The Kaius is a minimalist, lightweight and aerodynamically optimised gravel race bike, very much in the vein of Specialized’s S-Works Crux or Cervélo’s Áspero 5 .
It occupies the complete opposite end of the spectrum compared to the brand’s URS , which uses suspension and elastomers to offer a bump-taming ride.
Let’s take a closer look at this race-oriented gravel bike . A Swiss frame approach
The Kaius takes clear inspiration from BMC’s road race bike, the Teammachine SLR01 , sharing a visually similar sculpted head tube, oversized down tube and angular, dropped seatstays.
BMC says the Kaius uses high-modulus carbon in certain areas of the frame to achieve an equilibrium between stiffness, power transfer and minimal weight. The brand also says it has reinforced some areas of the Kaius’ frame to help it withstand tough off-road riding.
BMC claims a low 910g frame weight in a size 56cm, with the fork adding a further 400g.
The Kaius features the brand’s Aerocore bottle cages , also found on the Teammachine. These integrate into the down tube and seat tube, with the aim of smoothing airflow.The stealth dropouts BMC introduced on the Teammachine carry over to the Kaius. This sees the thru-axle insert bonded in place. The insert isn’t visible from the outside face of the driveside chainstay or fork leg, resulting in a particularly clean aesthetic.Like other bikes in BMC’s range, the Kaius sticks to a BB86 bottom bracket standard .The Kaius has 700c gravel wheels and clearance for 44mm gravel bike tyres , […]
Continue reading the original article at: www.bikeradar.com