Edited see comments below This is from the BMC website. Cut-and-paste for reference. > BMC’s frames are made mostly using UD carbon fibre. UD stands for > unidirectional. Unlike more traditional carbon fibre products that use > a woven carbon finish (criss-crossed finish like a woven piece of > material), UD carbon is literally a piece of carbon material with the > filaments all running in one direction. BMC’s frames are made from > many different pieces of UD carbon that are woven together, similar to > what is done in textile production. Some of our frames contain around > 350 individual pieces of carbon fibre that go into the mould before > heating and curing takes place. These material sheets - some very > small, some very large - are laid at different angles across each > other to achieve different results: torsional strength, compliance > areas, rigidity, and so on. The layup of these sheets is extremely > important to the end result. This is actually the art of building a > carbon fibre frame. > > On our unpainted frames, you can see the result of these carbon fibre > sheets overlapping each other through the clear coat covering the > frame. We are actually very proud to be able to show this real effect > on our frames. It shows not only the true workmanship of the frame, > but also the resulting quality as the frame exits our moulds. Many > bike manufacturers prefer to paint their frames because there are > often many imperfections in the finish that need to be re-worked using > a filler before waiting for it to dry, sanding it, and then giving it > a final paint job (a bit like a panel shop). This is a cheaper way to > finish the frames, ensures you have no reject quantity, and allows you > to use less stringent production techniques. > > On unpainted BMC frames, when you look 'into' the frame, you see the > actual quality of what’s on the inside – we are showing you our finish > and quality and we are very proud of that.