BMC LAUNCHES THE KAIUS, NEW VERSION OF ITS FIRST GRAVEL RACE BIKE

Looks like a Teammachine, however is going off-street

Today BMC introduced the Kaius, an entirely new version to its lineup and access into the gravel racing area. This new version borrows closely from BMC’s current incorporated and proprietary street designs with hidden cabling, incorporated (however now no longer proprietary) bottle cages, and a widespread aesthetic you could choose out from a mile away. Meanwhile, it gives multiplied tyre clearance and gearing variety alternatives as in comparison to BMC’s pre-current URS gravel bike.

We’re waiting to quickly get our fingers at the Kaius for a longer-time period evaluation, however withinside the meantime, right here are a few key info to know.

A gravel-specific approach

The Kaius can be BMC’s gravel race bike, however it’s now no longer the Swiss business enterprise’s first foray into gravel riding. The business enterprise launched its alternatively modern move-everywhere URS platform again in 2019, and has on account that accompanied it up with a the front suspended model withinside the URS LT. By comparison, the Kaius incredibly fills the distance among the business enterprise’s sporty persistence street bike, the Roadmachine, and the mountain- bike-esque URS. 

As you’d count on for a brand new carbon bike release, BMC claims that the Kaius’ carbon layup has been designed to be stiff, mild, and compliant. That compliance is stated to take a seat down someplace among the Teammachine and the URS.  However, heard much less frequently in releases of recent race bikes is the declaration of effect resistance in regions in all likelihood to take a knock, which BMC is likewise claiming. 

The geometry borrows the longer attain and shorter stem brought with the URS, however the Kaius doesn’t move pretty as a long way with the mountain bike-stimulated concept. Compared to the URS, the powerful attain figures (body attain plus stem length) are longer, whilst the stack heights are decrease, which collectively make for a greater street-like position. Meanwhile, the wheelbases are some centimetres shorter, in part because of the five mm shorter chainstays (420 mm length), however commonly associated with the 2° steeper head angle (72°) and shorter fork offset (forty five mm for maximum sizes). Additionally, the United States became designed for accurate floor clearance in tough terrain, whilst the Kaius sits enormously decreased with its eighty mm backside bracket drop.

_{Like the BMC URS, the Kaius’ geometry chart gives a few exciting figures. The selected stem lengths and bar widths (included below) have me lifting an eyebrow.}

As is predicted for a race bike, the Kaius has to provide barely faster guidance with its sixty eight mm path determined (primarily based totally on a forty mm tyre). That determine, that’s a long way from the shortest path determining going, nearly replicates the business enterprise’s stable-dealing with street race bikes when you element withinside the large tyre size.

Road bike integration

BMC has stood at the leading edge of cable integration in drop bar bikes. In 2016 the Roadmachine became one of the first to hide the cables and disc brake hoses withinside the stem and via the pinnacle headset bearing. Meanwhile, the united states01 became arguably the primary gravel bike to obtain such aesthetic cleanliness. The Kaius borrows the business enterprise’s ICS gadget however ups the integration (at the least with the pinnacle-cease version) with a one-piece handlebar and stem that’s correctly a gravel model of what became brought with the state-of-the-art Teammachine SLR01. 

Designed to feature an aero benefit (and possibly maximum importantly, appearance nice), this one-piece ICS Carbon Aero Cockpit is said to weigh simply 315 grams. Somewhat surprising is that each one six body sizes proportion the equal slender-width handlebar, which sits at simply 360 mm on the pinnacle and flares to 420 mm on the drops (12.five° flare). BMC claims this narrower width follows latest traits in street racing to lessen a rider’s frontal profile. However, I count on large riders to have a steep learning curve in being used to this unique product decision. And it’s really well worth noting that BMC isn’t definitely looking to use the equal bar throughout all sizes because the incorporated stem lengths range primarily based totally on body size. 

_{The ICS Carbon Aero Cockpit is correctly a greater manifestly flared model of what comes geared up at the state-of-the-art Teammachine SLR01.}

Those now no longer searching on the pinnacle-tier Kaius will discover a greater size-suitable two-piece handlebar meeting that keeps BMC’s ICS hid cabling. This two-piece bar and stem is in all likelihood to be approximately one hundred grams heavier, however at the least you’ll get size-suitable bar widths. 

Speaking of weights, BMC claims a determination of 910 grams for a fifty six cm Kaius body. Add in an additional four hundred grams for the fork, after which simply one hundred sixty grams for the notably mild D-fashioned seatpost. The claimed 1.785-kg module weight (such as the ICS Carbon Aero Cockpit) makes the Kaius one of the lighter gravel race applications around. 

Further integration is visible with BMC’s Aerocore concept, which integrates BMC’s specific bottle cages into the tube profiles much like what we’ve visible provided with latest street models (ordinary bottle cages may be geared up in place). And as predicted, all of the truncated airfoil tube profiles are carefully healthy what the Teammachine and BMC’s different street bikes provide. 

Other info shared with the Teammachine consist of the closed thru-axle dropouts (and not using a seen threads at the force aspect dropouts) and the PF86 (Shimano style) press-match backside bracket shell.

Things you aren’t locked into

Our latest evaluation of the BMC URS LT mentioned that the seven hundred×forty two mm tyre clearance and 1x-most effective gearing compatibility display the layout age of the body. After all, lots of recent gravel bikes provide greater tyre clearance while not having to surrender the front derailleur, and thankfully, the Kaius is now no exception. BMC’s new gravel bike gives room for as much as seven hundred x forty four mm tyres (primarily based totally on 6 mm surrounding clearance) and the front derailleur compatibility, all whilst shortening the chainstays in comparison to the URS. And that growth in area comes and not using unusual compromises and is as a substitute the end result of new traits in getting the chainstays awesome slender among the tyre and chainring, in addition to gravel-precise groupsets offsetting the chainring a smidge.

Like the URS, the Kaius capabilities a bendy D-fashioned seatpost that pretty cleverly may be swapped out for a 27.2 mm dropper post (with the useful resource of a shim that creates a spherical floor behind the seat tube). Up the front, bikes geared up with the two-piece ICS handlebar and stem can earn greater consolation with BMC’s newly introduced MTT suspension stem – a collaboration with Redshift Sports. Lastly, there are the prerequisite bolts for a pinnacle tube snack bag. 

Models and pricing

BMC has released the Kaius in a preference of 3 models. 

At the pinnacle stage – and the most effective to characterise the one-piece handlebar and stem – is the Kaius 01 One. Priced at US$12,000 / €11,500, this version spares little fee with a SRAM RED AXS XPLR 1x groupset, Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels, and Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H tyres in a forty mm width. 

_{Sitting on the pinnacle of the variety is the Kaius 01 One.}

Spend US$9,000 / €8,500, and you’ll get the Kaius 01 Two, which capabilities the equal body, fork and seatpost, however alternatively moves to BMC’s RCB01 Carbon handlebar and separate ICS2 stem. This version capabilities a SRAM Force AXS Wide 2×12 organisation and rolls on Zipp’s access-stage 303 S carbon wheelset. 

Lastly, the Kaius 01 Three will retail for US$6000 / €five,500 and capabilities the equal body module because the Two. This version capabilities a SRAM Rival AXS Wide 2×12 organisation and has BMC’s very own forty mm intensity tubeless-geared up carbon wheels (the equal ones our examined URS LT got here with).

More to come

A lot goes on with this bike, and we will guarantee you it’s now no longer the most effective do-it-all and street-bike-appearance-a-like gravel race bike you’ll see launched this year. Expect an in depth evaluation of this bike withinside the coming few months.