Bike Check: Pierre’s BMC TR02
Ha Switzerland! A country of beautiful lakes, impressive train infrastructure, and weirdly mountain-shaped chocolate bars. But Switzerland is also known for its precision engineering and striking craftsmanship. When I first saw Pierre’s BMC, only one thing crossed my mind: “Damn, that’s one clean bike right there”. And I feel it would be really hard to argue otherwise since everything on it has been chosen with great taste and care.
A little bit of history first. When the TR02 was first introduced in 2013 in its polish finish, buying it complete at the time was a great deal! For a little over 2000 Euros, you were getting a full bike with an absolute banger and uniquely designed frame, a pair of Dt Swiss rims laced to Dura-Ace hubs in 20/24 holes, and a matching Dura-Ace crankset and bottom bracket to complete your set. Already plenty to be satisfied with since as of today, finding a pair of Dura-Ace 20/24 hubs will run you double the price of buying new ones in whatever hole-count. Now, BMC is no longer offering their beautiful polished finish and would rather sell you a painted frame with Dt Swiss hubs and a Miche crankset. I’m not mad! Just a little bit disappointed…
I’ve seen a few of them around, in Europe of course, but also in Asia and some in the US. But none of them made me feel the same way as when I was looking at Pierre's. It is a difficult bike to build! Having a special carbon seatpost and polished aluminum color, silver components are already out of the question. And you usually end up with a lot of builds looking exactly the same. I get it, it’s a pure track frame, it’s not meant to be radiating street cred, and riding it on the street feels like commuting on a brick due to the insane amount of stiffness provided by all its specially-shaped “tubes”.
I know you’re here for the pictures but lemme give you a quick rundown of Pierre’s BMC TR02. Starting with the cockpit and the super comfy Answer Protaper bars with a little Supercycle bell for the love of details. These choices instantly give a chill vibe to the entire bike, even if the rest of the setup is quite aggressive. Extra points for the super-light yet super-cheap foam grips. Always makes me laugh to see cotton tape or foam grips on expensive builds and I’m no exception, I just love cotton tape and the way they feel. A nice Fizik Cyrano R1 stem is used to connect it all to our “piece de resistance”, an L size BMC TR02.
Towards the rear is a Prologo Zero saddle mounted to the only option available: a BMC carbon seatpost. But Pierre went the extra step and found another BMC fork that clears more than 23c (meant for real track use, right?) but with the same carbon weave as the seatpost! Again, everything is in the details.
That extra clearance allows for some fast-rolling Vittoria Corsa 28c tires, strapped on to a stunning pair of Corima WS1 track wheels. This pair is even more special since I heard it’s from the Look crit team’s special edition. I’m a big fan of the graphics on the rear with the reflective sticker on the opposite side, a simple but nice touch! And if you’re not aware, Corima wheels are still all manufactured in France by people constantly pushing the boundaries of carbon composite for the cycling industry while staying at a human scale. Yes, you’ll pay 1.2k euros for a set but you’re getting some real craftsmanship and expertise behind all that.
Let’s talk about the only cranks that have their place on this frame: A classic but incredibly reliable pair of Dura-Ace cranks and a matching chainring. I would understand if you’d tell me that black cranks would be the better option for a frame that is already silver, but the Dura-Ace cranks just make for a slicker look and blend perfectly with the frame. Finally, a pair of Ultegra pedals because Pierre is one of those people that can ride brakeless with road pedals and as a foot-brake addict, I deeply respect that.
Detailed Parts List
Frameset BMC TR02 Polished, L size
Chainring and Cog 52T Dura-Ace, 15T Suntour cog
Crank 170mm Dura-Ace FC-7710
Seatpost and Saddle BMC Airfoilpost, Prologo ZERO II PAS
Stem and Handlebar Fizik Cyrano R1 Stem, ProTaper Carbon 20/20 Low Riser
Wheels Corima WS1 Clincher, Team Look Crit Edition
Tires Vittoria Corsa Graphene 28c
To sum it up, it’s just as I said at the beginning, this build is clean and ready to destroy long boulevards or with the simple change of handlebar, get some fast times around the velodrome. And those Corimas! Damn, they are really something! From a more photographic point of view, you can see that this bike-check is way “neater” than the last one. I used Superia 200 at box speed under overcast weather and it came out with a really moody and monochrome vibe that fits the bike and the location perfectly. If you want to see more pictures of this bike or follow Pierre on social media to look at his nice photography style, you can find him here: @peir0ltlr
