BMC URS Bike Review: Exploring Off-Road Adventures and Technical Terrain

After a longer summer break, we continue with the test reports. Today we'll be looking at the bike that accompanied me on numerous tours and rides over the last 1.5 years, the BMC URS ONE.

As always, please note that English is not my native language. There may be some grammatical errors here and there. Please excuse this, as I am working to improve my skills.

Technical specifications:

Price: 2999 CHF (I got it for 2799 CHF in April 2021), up to 11499 CHF for other variants (LT or with integrated Redshift stem)

Weight: The BMC URS One starts at a light 9.2kg and ends at approximately 8kg with the top equipment

Frame material carbon, tire clearance 42mm officially (45mm unofficially)"

How did I find the BMC URS? I started cycling in the middle of the pandemic/lockdown. Without much prior knowledge, I went to a local bike shop and sought advice. Motivated and with a lighter wallet, I left the shop with my first gravel bike, a Trek ALR 5. I used the bike for a few months and that's how cycling, especially gravel cycling, kept me coming back to the saddle. Unfortunately, in February 2021, I had an accident with tram rails, which caused significant damage to my bike, essentially rendering it a total loss. Since my Trek was insured, I was back at square one. However, I had gained some more experience with gravel cycling by then and was able to look for a bike that would suit me better. That's when my search began. What was important to me? Tire clearance of at least 42mm, a significantly longer geometry (more mountain bike than road bike), carbon frame, and if possible, suspension or damping components. At that time, the bike industry had reached its peak in terms of bike availability. There was basically nothing available that I found suitable for me personally. So, I looked around the area a bit. I live in Bern, which is basically 20 minutes away from the BMC headquarters, and so the URS models were also somewhat better available in the area. After test riding both sizes, I decided on size M. Later, I will discuss how well the bike met my requirements and my final thoughts on the URS.

GEOMETRY

In general, geometry determines how a bike rides. Am I sitting on a sporty racing machine or on a relaxed, upright touring bike? With gravel bikes, you can roughly say that there are two approaches to this topic. There are bikes that resemble classic sporty road bikes in their DNA, but also those that draw more from the mountain bike DNA pool. The URS takes an interesting approach here. The geometry is much more akin to a mountain bike than a road bike. At the same time, tire clearance is somewhat limited at officially 42mm WAM (wide as measured, personally, I rode 45mm without any problems). But what does "closer to a mountain bike" mean? The URS has a much longer wheelbase (measured from the rear contact point to the front contact point) and a flatter head angle. What do these buzzwords mean? The URS geometry is excellent for safe riding in technical terrain and, above all, in descents. The flat head angle (70 degrees) ensures that the steering is somewhat "sluggish," and the front of the bike does not get nervous and is very stable. A small disadvantage of this is the wobbling of the front wheel. If you ride a climb very slowly, the front wheel may begin to "wander," which means that it feels like the bike is always veering to the left and right on its own. However, this phenomenon is not really a problem with the thinner tires, as you might experience with a classic mountain bike. The overall position is somewhat sporty due to the geometry, with a stack to reach ratio of 1.37 (the lower this value, the more aggressive and stretched your position is. My current bike has a value of 1.59 and is much more relaxed and upright in terms of seating position). I had to get used to this, as I had previously ridden more upright bikes.

Specifications

The bike came from the factory with a 1x11 SRAM Apex drivetrain, hydraulic disc brakes (180mm front/160mm rear), a good and affordable wheelset (DT Swiss 1850 rim/DT Swiss 370 hub), a WTB saddle, unfortunately, WTB tires. Overall, except for the tires, it's a cohesive package as a starting point. The gear ratio of 40t and 11-42t in the rear is okay for beginners. One must be aware that there's no right answer here, as someone riding a bike in a flat part of the world would not need the same gear ratio as someone who lives close to the Alps, for example. The highlight for me was the 180mm brake rotors. In combination with hydraulic disc brakes, this really creates a high level of safety when riding. Another highlight of the URS frame is the MTT system. Originally used on BMC's hardtails, this technology also makes sense on a gravel bike. The principle behind it is that the rear wheel is connected to the rest of the frame by an elastomer (illustration), which can absorb shocks in the rear and, in fact, it works very well. Compared to a regular construction, the peaks are significantly reduced, but I personally would have liked to see a bit more travel than the 10mm to compensate for the narrower tires.

Personally, I have equipped my URS with almost entirely new parts. Not because it was necessary, but because I wanted to upgrade certain areas such as comfort.

Especially in the front area, I think there are good opportunities to improve. The bike is dimensioned in such a way that it is very easy to replace the fork with, for example, a Rockshox Rudy suspension fork. In the cheaper version, you can also simply change the stem to a Redshift stem.

At 2799 CHF, the price-performance ratio was still reasonable for me. For comparison, the classic bargains from Canyon/Rose were about 500 CHF cheaper with similar equipment. This year, the bike has become 200 CHF more expensive in the cheapest version, thanks to the bike boom and the more difficult procurement of parts.

FOR WHOM IS THE BMC URS THE RIGHT BIKE? AND FOR WHOM IS IT NOT?

As I said, the URS has accompanied me on all my adventures for over 1.5 years. Whether it's an evening after-work ride, a big Sunday outing, or bikepacking through Italy. The URS is best suited for someone who spends a lot of time in the woods or on rough gravel. It could also be a good start for someone coming from an MTB, as the geometry is not a completely different world. It is not suitable for someone who prefers a relaxed position on the bike or spends most of their time on the road or very light gravel. The bike cannot showcase its strengths in these situations.

BMC URS 2.0?

In general, the concept behind the URS is solid. It has a sporty geometry with mountain bike genes and already includes suspension components. However, for the next version that BMC is likely already working on, there is still room for improvement. Starting with tire clearance, the frame is officially rated for 42c, but there is enough space for 45c tires. However, for this type of gravel bike, it's simply not enough. In the next iteration, 2.0 or 2.1 tires should be included to make the bike more capable on trails. The geometry is already good, so appropriate tire clearance would be helpful. Personally, I would like to see clearance for up to 2.25 tires to offer worthy competition to bikes like the Salsa Cutthroat. This market of high-level drop-bar mountain bikes is still not very crowded. The MTT system could also be improved, perhaps to 30mm. I think the Redshift MTT variant should remain in the front, as it works well and doesn't add too much complexity to the system.

POSITIVES:

The geometry is really fun in off-road situations and provides a lot of confidence in technical terrain.

The MTT system already provides good comfort and absorbs bumps well.

The D-shaped seatpost on the back is very comfortable.

NEUTRAL:

It's not the most affordable gravel bike on the market.

The equipment, especially on the Apex/Rival model, is not entirely up-to-date.

The front comfort is slightly worse than the back, but it can be easily compensated with the Redshift stem.

NEGATIVES:

The tire clearance is too limited for the geometry. The bike practically begs to be ridden with a 2.1-inch tire.

Attaching fenders may be difficult due to the frame's poorly positioned mounting holes, although it is possible.

CONCLUSION:

For me, the BMC URS is definitely a hit when it comes to gravel bikes. It's not the cheapest, but one could argue that it's the most fun. The geometry also helps beginners to ride technical terrain or rough gravel well and above all, safely. It's also great for bikepacking. If you're looking for a gravel bike that's closer to a mountain bike than a road bike, this one is a great choice. However, it may be worth waiting for the V2, which surely won't be long in coming.

I would love to try the bike in other configurations, such as the LT or the Redshift/MTT version. Maybe that will be possible in the future.