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 was only given to Tudor Pro Cycling teammates and leaders Julian Alpahillipe and Marc Hirschi. Both men were riding the BMC Teammachine R Masterpiece for Milan San Remo, the brand's very expensive, top-tier, special-order road bike. Hirschi had also jumped the gun slightly it seemed and 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.
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.
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.
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.
