3T Exploro TEAM Rival AXS 1x

The 3T Exploro is really 2 bikes in one. It’s everything you want from a road bike. Stiff and aero. As a gravel bike, it can handle big tires for comfort and maximum go-anywhere flexibility.

Let’s talk about tires
3T looked at tires as an integrated part of the design of the whole bike. While the choice of tires determine comfort and grip it also affects aerodynamics – how air flows off the tires/wheels onto the frame.

To design our frame based on tires we had to understand how tire and wheel dimensions and their combinations fit in the real world. Labels alone do not give an accurate picture of how tires/wheels integrate with the frame. Tire dimensions/pressure and rim width all play a factor in this integration.

3T took hundreds of measurements to get real tire widths. They call this WAM – Width as Measured. They also measured tire radii, RAM – Radius as Measured. They used these two dimensions to engineer their frames.

RealFast Aerodynamics
With tire dimension data, they created a frame, sculpting the rear triangle to optimize aerodynamics while providing mud clearance. The headtube is narrow, reducing frontal area. The multi-shaped fork allows the direct mount brakes to be tucked in from the wind while the seatstay flows off from the seattube at a lower point to shape air over the tire and wheel. The massive downtube is skinny near the headtube then widens to push air around the water bottles. RealFast Aerodynamics for real world situations taking into account different riding speeds, wind speeds, tire widths, water bottles and even mud.

With one wheelset, the Exploro is the ultimate all-rounder allowing you to be fast on the road, gravel or both. Adding another wheelset with wide tires unlocks all kinds of riding possiblities!

Have any questions about the 3T Exploro? Give us a call during shop hours, or send an email to info@contenderbicycles.com.