Limited edition version of GranFondo GF01 with more clearance
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The BMC granfondo RBX debuted at Paris-Roubaix(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The GF01 is the RBX's predecessor. Note the straight forks on the team bikes(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The RBX has endurance geometry (Read: tall head tubes)(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The RBX has a swept-forward fork, which you can find on the stock granfondo models, but not many of the team's GF01 race bikes(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The impec was the name of BMC's ultra-high-end, robot-produced bikes. The company is transitioning its impec facility into an R&D lab to produce more bikes like the RBX(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Van Avermaet ran a single bar-top brake lever, plus a Di2 climbing switch(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The RBX has plugs for unused ports (BMC uses DI2)(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
And clearance over the top of the tire is ample, too(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Side clearance is spacious(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
BMC employs non-seires direct-mount brakes to get the job done(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The RBX's predecessor, the GF01, can barely fit a 28mm tire(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Rear clearance is also greatly improved(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Tire clearance went from 1mm to well over 1cm on the new RBX, thanks to a new fork, new caliper position and long-reach calipers(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Greg Van Avermaet took third at Paris-Roubiax on the BMC granfondo RBX(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
You can still find a few original forks in the team's GF01 fleet(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
BMC's Greg Van Avermaet took third at Paris-Roubaix Sunday aboard a new made-in-Switzerland BMC machine, the GranFondo RBX. The bike is basically the GranFondo GF01, but with increased clearance at the fork, stays and brake calipers for the wider tires required for riding cobblestones.
Greg Van Avermaet took third at Paris-Roubiax on the BMC GranFondo RBX
Last year, the team rode the GF01, and barely had room to fit 28mm. "We had perhaps 1mm of clearance," said BMC CEO David Zurcher. "Now the RBX can fit a 30mm no problem."
Tire clearance went from 1mm to well over 1cm on the new RBX, thanks to a new fork, new caliper position and long-reach calipers
BMC moved the brake caliper mount up a little on the frameset, and used a non-series, long-reach caliper for plenty of clearance all around.
The geometry and the lay-up is otherwise identical to the GF01 endurance bike, with a longer wheelbase and taller head tube than BMC’s TeamMachine race bike.
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The GranFondo RBX bikes were manufactured in Switzerland and, in compliance with UCI regulations, will be available for sale in "very, very limited" quantities, Zurcher said. "You will be able to buy a replica that is very close to the team bike, with the same paint job, but with clinchers instead of tubulars," Zurcher said.
Paris-Roubaix was the first race outing for the RBX, but BMC riders had been training on the bikes at home in the weeks before.
