Why I love the ONE by David Millar

The ONE is unlike any bike I’ve ever ridden. Then again, it doesn’t look like any other bike either.

What surprised me was not that it looked so different, but that the ride backed up the appearance. In a world where road-bike design had started to feel increasingly predictable, the ONE felt genuinely unexpected.

I had watched the bike develop from close range. I was slightly on the periphery, but had full visibility of the process and was involved in plenty of the discussions. Many of those conversations centred on the progressive geometry system, and the uncertainty around how riders would respond to it.

What “progressive” really means

“Progressive” now feels like a slightly strange word for it, because what once appeared radical has quickly become a new benchmark. The geometry is not different for the sake of being different. It simply allows the bike to catch up with the way modern riders are positioning themselves: further forward over the bottom bracket, using shorter cranks and narrower bars, with the front of the bike extended to support that position.

I rode it for the first time in Girona in October 2025. It was a pre-production test bike we had shipped over for a media launch, and I expected it to feel different. I just wasn’t prepared to feel how different it was within the first 50 metres of clipping in.

I had the biggest, stupidest grin on my face.

Seated, it felt like some strange combination of a road bike and a time-trial bike: low, planted and relentlessly fast. Then I stood up on the pedals, and it suddenly felt like a lightweight climbing bike. The sensations seemed completely incongruous. Nothing quite made sense, yet everything felt right.

In a straight line, it felt as though it was running on rails. But the handling was still direct, immediate and incredibly responsive. That combination was unlike anything I knew.

So much of controlling a bike is instinctive. The same movements, reactions and reference points carry across almost every bike you ride. All of that was still present on the ONE, but there was something else layered on top of it, as though another dimension of control had been added.

Even now, I find it difficult to explain precisely. I just knew within those first few metres that the bike was operating by a slightly different set of rules.

First ride fireworks

On that first ride, I decided to test it on the descent of Els Àngels, probably the most ridden climb and descent in Girona. I took the steeper side towards Madremanya, a road I’ve ridden countless times.

By the first corner, I already knew I was carrying more speed than usual. I had to take a completely different line from the one I would normally choose, and that continued all the way down. The bike was not forcing me into those lines. It was simply arriving at each corner faster, while still giving me the control to deal with it.

The ONE feels fast at almost any speed, but above 50 km/h something changes. There is a noticeable quickening, as though the bike has entered its natural habitat. It becomes more settled, more purposeful and somehow even more responsive.

On that first ride, I set the fastest time on the Els Àngels - Madremanya descent for 2025 (4mins 53 seconds), on a leaderboard of more than 16,000 riders, including plenty of professionals. That is not something I would normally expect to do, and it is not a result I can honestly attribute to myself alone.

It was the bike.

What is perhaps even more surprising is that the feeling is not limited to flat roads or descents. Uphill, the ONE feels light and responsive in a way that seems completely at odds with its appearance, and with what you might expect from an aero road bike carrying some of the visual language of a time-trial machine.

Part of that comes from the geometry and the way the rider’s centre of gravity is positioned. Part comes from the front-end architecture, with the handlebars sitting further forward and decoupled from the steerer. Together, they create a very particular contrast: rock-solid stability when seated, but agility and responsiveness the moment you stand on the pedals.

I had a particularly strange demonstration of this during one of my morning rides at the 2026 Tour de France. I was in the Massif Central and found myself confronted with a ramp of 29%. At one point, I realised I could take a hand off the bars to take a photo while riding up it.

That is not normal.

There was no front-wheel lift, and whether I was in or out of the saddle, I felt completely in control. It is worth noting that I was going extremely slowly, but even so, the composure of the bike was remarkable.

Stunning ride, stunning appearance

I’ve been lucky enough to choose the ONE as my main bike this year. I still love the OSTRO VAM. For me, it remains the benchmark all-round road-racing bike. But the ONE is unapologetically more hardcore.

It has an aura when it is parked up waiting to be ridden. Then, when I get on it, I become a slightly different version of myself. It reminds me of when I was a racer, not because I suddenly have the same legs, but because of the way the bike makes me approach the ride.

The number of personal bests I’ve set on familiar local roads since riding it has been slightly ridiculous. That is not only because the ONE is fast. It is because it makes me feel fast, and when I feel fast, I want to ride faster.

It is really, really good fun.

Then there is what happens when you stop.

While travelling with the Tour de France, I’ve been getting out to ride most mornings. Occasionally, I’ll pull into a café or boulangerie to refuel, and the attention the bike attracts is bonkers. People stop what they are doing. They walk over, look closely and start asking questions.

There is something wonderful about that reaction. It is not simply admiration. It is curiosity, surprise and a little disbelief.

In many ways, it mirrors exactly how I felt during those first 50 metres in Girona. The ONE takes something familiar, the road bike, and makes you look at it again.

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