BMC Racemaster SLX01 Road Bike Frame 2009

Since this frame is technically thought through to the finest detail it is both fast and really, really beautiful. It is the epitome of engineering and design craftsmanship. The conscious combination of carbon and aluminium leads to incomparable rigidity with unbelievable comfort.

The BMC Racemaster is an aluminum and carbon fibre hybrid which uses a 'spine' concept with an Easton CNT-enhanced carbon fibre top half joined to a bottom half made almost entirely of hydroformed and tripled-butted 7005 aluminium.
The so-called 'Aluminium Trident' includes the down tube from just aft of the head tube, the entire aero-shaped seat tube and the tall multisided chain stays. Up top, the 'Carbon Arc' includes the top tube, head tube and remaining portion of the down tube - all of which form one continuous section - and the separately formed wishbone-style seat stay assembly. Nearly everything (including the forged aluminium dropouts) is bonded together, with conventional welds used only at the bottom bracket shell. According to BMC, this configuration delivers a far more rigid bottom bracket than its other models and still povides excellent levels of comfort and road feel.

One could easily be fooled into thinking that the Racemaster includes an integrated seatpost with its impossibly clean lines and matching aero profile but a closer inspection reveals BMC's new 'Streampost 73.5' design. The concept, borrowed from the company's TT01 Time Machine, uses an internal aluminium wedge at the base of the post linked to a simple 'angle lock' toggle-like switch up top via a tiny carbon fibre tube. The patent pending design is essentially a rehash of old quill stems but brought into the modern age. According to BMC, the angle lock system can't be overtightened as long as the initial one-time setup procedure is done correctly and the entire assembly is surprisingly lightweight at just 220g. The integrated Streampost 73.5 seatpost, through its aerodynamic teardrop cross section and its intelligent angle lock clamping system is always perfectly aerodynamically aligned and provides the maximum degree of height adjustability. Only one turn of the system is required to loosen, then adjust and finally refasten the seatpost.

Bike Radar took a good look over Markus Zberg's Swiss flagged RaceMaster SLX01 after the Tour of California, their comments and video can be viewed on the Bike Radar site