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BMC has launched the Roadmachine 01 AMP X, an endurance electric road bike the brand says is also designed for light gravel riding and which uses the compact, quiet TQ-HPR50 motor system claimed to weigh just 3.9kg.
In the US, the Roadmachine 01 AMP X is classified as a Class 3 e-bike, allowing it to provide motor assistance up to 28mph; in Europe and elsewhere its speed is limited at 25km.
Light gravel design
The Roadmachine 01 AMP X is a gravel-adjacent electric bike, designed for endurance riders but also capable of taking to off-road surfaces.
The frame is made of BMC’s top grade 01 carbon fibre and includes full cable integration. The frame geometry has a higher stack, shorter reach and slacker head tube than BMC’s road bikes to cater for the bike’s off-road mandate and to ensure stable handling.
BMC says that it’s kept the chainstays short at 420mm for good manoeuvrability off-road though.
BMC grades its frames’ compliance by its TCC concept and the Roadmachine 01 AMP X fits into its TCC Endurance category.
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Another pick list for BMC designs is the integrated cockpit system, with a choice of four different options in carbon or alloy. The new bike uses an alloy two-piece cockpit with BMC’s new MTT stem (standing for micro-travel tech), which licenses the Redshift Shockstop system.
This has hinges at either end of the stem that allow it to move up and down to help absorb vibration. The system allows you to swap in different elastomer blocks with different densities, which sit inside the stem and control the degree of compliance at the bars.
The stem also allows brake hose integration via a cover on its underside, rather than running through the stem body, which makes for easier adjustment.
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The BMC Roadmachine 01 AMP X comes kitted out with the same Pirelli Cinturato 35mm rubber as used on the recently launched, non-electric BMC Kaius gravel race bike.
There’s frame clearance for tyres up to 38mm. You can also fit mudguards with the narrower 35mm tyres, with the frame including removeable mounts.
Interestingly, BMC has specced 180mm brake rotors front and rear on the new bike. Almost all road and gravel electric and non-electric bikes stick to 160mm or 140mm rotors, but BMC claims better modulation and higher outright braking power, leading to better control of the slightly heavier electric bike, although at around 12kg it’s not a lot weightier than many non-electric machines.
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BMC has built a rear light into the Roadmachine 01 AMP X’s D-shaped carbon seatpost. Built-in rear lights are another feature that’s increasingly being incorporated into new road bike designs, but in BMC’s case it’s wired into the main battery, so you can’t remove it and it doesn’t need to be charged separately from the e-bike system.
TQ-HPR50 mid-drive motor
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The assistance on the Roadmachine 01 AMP X comes from the German TQ-HPR50 mid-mounted motor system. It’s a lightweight design, with a very compact motor that weighs just 1.85kg and has a narrow 158mm Q Factor. It provides 300W peak power and 50Nm peak torque, putting it in the mid-assist range that’s typical for electric motors on drop bar bikes.
It’s claimed to provide assistance without the kick in and out that some motor systems have and to be significantly quieter than most e-bike motors thanks to TQ’s patented harmonic pin ring, which provides single stage speed reduction, rather than the multi-stage gearing more normal in electric bike motors.
The design also results in around 50 percent of the gear teeth being engaged at one time, so that there’s a larger area transmitting the torque from the motor than with conventionally geared systems, potentially cutting down on wear.
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There are three levels of assistance, selected via the top tube integrated 2-inch display unit or a bar-mounted remote, which also shows speed, range and battery level and will hook up via Bluetooth with a bike computer. If you don’t like the preset assistance levels, you can fine-tune the motor output yourself using the TQ phone app.
The 360Wh TQ battery weighs another 1.85kg, and TQ claims that at 3.9kg its system is the lightest mid-drive e-bike drive system out there.
Its weight rivals that of the popular Mahle Ebikemotion X20 hub drive used in the BMC Roadmachine AMP as well as other electric road bikes including the Scott Addict RC eRide. There’s an optional range extender that adds another 160Wh battery capacity.
The TQ-HPR50 is the same motor system used on the Trek Domane+ and Trek and BMC have a mountain bike model each that uses the same motor, so TQ looks set to become a significant player in the lightweight electric bike domain.
BMC claims a bike weight of around 12kg for the Roadmachine AMP X, making it a rival to the Trek Domane+ in the lightweight multisurface road bike field.
BMC Roadmachine 01 AMP X specs and prices
The BMC Roadmachine 01 AMP X is available in two specs. Like an increasing number of high end bikes, both assisted and non-assisted, it’s designed for electronic drivetrains only and both specs are fitted with SRAM XPLR eTap AXS 1× 12-speed drivetrains, Force for the One spec and Rival for the Two spec, both with Rotor eVegast e-bike specific cranks and SRAM chainrings.
Availability is slated from November for the One spec in the US and Europe and the Two spec in Europe, with the Two following in December in the US. More details at BMC.
BMC Roadmachine 01 AMP X One
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Frame: Roadmachine 01 AMP X
Fork: Roadmachine 01 AMP X
Wheels: CRD-400 SL Carbon
Tyres: Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H 35mm
Groupset: SRAM Force XPLR eTap AXS 12-speed, Rotor eVegast cranks
Gear ratio: 44t, 10-44
Bars: BMC RAB 02
Stem: ICS MTT x Redshift Suspension Stem
Saddle: Fizik Terra Argo X5 150mm
Seatpost: Roadmachine 01 AMP X carbon
Sizes: 47, 51, 54, 56, 58, 61cm
Weight (claimed): 12.9kg
Price:£8,100 / $8,899 / €8,999
BMC Roadmachine 01 AMP X Two
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Frame: Roadmachine 01 AMP X
Fork: Roadmachine 01 AMP X
Wheels: XRD-522
Tyres: Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H 35mm
Groupset: SRAM Rival XPLR eTap AXS 12-speed, Rotor eVegast cranks
Gear ratio: 44t, 10-44
Bars: BMC RAB 02
Stem: ICS MTT x Redshift Suspension Stem
Saddle: Fizik Terra Argo X5 150mm
Seatpost: Roadmachine 01 AMP X carbon
Sizes: 47, 51, 54, 56, 58, 61cm
Weight (claimed): 13.3kg
Price:£7,200 / $7,899 / €7,499
Not taken with electric? Read our BMC Roadmachine X review