BMC URS LT ONE Review: This Might Be The World’s Best Gravel Bike!

All gravel bikes exist on a spectrum – you have bikes designed for buttery smooth dirt roads at one end, and bikes optimised for rough, bumpy surfaces at the other.

The BMC URS LT ONE firmly sits at the rougher end of the gravel spectrum. This bike features front and rear suspension elements, and a super stable frame geometry, allowing it to maximise your traction, speed, and comfort over notably rough terrain.

But the fascinating thing is that while the URS LT is capable off-road, I’ve found it to be light and fast enough on the tarmac to keep up with bikes on the opposite end of the gravel spectrum.

Let’s take a closer look.

What is the BMC URS LT?

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The BMC URS LT is a unique full suspension gravel bike with hidden suspension elements in the carbon fork and rear frame triangle.

The MTT suspension fork features 20 mm of damped travel that can both remove unwanted shock and vibration coming up from the road and keep your front tire planted to the ground. This damper and spring unit are built directly into the steerer tube, allowing the fork to blend perfectly into the bike’s aesthetic.

At the rear seat stays are two elastomer springs that generate 10 mm of vertical travel to save your lower back from harsh impacts. In addition, a carbon seatpost formed in a D-shape provides a further 10 mm of travel to keep the front and rear of the bike balanced.

The BMC URS LT has an off-road-specific gravel frame geometry. It essentially borrows frame design principles from the mountain bike world, integrating a slacker head tube angle, a steeper seat tube angle, a longer frame reach, and a shorter stem length than you’d typically see gravel bikes.

This frame geometry extends the wheelbase length, providing more ride stability for rough roads. It also pushes the front wheel further in front of you, reducing your ability to pitch forward after a hard front impact – ultimately, giving you better bike control.

BMC has one of the most consistent bike design languages in the bike industry, and the URS LT is no exception. The carbon frame has sleek, yet edgy oversized tubes that promise to deliver a high lateral stiffness at a minuscule weight of 1,050 grams.

Compared to most gravel race bikes, the URS frame offers more utility. It’s compatible with full fenders, a rack, three bottle cages, and a direct-mount top tube bag, which will suit long rides, fast commutes, and bikepacking adventures.

A Closer Look at the BMC URS LT ONE

Suspension elements both front and rear?
Check.
A SRAM wireless groupset with a super wide-range cassette?
Check.
Lightweight carbon fibre wheels?
Check!
A 9.5 kg overall weight?
Also, check!

The BMC URS LT ONE has everything you could wish for in a fancy rough-road gravel bike.

For the gear system, the URS LT ONE makes use of SRAM Force shifters that pair wirelessly to an SRAM X01 mountain bike derailleur. Hills are made a breeze thanks to the wide-range cassette with 10 to 52-tooth sprockets, which yields one of the lowest climbing gears found on any gravel bike – 20 gear inches or 1.62m development.

The brake rotors are larger than those found on most gravel bikes, which shows the BMC URS LT’s intent. Up front, you’ll find a 180 mm rotor and it’s 160 mm at the rear. The brakes run full hydraulic lines for maximum stopping power, consistent braking in all weather conditions, and a reduction in overall maintenance. I’ve found a yearly brake bleed is enough to keep hydraulic brakes running well.

The CRD-400 SL wheels are specially made for BMC by DT Swiss. The 40 mm deep carbon fibre rims provide a noticeable aerodynamic benefit, and with a weight of around 1,600 grams, they accelerate quickly and feel responsive underneath you. The inner rim width is 23 mm, which gives the 40 mm wide tires a nice shape – the tire expands to full volume without distortion, and the tread pattern and side knobs are in the correct position for cornering.

Of course, all these nice things come at a price. It’s €7999 to be exact. But the crazy thing is that I think this price can be justified when you consider the riding experience on offer.

If this full suspension gravel bike is out of your budget, know that BMC’s gravel bike line offers a broad range of models.

The aluminium URS bikes start at €2199, and still have the benefits of an MTB-inspired frame geometry. The next step up is the carbon URS variant that features the same rear elastomer suspension design as this bike. Prices on the URS Carbon start at €3499.

Let’s now take a closer look at the suspension elements.

Front and Rear Suspension Design

The BMC MTT fork is the same product as the HiRide Sterra suspension fork I use on my personal bike, so I’m very familiar with it. Other than a difference in the paint finish, the MTT version has a neat plastic cover instead of the rubber cover found on the HiRide fork.

The MTT fork uses a coil spring and hydraulic damper to deliver 20 mm of very smooth travel. This fork essentially improves your ride comfort and allows you to generate much more front tire traction.

You can change the spring stiffness by swapping between three different coil spring rates, and three more pre-load spacers hidden inside the steerer. I discuss this in much more depth in my HiRide fork review.

A cool thing is that the carbon-bladed legs not only blend into the bike’s aesthetic but they result in the most aerodynamic design of any gravel suspension fork, which means you’ll be compromising less on fast tarmac roads.

I should mention that the fork has an easy-to-use hydraulic lockout mechanism that’s accessible at the stem top cap, so you don’t ever need to worry about suspension bob.

In my opinion, the MTT fork is as sleek as suspension gets on a gravel bike, even when compared to the new Cane Creek Invert fork.

At the rear of the frame are the MTT suspension stays, which provide 10 mm of travel. This is enough to feel the difference – watch this video to see how active it is on rough terrain.

As the MTT fork uses a simple damper design that’s hidden away inside the head tube, it doesn’t require anywhere near as much maintenance as a typical suspension fork. The “hydraulic seal replacement” is ideally conducted every 500 hours (or three years) to keep it in prime working order. But we’ve been told it’ll likely perform well for much longer.

The only downside is that the hydraulic seal replacement can only be done by HiRide in Italy. This could be costly in terms of time and return postage, especially if you are not located in Europe. That said, HiRide plans to open service centres across the globe in the coming months.

BMC URS LT Frame Geometry

When we overlay the frame geometry of the BMC URS LT on a more typical gravel bike, it’s clear the URS LT is different.

The front centre and wheelbase are longer than most gravel bikes, which provides more stability at speed. The bike also tends to steer a bit slower than most gravel bikes due to its slacker head tube angle. But some of this loss of agility and sportiness is gained back by employing a short stem (70 mm) and short chainstays (425 mm).

Overall, you can’t expect to get the same racy ‘feel’ as other bikes, but the URS LT is still super quick on smooth roads, and when things become rough, you will have no problem leaving everyone else behind.

Ride Impressions

I loved riding the BMC URS LT! Compared to my Open WI.DE gravel bike, the long top tube of the URS LT made me feel like I was riding ‘in’ the bike rather than ‘on’ the bike. This gave me additional confidence, especially on the downhills.

But the true highlight of this package is the front and rear suspension.

Firstly, you don’t need to worry about the suspension slowing you down. I was comfortably riding this bike on the tarmac at speeds well beyond 30 km/h and didn’t ever feel held back by the additional weight.

I was especially impressed by the performance of the MTT fork when fitted to this longer and slacker gravel frame. In almost every riding situation, the fork seemingly performed better than when it was fitted to my Open WI.DE!

This was completely unexpected to me; I suspect the better vibration damping is a result of the URS LT’s progressive frame geometry that shifts my weight balance forward – eeking the most performance out of the fork.

I was also very happy with the rear suspension, so much so that I completely forgot I wasn’t using my Redshift suspension seatpost on this bike. This is the first bike I have tested that I can definitively say will not benefit from a suspension seatpost on a fast gravel road.

The MTT elastomer combined with the D-shaped carbon seatpost and short seat tube length provided more than enough compliance, allowing me to remain seated while pedalling over all kinds of surface roughnesses.

While I usually prefer wider tires on my gravel bikes, the suspension elements in combination with the narrow 40 mm wide tires provided more than enough comfort, traction, and control. This is one big benefit to using a bike with suspension – you can fit narrower, lower rolling resistance tires that are faster on tarmac roads, and the suspension fork will provide all the grip and control you need on rough descents.

The 1X drivetrain with its huge range (10-52T) offers a nice low and high gear ratio. When combined with the 38-tooth chainring, I found I could conquer the steepest gravel roads (10%+), while still riding well above 30 km/h on the tarmac.

The downside to a super wide range 1X drivetrain is that the steps between each gear are larger. This is most noticeable if you do a lot of group riding, as it’s harder to fine-tune your cadence to the group’s speed. Personally, I’ve found the 1×12 drivetrain to work great in 99% of situations, and I also found I adapted to riding at a broader range of cadences.

Right, let’s now look at my vibration testing.

Test Bike and Method

I vibration-tested the BMC URS LT ONE in its stock configuration.

Up front was the HiRide suspension fork, and at the rear was the D-shaped carbon seatpost. The bike was equipped with CRD-400 SL carbon wheels wrapped in 700C x 40 mm WTB Raddler tires inflated to an air pressure of 45 PSI. The handlebar and stem were aluminium Easton EA70 AX.

I compared it to my Open WI.DE fitted with the same HiRide suspension fork. The spring rate of the fork was matched to the BMC URS LT and was tuned to my body weight and preferred riding style (medium spring, 3 mm preload spacer). At the back was a 20 mm travel Redshift ShockStop Pro Race suspension seatpost.

My Open WI.DE was fitted with Continental Terra Speed 700C x 45 mm inflated to 40 psi (2.8 bar) to compensate for their wider tire width. These tires were installed on a 700C Spinergy GX Max wheelset. A Coefficient Wave Carbon handlebar was coupled with an aluminum rigid stem (100mm).

You can read more about my benchmark bike HERE.

In my testing, I have two test scenarios: a big hit test that simulates riding across a 30 mm tall obstacle like a tree root or edgy rock, and a high-frequency chatter test that simulates riding on a bumpy gravel road.

You can read more about my vibration measurement procedure HERE.

Vibration Test Results

Big Hit Test

	Average Acceleration (G)	Open WI.DE vs BMC URS LT
BMC URS LT – Front	2.35	–
Open WI.DE – Front	2.87	22% More Vibration
BMC URS LT – Rear	1.6	–
Open WI.DE – Rear	1.0	37% Less Vibration

In the big hit scenario, the HiRide suspension fork on the BMC damped 22% more vibrations than on my Open WI.DE! This is an interesting result because I was using the same spring rate and pre-load on both suspension forks.

While I didn’t have the opportunity to isolate all variables for this test, I suspect the BMC’s progressive frame geometry puts more of my body weight over the front of the bike, which allows the suspension fork to be more effective at damping vibration. Other variables include the effect of a slacker head tube angle, and how far forward of the suspension element my hands sit (ie. bar reach + stem length). I need to do more testing to get to the bottom of this result.

At the back of the bike, the carbon seatpost and elastomer combination were no match for the Redshift PRO Race suspension seatpost in the big hit test. I recorded 37% fewer vibrations with the suspension seatpost, thanks to its fast-acting internal coil spring and well-damped elastomer spring.

High-Frequency Chatter Test

	Average Acceleration (G)	Open WI.DE vs BMC URS LT
BMC URS LT – Front	1.96	–
Open WI.DE – Front	2.45	25% More Vibration
BMC URS LT – Rear	2.2	–
Open WI.DE – Rear	2.2	No Difference

In the gravel test scenario, the HiRide fork on the BMC was recording significantly fewer vibrations – there was 25% more vibration at the handlebar on my Open. Once again, this is likely a result of the difference in frame geometry and cockpit geometry between the bikes.

At the back of the bike, the BMC performed on par with Redshift ShockStop Pro Race suspension seatpost. This is a surprising result and the first time I’ve ever found a bike without a suspension seatpost that can attenuate vibration to the same degree.

How Does It Compare?

The closest full-suspension gravel bike rival to the URS LT is the Cannondale Topstone Lefty. Both bikes exhibit a very high level of comfort over rough terrain, yet they could not be more different.

The Topstone with its short frame reach and small 650B wheels, feels fast and agile on tight forest routes and even on moderate singletrack. However, it’s not as stable as the BMC at higher speeds.

I found the Lefty fork to underperform in my high-frequency chatter test due to a lack of sensitivity. This comes down to the suspension damper design, which has been tuned by Cannondale to be firm like a rigid fork for most of your riding. It’s not until a big impact comes along that you can get full use of the suspension.

In my opinion, the BMC URS LT is a much more well-rounded, and modern package as it feels at home on both the tarmac and rough gravel roads. In comparison, the Topstone Lefty is a fun bike that’s best suited to rougher terrain.

Summary

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The BMC URS LT ONE is the best gravel bike I’ve ever tested. It genuinely pushes gravel bike capability to the next level.

I found it to be very off-road capable, while still being light, stiff, and fast enough to keep up with more pavement-focused gravel bikes. It’s a true all-rounder.

My tests suggest that the MTT suspension fork is incredibly effective at reducing vibration at the handlebar. I was also incredibly impressed with the URS LT’s performance in the high-frequency chatter test – the carbon seatpost and seatstay elastomers damped vibration at the same level as a top-tier suspension seatpost.

You could argue the 42mm maximum tire clearance is not enough, but coupled with the suspension elements, I never felt the need for more rubber on the roads I ride.

After testing this bike, I’ve decided gravel bikes with a progressive frame geometry (long reach, slack head tube angle, short stem) are what I like best. Not only do they feel agile and confidence-inspiring, but my vibration tests show that they can extract the highest possible performance from the HiRide suspension fork.

So, would I buy one? I was seriously considering selling my OPEN WI.DE and purchasing a BMC URS LT. But in the end, I decided to purchase a gravel e-bike instead – with a progressive frame geometry, of course. More on that soon!