With the Ironman world champs less than a week away, BMC has presented its new, completely redesigned Timemachine in Hawaii. The big sell is that this new bike puts triathletes first, but the thing we’ve noticed is that it resists the current vogue for radical tri bike designs that stick fairings and side panels on every surface.
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There are two new bikes here, the Timemachine 01 and Timemachine 02, with the former getting a tri-specific “V-Cockpit”, while the latter has a more traditional cockpit.
What is a V-Cockpit, you ask? Well BMC says it offers optimal aero performance for taller pad stack dimensions, and the forward-offset “promotes vertical compliance”, to deliver both performance and comfort on the bike leg of a triathlon.
Multisporter priority
BMC’s Mart Otten says that for the new Timemachine, the bike brand “gave priority to triathletes”. He adds: “We are looking forward to seeing this new aero machine break some Ironman and middle distance triathlon records!”.
Time triallists aren’t forgotten, though: the ‘Flat-Cockpit’ available on the Timemachine 01 lets riders set the lowest possible pad stack configurations, and it can be made UCI-legal simply by changing the seat post to the rear-mount option. The Timemachine 02 is UCI-legal as standard.
Other noteworthy features include a new hinge-fork designed to create a leaner frontal area, a 'Quick-pad' brake cartridge system for swapping out racing and training wheels, a rear storage box that sits behind the seat tube, an all-new hidden seat clamp, and a disassembly solution for the cockpit, to make packing the bike up for travel easier.
BMC Timemachine 01 and 02: spec and pricing
So what spec do you get with these new bikes? Well, the Timemachine 01 is available with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, Ultegra Di2 or SRAM Red eTap, and as a complete frameset, with either the V-Cockpit or Flat-Cockpit.
The BMC Timemachine 01 with SRAM Red eTap comes with a 53-39t crankset, 11-28t cassette, Zipp 404/808 NSW carbon clinchers, Continental Grand Prix 4000S II tyres in 25mm width, and a Fizik Tritone manganese saddle. It costs €11,000 (international pricing TBC), and will be available from spring 2017.
The BMC Timemachine 02 with standard cockpit is available with Shimano Ultegra Di2, mechanical Ultegra or 105 groupsets, and as a complete frameset. The Timemachine 02 with Ultegra Di2 spec again comes with a 53/39t crankset and 11-28t cassette, Mavic CXR Elite clinchers, Mavic Yksion Pro tyres in 25mm width, and a Fizik Arione Tri 2 saddle. It is on sale now and costs €6,000 (international pricing TBC).
If you want to watch the new BMC Timemachine 01 in action, check out the Ironman Hawaii live stream, and head to our sister site www.220triathlon.com for all the latest coverage.