The latest modern BMC road bike to get a more affordable aluminum version is the new Teammachine ALR. Following on the heels of the Roadmachine X’s light gravel rebirth, the alloy Teammachine ALR promises all of the race feel & performance of last summer’s revamped carbon Teammachine SLR in what the Swiss bike maker calls their most advanced aluminum frame to date.
BMC Teammachine ALR aluminum road race bike
Built to be a more budget friendly road racer, the new Teammachine ALR looks to be a big step up in terms of integration and ride feel, compared to the previous alloy model. With disc brake frames around 1250g (54cm painted, plus a 405g fork) and rim brake frames around 1165g (54cm painted, plus a 375g fork), riders won’t be sacrificing much in terms of weight with the aluminum bikes.
Tech Details
The Teammachine ALR features a hydroformed aluminum frame that uses wide smooth, but not ground welds for a look that is both subtle and strikingly angular.
The frame’s tubing gets size-specific butting to create light frames across all sizes, but also to deliver a comparable road feel for all riders, without ending up overly stiff on the smaller bikes in order to deliver appropriate stiffness on the larger models.
While the comfort of aluminum bikes has improved in recent years, BMC still focus on key points with what they call Race-Tune Compliance. Small diameter flattened & dropped seatstays, a compliant D-shaped seatpost & the same full carbon fork from the carbon Teammachine SLR02 flex a bit and damp road vibrations for a smoother, more controlled ride.
The disc brake bike includes modern disc road bike standard like flat mount calipers, 12mm thru-axles, a tapered 1.125-1.5″ steerer, an integrated seatclamp, and modular internal routing with alloy clamping cable ports to prevent rattling. While the disc brake fork is shared with the carbon bike, it does not use the same through-bolted caliper as on the SLR01, instead sticking with flat mount’s more conventional adapter plate.
The rim brake version still gets the tapered steerer, integrated seatclamp and internal routing, but sticks with standard center mount rim brake calipers & QR axles.
And modern road race bikes there is enough room to fit up to 28mm wide tires on either, for the benefit of lower rolling resistance and riding rougher road surfaces. Both also stick with BSA threaded bottom brackets.
Pricing, Availability & Spec
The alloy Teammachine is available in one disc brake and two rim brake builds, each available in five wide-ranging sizes from 47-60cm. The 2000€ Teammachine ALR Disc One features a complete new Shimano 105 road compact drivetrain with an 11-32 cassette, plus new 105 hydraulic disc brakes, and Shimano RS-170 wheels.
On the rim brake side a 1500€ Teammachine ALR One gets a road compact 11 speed 105 build.
And the even more affordable 1300€ Teammachine ALR Two features a 10 speed compact Tiagra groupset with even wider 11-34 cassette.
All of the new alloy road bikes should be available now from your local BMC dealer.
