Has anyone heard any info on how fast the 3T racemax is? Especially compared to aero road frames. If it’s close…it might be able to replace two bikes in the quiver. Thanks,
Gerard did a crazy 12 hour live Q&A session, and when I tuned in for a bit he said that they are still on the waiting list to do their final wind tunnel testing in San Diego due to covid delays, but according to him it has consistently tested faster than the exploro.
I hope they test other bikes also
Its a sweet looking frame. Looking forward to real world feedback on it.
I’ve only testridden the old Exploro on mountain bike tires, and it was a nice ride. Although I wish the shop could have put in fast tires for me to compare it with a road bike.
I checked in for awhile but they were talking about stuff unrelated to the bike. I’m sure they had to go off topic quite a bit as there were only 36 people watching when I was on. But still…the idea of a 12 hour marathon Q & A session when launching a new bike was a really cool idea. Unfortunately that kind of time made it ungainly to get info from it. Still…props to those guys for thinking way outside the box with that, that was neat.
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It depends on who is riding it! 
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I’ve gone that road with the regular Exploro. Two wheel sets, one 45mm carbons and another a converted MTB wheel set with gravel tires.
So far, my only limitation is gearing (gravel chainrings allow for spinning out in a tailwind). I’m also working through setup differences between the Exploro and ,y Tarmac SL6.
Generally, I’m pleased with the Exploro and if I can get the angles and position to be more consistent with my SL6, I think it’s a real winner. I can imagine that the new one would only be an improvement on the previous generation
Interested to hear the opinions from the folks that actually ride the new version.
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Out of curiosity, are you doing any road races with your Exploro?
It’s been a few years since I’ve done any road racing. I plan to try it out in a fast group ride when those start back up in my area and go from there.
Jumped on my road bike for the first time in awhile over the weekend and despite best efforts, don’t think I’ll be able to get the Exploro to ride/handle like the SL6…for good reason.
I think it’ll come down to whether the drawbacks aren’t that significant and whether I can live with them. Won’t really know for 30-45 days
Can you elaborate on that? 
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Just saying that no matter how much I try to alter setup (saddle position, stem length and spacer count, seatpost height, etc) not sure I can get the Exploro to handle like the SL6. For good reason…the tarmac is near the top of the list when it comes to well-engineered road bikes…shouldn’t surprise me that I can’t get the 3T to handle in a similar way.
My conclusions are as follows:
- if you’re good with accepting a compromise between road and gravel handling, the 3T is likely a good middle ground between gravel and road handling characteristics
- it’s not marketing and hype; there are real differences between road, CX and gravel…if you want the best in all situations, you need a dedicated bike for each situation
I’ve ridden and raced on the road and off for the last 10+ years and am pretty particular with my fit and bike setup. These are my conclusions after the last 6mos of tweaking
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Thanks for your post, much appreciated.
I underestimated this a bit when I got into road cycling. Coming from the mountain bike side, I know much better what differentiates a trail bike from an XC bike and the like. With road cycling, the differences are more subtle, and a few mm here and there can make two bikes feel completely differently from one another.
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Has anyone seen whether a 46t Axs 1x setup would work with this?
Even though a 10-50 cassette seems like overkill (used to a 40x10-42 setup with gravel tires), I’m thinking a 46tx10-50 gives the same range as the more common setup, plus it adds the ability to sprint and nearly not spin out in the 46x10.
Could make it a solid “everything” bike with slick/semi-slick 35-40mm tires.
46x10 on a 38mm wide tire will take you over 37 mph at 100 rpm. How fast you planning on sprinting with that thing??
46:10 = 4.6 is almost the same gear ratio as 50:11 = 4.55. Are you really sure you need that high a gear? On some false flats I can hit 50 km/h, but I think even then I am usually in 50:12. Even when going downhill I typically either do not pedal after hitting a certain speed or I can still pedal comfortably.
Have you considered using the Force WIDE derailleur with a 10-36 cassette? You could get a 36 or 38 chainring and still have plenty of usable gears. A 36:10 = 3.60 has almost the same gear ratio as 40:11 = 3.64, and even on the road, at a cadence of 100 you’d still hit 48 km/h.
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My 30-second power is about 1050-1100 watts in the warmer months, and I like to be geared for the group ride sprint (when we’re not in plague season). The 46x10-50 would seemingly give me all the gears that work great for just a gravel ride on slicks but would also give me the extra gear to stay in the front on fast road rides where drafting (bigger gears) are needed.
Not really a racer here: just like to sprint.
Also, I know a front derailleur is probably more practical for a do-it-all bike, but I have enjoyed 1x so far on gravel.
Well, if you know your gearing, then you know your gearing
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