The BMC Teammachine R launched in October with the formidable purpose of being the proper street racing bike. Whereas I didn’t get to check it in a race, I did journey to the Circuit of the Americas race monitor in Austin, TX, to hitch BMC for take a look at laps, plus a day of around-town using alone. Under are my impressions of the bike, however first, a bit about the way it got here to be.
Why did BMC associate with Purple Bull?
BMC’s racers needed a motorcycle that would deal with the cobbles in addition to the climbs, flats, and sprints, giving them a one-bike quiver for many races and levels. Having already collaborated with Purple Bull Superior Applied sciences (RBAT) to create their Speedmachine TT/Tri bike, they determined to leverage the beverage model’s F1 expertise and tech for this, too.
So BMC went to Purple Bull and mentioned that they had three standards:
- It needed to be as aero as their Timemachine
- It ought to have the identical really feel as their Teammachine SLR
- It needed to be actually mild
RBAT gave them extra pc simulation energy, letting them take a look at extra tube shapes and layup schedules. As soon as Purple Bull’s computer systems had their model of a really perfect bike, BMC got here in and tweaked it into one thing that would truly be manufactured at scale.
The preliminary renderings confirmed a extra bulbous head tube, however it might have been heavier than the slimmer profile with flatter sides, as a result of (BMC says) rounded, bulbous shapes want extra carbon than flat shapes, a minimum of in that individual software. They usually wanted it to “look” like a BMC, in spite of everything.
The top result’s a motorcycle that’s 19% quicker than the SLR and not using a rider, 3.5% quicker with rider, and 1.9% quicker than Timemachine Street, all at 0° yaw within the wind tunnel.
Whereas BMC isn’t calling it an “aero bike”, it’s certainly a race bike that occurs to be very aerodynamic.
Full tech particulars are in our launch protection, however the important thing aero options are:
- Slim headtube and frontal profile
- Extraordinarily vast spacing between fork leg and spokes
- Deep, lengthy backside bracket part
- Built-in bottle cage that shapes airflow over water bottles
They are saying with the fork, you both wish to be extraordinarily near the wheel and tire, or actually removed from it. It’s safer and simpler to go vast, and that enables extra rim and tire compatibility.
They spec a 1700g wheelset with 62mm deep rims, so you can go lighter, however they selected these particularly for the aerodynamics.
The bike can also be actually mild, solely ~50g heavier than the SLR. Claimed body weight is 910g with a 345g fork. They did this by lowering overlap between plies with extra custom-cut items of carbon, utilizing much less the place it’s not wanted and slightly extra within the head tube and BB space for improved stiffness.
BMC Teammachine R trip overview
The Circuit of the Americas monitor is a wonderful testing floor for this bike. Every 3.4 mile lap has 20 turns, one huge punchy climb, and what appeared like a continuing headwind. Powering down the straightaways, standing to hammer up the climb, or diving into corners and S-curves have been all nice. It’s stiff, environment friendly, and handles nice, as I’d anticipate from a race bike costing $14,999 in high trim. (Full bikes begin at $9,199, frameset with cockpit is $5,999)
Whether or not drafting others (or flatbed tractor-trailers with vacationers on the again) or pushing previous them for a solo effort, the bike clearly likes to cheat the wind.
As BMC’s personal numbers counsel, although, the rider remains to be the largest supply of drag. In order that they gave the bike very slender handlebars. All dimension body sizes, from 47 to 61, include the identical one-piece bar stem measuring 360mm vast on the hoods. It flares to 420mm within the drops.
The purpose is to maintain a rider’s arms narrower, making a smaller frontal profile. As a much bigger rider with broader shoulders who sometimes rides 440mm vast handlebars, I used to be stunned that this didn’t hassle me. No less than not given the bike’s intent. Have been I shopping for this for all-day using and coaching, I’d need one thing wider. However for racing, this spec makes a whole lot of sense and wasn’t uncomfortable.
What stunned me in regards to the Teammachine R is how nicely it rode as soon as I obtained off the peerlessly easy asphalt of a Components One race monitor. I took it for a late morning trip out of downtown Austin, the place the roads are lower than good. Potholes, development zones, and metropolis streets. After which a much less congested trip alongside their bike paths straddling the Colorado River.
With unfastened scrabble to hard-packed filth, the path is the form of factor I’d usually take an all-road or gravel bike on. However the Teammachine R, for all of its stiff hi-mod carbon, didn’t beat me up. If their group needed one thing that would deal with cobbles, this was the closest I obtained to counsel BMC delivered. The one limitation for mere mortals like me is its claimed 30mm tire clearance. Nonetheless that appears to be the popular dimension for the professionals racing Paris-Roubaix, so… it’s positive.
Should you’re on the lookout for a purpose-built all-around race bike that doesn’t skimp on any of the three key standards (aerodynamics, weight, trip high quality), the BMC Teammachine R is value a glance. It’s even positive with the post-ride taco truck cease, which earns it an additional nod from me.
