The Road Racer SL 01 is inspired by Team Phonak's Team Machine SLT 01. Like the SLT 01, the SL 01 utilizes a Crosslock Skeleton design. Unlike the SLT 01, though, the main triangle is built from triple-butted Easton Ultralite aluminum. While it might not have same price-is-no-object extent of super-lightness and smoothness as the SLT 01, the SL 01 is light in its own right and offers a serious dose of stiffness for riders interested in the "snap" of their bikes. Thanks to the Crosslock Skeleton design, the SL 01 offers the rigidity so important in criterium racing and serious climbing. While the SL 01 is stiff, it's hardly harsh. Its Firefork carbon fiber wishbone monocoque seatstay provides plenty of smoothness for chip-and-seal roads and other lousy surfaces.

A 54cm SL 01 weighs in at 1300g, right around 2.9lbs. BMC builds the SL 01 with a progressively sloping geometry. On smaller sizes where added standover clearance is needed most the slope of the top tube is at its greatest. On the medium sizes the slope is moderate. On the largest sizes there is virtually no slope at all. This being the case, we recommend that you focus first and foremost on the top tube dimension when selecting frame size. BMC's use of sloping geometry has no impact on the ride quality of the SL 01. Rather, it's a matter of aesthetics, and the sloping design of the '06 SL 01 gives it one added modern flourish.