BMC's sturdy, 150-millimeter-travel Trailcrew stands alone in the Speedfox range, which traditionally has been a paddock for the Swiss brand's cross-country livery. The Trailcrew has smaller wheels and much more suspension travel, more aggressive geometry and an enduro-proven fork and shock, and it is shod with some of the most aggessive tires that have ever graced a BMC. Sporting a long front-center and a visibly slack head tube angle, the Trailcrew begs to be labeled with the "E" word, but BMC clearly positions it in their trail bike range, where it stands out like that tall redhead with a pageboy cut, a cropped denim jacket and a solitary tattoo, who orders "just coffee," and waits for it, arrow straight, oblivious to the resident drones stooping into the glow of i-phones and tablets. You know you are looking at the real deal - but you are left to wonder what that actually means.Speedfox 02 TrailcrewBMC's Speedfox 02 is the alpha of the two-model Trailcrew lineup, which share the same geometry, 150-millimeter suspension travel, 27.5-inch wheels, and aluminum "APS" dual-link, four-bar rear suspension. The Speedfox 02, however, gets a carbon fiber front section, while its more affordable sister, the Speedfox 03 Trailcrew, has a welded-aluminum front end. The Speedfox 03 Trailcrew's MSRP is around $3800, USD and is centered around a Shimano two-by XT/SLX drivetrain, while our test bike, the $5900 Speedfox 02 Trailcrew sports a SRAM XO1 one-by drivetrain, including carbon cranks. BMC doesn't skimp on the Speedfox 02's sizing either, with X-small, small, medium, large and X-large options. But, as far as colors go, you better like blue.
Details:• Purpose: trail / all-mountain
• Construction: carbon front section, butted-aluminum swingarm, Boost 148mm hub spacing, dual-link four-bar rear suspension, 150mm travel.
• Wheel size: 27.5
• Shock: Cane Creek DB Inline
• Fork: RockShox Pike RC Solo Air, 150mm
• Drivetrain: SRAM XO1 eleven speed
• Brakes: Shimano XT Ice Tech 180mm rear, 203mm front rotors
• Extras: internal cable routing, removable ISCG guide mounts, carbon bash guard
• Dropper post: RockShox Reverb Stealth, 125mm
• Weight: 28.1 pounds/12.78 kg (size medium)
• MSRP: $5899 USD
• Contact:
BMC Frame design: The Trailcrew's chassis adheres to BMC's simple-is-best design philosophy, with a dramatically sloping top tube to enhance standover clearance and a roomy front triangle with ample space for a large water bottle, made possible by its rocker-driven, vertically mounted shock. The damper is the multi-adjustable Cane Creek DB Inline, and BMC says that its "Advanced Pivot System" suspension kinematics drive the damper at a lower leverage rate than most designs do, which reportedly adds a measure of sensitivity and tuneability to the system.
Further scrutiny reveals a Boost 148-millimeter rear end with generous room for 2.4-inch tires, internally-routed cables and hoses, a removable ISCG 05 chainguide mount, and a BB92 bottom bracket. The 12-millimeter rear axle is a Fox/Shimano lever-actuated item, and the dropper seatpost routing is also internal. Screw-down molded-plastic plates at each entry point clamp onto the housings and hoses to maintain your chosen free lengths, and to help keep the cockpit looking sharp.
Suspension: Up front, BMC chose a 150-millimeter-stroke RockShox Pike RC Solo Air fork, which should play well with the air-sprung Cane Creek DB Inline shock, as both are firm in the mid-stroke. BMC says that it worked with Cane Creek to get a suspension tune that would further enhance the Speedfox 02's firm pedaling feel without sacrificing the chassis' suppleness and traction. That may be a moot point, though, because the DB Inline's range of high and low-speed damping adjustments can be tuned to suit almost every rider's taste - good or bad. Cane Creek owners further benefit from the shock maker's excellent on-line
base-tune database and tutorials, so errant knob-twisters can always find their way back home.
Geometry
"Balanced" best describes the Trailcrew's numbers. It deftly spans the growing chasm between the ever-lengthening British-inspired enduro racing sled, and the livelier, more versatile mid-travel trail bike - and it accomplishes this with decidedly modern numbers.
The 74-degree seat tube angle is steep enough to keep the rider's weight forward when seated and climbing steep pitches. Its 66.5-degree head angle is just slack enough to satisfy technical descenders, and the office is roomy enough so that the handlebar is always comfortably within reach, whether the bike is pointed steeply up or down. Finally, the bottom bracket is sufficiently low to hold a tight apex in the turns, while managing to be tall enough to minimize obnoxious pedal collisions.
Top tubes range between 55.5 and 65.6 centimeters (21.9 and 25.8 inches) and there are five frame size options. The frame's generous standover clearance assures that riders can pick and choose between the two closest matching frame sizes in order to obtain their optimum top tube lengths. BMC's Boost-width, 428 millimeter chainstays are on the short side of the spectrum, but there is no shortage of tire clearance, even with its meaty 2.4-inch Onza Ibex rubber. On that subject; beyond lengthening the front-centers, BMC does not make proportionate adjustments to the Trailcrew's geometry between sizes - so tall riders may experience a light front end when climbing seated, while short riders may experience some rear-wheel slipping when climbing out of the saddle.
Key ComponentsBMC did a good job choosing a hassle-free component pick for the Speedfox 02 Trailcrew. You can't go wrong with a SRAM XO1 drivetrain, or a RockShox Pike fork. The dropper post is a 125mm RockShox Reverb Stealth, and its wheelset is a DT Swiss E1700 Spline 2. Some riders may wish for a wider option than its 750-millimeter BMC carbon handlebar, but its 45-millimeter BMC aluminum stem is on point. Brakes are Shimano XT with ICE tech rotors - 180 millimeter-rear and a DH-size, 203-millimeter front. BMC chose 2.4-inch Onza Ibex tires for the Trailcrew, which look positively wicked, even when mounted to the relatively narrow, 25-millimeter-ID E1700 rims. It's a good spec' and the Cane Creek DB Inline shock is like extra credit. On paper, there is nothing on the Trailcrew that an accomplished rider would need to upgrade.
Specifications
|
Release Date
|
2016 |
|
Price
|
$5899 |
|
Travel |
150mm |
|
Rear Shock |
Cane Creek DB Inline |
|
Fork |
RockShox Pike RC Solo Air 150mm |
|
Headset |
Tapered, flush-mount cups |
|
Cassette |
SRAM XG-1175, 10-42T |
|
Crankarms |
SRAM XO1 carbon 34t with carbon guide |
|
Chainguide |
removable ISCG 05 mounts |
|
Bottom Bracket |
SRAM press fit |
|
Pedals |
NA |
|
Rear Derailleur |
SRAM XO1 |
|
Chain |
KMC X-11L EPTtapered flush |
|
Front Derailleur |
NA |
|
Shifter Pods |
SRAM XO1 |
|
Handlebar |
BMC carbon, 750mm |
|
Stem |
BMC 45mm |
|
Grips |
BMC locking |
|
Brakes |
Shimano XT, Ice Tech, 180mm (R), 203mm (F) rotors |
|
Wheelset |
DT Swiss E1700 Spline 2 |
|
Hubs |
DT Swiss E1700 Spline 2 |
|
Spokes |
DT Swiss Competition |
|
Rim |
DT Swiss E1700 Spline 2 |
|
Tires |
Onza: Ibex FRC 120 (F, FRC 60 (R), 2.4 |
|
Seat |
Fizik Nisene XS |
|
Seatpost |
Rockshox Reverb stealth 125mm |
|
| |
take better lines then, never hit a 203mm rotor before.
also no note on the fact that SRAM only warranty the pike for 200mm discs.
I also remember an EWS race last year where a lot of the pros put 180's on the front.
Make the choice best for you.
A) won't bend as easily from an identical rock strike (same physics as bending a rod of metal of a given length vs bending a shorter rod of metal of the identical diameter -- it requires more force for same amount of deflection to occur in the shorter rod), and,
B) IF, by chance, they WOULD bend by the same angular amount (which, again, would require more force), they still won't drag against the brake pads as hard, because the lateral amount of deflection at the braking surface would be less.
What does it actually mean???
Looks like we did a quick detour into RC's subconscious...
Now I know he likes red heads and onza Ibex tires.
I love the Dirt reviews where we get real critical thinking on the product and not something that seems to have been signed off by the manufacturer...
Heck, even Canondale is making basically normal bikes, & they don't seem to grenade nearly as often, either.
The Jamis Defcon got a fairly negative review on PB.
Heck, even Foes is looking good, & they were way off the back on design just a year or two ago.
But the bikes, oh the bikes...
www.pinkbike.com/news/first-ride-crankbrothers-highline-dropper-seatpost.html
I've been a PB member too long to get worked up over the comments. Just getting my opinion out there. it's all gooood
Cheers
6" travel,2.4 tires,66ºHA,200mm rotors,what's stopping this from entering the enduro category? 10mm of travel?
With ironically I mean that the most popular bikes here came from North America. Rocky Mountain, Specialized, Yeti, Intense, Knolly and Transition to name a few. I dont't know anybody who rides a Swiss Bike.
Also, no need to rave on, like a vegan can't stop telling people they're a vegan, about 30+mm rim widths, 'the extra stiffness of boost', 'increased roll over of the larger wheels', carbon everything or flouro coloured riding apparel as these are all a given when Enduro is in town and don't need to be reiterated.
Riding 160mm slacked out bikes at blue run trail centres, where 100mm's is plenty, isn't going to help you keep up with the ex Moto and dh riders anyway, they will always be faster on the downhills as they have more skill....
I remember climbing in a 36t middle ring
34t too big really?? go electric