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.

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.

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.

?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.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete Tour de France coverage.

Visit BMC bikes online at www.bmc-racing.com.