BMC Teammachine R Ride Review

BMC upped their entry into the ‘World Tour’ Race bike game with the new Teammachine R in October of 2023. A World Tour bike that aims to be one race bike to rule them all.  A fairly different approach than that of the previous, gold-medal-winning, Teammachine SLR which focused more on hilly and mountainous courses. BMC needed to give this bike aerodynamic properties, without it being an aero bike, and climbing properties, without it being a climbing bike.  Riding the Team Machine R, the Tudor Pro Cycling Team has been climbing the ranks, building the foundation to be a World Tour team very soon.   With racing at its forefront, it begs the question:  How does it feel for the everyday rider and racer? I was able to get some valuable time on the bike and get a sense of how it performs in the rolling hills on Switzerland. These rides convinced me to get one myself.

Impressions

Riding the Teammachine R 01 One, the first thing I noticed was its speed. With its wide-set Halo fork, the bike pushes to go fast on the flats, gliding over the road and squeezing every bit of speed possible. The other obviously important feature of the bike is its stiffness. This bike is certainly stiff. As a race bike it is designed to be stiff, but this bike takes it to a whole other level. Having put 65 miles on the bike, I felt my body was getting fatigued towards the end of the ride. I cannot entirely blame the bike though, because I was riding 26mm Pirelli Race tires with tubes at 85 PSI. Even with the stiffer ride quality, I would not go as far to describe it as harsh, unlike a lot of true aero road bikes out there.

On Trend, BMC specs the bike with the ICS Carbon Aero integrated cockpit.  At 36cm in the hoods flaring to 42cm in the drops, this bar definitely adds to the bike's aero package.  When I rode this bike I initially didn’t notice the narrow bars, they felt natural and kept me in an aero position.  It was not until later when a BMC engineer asked me how I liked them that I realized the cockpit I had been riding. This cockpit is awesome in the flats, encouraging a narrow, aero position. At the same time, it is noticeably narrow when you hit the climbs. For big climbing days, or even for long steady uphills, the bars are a bit narrow for my liking, and if I were building a Teammachine R I would opt for a 38cm or 40cm because I prefer a wider hood position on the climbs. 

Even with the bike's aerodynamic features and tube shapes, the bike is incredibly stable. Riding in crosswinds, the bike did not get blown around significantly and kept the ride stable, smooth, and fast. I was riding the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DiCut 62mm deep carbon wheels, which are known to act as a sail sometimes, and the overall ride was stable. BMC offers the TeamMachine R with either a 10mm or 25mm offset seatposts.  While there is not a zero-offset seatpost, the two options allow the rider to get a full range of positions on the bike. Descending on the bike is fast and fun, easily transitioning through corners and urging you to go faster, this is a fast descender, but it doesn’t go so far as to scare you or make you feel out of control. 

TEAMMACHINE R VS TEAMMACHINE SLR

With two race-focused bikes in the lineup, BMC gives each rider the option of the perfect bike for their style. While the R is built for all-around race performance, the SLR emphasizes climbing ability in a lighter-weight package. Looking at the bikes side by side, the R is certainly more aerodynamic, but that does come with a 300g weight penalty. The SLR is also designed with rougher roads in mind, aiming to be more compliant and comfortable over big climbing days. Even though BMC keeps the geometry almost identical between the two bikes, the different layup and construction of the SLR make the bike more comfortable over a long ride. The Teammachine R is better for smooth, flatter roads and is said to be 3.5% faster than the SLR. For those looking to choose between the two bikes, they should consider on what terrain they will most frequently ride to help choose the best bike . As an example, Cadel Evans, Tour de France Winner and former World Champion, rides the Teammachine SLR because he is a climbing-focused rider. 

My Build

A few months after returning from Switzerland I built up a Teammachine R for myself. Building from the frame up allowed me to spec the bike exactly as I wanted, with SRAM Force AXS, Roval Rapide CLX II Team Wheels and SRAM RED Shifter/brakes.  I am using the BMC ICS Aero 36cm bar, as I wanted to build this bike with an Aero setup. An overlooked benefit from the Red Levers is the integration with my Garmin 540, allowing me to scroll through the display screens from the shifters. 

On this bike, I decided to try out 165mm cranks, to compliment the low-stack Teammachine R frame, and to allow me to get into a comfortable position. For the time being I have S-Works 26mm tire on the bike, but as those wear I am going to swap them to the Pirelli P-Zero Race RS tires in 700x28, or Vittoria Corsa Pro 700 x 30s in order to add comfort to the ride. I finished the build with Ceramicspeed pulleys and bottom bracket to complement the Ceramic DT Swiss Sinc bearings. Overall, the bike isn't the lightest, weighing 16 lbs 2 oz with pedals and bottle cages, but compensates with the urge to go fast on the flats. 

Wrapping Up

The Teammachine R is a full-blown race bike, pulling no punches when it comes to optimizing performance. It is easy to tell that BMC leaned on Redbull's F1 design team to make the fastest road bike possible.  Shining as a race bike,  the rider who has a packed race schedule or who likes to hammer the flatter rides would have a harder time finding a better bike. For the cyclist who spends most of their time climbing, they might still want to check out the Teammachine SLR for a lighter weight, more compliant option. Visit us in store or check us out online to see the bikes and get all the information on builds and pricing.

Joseph's Teammachine R