Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

TECH NEWS

3T updates Exploro aero gravel frame with new aero fork and flat mount brakes

3T's radical aero gravel bike has been updated for 2018 two years after it first launched

When it launched two years ago the 3T Exploro sent ripples of shock through the internet with its title of the world’s first aerodynamic gravel bike. Two years is an eternity in the bike world and the Italian company has just issued an updated version to ensure it makes use of the latest standards.

There are no fundamental changes to the Exploro frame, but there is a switch from post mount to flat mount disc brakes, and there’s also a new seatpost clamp. It uses a wedge collar design like that found on the newer Strada road bike.

- Review: 3T Exploro LTD frameset

new-exploro-flatmount (1).jpg

On the subject of the disc brake mount change, 3T’s head designer Gerard Vroomen is clearly not impressed by what he sees as another new standard.

“Postmount brakes work perfectly well, so there was no reason for the industry to invent a second standard (the whole idea of a standard is that there’s only one). But it’s hard to avoid when Shimano decides to push this,” he explains.

new-exploro-flatmount (3).jpg

The biggest change is not in the frame but actually up front, with an all-new fork. The previous Luteus II fork has been replaced by the Fango fork (Italian for mud) which has a slimmer crown, more aerodynamic fork blades and fully internal hose routing. The dropouts have dedicated 12mm thru-axle threads and the company specs the Syntace X-12 axle, which 3T reckons is the stiffest axle available.

- 18 of the best 2018 gravel & adventure bikes

The updated Exploro frameset is available in Team version weighing 1,090g (size medium) in a red paint finish, while the LTD uses a lighter paint finish to bring the frame weight down to 990g. The new fork weighs 400g with an uncut steerer tube.

3t exploro2.jpg

The original Exploro with post mount remains available and is a good option if you want to use mountain bike brake calipers, which are still all post mount. Only the road industry has gone to flat mount.

We'll confirm the price as soon as we get it. 

https://www.3t.bike/en

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
peted76 | 6 years ago
0 likes

@Joules - https://gravelmap.com/

I'm just waiting for it to become more populated.. 

Avatar
joules1975 replied to peted76 | 6 years ago
0 likes

peted76 wrote:

@Joules - https://gravelmap.com/

I'm just waiting for it to become more populated.. 

Awesome. Will add some routes later this week.

Avatar
peted76 | 6 years ago
0 likes

@Joules.. sounds great.. any chance you've any routes you could link to? 

Thinking of where to go later in the year for a weekend away riding.. 

Avatar
joules1975 replied to peted76 | 6 years ago
0 likes

peted76 wrote:

@Joules.. sounds great.. any chance you've any routes you could link to? 

Thinking of where to go later in the year for a weekend away riding.. 

I'm gradually building up a range routes, but no links I can send you yet. Maybe I should sort a blog or something .......

For starters though, look for Craik, Eskdalemuir, Moffet and Ettrick in the Borders.

Craik and Ettrick are on dead end roads, but both have forest roads and tracks that link each other and also to both Eskdalemuir and Moffet.

Same goes for whole of Kielder region, and there are quite a few blocks of forest between the two areas as well which offer linking opportunities.

Avatar
fixit | 6 years ago
1 like

Aero gravel?  what for? what is the purpose? flat mount? could it be something else?

Avatar
joules1975 replied to fixit | 6 years ago
1 like

tsarouxaz wrote:

Aero gravel?  what for? what is the purpose? flat mount? could it be something else?

I know it sounds odd, particularly given the size fo the tyres, but owning a set of said tyres, and really rather enjoying blatting along fire roads and rougher paved roads, I get this.

Get past the whole aero thing about the bike and instead view it as a really fast bike for rough surfaces and it makes a lot of sense.

Perhaps you should head up here to the Borders where there are miles of forest roads linking lots of excellent (often dead end) back roads and you too would begin to understand.

Still, the price of the 3T puts it way off my list of potential purchases.

 

As for flat mount not being needed and post mount working perfectly well - agree on latter, but not on former.

Post mount does work perfectly well, but it doesn't look right on a lot of road bikes.

Flat mount was needed if only for aethetic purposes. Post mount works on MTBs because the large fork legs mean the calipers either don't stick back that far from the back of the forks or it looks OK anyway because of everything else that's going on with the bike. On a road bike the fork legs are much skinnier and I've seen plenty of road bikes with post mount calipers sticking way back out from the fork - it just looks untidy and flat mount sorts this out.

Avatar
fukawitribe replied to fixit | 6 years ago
0 likes

tsarouxaz wrote:

Aero gravel?  what for? what is the purpose?

Why not ? More here https://www.3t.bike/en/3t-bikes/exploro-2.html

Quote:

Why is aerodynamics important on allroad (asphalt, gravel, fire roads, single track) rides?

  • You may go slow off-road, but on the connecting asphalt sections you need road riding speed.
  • If you’re slow because of gradients, aero doesn’t matter much. But if it's due to head- or crosswinds, you're slow relative to the ground but very fast relative to the air and that’s what determines the resistance you experience (that’s exactly why you’re slow).

We didn’t want the Exploro to be fast in theory, but in the real world. So we tested at a realistic 20mph (32kmh) instead of the standard 30mph (48kmh) and optimized the frame for water bottles (tough to do long, epic rides without). We even designed the Sqaero shape to work well when covered in mud! The result? A muddy Exploro with 40mm knobby gravel tires and 2 water bottles (red line in the graph) is faster than the equivalent clean round tube bike is with 28mm slick road tires and without bottles (grey line).

 

tsarouxaz wrote:

flat mount? could it be something else?

That's the way things are going. It's also discussed in the article

Quote:

On the subject of the disc brake mount change, 3T’s head designer Gerard Vroomen is clearly not impressed by what he sees as another new standard.

“Postmount brakes work perfectly well, so there was no reason for the industry to invent a second standard (the whole idea of a standard is that there’s only one). But it’s hard to avoid when Shimano decides to push this,”

Latest Comments