Calculated Disc

How can you improve on a bike designed by a supercomputer? Add disc brakes, of course.

- James Spender

Cadel Evans knows the BMC Team machine better than most. ‘I reckon I’ve done 150,000km on every iteration of the SLR,’ he says. ‘I would say this, of course, but this new bike is exceptional. It has the same geometry as the original, that same nimbleness that allows you to hit a 46cm gap with 44cm bars, but it’s got discs. And as I’ve always said, if you can’t go fast, at least look good.’

As a BMC ambassador, the 2011 Tour de France champion has a vested interest in talking up BMC’s redesigned flagship, but he might just have a point.

The previous generation of the Team machine SLR garnered praise across the board for its sharp handling and impressive stiffness, yet many pedigree race machines have suffered as a result of the addition of disc brakes. Changes in geometry to accommodate wider hub spacing and smooth chainlines, not to mention heavier components, left many early disc brake fans disappointed – ourselves included. With the SLR Disc, though, BMC appears to have blended in disc brakes almost seamlessly.