Switzerland’s BMC may not be as well established as brands like Trek or Specialized in North America right now, but the performance-focused company is coming across the pond. And they are ready to hit the trail with a couple of fast and updated full-suspension mountain bikes.
Despite only existing since 1994, BMC already has had professional racing teams competing in multiple disciplines, built up some solid in-house carbon prototyping & testing, and a few of their own patented design concepts under the belt.
Last month at the Impact Sun Valley media camp, BMC gave us a sneak peek at their 2019 XC/trail bikes (even let me ride the Speedfox AMP e-MTB). So let’s take a look at those new full-suspension Agonist and Speedfox pedal bike models.
2019 BMC Speedfox 120mm trail mountain bike
BMC’s Speedfox is their ‘quiver-killer’ 29″ trail bike with 120mm of rear travel, mated to a 120/130mm fork (depending on the model). The Speedfox frames feature BMC’s APS suspension platform. In short, it’s a dual concentric short link design that’s been tweaked to provide optimal pedaling efficiency, small and big bump absorption, active braking and excellent traction.
BMC also follows their Big Wheel Concept (BWC) philosophy with the Speedfoxes. Not only has BMC tuned the pivot locations to match each bike’s wheel size, but they’ve also refined their chainstay lengths and kept the BB’s low for stability. Front ends on the 29ers are built to modern specs with long top tubes, slack head tube angles, short stems and wide handlebars.
The Trailsync system is probably the most unique feature found on the Speedfox bikes. We featured the system when it debuted last summer, so it’s nice to see the bikes getting more play a year on, as they expand into more markets. BMC’s handlebar mounted lever simultaneously drops the seatpost and opens up the rear shock, quickly switching the bike from ‘uphill’ to ‘downhill’ mode. The lever controls the post, and a cable runs from the bottom of the post to the rear shock’s mode selector. When the post is lifted, it sets the shock into pedaling mode, and when dropped the shock opens up.
Other notable features of the Speedfox carbon frames include a mud flap covering the lower link, rattle-free internal cable routing, integrated down tube and chainstay protectors, and a multi-port access panel on the seat mast that allows for access to the inside of the frame and front derailleur compatibility.
While the Speedfox 01 bikes are full carbon, the 02 models use a carbon front and an aluminum rear triangle, and the 03 models are all aluminum. The aluminum frames still offer internal cable routing and front derailleur compatibility. There are five different models of the Speedfox:
2019 BMC Agonist 110mm cross-country & marathon mountain bike
BMC’s Agonists are also 29ers, but with steeper steering angles and 110mm of travel front and rear they’re aimed more at cross-country racers or those riding marathon distances. They also debuted in Europe last year, and will get a bit more international spread in 2019. The Agonists feature the same APS suspension and BWC technology as the Speedfoxes, but do not come equipped with the Trailsync system. They do now include stealth dropper seatpost routing for more technical trail capabilities in 2019. The frames share the integrated protection, lower link mud flap, internal cable routing and seat mast multi-ports as well.
Like the Speedfoxes, the Agonist 02 frames run an aluminum rear triangle with a carbon front end.
