BMC Roadmachine TWO
It’s a real joy on sweeping descents and reassuringly surefooted over rougher tarmac
£4500 / SWISS DESIGNED BL ACK BE AUT Y RE ADY TO TACK LE ANY ROAD
BMC launched the Roadmachine in 2017 to replace its award-winning GF01, and while the original Roadmachine wasn’t a gravel bike as such, it was certainly ‘gravel adjacent’. This year’s model has the same sporty riding position but greater tyre clearance – up to 33mm – with improved drivetrain stiffness and extra compliance. All the usual improvements…
The bike’s ride quality is genuinely exceptional in spite of its middling 8.27kg weight. It’s stiff and efficient under pedalling but BMC has improved rear-end compliance – aided by the dedicated D-shaped carbon seatpost – and reduced roadborne vibrations through the front. Some of that is down to Vittoria’s graphene-infused tyres, which felt supple, smooth and grippy during some extremely poor winter riding conditions.
The steep 74.2-degree seat angle and more relaxed 72-degree head angle combine to deliver a ride that feels supremely efficient – both a real joy on fast sweeping descents and reassuringly surefooted when you hit rougher tarmac, or even unmetalled roads. It is a little sluggish through more technical turns, but on most British roads the BMC feels like your ideal cycling companion.
Both the alloy bar and the DT Swiss E1850 wheels are a little underwhelming on a £4500 bike. Yes, the hubs are built to DT’s usual high standards and the tubeless-ready rims shape the 28mm tyres nicely, but it’s essentially a midrange wheel. By contrast, the drivetrain is an absolute star, with full Ultegra Di2 in an endurance-friendly gearing range. No corners are cut with the brakes either, which feature Ice-Tech rotors.
Overall, the Roadmachine TWO is a very easy bike to love – the ride quality is sublime and its handling beautifully balanced. It also looks every inch the premium ‘any road’ machine, but what’s a genuinely class-leading chassis is compromised by some lower-spec components and wheels.
THE VERDICT
A superbly exciting endurance bike but it doesn’t major on value