Looking to buy a TT bike to go back to Nationals. I’ve seen some good deals on the older BMC TM01, but I’m wondering if there’s a big difference between the previous gen rim brake and the newer gen rim brake. Photos attached for reference. Race speed average ~30-31.5mph. Previous bikes were Speed Concept XL, Speed Concept L, Shiv TT M. I’m 6’3" but had the most confident handling with the Shiv TT M, the speed concepts were a little twitchy for me in the wind. But I’m mainly wondering how the older gen TM01 compares to todays aero standards. Also can get a decent price on another Speed Concept L (rim) if those are known to be faster.
What bar setup for the newer TM01 you looking at? I’ve had both a 2016 and currently on a 2018 with a flatbar setup.
For the 2016 I was on a ML and for the 2018 I was fitted to a size Large with flat bar, l’m 6’1, pretty proportional torso:femur. BMCs are great, but tough to fit. I think I have a spreadsheet with the fitting charts and it also has the numbers for Team BMC. If interested PM your email and let me know if you need a windows or Mac version. As far as what’s faster, no clue. Rohan Dennis seemed to be most successful on the BMC.
If you do score an older Timemachine, make sure you get all the shims, spacers and angles for the stem. There is a very slim chance you’ll be able to get them from BMC North America.
From the ones I’ve seen it looks like a flat base bar, flat/inline stem, and two pedestals for the risers. But I do see some newer ones with the V bar.
The older ones have their super funny stem and normal base bar/two pedestals for risers.
I have long femurs, shorter torso but long arms. I’ve been most comfortable by far on a BMC road bike, most stable, (and I ride a 56cm with a 140 stem). The slack 71.5deg head angle of the TM01 looks appealing to me…
I have a 2018 rim brake. For reference I am 6’2 (189cm) and riding a S/M. It works for me because my humerus (upper arm) is disproportionately long, so I don’t require too many spacers on the flat bar. With the V-cockpit, I wasn’t able to get low enough on this frame. I wish this size had a bit longer reach for the pads, which you would get with the large size, but UCI limits have me confined anyway, so it works fine for me.
Some not so obvious other thoughts on the bike:
One nice thing about the newer model is the ‘brake booster’. It allows the brake pads to sit pretty far out from the wheels, and then the initial brake pull makes up the distance. This means less brake rub (well, actually no brake rub!). Given your speeds, I am guessing that you put enough watts out to get some flex in the wheels, so this might be beneficial for you.
Because you have to have the seatpost in the rear mount hole for UCI, you won’t get to take advantage of the storage box for the bike, which is a bummer for training. It also has mount holes on the top tube for a bag to store stuff, also useful for training. My bike came with caps to cover those screw holes on race day.
I have had the bike since 2018 and I am super happy with it, and nothing newer on the market makes me feel the need to switch. I think the newer one is a great choice that you won’t be disappointed with!
