA.
Even if, like me, you’ve no chance of being able to afford this most exclusive of superbikes, Bastion has made its online configurator open to all. Previously, you could only access it after placing a deposit.
