Product news: Product news: BMC Urs – limitless gravel fun?

Product news / Gravel: With the BMC Urs, a new gravel bike is seeing the light of day these days. The carbon speedster seems to make many drivers happy with its universally sporty approach, but scores particularly well off the beaten track with numerous clever features for off-road fun.

Urs! Three letters that together not only result in a Swiss first name (not that popular anymore...), but in the case of the new BMC Gravelbikes also an abbreviation for Unrestricted are – in English: unlimited. The naming of the new BMC offspring also shows directly where the journey is going - the Urs is an all-rounder as it is written in books and is intended to bridge the gap between road, cross, gravel and MTB in a way that perhaps no other bike has succeeded in doing before.

First the most important technical data of the new BMC Urs: All four equipment variants are based on the same carbon frame, which in size M should weigh a slim 1.050g and which in the rear uses the Micro Travel Technology already known from the hardtails of the Swiss company. In short: An elastomer between the seatstays and the main frame provides approx. 10mm of spring travel, which should protect the rider's buttocks and legs on bad surfaces. All models come with 42mm wide 700c tires ex works; if you want, you can also install 28mm tires with 45″ and there is also space for 650b wheels – here even with 47 tires. The ample tire clearance shows: The BMC Urs is ready for the terrain. This approach is also underlined by the possibility of installing a dropper post (27,2mm). As a special treat, during development, care was taken to ensure that the down tube offers enough space for the Fox AX 40mm Gravel suspension fork. However, the Fox Forke is not part of the equipment variants available ex works.

[testimonial cite=“Mart Otten, Senior Product Manager Road BMC“]It's easy to build a bike that rides well on a straight gravel road. We've pushed the limits of URS by implementing our progressive Gravel Geometry, generous tire clearance, and compatibility with a dropper post. Additionally, URS features BMC's proprietary Micro Travel Technology (MTT) for improved off-road performance.[/testimonial]

So the new Urs is suitable for off-road use – but the gravel speedster should also be equipped for sporty everyday life. For this purpose (well hidden) mounting points for luggage racks and mudguards are attached at the front and rear. The fork even comes with internal routing for the cable of a hub dynamo. So that bikepacking fans can also enjoy the new BMC gravel bike, it comes with three bottle holders and mounting points for bags on the top tube. With these features, the Urs should make (almost) all Gravelers out there happy - only friends of the front derailleur look down the drain: the frame can only be ridden with one chainring.

Geometry BMC Urs

While geometry is often neglected when it comes to gravel bikes, in the case of the new BMC, it's worth taking a closer look at the numbers and the thinking behind them. BMC itself speaks of a Gravel+ geometry, which should give the bike lively handling and a lot of control, especially off-road. Here they were inspired by the current MTB trend and not only gave the Urs a fairly slack 70° steering angle, but also a long reach. This makes it possible to install short stems (55mm in S and M, 70mm in L and XL), which clearly improve handling on rough rides.

BMC Urs: models and trim levels

All four equipment variants have the frame in common - apart from the color, exactly the same, high-quality base is used here - the same applies to the carbon fork. BMC also always uses the D-Shape carbon post for the post. In the cockpit, the three high-quality variants score points with the integrated ICS stem, which runs all the cables and lines inside and which BMC fans should already be familiar with from the Teammachine. In terms of price, the Urs starts at a fair 3.000 euros for the entry-level model with Apex 1 group and DT Swiss wheels.

Website

www.bmc-switzerland.com