New 2015 BMC TEAMELITE TE01 29 XTR BIKE

The BMC Mountainbike team has this Teamelite TE01 XTR ride as the hard tail rig in their cross-country quiver. It's hard to call it a secret weapon and yet it is a rigid rear end bike that has vertical compliance like a full-suspension bike with a weight that puts it amongst the lightest on the World Cup race trail. The not-so-secret ride is still something that other racers want and can't have. Lucky for you, sponsor preferences don't figure into your life.The TE01 platform is about making a 29er cross-country rig as light as can be while giving it the nimble ride of 26-inch wheels and the comfort of full-suspension. They employed their legendary carbon know how to get the weight down to 990g for a Medium frame, they developed their Big Wheel Concept (BWC) to tame the wheels and make the bike agile, and they adapted their Tuned Compliance Concept (TCC) to combine lateral stiffness that benefits steering, tracking, and power transfer with vertical compliance that takes away many of the bumps. And BMC was able to work in some nifty design ideas as well: like the 1 1/8" to 1 1/2" tapered steerer to the BB90 bottom bracket, integrated chain protection both above and behind the crank, and replaceable, integrated post mounts.

The fork is Fox's 32 Float CTD Remote with 100mm of travel. The stanchions have the slippery Kashima coating for long-term slippery sliding, which adds durability. The remote has three settings (climb, trail, descend) at your fingertips, which are precision tuning for a damping system that has already been highly, refine. And the wheel is secured via a thru-axle to add to the system's rigidity.

Onto their design, they built the rest of the XTR bike. Shimano XTR components, the Japanese manufacturer's premier cross-country line, is the bulk of the build. The drive train, shifting, and braking are all XTR. Of note, you'll find a 42/32/24 triple crank paired with an 11-36 cassette. The XTR XC brakes stop a 180mm rotor in front and 160mm in rear, a combo that offers both great power and modulation.

The wheels are a collaboration of DT Swiss and BMC. DT Swiss hubs, with their famed internals and Centerlock rotor mounts are laced via DT Swiss spokes to BMC MWX01 carbon rims for a super-light, super-reliable wheelset. This is a light, tough tubeless-ready wheelset that is covered with Continental Race King 2.2 Race Sport tires, a foldable racing tire ideally suited for hardpack conditions.

The remainder of the build should be familiar to those who know BMC racing. The saddle is a carbon-railed Fizik, this time the Tundra M3. The seat post is the proprietary BMC carbon Compliancepost with 5mm offset. Bars and stem come from 3T, with the handles fabricated out of superlight carbon-fiber.

As the BMC Teamelite TE01 XTR is the team ride, the bike's minimalist carbon-fiber finish is accented with Team Red highlights. If you're looking for the ride the pro's reach for first in most conditions, this is the whip to pull for.