@@jimbo4203me too lol. Looks ok but a bit on the large side for my liking. If it housed a motor and battery I’d say crack on! Looks a bit ugly with those super skinny forks too. Just a strange aesthetic. Each to their own though.
Got a Specialized diverge gravel, about 4 years ago, aluminium, and upgraded it over time ( turned it into a one by, hope wheels, 45mm tires, a shallow flared handlebar) geared for maximum comfort and now it’s just well adapted to my necessities… I’m a heavy rider, 95kg, but ride average 700km per month… honestly I have trouble finding any real advantage on these new bikes (I do love window shopping though, love these videos). I see myself with the same bike for the next years, if I’m honest… I think I’ll keep doing small adjustments as I’ve been trying more challenging and technical terrain, tree roots, mud and rocks, almost mountain bike stuff… loving it! At 47 years old, I have no time to waste.
Rode it for one day in May at the 3Rides Gravel GF in Aachen. It was the perfect bike for that day. Aggressive in the downhill sections and very agile uphill, though with that tire clearing it wasn’t the fastest bike that day. Not sure of the upgrade on the XX drivetrain with its long cage, bumped into some stones during the ride. Nothing happens but if it breaks than game over for the day. After the race I went back to the shop to do some checking and they discovered something loose with the fork. I am not a technician so can’t really tell. But since then parts of it are back at 3T. Some issues with the fork. Waiting since then for a replacement of the fork. Unfortunately 3T is doing a very bad customer service job. I mean it’s almost middle of August and no bike. Almost 12 weeks. Very disappointing for now.
I've run 700x50c's on my Freeranger for the last few years but I'm thinking of dropping down to 45-47's as TBH if I'm riding somewhere where I'll benefit from wide tyres I'm better off on my HT.
Hi, nice video, thx for so much content. What are the differences between the ultra and the extrema italia? which one is faster in rough terrain, more comfortable? best regards
Looks like an excellent bike but it is not the widest tire clearance gravel bike. The Lauf Seigla, for example allows 57mm or 2.25" MTB tires with 6mm of clearance.
Any riding conditions that call for mtb tires probably also call for handlebars wider than 600mm. Also, the weight of tires increases exponentially when you get above say 38 or 40mm width, so efficiency-wise there are diminishing returns over 45mm, which is why the consensus among gravel bike manufacturers has settled there. So these experiments seem driven mostly by the aesthetics of a wide-tire all-road bike (and it does look cool), and they are probably purchased by people who commute in Jeeps.
Hi Dave … What are your thoughts on the Extrema Italia as a bike packing mule fro 1) fast on/off-road multi day trips on decent & not too technical terrain - with 35-40mm tyres. 2) more demanding off-road multi day adventures, single track/Scotland … but short of full on mountain bike terrain. I noticed that the head angle for larger sizes is 72%, this seems a little steep for the latter (I don’t have great off-road technical skills!). Thanks
Yours is a tad lighter but my highball carbon C is built very similarly. It is just below 22 lbs with pedals. light 30mm IW wheels. I got one of those thingy's as well, DHF or rekon front tire (depends on riding mood, DHF if i want to go really fast), Aspen or racing Ralph rear, SID 120 mm fork gives it 65-65.5 HTA from 67 as designed for the new highball with 100mm fork, PNW 27.2 120 mm dropper, XT components, Xrt cassette. There is a way to get to sub 16 lbs - lots of weight savings in drivetrain and wheels possible. Maybe someday. But is such a fun ride.@@E.T_rode_bikes_As_well
I can see usage for this in certain monster gravel races. I only had one instance where I desperately wished for more than 45mm tyres on a gravel race. But to be honest as soon as it is multi-day races which packs I would not mind going wider anyway, since weight is not really the issue anymore...
@3TZZZ in my case 47mm is the limit on 650b, on a fairly modern frame. What's more of a problem is the dynamo hub and the need for yet another pair of wheels with 650b. In this regard I think its an interesting frame
You get way more fun on a front suss HT in my opinion, it’s just getting daft putting tyres this big on a Gravel bike, it should be no more than 50mm to maintain good road speed and good traction off road, larger than that just get a Fronsusser HT. I rode the badger divide in 2023 and I was on my HT and passed so many gravel bikes that we’re having punctures, broken rims or just being slow.
I am loving my MOG - running 50 wide 1x. It has great mud clearance. The handling is fantastic and I think it’s a great do all gravel bike. I did previously have a 3T Exploro. It was problematic in the amount of mud clogging between the tyre and the seat tube. The ride was, frankly, uncomfortable. But it was fast. With the MOG though, you get fast and comfortable. MOG all the way. But those 3T bars do look interesting.
Hey, I have a revolt with the flip chip, what size and brand mtb tires do you use? How is the clearance? Any frame scratching from knobs and dirt? Have you used calipers to measure width of the tires?
@@scottseaton1049 I'm running Vittoria Barzo (front) and Mezcal (rear), both 2.1". They're measuring up 53.5-54mm wide with calipers (On hookless rims, internal width 25mm - same as the Giant CXR1 rims) Clearance is about 6mm sides, 10mm tread, front and back. (Hard to measure accurately) I don't have any frame scratching, from gravel & general dry/wet dirt riding. These tyres aren't best grip for mud, I don't think I've been out on them in the super claggy clay around here in the winter, tho that stuff will gum up the best MTBs. Flip chip in long wheelbase position.
I always knew Johnny T. was ahead of his time and a trend setter when he was racing on a mountain bike with drop bars in the early to mid 90's. Except he was on 26" wheels. What category will the industry create next, DH Gravel bikes?
Coming from a enduro background I love how roadies are into eagle gx drivetrain, when in enduro they come as an entry level. Not saying they're bad, they're decent, just decent. But the bike looks mint. I ride 45 mm on my gravel bike and its a monster.
@@davidarthur 😢 Thanks for your answer! So, the Garmin mount is the same as for the Apto Stealth Stem from 3T racemax? I don't find any answer to that question. I really want to buy it. Can get it for 5.900€ now. 👿 says yes 👼 says no
Another 3T spine buster. I rode the first iteration of this gravel bike and it was terribly uncomfortable, jarring in fact. It may help now with the ballon tire clearance. I run 43mm on my gravel bike and they are more than fantastic for the muddy slippery leaf covered trails I ride.
I'm a big fan of wider tires, if it is done right. A Gravel bike has to roll fast on pavement and firm gravel or you might as well ride an XC mountain bike. Therefore, a Gravel specific tire is required. A mountain bike tire will probably not do. A tire that is light and fast-rolling would be required. A 700x57 Gravel Race tire like the Maxxis Reaver or similar tire is what I would be wanting. Most XC mountain tires would be a little too slow-rolling and heavy to get the most out of wider tires on a Gravel bike.
FYI the best XC race tires in 2.2" (57mm) have lower rolling resistance than any gravel tire that has been tested on bicycle rolling resistance afaik. Tread pattern turns out to be less consequential than people think on rolling resistance. I don't know about that specific tire though.
I don't understand this bike.. Aero frame and wheels (aero benefit of the rim is zero with tyres twice as wide), but cearly adventure/bikepacking oriented tyres and mounts on the frame, But also a dropper post wich makes it annoying to put a bag on there. Clean handlebar, but can't fit a computer well enough that it's straight, and also makes it harder for handlebar bags. It weighs a ton because it's made for everything and nothing at the same time. Huge tyres make it slow aswell, but still not really a comfy ride? The price is bonkers for a rival/gx bike aswell. It has a massive downtube, but no storage in it... Nothing makes sense to me.
I was more excited to see a 3T bike with fork bosses than the crazy tyre clearance. But at £1500 more expensive than the very similar Fara gravel frameset they have priced themselves out of the competition.
I loved 3T idea with aero gravel. As you said those cables bothered me too. Now it looks much better, but I would compromise smaller clearance for better fork shape. It doesn’t look as much aero it could be. Mtb tires width are perfect for those single track that you are riding, but… isn’t it too far in terms of gravel? For UK style of gravel definitely it’s go to bike for the rest of the world - no 😅 if aero is important than the terrain won’t be as extreme as this
They are Gore-Tex trousers I've been testing for an upcoming video - they are brilliant at keeping you totally dry. I wore them over bib longs and I didn't overheat or sweat on a long ride in 5 degree temperatures and constant rain www.gorewear.com/en-uk/endure-gore-tex-pants-mens-101011
Glad to see they’ve stopped running hoses into the frame behind the steerer - that was always off-putting for me. These are great looking, and fun looking, bikes!
I ride all of this on 32s on my Racemax. I genuinely don’t understand the desire to go this far on the mtb side of the gravel trade off. I had a chamois Hagar and there is a reason that bike isn’t popular and it’s not the geo, very few people ride in places where that compromise makes more sense than a good xc mtb. Which will weigh the same as this and be much faster on descents, and often the flats. I hope 3t get their act together along with other bike brands trying this weird stuff out under the guise of innovation.
Not a fan of the eBike down tube. Like the angled chain stays which should help with chain slap. It’s great to see Italian bike frames actually being manufactured in Italy, the price tho 😣
I have 30mm suspension and 44mm tyres on my gravelbike. Works fine on gravel. 55 mm tyres has the suspension buildt into the tyres, so such a bike can ride well without help of suspension. About aero and speed on gravelroads. I guess its the way you sit that makes the most difference. On gravelroads aero roadbike like this with fat tyre is fast and comfortable.
But the seat post is round. How aero is it really? You know old bikes had skinnier downtubes. One must ask the question...Are bike frames going too far? When do the marginal gains and design undo the gains of old frames?
Yeah, skinny downtube is super aero... and that huge round bottle attached to it doesn't affect the aerodynamic of the frame right? Or, I guess, you must be so aero that you drink the humidity of the air In all seriousness if you put 23mm tyres obviously you want everything to be narrow, "in line" with the with of the tyre, here going narrower of that 50+mm tyres would not get you any real benefit, considering that 3/4 of the frontal area of this bike is the front tyre
Having bought from 3T once, I would never recommend purchasing from them. It was a terrible experience. Bad customer service and the brake hoses had kinks in them, which they blamed me for. Also, good luck with that set up in the mud and goodbye seat tube paint.
This is starting to look like a beachracer, it only needs the g-one speed tires and a smaller cassette. Don't really see another scenario where you need tires this wide without suspension
I can’t see this selling very well. 1) it’s fugly 2) mismatch between wide tyre clearance and steep geometry, so it will win no hardtail fans 3) it’s heavy 4) the stem looks like a dog taking a dump 5) aero nonsense when combined with wide tyres 6) fugly. So much has to be said twice Get off the fence David, be honest with the next review
thanks! 7) Too expensive, 8000bucks for rival, please for half of the price an XTR XC hardtail can be found that only waits a bonus rigid fork for 600 bucks and some 30bucks spirgrips or aerobars if you want.
or just ride an XC hardtail, lot cheaper more fun, i don't race if i need to go fast go for aerobar on an XC ht. for 8000 bucks as this 3T in sram rival you have an XC ht in XTR ^^ and 3000 in your pocket.
If this bike had feelings, it'd probably get offended for hearing someone mention: "just buy a damned mountain bike!" Who is this for??? The cycling industry is in fact doomed...
21 lbs!!!! LOL!! My Epic Evo Pro mountain bike is only a few lbs heavier than this with full suspension. My Crux is 3lbs lighter than this WITH pedals, garmin, spare tube & equipment.
It makes sense that it's slightly heavier than expected... Less weight fundamentally means less carbon, which means less durable. Bigger tyre clearance means assumed tougher rides...
