Teton Tested: The Fun and Balanced BMC Speedfox Trailcrew

BMC has brought back the Trailcrew, this time with a focus on fun and ripping up your favorite trails with ease. Straying from the trend of super-efficient race bikes BMC is known for, the Speedfox 02 Trailcrew emphasizes comfort and control for a ride quality aimed at the “any day, any trail” kind of rider.

The BMC Speedfox 02 Trailcrew, a 27.5" ripper. Ryan Dunfee photo.

A sleek carbon frame, 27.5-inch wheels, 150mm of travel front and rear, modern geometry, and a standout parts spec make for a bike well worth the $5,900 price tag. The Trailcrew is built with a carbon front triangle and an aluminum rear. The $3,900 Speedfox 03 Trailcrew features a full aluminum frame and is a great option for the more budget-oriented shopper.

SPECS AND GEOMETRY

A smart mix of components makes the Trailcrew great right out of the box. Ryan Dunfee photo.

$5,900 MSRP
Carbon front triangle, aluminum rear
Rockshox Pike RC Solo Air 150mm fork
Cane Creek DB Inline shock, 150mm
Sram X01 drivetrain
Shimano XT brakes with 203mm front rotor, 180mm rear
DT Swiss E 1700 Spline TWO wheelset
Sram X01 carbon crankset
Rockshox Reverb 125mm dropper post
Onza Ibex 2.4 tires
BMC 750mm carbon handlebar
BMC 50mm stem
Fizik Nisene Saddle
Size tested: Large (XS-XL available)
Head angle: 66.5 degrees
Seat angle: 74 degrees
Reach: 455mm
Chainstay length: 16.85 inches
Wheelbase: 1188mm
BB drop: 20mm

DESIGN

BMC's proven APS suspension drives a Cane Creek DB Inline shock for a smooooth ride. Ryan Dunfee photo.

The Trailcrew features BMC’s proven APS (Advanced Pivot System) suspension with some alterations to give the bike a more bottomless and comfortable feel on the trail compared to its XC racing iterations. While slightly less pedaling-efficient than the regular APS design, the Trailcrew’s suspension makes for 150mm of smooth, usable travel with a good ramp-up at the end of the stroke for bottom-out resistance.

The Sram X01 drivetrain was a hit, and the DT Swiss wheels handled rocky, rooty abuse without a flinch. Ryan Dunfee photo.

The carbon front triangle has sections of raw carbon in the layup, which, beyond adding strength in all the right places, give the bike a pretty cool aesthetic in my opinion. Cable routing is internal, with bolt-on plates at all entry and exit points on the front triangle, which secures the cables tightly and completely eliminates rattling.

The bottom bracket shell is a BB92 press-fit standard, and features a removable ISCG 05 chainguide mounting plate. The aluminum rear triangle features 142mm hub spacing, and a 180mm post mount for disc brakes. And even without 148mm boost spacing, the rear triangle has loads of tire clearance thanks to its bridge-less seat stay design.

The 750mm BMC handlebar is adorned with Shimano's awesome XT stoppers and a Rockshox Reverb remote. Ryan Dunfee photo.

BMC puts this bike squarely in the All Mountain category, and aims it at riders who just want to have fun. Whether that means doing trail rides, ripping up your local bike park, or entering an enduro race, that’s up to you, but this bike has a huge sweet spot and is definitely fun to ride. Kudos, BMC!

CLIMBING

Do rollers count as uphill riding? Tester Jed Donnelly hiding a grin under his full-face helmet. Ryan Dunfee photo.

The Trailcrew climbs much better than expected, especially considering BMC’s acknowledgement that the suspension was designed to sacrifice pedaling efficiency in the name of downhill performance. The 74-degree seat angle made for a very comfortable climbing position that didn’t leave me wandering around on the saddle trying to find a position in which I could deliver power to the pedals.

The 66.5-degree head angle was right on the cusp of being a bit slack for extra steep climbs, but I never had to compensate with my body position to keep the front wheel from wandering or lifting off the ground when climbing.

With 20mm of BB drop, I experienced a few incidents of pedal and crank strikes on pesky obstacles, but it wasn’t bothersome enough to make me want to give up the low center of gravity afforded by the low BB height.

Don't forget to stop and enjoy the views. Ryan Dunfee photo

For most climbing scenarios, I left the Cane Creek DB Inline shock in Open mode and enjoyed bob-free pedaling with gobs of traction. Only on long fire road climbs did I bother flipping the Climb Switch into its firmer mode. Even then, Cane Creek’s design made for a solid climbing platform that still made for comfortable climbing that was ready to eat up small bumps without being harsh. Even an XC rider can appreciate this bike’s pedaling efficiency considering the amount of travel it boasts.

The trusty RockShox Reverb dropper post kept us upright on the climbs. Ryan Dunfee photo.

A sag indicator on the rocker link is easily visible from the seated riding position and makes suspension setup super quick and easy. The Onza Ibex tires have a relatively low rolling resistance for a tire of its riding intentions, and I never felt the need for a slimmer tire, even on long climbs or long XC rides.

The Sram X01 drivetrain was a dream to operate and made for smooth, consistent, and predictable shifting. The Trailcrew comes with a 34-tooth front chainring, which was a good balance for both climbing and descending, but a 30 or 32-tooth size would have been much more suitable for most riders; the 34-tooth is a bit rough on the uphill for riders who aren’t in the upper echelons of fitness.

DESCENDING

There was no shortage of fun times on the BMC, as tester Jed Donnelly demonstrates with effortless airborne style. Ryan Dunfee photo.

Remember how BMC made this bike to be fun on the descent? Well, they weren’t lying. When I pointed the bike downhill to cash in on my uphill efforts, it became clear why this bike is touted as “fun”. The super-short 16.85” chainstays make the ride poppy and agile, while the long, but not extreme, 455mm reach and 1188mm wheelbase keep the bike balanced and stable in rough terrain.

One of my favorite bikes of the last couple of years is the Kona Process 153, which was one of the first bikes that absolutely nailed the “long front, short rear” geometry. The geometry of the Trailcrew is remarkably similar, and it was immediately noticeable when I threw my leg over the bike, which made me really happy.

For a berm-ripping good time in Big Sky, tester Jon Grinney chooses the BMC. Ryan Dunfee photo.

The Trailcrew feels very well balanced when descending. Not only because of its 150mm of travel front and rear, but because of its weight distribution and geometry. The bike is easy extremely easy to throw around, on and off the ground, and makes changing course a breeze. But that nimble feel doesn’t seem to come at the cost of reduced stability.

Sure, this bike isn’t a full-blown enduro race machine, and with its sub-1200 millimeter wheelbase, it can only be so stable in steep, high-speed terrain. But it handled itself with poise even when thrown into nasty chutes at Big Sky Resort. The Pike fork did its duties magnificently, and you won’t hear a single quibble from me about its performance.

Yours truly getting some airtime on the Trailcrew; it's like a BMX bike with 150mm of travel! Ryan Dunfee photo.

I like to ride a 20” BMX bike in my spare time, and the Trailcrew had the most BMX-like feel of any bike in the test. The short chainstays make it super easy to manual and whip around in the air, and the suspension is poppy and lively, but still bottomless when you need it. The DT Swiss E 1700 Spline TWO wheels are stiff, and no doubt added to the bike’s lively feel.

Tire choice is important, and the Onza Ibex was an outstanding performer. Ryan Dunfee photo.

And let's not forget the Onza Ibex tires; they have relatively low rolling resistance and are super predictable when cornering, never washing out unexpectedly in loose conditions. The casing held up well, and I haven’t had any issues with slashed sidewalls or damage to date.

Yes, there are bikes that are more suited to steep, scary terrain and can be pointed down the gnarliest of terrain, but the Trailcrew is more about a balance that makes it a better bike to ride in most of the terrain that we encounter on a daily basis. And balanced it is, because during my long-term test period not once did I wish I was on a different bike, no matter what type of terrain I rode.

Feel like racing an enduro on the Trailcrew? No problem, it'll make it an absolute blast. Brian Hughes photo.

Beyond the testing period at the Big Sky Bike Test, I’ve been riding this bike off and on for several months and trying to find its limits. From everything to long XC rides to a handful of enduro races, the bike has never disappointed. Further proving the bike’s wide range of capabilities, I tested the bike with a 160mm fork to give it a little more oomph for entering enduro races.

The already-low BB took the change in stride and kept the bike feeling planted with its low center of gravity. The longer fork slackened the head angle to 66 degrees and further improved its hard-hitting downhill prowess.

Whether the trail is about flow or gnar, the Trailcrew stays lively and fun to ride. Ryan Dunfee photo.

When facing rough, rocky terrain or riding at lift-access bike parks, I put a chainguide and bashguard on the removable ISCG 05 mounts. Mounting was quick and easy and I can say with certainty that any doubts about the strength of a removable mounting plate should be tossed out the window. I smashed the bashguard into several hard rocks and stumps and never saw any damage come of it.

PROS AND CONS

Great components act in unison to deliver excellent ride quality. Ryan Dunfee photo.

The cable routing on the Trailcrew is excellent, and the lower port, which sits at the bottom of the downtube just forward of the bottom bracket, also acts as a drain for any water from wet riding or washing the bike. The mix of components is excellent and made it easy to jump on the bike and forget about specs and measurements. The sag indicator made suspension setup super quick and easy.

For things I’d like to see changed on the bike’s spec, I’d start with the cockpit. The 750mm handlebar is a bit narrow for the bike’s All Mountain intentions; I’d like to see a bar closer to 780 on the bike. The Rockshox Reverb dropper worked like a charm, but what with the lack of a left shifter, it would’ve been nice to see BMC put an under-the-bar Reverb remote on the bike; the top-mounted lever was hard to reach and made actuating the dropper uncomfortable most of the time.

The 34-tooth front chainring might be a bit big for the average rider, stealing away that granny gear. Ryan Dunfee photo

As mentioned before, the 34-tooth chainring seems a bit big for the average rider, and I’d love to see a 30 or 32-tooth ring come stock so that more riders can just hop on and go without changing things up.

The Cane Creek DB Inline shock is complex and very tunable, but in some cases it comes at the expense of long-term durability. I didn’t have a single problem with the shock during testing, but reliability issues are something to watch out for, and that Cane Creek acknowledges with the introduction of their new C-Quent shock, which features a simpler and more robust design.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Tester Jon Grinney hitting warp speed on the Trailcrew on Big Sky's Otter Slide flow trail. Ryan Dunfee photo.

BMC hit the nail on the head with the Speedfox 02 Trailcrew. If you’re looking for a well-balanced bike that shines in all types of terrain and comes with an excellent parts spec that performs well day in and day out, the Trailcrew might be worth a look. With a playful and nimble feel, efficient pedaling, and excellent handling, this was one of my favorite bikes of the test and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a rippin’ all mountain bike, whether you hail from the XC realm, or are coming off a bike with more travel and want a playful bike that can still handle gnarly terrain with poise.