General Information:

BMC likes calling their Trailfox The Swiss Army Knife of bicycles. And by moving up to 29er wheels, the knife now has a bigger blade. By this, they are testifying to the all-mountain worthiness of the ride—it’s a bike that can take on the toughest enduros with the best racers in the world at the helm, and the riders are still fresh and smiling at the end. And because there are too many mountains and not nearly enough chairlifts in Switzerland, the frameset is light and climbs well. The TF01 Frameset gives you the opportunity to choose which screwdrivers, bottle openers, punches, saws, and the like you’re going to accessorize with.

Through extensive testing, BMC determined that 29er wheels work better just about everywhere outside of a pump track. The key to making a 29er bike with 150mm travel that puts people in a happy place is setting up a geometry where the wheels are in an ideal position relative to the rider. This is BMC’s BWC, aka Big Wheel Concept, in a nutshell. So they build short chain stays for agility and a low bottom bracket for stability. They lengthen the top tube and slacken the head tube for easy high-speed tracking, and shorten the stem for easier steering.

Front shifting can be compromised by short stays, fat tires, and long travel, so BMC actually builds the front derailleur onto the active rear triangle, on a hanger that can be removed if you prefer one ring and replaced if you wreck it. This works great and is possible thanks to the APS, Advanced Pivot System, rear suspension linkage design. Turns out a benefit of their design, which separates pedaling inputs from trail inputs, is that the derailleur remains aligned with the chain line, and makes shifting easy regardless of how engaged the shock is.

APS also means you can tune the sag when you get on the bike just by looking down at the indexed guide on the swing arm. You can find neutral just by eyeballing and then tune for firm or soft if you so desire.

You can see there’s an integrated bash guard under the bottom bracket for frame protection. Internal cable guides, which not only give the bike a clean look, but keep cables clean and smooth-running, and prevent cable slap. The routing even gives room for adjusting a reverb stealth seat post. There are mounts for ISCG05 chain guide (great protection for keeping the chain on the rings as well as a safety feature for the BB90 bottom bracket shell), as well as an under the bottom bracket mount for a chain guide. The right chain stay also has an integrated chain slap guard.

The shock is Fox’s 150mm travel Float CTD Boost Valve with Trail Adjust. CTD is Climb Trail Descend, a three-position, trail-adjustable damper, which allows you to fine-tune the air spring for the conditions you’re encountering as they occur. The sliding elements are finished with the slippery Kashima coating for long-time smooth running, even in messy conditions.

In terms of the big hits that enduro bikes can take, the Natural Born post mounts are designed for 180mm rotors but can be adjusted to take 203mm rotors. And the threaded inserts holding the caliper to the frame can be replaced, so no fear of over-torquing is necessary. Big hit wheels also need a big axle, and the frame comes with a 12x142mm thru-axle. And the headset is designed for a 1 1/8″ to 1 1/2″ tapered fork. Great for durability.

The BMC Trailfox TF01 Frameset can be built up into just about anything for riding all over the mountain.