BMC makes some rather nice bicycles. Not flashy, not overdone. Just beautifully simple bikes. When Cadel Evans won the Tour de France last year, he did it on this bike. The Impec is the top of the line offering from a bike manufacturer that does little else than produce top of the line bicycles. The Swiss company, which sponsors the BMC Pro Cycling team based in the US, has ramped up its committed both in riders and in bikes every season. If you have Phillipe Gilbert, the notoriously picky Thor Hushovd, Alessandro Ballan, George Hincapie, Greg van Avermaet and the rest of 2012’s so-called “Dream Team”, you’d better put them on the best bikes. Perhaps it’s the team’s real star, Cadel Evans, that has benefitted the most from BMC’s Impec, taking the 2011 Tour and this year’s Criterium International in dominant fashion.

The Impec gets Shimano’s Di2 components, paired with Easton cranks and variable wheel options ranging from ZIPP to Easton to DT Swiss. The name Impec comes from the carbon process BMC uses for the frame and fork. It’s a system that alters the carbon weave based on the stress angles and levels on the frame. The weave on the top tube, for example, is different from the down tube. Different stresses, tensions and issues, so a different weave makes a whole lot of sense. It allows BMC to reduce weight without sacrificing stiffness in all the right places.