BMC SPEEDFOX 02 TWO

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CONSIDER, IF YOU WILL, THE plight of the modern mountain biker, possessed of a machine with enormous functionality. With today’s bikes you can toggle between multiple suspension settings on the fly, you can raise or lower your seat with the flick of a lever, you can shift precisely across 11 or 12 gears with a single trigger, and you can activate impressive braking power with just a finger.

Awesome, yes—but a lot to keep track of. Approaching a techy descent, for instance, do you switch suspension settings or drop your post? You might not have time for both. That’s the problem BMC’s Trailsync system solves. One remote lever controls both rear suspension and dropper post. When the post is at full mast, the shock is set to firmer pedal support. Lower it, and it switches the compression to a softer, more responsive circuit. It’s a brilliant idea, and the execution is, well, pretty good.

Trailsync is new and, for now, available only on some bikes in the Speedfox series. This shorter-travel (120 or 130mm, depending on wheel size) trail bike runs on the same dual short-link APS suspension design used across BMC’s full-suspension range.

The bike itself is sweet. BMC’s geometry features a slightly steeper head angle (68.3 degrees) than is trendy, paired with a short stem and 760mmwide handlebar. It makes for a fast steering response that’s a little twitchy at high speed, but nimble and precise on slow, technical terrain, particularly when climbing.

I appreciated how Trailsync handles suspension tuning and seatpost position with one easy, streamlined control. But the system, designed and built in-house by BMC, does have some limitations. The dropper post has three preset heights rather than a variable range.

So if you miss a “stop” position while lowering, it’ll shoot back up to the next height. And BMC uses only two of the three compression modes available on the Fox Float DPS shock; it skips Firm in favor of keeping the suspension in Medium for the full-height seat position, and Open for the mediumand low-seat positions. A more philosophical limitation: When you pair seat height with suspension tuning, you give up your options. There were times when I would have liked the ability to drop the post but keep a firmer compression setting or stay at full height with softer suspension.

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Due to sample availability, we actually tested the Speedfox 02 One, which costs $1,300 more than the Speedfox 02 Two shown here, with the sole difference being a 12-speed SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain versus the Two’s 11-speed Shimano XT. A 12-speed has modest advantages: broader overall gear range and more consistent gear-to-gear jumps that better manage cadence on long climbs. We ultimately are recommending the $5,200 Two because we think it’s the better value. But on either version, Trailsync works as advertised, and if you dislike fiddling with all the knobs and levers to get your bike’s setup dialed for every skittery climb and sketchball descent, it’s an elegant solution.