BMC ROAD MACHINE 02 THREE £2700

BMC’ S ENDURANCE BIKE TOGO BEYOND

BMC’s Roadmachine is the spiritual successor to its original Gran Fondo GF01, which we crowned Bike of the Year back in 2015.

The updated Roadmachine uses BMC’s design language to great effect – angular tube shapes, plenty of aero touches – and adopts the trend for slightly taller stacks on endurance bikes.

BMC claims a weight of around 930g for the 02 frame, which gives a great basis for a light endurance bike, and our 8.86kg test bike is lighter than most of its bigtyre road bike rivals.

Up front, it’s BMC’s signature stepped shape. The deep and solid fork crown angles down to slender, skinny fork legs. The diamond-like shape resists any twist yet allows movement fore and aft when it strikes any bumps or holes in the road. At the back, the section between the dropout and seat tube is designed to flex to eliminate vibrations. The back end is further helped by the tyre cutaway and D-shaped seat tube, which can flex more easily than a round tube. It’s all typically clever BMC stuff and translates into a bike that performs as well as the best endurance machines.

The ride quality is superb. The Roadmachine nulls road noise as well as any of its rivals, and speed bumps and pothole strikes are met with a measured thud, rather than crashing or bouncing off line. This bike has stability in spades and that translates into a feeling of complete confidence, even when riding on poor surfaces or in terrible weather.

The finishing kit is good, with BMC’s own stylish stem and alloy bar combo taking care of things up front.

Shimano’s 105 groupset is presented here in full, delivering all the range you’ll need for the biggest climbs.

Mavic’s new alloy Allroad wheels are a surprise addition to the spec. They’re aimed at the gravel crowd but they make plenty of sense on the road too. The shallow rim (23mm) shapes road tyres well, giving a lovely wide, round profile to the treaded Vittoria Rubino Pro 28s.

The wheels aren’t the lightest (10g shy of 1.9kg) and with the big tyres and inner tubes that’s quite a lot of mass to keep moving. On rolling roads it’s fine, but on a long climb the Roadmachine’s usual light, stable ride gets a bit draggy.

The Roadmachine is a fine bike, but there’s one problem: the price. At £2,700, it’s expensive for the equipment, no matter how good the bike is. Most bikes with a similar spec are cheaper, while many in this price range get better wheels or Ultegra.

“SPEED BUMP SAND POT HOLE STRIKES ARE MET WITH A MEASURED THU D, RATHER THAN CRASHING OR BOUNCING OFF LINE”