BMC’s new Roadmachine X is a bike you likely already know
BMC’s new Roadmachine X is a bike you likely already know
Today BMC has announced a revamped range of the Roadmachine X, an all-road platform that’s intended to fill the space between its sporty, yet endurance-focussed Roadmachine road bike and its progressive mountain-bike-inspired URS gravel bike.
Previously just an alloy model, the 2022 Roadmachine X is now available in carbon and alloy variants. However, these aren’t exactly new bikes, rather they are pre-existing offerings dressed up in new clothes that aim to add a little all-road flair.
Cannondale previously took a similar approach to ‘gravelfy’ its Synapse endurance road by adding the “SE” designation, while a change of spec and a slight tweak to the model name is quite common amongst cross country mountain bikes, too.
The Roadmachine X One and Two
The carbon fibre version of the 2022 Roadmachine X shares an identical frameset to the current generation and second-tier Roadmachine that was updated for 2020. This second-tier version keeps the brake hoses external of the stem and headset and employs a more traditional round steerer fork.
The Roadmachine platform has long been a bike the CT team have liked for its sporty nature and a middle-ground approach to geometry that sits somewhere between race-focused machines and relaxed endurance sleds. The frame offers a number of comfort-inducing (flex) features in the frame, fork and seatpost, and has room for up to 33 mm rubber. That tyre clearance is certainly a limiting factor when viewing the Roadmachine X as anything more than a modern road bike.
BMC will use most of that available tyre clearance by equipping the Roadmachine X One and Roadmachine X Two with 32 mm WTB Expanse tubeless tyres. Available immediately, the X One features SRAM’s new Force AXS XPLR 1×12 gravel groupset and retails for €5,999. Coming April 2022, the X Two will be priced at €4,699 and feature the Rival version of the XPLR groupset.
Roadmachine X AL One
The metal version of the new Roadmachine X is a very different bike to the carbon. BMC doesn’t offer an alloy version of its Roadmachine road bike and so has seemingly repurposed its newly released URS AL gravel bike and given it tighter-fitting outerwear and a different name.
Here, 32 mm tyres are fitted in the frameset that has room for up to 45 mm rubber. And BMC has made the effective reach a little more aggressive by fitting longer stems across each size. What remains are the URS’ various mounting points, a longer trail figure and a longer wheelbase versus what the carbon version of the Roadmachine X offers.
BMC will offer just one model of the alloy bike, with the Roadmachine X AL One priced at €2,299. When it eventually becomes available in May 2022, this bike will feature a Shimano GRX 800 2×11 groupset.
All up the Roadmachine X doesn’t appear to bring anything truly new to BMC’s range, but I guess there’s little downside to having more options available to how people may want to modify their bikes.
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