The Roadmachine X comes with BMC’s semi-integrated cockpit, which uses a BMC RAB 02 handlebar and BMC ICS1 stem. A 386mm reach puts the rider in more of a stretched-out road position than you might find on a relaxed endurance bike (especially when paired with the 420mm bar width that's featured across most of the sizes). It translates well to the gravel use case that is expected from the Roadmachine X. A 72-degree head tube angle and 74.2-degree seat tube angle are a standard affair on road, as are the 410mm chainstays. The carbon construction is not the only piece that has been taken from the standard Roadmachine the geometry is the same across both bikes too. Interestingly, BMC hasn’t opted to incorporate any specific aero features into its endurance Roadmachine format, despite this being applied by other brands to their mile-munching road bikes. The use of a carbon D-Shaped seatpost, flattened dropped seat stays and TCC fork should add up to a compliant ride without affecting the lateral stiffness. While the claimed 900g carbon Roadmachine X frame doesn’t offer a huge weight saving over the alloy Roadmachine X, BMC claims the manipulation of the carbon has allowed it to engineer more comfort than was previously possible in metal. That said, has the Roadmachine X found a perfect convergence of on- and off-road, or is it a solution in search of a problem?īy transposing the carbon frame design from the current Roadmachine, the move to a carbon layup has also carried over its Tuned Compliance Concept (TCC). By modern standards the Roadmachine X is not a gravel bike but, with additional tyre clearance, the SRAM XPLR drivetrain, and its built-in compliance, the new Roadmachine X caters to the gravé-curious road rider and gravel-lite racers who don’t need or want the muscle of a full-on gravel bike. The trends for bigger tyres, tubeless wheels and increased compliance have also meant that road bikes no longer necessarily mean on-road, with many modern endurance bikes, such as the Cervelo Caledonia and Merida Scultura Endurance able to take on all roads, or no roads at all.īMC’s Roadmachine format has been around since 2016, catering for the endurance all-road duties in BMC’s range, the Roadmachine X followed in 2018 and leans a little more to no road than the other Roadmachines. Many brands are experimenting with aero concepts to increase speeds while lightweight frame technology means they climb efficiently too, foreshortening distances and the energy outlay to cover them. You get Shimano’s impressive Ultegra mechanical groupset combined with RS785 hydraulic discs which provide powerful and consistent stopping whatever the conditions.The fact that the best endurance road bikes have become a melting pot of technology has a big part to play in this. The Defy also comes with a pretty impressive spec for its £2,299 price tag. Most of the comfort comes from the relaxed geometry with the super-long wheelbase that was over a metre on the 56cm test model, but there’s also Giant’s D-Fuse composite seatpost which helps to give a really comfortable back-end which soaks up the worst of any road buzz.
BEST ENDURANCE BIKES PRO
While a lot of endurance bikes focus on comfort at the expensive of all other factors, the Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2 is a much more balanced bike that eats up long days in the saddle for breakfast, but still has a performance edge for when you want to up your average speed and win that sprint for the town sign. The winner of best endurance bike in the 2016 Cycling Weekly Bike of the Year awards is the Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2. However they’re not just looking for the most comfortable bike that money can buy, but something that is still fun to ride and also able to cope when it’s time to put the hammer down. As part of the Cycling Weekly Bike of the Year awards, they’ve been looking out for the best endurance bike on the market, something that is ideally suited for making those long days in the saddle just that little bit easier.
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