New Bike Day, BMC Streetfire SS02 (3)

(continued from page 2)

Wheelset

I used the 'old' wheelset of my 'Italian Style Bike', the Campagnolo Khamsin wheelset. Both front and rear wheels matched the 100mm width of the fork and the 130mm of the rear wheel spacing.

-Inner Tubes

I always use latex inner tube, the front was made by Vittoria, the rear came from Challenge. I find both to be reliable, in combination with the Vittoria Rubino Pro's I've never had a flat during several 100s of kms. I have to admit that the Challenge latex inner tubes are holding the air longer even while carrying a higher weight on wider tires in the rear.

-Tires or Tyres

As I am always hunting for new, speaking cheap, tires, I've tried some Vittoria Rubino Pro's, the older, traditional Vittoria tires before the 'Graphene' aera. I've had bad experiences with the reviewed Vittoria CORSA G+ folding tires, but these older tires have been a a positive surpise, both in performance and reliability. I've put a 25mm (245g) on the front and a 28mm in the rear. On this BMC frame, the wider Rubino Pro's 28mm tires fitted which some space to spare while it rubbed on the rim brake bridge of my Fastrax racing bike.

In my experience, both Vittoria Rubino Pro's with the latex inner tubes are a very good combination. With higher pressure they run effortless like true racing tires but the additional profile beside the smooth central section make them good all-weather tires with comfort on bad roads. But, over 30 km/h they could become sketchy in fast corners.

Accessories:

1.Pedals: To stay in the spirit of a Gran Fondo or Endurance bicycle, I've decided to invest into Road Touring Light Action Pedals or Shimano PD-ED500s.

Shimano PD-ED500

Don't get me wrong, I like my road bike clipless pedals very much but the constant purchase of plastic cleats were eating quite into the budget of a high-milded rider . Following some rough calculations:

1.a. Costs

Road Pedal Plastic Cleats

When riding often and long, I had to replace the KEO plastic cleats every 2-3 months which cost

-NTD199 (USD6.00/EUR5.60)/pair

-NTD796 (USD24.00/EUR22.40/year

b. Mountain Bike Metal Cleats

-NTD350 (~USD10.65/~EUR9.82)/pair, and could be theoretically used for several years!

Beside above lower costs, the

a. PD-ED500s can be clipped in dual sided, no more 'hunting for the right side' to clip in for one-sided road pedals

b. the metal cleats of the PD-ED500s are 'in' shoe sole rather than the plastic cleats 'on' traditional road shoe soles, the comfort on and escpecially off the bike is much better.

Conclusion

I had a lot of fun bilding up the frame with standard components like full 1 1/8 fork, rim brakes, BSA buttom bracket etc.

After riding the BMC Streetfire SS02 for some hundreds of kilometers, I think it is a very versatile and stable bicycle. I certainly cannot agree with the opinion that alloy is a harsh and unforgiving material for bicycle frames.

-I don't feel any disadvantage with the larger frame, but the 10mm shorter (now 110mm) stem has enhanced its agility and provided a more enduring than racing position.

-I always ride with my waterproof frame bag. The slightly larger frame gives me space in the frame triangle for this bag plus one water bottle cage for my 700ml water bottle on the seat tube.

-The 28mm wide rear tire on the back makes it feel even plusher on not-so-smooth roads of Taiwan.

According to the BMC homepage, the here reviewed BMC Streetfire SS02 frame was not further developed. It has been replaced by its only current alloy endurance road bike, the Roadmachine AL X ONE starting at CHF 3,099.00! While there are a few alloy-framed Lifestyle bikes with flat handlebars available, the company primarily emphasizes high-end carbon race bikes as the sponsor of the Tudor Pro Cycling Team.