BMCURS
Origin
BMC (Bicycle Manufacturing Company) is a Swiss brand founded in 1986 and based in Grenchen, long known for its engineering-led road and cross-country race bikes and its in-house Impec composites lab. When BMC entered the gravel category, it refused to build a plain drop-bar road bike with clearance. Instead, launched in 2019/2020, the URS ('Unrestricted') took a genuinely different route: it borrowed the MTT (Micro Travel Technology) elastomer soft-tail from BMC's XC mountain bikes, adding roughly 10mm of built-in rear movement, and paired it with slack, long-and-low cross-country geometry. The result was pitched as a drop-bar XC bike for aggressive, rough gravel rather than a smooth-fire-road cruiser. In 2021-2022 BMC extended the LT line with a 20mm MTT suspension fork (co-developed with Italian suspension firm HiRide, the same partner behind Pinarello's Dogma FS), and in 2024 delivered a fully redesigned second generation with more tyre clearance, integrated downtube storage, and an electrified URS AMP variant using the lightweight TQ HPR50 motor.
Specifications
- Frame
- Carbon (URS 01 Premium Carbon / URS Carbon) or aluminium (URS AL); all with MTT elastomer soft-tail giving ~10mm rear travel
- Weight
- kg
- Drivetrain
- 1x wireless/mechanical; SRAM (Apex XPLR AXS up to Red XPLR AXS / Eagle Transmission mullet builds) or Shimano GRX; UDH dropout, compatible with mechanical + wireless
- Brakes
- Hydraulic disc, flat-mount; typically 180mm front / 160mm rear rotors (SRAM or Shimano depending on build)
- Wheels
- Build-dependent: DT Swiss GRC / BMC CRD carbon on high-end; alloy (WTB/DT) on value builds; 12x142mm rear / 12x100mm front thru-axles
The verdict
- Genuinely plush, compliant rear end from the MTT soft-tail - reviewers compare it to running much wider tyres without the drag.
- Stable, confidence-inspiring XC-derived geometry that shines on fast, rough, technical descents.
- Well-integrated adventure package: downtube storage, fork/rack/fender mounts, dropper compatibility, UDH.
- MTT elastomer and pivot bushings need periodic upkeep to stay play-free and quiet; not a fully 'fit-and-forget' rear end.
- Premium pricing - top carbon builds run into five figures, and even value trims cost more than plainer rigid gravel rivals.
- Some review builds spec'd under-par touchpoints (firm saddle, alloy bars at high price) and a big mullet cassette can be noisy.
Generations
Gen 1 (2020-2023)
- Original launch. Introduced the MTT soft-tail and drop-bar XC geometry; LT added the 20mm MTT fork from ~2021-2022.
- Frame
- Carbon/alloy, MTT ~10mm rear
Gen 2 (2024-)
- Full redesign: slacker/longer geometry, integrated downtube storage, more clearance, refined MTT, and the new electrified URS AMP LT (TQ HPR50).
- Frame
- Carbon/alloy, MTT ~10mm rear (refined)
Versions & builds
Every official build side by side — differences highlighted.
| Spec | URS 01 One (Gen 1) | URS LT One | CurrentURS Two (Carbon) | CurrentURS AL One / Two / Three | CurrentURS Three (Gen 2) | CurrentURS 01 LT One (Gen 2) | CurrentURS 01 One (Gen 2) | CurrentURS AMP LT (e-gravel) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 |
| Frame | URS 01 Premium Carbon, MTT ~10mm rear | URS Premium Carbon, MTT ~10mm rear | URS Carbon, MTT ~10mm rear | URS AL aluminium, MTT ~10mm rear | URS Carbon Gen 2, MTT ~10mm rear, 47mm clearance | URS 01 Premium Carbon Gen 2, MTT ~10mm rear | URS 01 Premium Carbon Gen 2, MTT ~10mm rear | Carbon, MTT ~10mm rear |
| Drivetrain | SRAM RED eTap AXS + Eagle mullet (10-50t) | SRAM Force AXS + X01 Eagle (10-52t) | Shimano GRX 1x | Shimano GRX 1x (AL One/Two) or GRX 400 2x (AL Three) | SRAM Apex 1 / Apex Eagle mullet | SRAM Force XPLR AXS | SRAM Red XPLR AXS / XX SL Eagle Transmission | SRAM Force XPLR AXS / X0 Eagle Transmission |
| Brakes | SRAM RED AXS HRD 180/160 | SRAM Force AXS HRD 180/160 | Shimano GRX hydraulic | Shimano GRX hydraulic | SRAM hydraulic flat-mount | SRAM AXS hydraulic 180/160 | SRAM AXS hydraulic | SRAM AXS hydraulic |
| MSRP | €8,999 | €7,999 | — | — | €3,799 | €8,999 | €11,999 | €9,999 |
| Purpose | Flagship | Flagship | Balanced | Value | Value | Flagship | Flagship | Flagship |
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