Review: BMC Timemachine 01 Road ONE

With the new Timemachine01 Road the prestigious Swiss brand BMC wants to take the aero road bike-concept to the next level. The Road version carries the genes of the time-trial and triathlon machine and is therefore 100% Aero-proof. The list of features is impressive and the overall concept looks promising – but how much potential lies behind the Swiss Aero bike? And what’s hiding in the box above the bottom bracket? We will answer all of your questions regarding the new BMC Timemachine Road.

Aerodynamics are one of the most crucial aspects in the pro sector but also very relevant in the coffee-racer segment. The interpretations and characteristics of these bikes are endless. The Swiss engineers came up with some great ideas and — as the name suggests — they took inspiration from BMC’s timetrial and triathlon rig, the Timemachine.

According to BMC Aero means “free speed” and is therefore the core of their development process. The level of integration is the one aspect that really distinguishes the BMC Timemachine Road from all other Aero bikes. The aero-shaped tubing, wheels and handlebars are state-of-the-art but BMC’s developers wanted more. And that’s why not only the water bottles and holders are integrated into the Aero concept but also the storage box above the bottom bracket. Here you can easily store all of your ride-essentials.

Aeamless integration with the shape of the frame and the smooth transitions allow for the water bottles to nestle neatly inside the frame — making it all look like it’s made from one solid piece. The Aero bottle concept was developed in collaboration with the experts at Elite. The concept includes the actual bottles and comes as standard with all build-kits and the frame-set.

The toolbox sits above the bottom bracket and is extremely practical. Tools, spare inner tubes and a CO2 cartridge cleverly disappear into the especially-developed storage box. The highlight? The box itself provides aerodynamic advantage; According to BMC the concept works best with both bottles and the toolbox. Bad news for pros: at official UCI races the box needs to be removed but this will only take a few seconds.

All ride-essentials at your fingertips and with the perks of Aero-advantage

There is one more clever detail that the pros won’t be allowed to use in official UCI races: the aero-cover for the brake calliper on the fork. UCI regulations clearly state that brake calliper covers aren’t allowed in the race. A real shame for the pros but nothing to worry about for us hobby-racers. We’re still allowed to tune our bikes with this extremely cool, aerodynamic-enhancing feature.

The use of the clever Aero-cover on the brake calliper is prohibited in the pro-racing circuit

The ICS cockpit is true eye candy and we have already praised it in our Team- and Roadmachine tests. In our opinion the concept is second to none when it comes to integration. All cables run internally — not just inside the frame but even inside the cockpit.

There is also the option of attaching a GPS or GoPro-mount on the stem – a superb clean look. Unlike the Road and Teammachine the Timemachine features an ICS cockpit with a 25.23 mm Timemachine-specific clamp — an effective way to optimise aerodynamics.

When considering a bike like the BMC Timemachine Road comfort is always relative. BMC calls it “Speed Compliance” which means “racebike comfort” rather than “endurance-bike comfort”. However according to BMC’s engineers they dedicated a lot of their time to this topic. At the front the asymmetrical carbon fork, ICS carbon handlebars and flat ICS-stem are designed to deliver the required compliance.

The low seat stays are a typical BMC feature and are designed to dampen the irregularities of the tarmac. As mentioned beforehand this is a thoroughbred racer which is built with speed in mind.

When it comes to comfort the riding position is one more crucial factor to consider. The combination of the ICS cockpit — which compared to other Aero-cockpits allows for great flexibility in the choice of handlebar-widths and stem lengths — and the setback range of the seat post from 0 to 30 mm is meant to offer a optimal rider-specific position.

Thanks to the wide range of the setback adjustment (0 to 30 mm) every rider should be able to find their optimal riding position.

With aero bikes the tire clearance is often very tight and this can constitute a real problem. The BMC Timemachine01 Road has room for tires of up to 28 mm.

The Timemachine offers room for tires of up to 28 mm

Models, specs and prices

The Tour de France will be the first crucial test for the BMC Timemachine01-Road and Team BMC will be there with their new Aero machine. From September the Timemachine will be available for purchase.

Pice € 11,999
Colour Race Grey
Frame Timemachine Road 01, PF86 bottom bracket, Flatmount, 12×142 mm through-axle
Fork Timemachine Road 01, Flatmount with Aero-Cover brake caliper cover, 12×100 mm through axle
Groupset Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 Di2 Disc, 52-36 chainset, 11-30 cassette
Brakes Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 Disc, SM-RT900 160/140 mm rotors
Handlebar BMC ICS Aero
Stem ICS Aero, integrated cockpit incl. GPS-Mount
Seatpost BMC Aero Post
Wheelset DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT db 62 Carbon, Tubeless-ready
Tires Vittoria Corsa G+ 25 mm
Weight 980 g (frame), 410 g (fork)
Total Weigh 7.5 kg (8.0 kg including Aero-module and bottles)

Price € 9,999
Colour Super Red
Frame Timemachine Road 01, PF86 BB, Flatmount, 12×142 mm through-axle
Fork Timemachine Road 01, Flatmount with Aero-Cover caliper cover, 12×100 mm through axle
Groupset SRAM Red eTap HRD, 52-36 chainset, 11-32 cassette
Brakes SRAM Red eTap HRD, SRAM CLX 160/160 mm rotors
Handlebars BMC ICS Aero
Stem BMC ICS Aero, integrated cockpit incl. GPS-Mount
Seatpost BMC Aero Post
Wheelset DT Swiss ARC 1400 DICUT db 62 Carbon, Tubeless-ready
Tires Vittoria Corsa G+ 25 mm
Weight 980 g (frame), 410 g (fork)
Total weight 7.6 kg (8.1 kg including Aero-module and bottles)

Price € 7,999
Colour Off White
Frame Timemachine Road 01, PF86 BB, Flatmount, 12×142 mm through-axle
Fork Timemachine Road 01, Flatmount with Aero-Cover calliper-cover, 12×100 mm through-axle
Groupset Shimano ULTEGRA R8070 Di2 Disc, 52-36 chainset, 11-30 cassette
Brakes Shimano ULTEGRA Di2 Disc, SM-RT800 160/140 mm rotors
Handlebars BMC ICS Aero
Stem BMC ICS Aero, integrated Cockpit including GPS-Mount
Seatpost BMC Aero Post
Wheelset DT Swiss ARC 1400 DICUT db 62 Carbon, Tubeless-ready
Tires Vittoria Corsa G+ 25 mm
Weight 980 g (frame), 410 g (fork)
Total weight 7.85 kg (8.35 kg including Aero-module and bottles)

Price € 4,199
Colour Stealth
Frame Timemachine Road 01, PF86 BB, Flatmount, 12×142 mm throughaxle
Fork Timemachine Road 01, Flatmount with Aero-Cover calliper-cover, 12×100 mm through axle
Handlebars BMC ICS Aero
Stem BMC ICS Aero, integrated cockpit including GPS-Mount
Seatpost BMC Aero Post
Weight 980 g (frame), 410 g (fork), 500 g (Aero-module including bottles)

Geometry

Size	47	51	54	56	58	61
Seat tube	480 mm	518 mm	548 mm	568 mm	588 mm	611 mm
Top tube	520 mm	535 mm	550 mm	560 mm	575 mm	590 mm
Head tube	71.2 mm	71.2 mm	72 mm	72 mm	72 mm	72 mm
Head angle	71.2°	71.2°	72°	72°	72°	72°
Seat angle	73.5°	73.5°	73.5°	73.5°	73.5°	73.5°
BB Drop	70 mm	70 mm	70 mm	70 mm	70 mm	70 mm
Reach	373 mm	381 mm	390 mm	395 mm	405 mm	413 mm
Stack	496 mm	520 mm	540 mm	555 mm	574 mm	598 mm

How does it ride

In our 2018 Racebike Grouptest we established that Aero-bikes are not the most agile bikes you can buy and that they’re often missing liveliness and comfort. But what about the fine Swiss Aero-Racer? We met up with BMC’s pro-riders Stefan Küng and Michael Schär and took the BMC Timemachine01 Road ONE to the Swiss roads and mountain-passes putting the fine aero racer through its paces.

With BMC’s pro-riders Stefan Küng and Michael Schär we put the Timemachine Road to the ultimate test

Straight away it becomes clear that the Swiss engineers have done their homework. The strong BMC pros were having most of the fun but once we conquered the first Alpine pass we had a big grin on our faces too. Climbing on the Timemachine is fun and you can clearly feel how efficiently the rigid frame works. Not a single watt goes to waste and riding slow is not an option.

The 60 mm deep wheels take some time to pick up speed but once we got there we even managed to keep up with the Swiss time trial champion at speeds of 60+ km/h on the flats.

In the final sprint you can clearly feel the flex in the handlebars. On one hand this is ascribable to the flat aero-shape of the bars on the other to the smaller clamping diameter. Still the performance is good.

On descents the Timemachine feels safe and inspires confidence. This is mainly due to the very direct yet safe handling of the bike combined with the superb braking performance of the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 brakes. We’ve often praised Shimano’s high-end brakes and once again we’re totally impressed with the precise braking performance, great modulation and the superb balance of the 160 mm disc on the front and 140 mm disc out back. Even with the most abrupt braking inputs the Timemachine keeps composed – nothing vibrates or flexes.

But what about comfort? What are the pros actually expecting from the BMC on the Tour? We’re truly surprised by how comfortable the Aero-Racer is. Especially the front-end absorbs the irregularities and vibrations from the road well. The relatively huge Aero seatpost is a lot harder but still the rear-end absorbs the hardest knocks surprisingly well.

Conclusions

The new BMC Timemachine01 Road impressed us with its outstanding integration and the love to detail. When even the water bottle and ride-essentials are well integrated into the Aero concept you know how hard the Swiss engineers have worked to build what BMC calls the “fastest road bike”. And we felt extremely fast on it too. Despite #aeroiseverything the Timemachine is very nimble and provides a super safe riding experience in combination with an amazing level of comfort. The Timemachine 01 Road ONE is a pure-bred racer that will give all racers amongst us plenty of good moments. With a price tag of € 11,999 it might take you a while to convince your loved ones but once that’s sorted you will get yourself a full-blooded pro rig.
We can’t tell you whether the Aero-advantage will make you faster on a 30 km/h-average ride with your buddies but even just looking fast is a good start. Zip up, head down, let’s go!

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For more info head to: bmc-switzerland.com

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Words: Photos: Manuel Buck, BMC