BMC Team Machine SLR 01 gets my vote

Mar 15th, 10.  Ben from RoadCycling.co.nz is one of the lucky few who have ridden the 2010 BMC Team Machine SLR 01 - and he didn't want to give it back.

(l-r) Cam Whiting and Mike Huerlimann from BMC with Ben from RoadCycling.co.nz

The Team Machine SLR01 is an impressive bike in many ways.  The great looks, light weight, good handling and technical innovation ticked all the boxes for me after I enjoyed a great week of riding in Adelaide earlier this year.

Cam Whiting, the Market Manager Asia-Pacific / Middle East for BMC, offered to arrange use of the bike while I was over at Santos Tour Down Under.  It was hardly an offer to refuse!

Whiting and Mike Huerlimann, the CEO of BMC Trading, delivered the sleek looking 2010 BMC Team Machine SLR01 fitted with Zipp 404 wheels, an SRAM red groupset, and 3T bar and stem.

The new 2010 model wasn't even released, and Team BMC-Racing weren't yet riding them in the pro-tour event, but BMC had one specially built for me to ride.

I felt like one of the pros as I wheeled this sleek, top end, pre-release bike through the foyer of the Adelaide Hilton.  

It wasn't until Jens Voigt jumped in the lift with me did I realise there are two "frames" which make a great cyclist.  Oh well, with this bike at least I was half way there.

The Ride

The real test of the SLR01 Team Machine was out on the road and the results were immediate, obvious and impressive.

George Hincapie will be riding the SLR 01 on the cobbles ©RoadCycling.co.nz

When I caught up with Huerlimann after my first ride he explained this feeling was exactly what the frame was meant to provide.

"It was designed for the roads of Europe and for George Hincapie to ride the Cobbles of the Spring Classics," he told me.

If it's good enough for the cobbles, it would be great for New Zealand's rough road surfaces!

While my first ride was relatively flat, the next ride took me up and over the Adelaide Hills.  I'm no hill climber but the SLR01 really helped me up.

The stiff BB30 bottom bracket and light weight SLR01 made a great climbing combination. I felt all my effort was transferred into the pedals, and the hills of Adelaide just flew by.  It's one of those hard things to explain, but this bike climbed easily.

The down hilling on the SLR01 proved equally impressive as I sped out of the Adelaide Hills after watching the day's racing.

At speeds approaching 90km/hr the featherweight SLR01 handled well as I ducked and dived around corners. The front end stiffness and Zipp 404 wheelset added to the overall great handling.

The SLR01 also made a journey or two along the Adelaide beaches, and into the wine country of Barossa - all and all enough kilometres to get a great feel for the ride.  The more time I spent on the bike, the less keen I was to give it back.   

But all good things have to come to an end.  It's not all bad news though, BMC have recently announced an exclusive distributor in New Zealand, Capital Cycles in Wellington.  They have the SLR01 Team Machine available for ordering. Now where is that Xmas list, size 57cm please Santa!

BMC Team Machine SLR01 looking stealth in black

The Look

BMC have been making striking looking bikes for a number of years, with the yellow and green Team Phonak SLT01 a standout amongst the pro peloton in my opinion. The SLC01 Pro Machine of last year was a similarly good looking bike.

In 2010, BMC has gone for a very striking and even simpler design, black carbon with either white or red stripes, and white BMC decals.

My test rig was the white version and in this colour scheme it gave the SLR01 a very stealth look. Matched with Zipp 404 with white decals, this has to be one of the cleanest looking bikes on the market.

The frame tubing size contributes to the great looking presence the SLR01 has. It has a fantastic combination of chunky box sections in the chain stays and top tube, and frighteningly thin seat stays.

Special features

Innovative seatpost locking mechanism

The first is the seatpost. The SLR01 doesn't have a seat clamp which needs tightening, meaning there is never any concern about over tightening and damaging the frame.

Instead, the whole locking mechanism is built into the seatpost and with a simple twist of an allen key the post is locked into place using a wedge built into the post.

This approach is not only simple to use, but gives the frame a unique clean look not achieved on other designs.

A nice touch on the SLR01 seatpost is the small rubber ring that is fitted over the joint between the seatpost and frame. This rubber ring stops any water getting down into the frame.

The SLR01 has an oversized headtube and is fitted with the new BMC fork. This fork is the first fork manufactured by BMC for road bikes and is made using the Tuned Compliance Concept (TCC) to provide a perfect match to the frame.

TCC is the name for how BMC position the carbon fibre to provide the optimum riding experience. This new TCC approach is used in the rear triangle of the bike, the seat post and the fork.

TCC Fork with a large headtube on the SLR01

Thin seat stays in the back

Like the seat stays, the fork is very thin at the wheel, but built up near the crown to ensure the front end of the bike is as rigid as possible.

The SLR01 uses the new BB30 bottom bracket standard which provides an oversize bottom bracket shell and is ready for press fit bearings. This combination adds significant stiffness to the feel of the bike and allows your full power to be applied when riding.

BMC have been renowned for their skeleton frame design, and the SLR01 keeps some of the traits of the past with a split top tube, completing what is a fairly unique looking frame.

BB30 bottom bracket provides a stiff drive train

BMC skeleton design - 2010 style

Price

As a complete bike, Capital Cycles are selling the BMC Team Machine SLR01 from NZ$9,000 with SRAM Red and $10,000 with Record 11.  The complete bike I rode is priced from $11,500 with clincher Zipp 404's. That's a lot of bike for the money!