2023 BMC Kaius 01 THREE

The BMC Kaius 01 THREE gravel bike isn't about riding both singletrack and road on the same ride, though you could do that very easily. It isn't about being a bikepacking bike with drop bars; BMC's URS bike does that very nicely. So what is the Kaius 01 all about then? In short, Kaius 01 THREE is a grave race bike through and through. It isn't for everyone, and the Kaius is perfectly happy with that. 

To start, the Kaius feels to be what is effectively a gravel version of the BMC Teammachine SLR01. For one, the bike is unapologetically made for going as fast as possible on gravel. Much of that bears out in the geometry - more on that shortly - but you can see it in the core weight numbers. Here are the details:

• A 56cm frame weighs in at 910g, with an uncut fork weighing 400g. 
• A proprietary BMC D-shaped seatpost weighs 160g. 
• A one-piece ICS Carbon Aero Cockpit designed specifically for Kaius weighs just 315g. 
• A complete module (of the above components plus hardware) weighs 1785g.

There are other details that make this bike special, like the BMC Aerocore water bottle cages. With water bottles in place, these cages are shaped such that the bike is just as aero with water bottles as it is without them. 

The geometry is full of numbers generally associated with a race road bike, and lighter than most other gravel bike frames. But the geometry offers something far more stable over uneven terrain that is found on fast gravel rides. 

The BMC Kaius 01 THREE gravel bike features a SRAM Rival AXS 2x drivetrain, CRD 400 carbon wheels, Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H 40mm tires, and a Fizik Argo saddle. This bike comes with a standard handlebar and is compatible with any standard handlebar option. While this uses a D-shaped seatpost for comfort and weight, Kaius can be easily adapted to work with a 27.2mm dropper seatpost.