Who is This Road Bike Really For? BMC Teammachine SLR 01 Review

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My review of the newly updated 5th generation BMC Teammachine SLR 01. It’s lighter and more aero but is it light or aero enough?

More info at https://bmc-switzerland.com/

Content
00:00 Intro
00:26 Actual weight
1:00 Aero vs lightweight choice
2:15 Frame design – lightweight
3:50 Frame design – aerodynamics
4:47 Prices
5:20 Cycle Limited sponsor
9:27 Comfort
10:31 Dislikes
13:49 Verdict – who is it for?

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Choosing a new road bike these days comes down to making a choice between lightweight and aerodynamics. But how lightweight does a bike have to be to be classed as lightweight? Well, if you’re Swiss brand BMC, is this the brand new fifth generation T- Machine SLR1, which weighs on my scales with Stram red axis and DT Swiss wheels 6.7 kilos. So, below the UI weight limit, but not truly lightweight. That Specialized S Works Athos I rode a few days ago, link that review above in case you missed it, is 6.1 kilos. And Sevel and Scott also make bikes lighter than one we have here. But weight isn’t everything. And in BMC’s defense, they say their words, not mine. I’m quoting here, that the new T- Machine SLR1 is one of the lightest and most aerodynamic bikes in its class. And a choice of lightweight or aerodynamic is a tricky one these days because some brands are trying to make their Aerobikes lightweight and do one bike that can do both. The Specialized Tarmac S8 spring to mind as an example. and a bike that weighs the same as this one here, but is likely much more arrow than the T- Machine SLR1. Meanwhile, brands like BMC are sticking to a lightweight bike, this one here, and an arrow bike, the T- Machine R, which I reviewed about 12 months ago. Link that review down below in case you missed it. And that bike with the same group set, but deeper section wheels, weighed 7.3 kilos on my scales. So, arrow and 7.3 kilos or lightweight and 6.7 kilos. It’s a tricky one. Is there enough in the bike to justify it over that more a bike or does this bike have enough redeeming factors to make it a viable choice? So, to find out, for the last few weeks, I’ve been riding on my luck roads and around the just ride bikes test track to discover what this bike is all about. So, let’s dive in and have a closer look. This is a fifth generation BMC T- Machine SLR and I’ll reveal a secret. I always like the T- Machine going back 10 plus years. Being one of my my favorite bikes, probably in my top 10 of all time, the performance, the geometry, the ride quality, and the looks always been distinctive with those Anglo junctions. But over the years with every new bike, the distinctive looks have softened a bit. But I think it’s still unmistakably a BMC. And this new version is all about saving weight. And they claim to have reduced the weight of the frame, the fork, and the seat post by a rather whopping 222 g. So big weight saving from a frame that was already pretty lightweight. I can see visually how much slimmer and more slender the tube profiles are. The weight saved gives a frame weight of a claimed 700 g for a size 54. So a 56 I guess is probably 750 gram. I guess most bike brands quote the 56 as a frame weight, but BMC have um yeah been a bit sneaky there in quoting a 54 cm frame. And that’s heavier than the sub 600 g for a specialized Athos S works for a size 56. So I think the weight is similar to a CL R5 off the top of my head. So yes, light but not crazy light. The bike does redeem itself by being rather arrow. Not loads of arrow, but some arrow. There’s an influence from the T- Machine R, the company’s aero road bike with the mad halo fork developed with the the Red Bull F1 team. Not the team itself, but the offshoot where they hire out the engineering expertise. So we have this slimmer head tube, slimmer fork blades to reduce the frontal surface area which is so important for aerodynamics and a down tube, the new aerrow seat post and the one piece hammer by stems. And they claim it’s 2.2% more error than the old team Machine SLR and only 4% slower than the team Machine R a road bike. But what that actually means, I have no idea. But I’ll do a lap of the just ride bike test track later in today’s video to see how it stacks up compared to that T- Machine R and some other bikes like the Tarmac and the Aero. For pricing, you’re looking at a range starting from a rather eye watering $85,000 or euros, which is quite a steep opening price for the SLR01 and goes up to $13,000 stroke dollars for the toddler range bike I have here. Stram red axis DT squiz 1100 die cut wheels with 180 hubs for that 6.7 kilo weight for a size 56. There is dual race available as well if you want it and I’m sure there will be cheaper models lower down the range with the SLR A2 and A4. New road bikes are very expensive these days, but there is a way to avoid the high prices, and that by buying a certified pre-owned bike with today’s sponsor, Cycle Limited. And I know from personal experience that buying a secondhand road bike can be a great way to get an absolute bargain, but the process is not easy, and there’s plenty of risk attached to buying a secondhand road bike. a risk that buying through Cycle Limited completely avoids because every bike is owned and photographed by Cycle Limited, not just listed on some random marketplace. And that means when you see a bike on their website, it’s actually sitting in their warehouse and ready to ship to you. And shipping is fast and secure. They send your bike within one day of ordering. And it’s safely packed in the box and needing only minimal assembly. Plus, you get a 14-day no hassle return window, so you can buy with total confidence. How good does that sound? And if you ever need advice, their team of riders is just a call or email away. And the bikes are priced by actual human being, not some algorithm behind the scenes, taking into account upgrades and wear and tear, so you’re getting the best and most accurate offer every single time. So, if you’re on the hunt for your next dream bike at a killer price, make sure to check out Cycle Limited at their website linked down below. Right, let’s find out how the new BMC T- Machine actually rides and performs. It may not be the lightest bike in the world and quite a bit heavier than that Specialized Athos Ideally, but it’s still light. It’s not heavy at all. And you feel that lack of weight from the first moment you get on it. And the first few pedal strokes down the road feel tremendous. Just feels like no effort is required to ride along the road at all. Just feels so easy. Just feels fantastic. And it has a very similar lively ride manner with fast steering, that nimleness and agile keenness on the climbs that the ASO display too. But I think the BMC is definitely a stiffer platform where you are really stamping on the pedals on a steep climb. Not that the ASOS is flexing, but it doesn’t quite feel as stiff and torked under your pedals. It has a a punchier, firmer character. We are really stamping on the pedals up a 25% gradient than the Specialized Athos. And to find out how the BMC performed around the just ride by test track, I did a lap in recent sunny conditions about 17° with no wind at all. And riding at an average speed of 32 km per hour, so 20 mph and maintain the same position on the hood and trying to remove as many variables as possible. The bike recorded an average power of 194 watt, which places it mid-table below the Canyon Air Road and the BMC Team Tune R and the Specialized Tarmac Pro, but above the Giant Teaser Advanced Pro, the Seeker Spear and the Van Risle RCR Pro, showing that in my real world testing, admittedly not the most scientific test in the world because the real world and all those pesky variables, that a bike is actually pretty fast and does perform very well when it comes to other bikes in this space and outside in the more aero focused categories like the airroad and the T- Machine R. So not a slow bike around a rolling circuit with climb descents and corners and definitely a bike that has that all round appeal like the Giant TCR and like the Specialized Tarmac SL8. I’ve also been impressed with the comfort and smoothness of the bike, too. And it does remind me the most of the Giant TR Advance Pro. So, pretty smooth on most roads. There’s a rough section I ride on my test track, and it’s definitely there’s definitely a bit of feedback through the handlebars and through the saddle and through the pedals. It’s not uncomfortable. I’ve been riding the bike every day for the last few weeks and yeah, it’s an easy bike to live with. Not endurance bike level of comfort, but I reckon stick a 30 on there going to be pretty handsome indeed. So yeah, smooth enough, not the smoothest, but on a smooth bit of tarmac out. Yeah, absolutely. Rips along really well. It’s a shame my rows aren’t all smooth as this one here. Look at that. Lovely. That is. But there are some likes and dislikes I’ve discovered after living with a bike for the last few weeks. The first one, while the weight isn’t as low as it possibly could be, and there are a few areas where weight could be saved. Like for example, metal rails on a saddle and the wheels. The DT Swiss 1100 wheels aren’t the lightest in the world either. claim weight is about 1,300 g, but there are wheels out there that are,00 g. So, I think there is potential in the bike and the build to go lighter and get closer to 6.5 kilos without too much effort. But on a bike costing this much, it should be as light as possible, you think. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect it to be as light as possible. The other one is tie clones. Now, tire clearance is up to 32, which is in line with our race bikes right now. But BMC says the bike has been optimized around a 26 mil wide tire, which is I mean, who’s riding racing a 26 tire these days? These are 28s fitted as standard. And yes, they are back to front. Not me, how the bike came, but most people are racing 28s, 30s, even 32s. And some bikes like a new Athoros, the MV Melee, go up to 35 clearance. So, I know it’s a race bike designed for racing, but for us non-racing enthusiasts who love riding race bikes at a lightweight like this, boosting clearance up to 34, 35, and optimizing the tire setting around a 28 or 30, not a 26. So, that’s a bit odd. The other not dislike as such, but the other thing worth mentioning is the seat clamp. It’s a metal plate that pushes against the seat post and a two 3 mm bolts here with a max torque setting of 3 Newton meters. So, very low. It works fine. I’ve had no issues with the seat post slipping at all. But just worth mentioning as it’s something to be careful with when you are building a bike up yourself at home. And definitely definitely use a torque wrench. And lastly, not really a dislike, I quite like it actually. It’s a geometry. So the geometry is race bike just like their T- Machine Race bike. So pros can jump between both bikes and have that same geometry, the same performance handling they expect. And I like the way a race bike rides, a low stack, the long reach. But it’s interesting how Specializ have relaxed the Athos and made a stack higher and does raise a rather interesting question for me anyway. I think it’s interesting whether manufacturers of lightweight bikes like this should move their attention away from what the pros need because they need air these days and they can’t really race a bike as lightweight due to UI weight limit of 6.8 kilos. So instead shift their focus for bikes like this to us real world regular cyclists who aren’t constrained by the UCI rules but still enjoy the way a lightweight bike rides and could have a bike that weighs 6 kilos with no issue of the UCI coming along with their clipboard and turning you off having a lightweight bike. So, time for my verdict on the BMC Team Machine SLR1. And to answer the the question, the title of today’s video, who is a bike for? And that’s really the question I try to grapple with my time on a bike because it’s clearly not a pure lightweight climbing only bike like the Athos and the STO R5. They are way lighter. So if you care about weight, you are weighty and you want the lightest bike, the T- Machine doesn’t really do it. It’s not super lightweight, but it’s a bike that performs well where you’re not just climbing and has more speed, more useful speed than the AOS when you are on flat roads. If you’re really chasing along in a bunch or a group ride, a chain gang or really trying to set a good average power, average speed on that bike, there’s clear more air on offer from the frame compared to the AOD. And around my test track, it’s as fast as some other bikes, including the Specializ Tarmac S8. But if you don’t care about Max Arrow, don’t like nose cone on the Tarmac. I think the T- Machine SLR still has a lot going for it. A shame it’s not lighter. I think if it’s down to 6.5 kilos, it would be an easier recommendation. But right now, it’s in a strange area between bikes that are much lighter if you care about weight and climbing performance and bikes that are more arrow but not much heavier like a tarmac and some of the sort of low 7 kilo arrow bikes like Canyon Aero Trekone. So, an interesting choice, which leaves me to conclude that the BMC Team Machine SLR1 is a bike worth considering. And if you haven’t seen my review of the brand new MK2 Specialized Athos yet, then watch the video right up here.