BMC has unveiled the Teammachine 01 AMP, a new electric road bike that's designed to preserve the handling, stiffness and light weight of a conventional race bike.
Built with a near-identical geometry to the Teammachine SLR 01, the Teammachine AMP 01 also uses BMC’s 01 Premium carbon construction. To all intents and purposes, it looks like a non-electric road bike.
I had the chance to try the bike in Italy before its launch, and was very impressed by the integration, natural ride feel and handling.
That said, the motor integration doesn't always provide the seamless help I would hope for.
Compact and light, but not always seamless
Speaking of the motor, assistance comes from the TQ HPR40 drive system, which delivers up to 200W output.
As with other TQ systems, the motor is designed to be compact and quiet, with a focus on delivering smooth, natural-feeling support rather than high peak output. As a result, peak torque is capped at 40Nm.
An internal 290Wh battery is said to offer up to 130km of range in ‘eco’ mode, assuming an 80kg rider and ‘average’ riding conditions. I was around 87kg for my test ride, and rode it up some steep hills measuring well into the teens – so I could reasonably expect less.
There’s the option to add a 160Wh range extender for longer rides, albeit this uses up one of the bottle cages.
BMC says the system is engineered to eliminate motor drag when you pass the UK and European limit of 25km/h, which in theory offers friction-free riding at those speeds, as well as when the motor is switched off.
On the basis of my short 25km test ride, that’s an accurate assessment. I couldn’t discern a difference between the Teammachine 01 AMP and a non-electric Teammachine with the motor disengaged or switched off.
With the motor on, it’s a slightly different story. In the low setting, the motor is acting on the drivetrain, but it’s also introducing noticeable friction as you also push against the motor.
In short, in this mode the power delivery was capped at such a low level that when I pushed hard to accelerate, I found the system felt draggier than it would have done with the system switched off.
It’s also noticeable (to a lesser extent) in the medium setting, meaning only the more powerful two settings are really powerful enough to feel like true assistance when you're working hard.
BMC’s on-site engineer explained the TQ motor can be adjusted to deliver different torque settings to mitigate this, and that the motor is designed to complement the rider’s efforts, rather than dominate them.
On the one hand, I can see how a rider might opt to use the motor only when needed – full power for the steep climbs, and simply have it switched off for the rest of the time, when the extra couple of kilos are practically unnoticeable.
However, based on my first ride of the Teammachine 01 AMP and its TQ motor system, I think there are still improvements to be made when integrating pedal-assistance tech into road bikes if the goal is for the motor to be completely unnoticeable or a help to the rider.
Race-bike stiffness and compliance
That said, there’s plenty to like when it comes to ride feel. BMC says the Teammachine 01 AMP matches the stiffness levels of the Teammachine SLR 01, thanks to its use of the brand’s 01 Premium carbon layup.
Like the regular Teammachine, the ebike also adopts the brand’s Tuned Compliance Concept layout – essentially, dropped seatstays, which help with compliance. It also has capacity for 34mm-wide tyres.
There are aerodynamic features carried over from the Teammachine SLR 01, including an AeroShape seatpost, truncated tube profiles and AeroCore bottle cages.
Up front, the ICS Carbon Evo one-piece cockpit integrates the cables and is designed to increase front-end stiffness while reducing drag.
Ultimately, I can spot a small amount of extra down-tube capacity built to accommodate the battery, while the mid-mounted motor is housed in an expanded bottom bracket shell (not dissimilar to the modifications built into the Teammachine mule bikes used to help develop the erstwhile Mavic X-Tend motor system).
There’s also a TQ head unit integrated into the top tube, but everything else is ‘normal’.
However, it all makes for an ebike that feels every inch a regular road bike when you have the motor switched off. That's helped by the fact that the AMP is based on BMC’s Pro Race geometry, shared with the Teammachine SLR – the same reach figures, but paired with an additional 20mm of stack (which is no bad thing for most of us).
Models and prices
The Teammachine 01 AMP is available in three builds: the Teammachine 01 AMP ONE, fitted with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 groupset, costs €13,499 / $13,499.
This is underpinned by the AMP TWO with an Ultegra R8100 drivetrain (€9,499 / $9,499), and the AMP THREE featuring a 105 Di2 R7100 groupset at €7,999 / $7,999.
