Landis, Botero Get Secret Weapon for the 2005 Tour de France
By Thomas Valentinsen
Jun 24, 2005, 10:02
A
Roadcycling.com exclusive…
BMC,
the leading Swiss high-end bicycle brand, has developed a new secret weapon for
the 2005 Tour de France. The new weapon will be used exclusively by Team Phonak
- number one in the ProTour rankings.
At
last year’s Tour de France, BMC introduced the revolutionary Time Machine, which set new standard for
time trial bikes. This year, BMC presents another revolutionary bike - the BMC Pro Machine. The Pro Machine is the
first bike frame in the world which is made entirely using the revolutionary
Easton CNT-Nanotechnology.
The BMC Pro Machine. Photo copyright Roadcycling.com.
Nanotechnology
is the next frontier in scientific research and advanced manufacturing, and has
so far been used mainly in medicine and electronics. Nanotechnology deals with
the manipulation of materials on an atomic or molecular scale measured in
billionths of a meter. By using the innovative enhanced resin system with its
carbon nanotubes (CNT) a revolutionary type of fibre is created – a type that is
often referred to as “the strongest fibre that will ever be made”. Nanotubes
have a strength-to-weight ratio which is hundred times better than aluminium and
many times better than normal carbon fibre.
BMC
is the first frame builder in the world that has built a complete bicycle frame
with Easton CNT-Nanotechnology.
“By
using the CNT-Nanotechnology we are able to build a frame with minimal weight
and maximal strength. Our engineers did not just use a revolutionary frame
material but have also developed new engineering and manufacturing processes to
build this state of the art frame. High investments in special moulding
technology allow us to build an easy to manufacture frame with excellent
performance.,“ commented BMC product manager Rolf
Singenberger.
Close-up. Photo copyright Roadcycling.com.
The
BMC “ Pro Machine” frame weight is not only below one kilogram, but has also
excellent stiffness and strength characteristics.
Besides
from the innovative BMC Crosslock-Technology frame design, a lot of innovative
details were integrated in this new frame. The bottom bracket threading is the
only alloy part on this frame. This means that also dropouts and headset surface
are entirely made using CNT technology.
Also
revolutionary is the fact that none of those parts have to be machined after
production. Normally machining destroys carbon fibres and results in a damage of
the fibre structure.
Cable
guides are not glued to the frame but are part of the frame structure
itself.
Special
tube shapes in the steering tube, in the chainstay area and the bottom bracket
area result in a high performance frame that is extremely efficient in
transferring the riders force into immediate acceleration.
Not
only does the CNT-Nanotechnology frame perform better according to BMC, but its
radical look certainly also differentiates the BMC “Pro Machine” from the rest
of the pack.
Even more shots of the new BMC Pro Machine. Photo copyright Roadcycling.com.
“We
at BMC are convinced that we have built a frame that will set a new trend in the
bicycle industry. We are extremely proud to offer the BMC Pro Machine bike
exclusively to the Phonak Cycling Team. We are sure that we can motivate the
Team with this performance advantage for even better results,” BMC marketing
manager Bruno Berchtold told Roadcycling.com.
The
BMC “Pro Machine” will be revealed for the first time during the official Team
Phonak press conference at the Tour de France next week.
