Lean, keen & supreme
BMC Teammachine ALR Disc Two £1999 Mid-range rocket from Switzerland
It accelerates like a performance bike without feeling twitchy, picking up speed in a consistent, assertive manner
If two thousand pounds seems a lot for an aluminium-framed bicycle, just look at the similarly priced Specialized Allez Sprint and Trek Emonda ALR models. At this price point, you’re buying the best alloy around. If you opted for carbon it would be more likely to be a brand’s second- or third-tier carbon, plus it’s not all that long since alloy bikes not as advanced as the ALR were winning tours.
BMC is cagey about the grade of aluminium used, simply calling it “Teammachine ALR premium alloy”. Terms such as ‘hydroforming’ and ‘hidden welds’ often seem like box-ticking, but in this case the liquid shaping of the tubes is subtly aggressive, and the welds are smoothed without removing too much material. Tube butting is size-specific, meaning that the way each tube is manipulated is intended to give the same rider-experience by way of comfort and performance benefits, regardless of frame size. As an early adopter of the dropped seatstay design, it’s no surprise to see BMC include it here. By joining the seat tube lower down, it offers a little rearward flex in the seat cluster for added comfort. Those seatstays are flattened in profile and have thin walls to allow vertical flex without compromising lateral rigidity. Further benefit is a stiffer rear end via shorter stays.
The seat clamp is integrated, accessible only via the adjustment port on the underside of the top-tube/seat-tube junction. The seatpost itself is a proprietary D-section carbon unit, whose primary function is to add a little extra rearward flex, improving comfort still further. The all-carbon fork is similar to the pre 2021 Teammachine SLR’s front end, and the brake hose is internal but only from the crown, not all the way up through the head tube as with the current SLR.
A threaded bottom bracket means increased longevity and simpler maintenance, and while internal routing is more fiddly than external, BMC has made the cable runs straightforward and used good-sized, removable exit ports.
This 54cm bike comes with a 110mm stem and 420mm bar, each as neat as you’d expect.
Shimano supplies its 105 brakes and while its RS170 wheels are listed under the 105 umbrella, they aren’t visibly marked as such. Conversely, the 172.5mm RS510 cranks and HG601 chain are ‘non-series’ offerings, not officially aligned with a groupset but pitched on a par with 105. Chainrings are 34/50, offering a huge gear range paired with the 11-32 Shimano 105 cassette.
Subtly superb
Everything about the ALR’s ride is understatedly brilliant. It accelerates like a performance bike should, whether beginning training intervals halfway up climbs or racing your mates to the cafe. It does so without ever feeling twitchy, instead picking up speed in a consistent, assertive manner. Under braking, it’s amazingly unfussy, too. Whether gently scrubbing off speed or chucking out the anchors, there’s no disconcerting fork flex to destabilise the bike and jangle nerves. The only criticism is of the brake levers rather than the bike itself. We got an annoying rattle from the levers that we couldn’t fix; not something we’ve experienced before.
The ALR’s handling is pleasantly predictable; it never felt out of its depth even when we were purposely trying to ride the wheels off it – which ended up being most rides. Turning is undertaken with an element of familiarity that usually takes a few more rides.
The BMC website describes its “Tuned Compliance Concept” as improving comfort and traction on all terrains. While we appreciate that doesn’t sound like much more than marketing bingo, we did consistently find ourselves taking familiar corners with a noticeable amount of vigour. It’s not as comfy and cushioned as a Specialized Roubaix or a carbon Trek Domane, but this is a two-grand bike we’re talking about. A two-grand aluminium bike. Even on 25mm tyres (it’ll take 28mm comfortably), the ALR Two is as compliant as any similarly-priced carbon bike – and noticeably more so than most.
Ultimately, this is an extremely good machine. It performs above average in every metric that matters: comfort, handling and fun. If you’re after a road bike and have a couple of thousand pounds to spend, this should be on your shortlist.