The roads around the lake of Zurich, Switzerland, are packed with luxury cars, so it is easy to understand why Mart Oten, Road Product Manager at BMC, chose the car comparaison to present the new TimeMachine.
'A BMC RoadMachine could be seen as a Porsche 911, there is comfort and reliabilty… but our new TimeMachine is more like a supercar, something that is eye-catching, something you want to get noticed by,' he said at the bike's launch. And it does the trick.
With its sleek tubes, its high wheels, with all the integrations it presents, you will not blend into the bunch riding this new BMC.
The Swiss brand was already ahead of its time when the first TimeMachine came out in 2012. It was considered as the first real aero bike with a lot of integrated parts.
The idea was to gain speed on the bike without extra effort - a sort of 'free speed' - as Oten put it.
Image 5 of 10
Six years later the concept still remains with the new iteration. Just like in 2012 it still looks fast and sleek but an extra confort was added to its DNA.
On the speed part, the model was both tested in a windtunnel and on tracks to validate the choice of tube shapes.
Then there was the waterbottle issue, the BMC team realises that it should include the bottles in the aerodynimacs measurements, hence the new part located on the downtube called Aeromodule, and the results showed the bike was faster with this system on than without.
All the new TimeMachine bikes will be sold with the Aeromodule and below the bottle cages BMC inserted a little box (the Safety Kit) containing inner tube and repairing kit (very similar to the Swat box that equipped the new Specialized Roubaix).
Still on the aero departement the front disc brake is covered to maximize airlow on this part. The bike has everything to be fast but it has some comfort too.
On the cockpit (ICS Aerocockpit as the brand called it) stem and handlebar are integrated, yet they can be adjusted and the stem was built 30mm higher to damper vibration, along with the dropped seatstay to gain comfort.
The handlebar has been specially designed as well to offer a fourth position for the hands: hands can be placed on the drops, on the hoods, on the top and now on the side, with special shaped curves on each side of the bar for a radical (or resting) aero position.
Image 10 of 10
The ride
Now how does it work on the road? Is it fast? Is it smooth? Is it worth it? Yes for every question.
During the test rides Cyclist did on the beautiful swiss road the new BMC reacted perfectly and it revealed itself as a very versalite model.
It can go fast but it can climb too and it is not that rough to pilot. It can be handled perfectly, the new hand-position is not just a marketing trick, you find it easily and it is very comfy to ride.
The wheels are maybe a bit too deep for descents and you looe stability when you gain speed. The Aeromodule looks cool alright but it does not help to get your bottle out quickly, it needed a bit of effort to take the bottle and a little concentration to put it back.
The new TimeMachine range is divided in to three models, all offering the same aero performance according to BMC, a frameset version is also in the catalogue. The models will be available in September.
