The BMC Masterpiece is the Swiss brand's ‘beyond category’ special order road bike
(Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
It was hard to ignore the drama at the front of the men's race during the final stages of Milan-San Remo at the weekend. The titanic duel between eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel, world champion Tadej Pogacar and Italian powerhouse Filippo Ganna in their three-man breakaway, which formed on the slopes of the Cipressa meant the rest of the race was largely forgotten for the last fifteen kilometres or so.
However, hiding in the bunch as the leading trio waged war at the front was a special bike from BMC, which as far as we know has only been given to Tudor Pro Cycling teammates and leaders Julian Alpahillipe and Marc Hirschi. The brand's very expensive, top-tier, special-order road bike. Hirschi had used the Masterpiece, easily distinguishable from other team bikes due to its unpainted black handlebar at other Italian races in the run-up to San Remo, whilst Alaphillipe used it for La Classicissima.
The BMC Masterpiece isn't a brand-new bike, it's a no-expense-spared version of the Teammachine SLR and Teammachine R which highlights the brand's carbon manufacturing expertise and craftsmanship.
So, how much? Masterpiece frames are listed as 'Mpc.' options on the BMC website, and either frame will set you back $8,999 and may take up to 60 days to manufacture and dispatch, we have worked out the total cost of the pro bikes from the weekend, and you guessed it, they wouldn't be cheap to buy.
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Marc Hirschi rode his Mpc frame at Tirreno-Adriatico too(Image credit: Getty: Tim de Waele / Staff)
Julian Alpahillpe rode his frameset at Milan San Remo (Image credit: Getty: Dario Belingheri / Staff)
This was Hirschi at Strade, on the stock painted team bike(Image credit: Getty: Tim de Waele / Staff)
What is the Masterpiece?
A BMC masterpiece can be either a Teammachine SLR or Teammachine R model but it's manufactured differently from the rest of the range. Each frame is handmade using custom moulds and BMC states that the frame surface is 'flawless'. The frame features chrome BMC logos in a few places and that's it, the rest is left bare to show off the frame.
Bob Jungels rode a Masterpiece bike back in 2022 at the Tour de France when the AG2R Citroën Team raced on BMC bikes with Campagnolo equipment. The masterpiece has been around for a while, but this is a new Teammachine SLR bike version, a model that was released last year, and is generally regarded as one of the best road bikes.
A frame, as you see it is exactly how it comes out of the mould, so in short, everything has to be perfect in terms of the carbon fibre construction and manufacturing process, because there is no paint to hide any blemishes or defects. Every so often a bare frame will appear online and get slated for visible defects, voids or generally messy carbon finishing in the comments. It seems you need to be confident your frame is perfect if you are going to release an unpainted 'bare' version and BMC certainly appear to be.
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Each masterpiece frame is slightly lighter than a regular version by around 100 grams or so, and we understand slightly stiffer, and with a more refined ride quality.
An order will get you a frame, fork, and seatpost, and included in the cost are BMC Aerocore bottle cages, as well as an owner's certificate and a few other goodies. (we assume frame hardware is also included) That's $9,000, you will then need the rest of the bike. We reckoned Jungel's bike came to around €22,761 back in 2022,
After some quick fantasy shopping, we have the rider's BMC Masterpiece team build bikes coming in at about $17,866 for an SRAM Red AXS build, with a DT Swiss wheelset / Schwalbe Pro One tyre combo. Actually slightly cheaper than the 2022 build, which may be in part due to the Campagnolo / SRAM pricing difference and the Masterpiece frameset price being cheaper now than the quoted €12,000 from back then, and who said bikes were only getting more expensive.
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Ths Mpc top tube badge marks out a Masterpiece frame (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
Construction lines need to be perfect (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
This is as the frame comes out of the mould (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
The weave looks very neat, some might say a masterpiece (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cyclingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
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