Product news: The new 3T Exploro Racemax is the new gravel aerobike from 3T. A special feature is the versatility of the Exploro Racemax, because it doesn't matter whether it's on the road or on gravel, the Racemax feels good everywhere and is also really fast on the move.
The idea behind the 3T Exploro Racemax is that you can easily use the aerodynamically optimized frame as a racing bike or as a gravel/adventure bike. This is primarily made possible by the generous tire clearance, which allows tires up to 61mm wide. The bike not only offers good grip and comfort on gravel roads, but can still be used with classic road bike tires and rims. With the latter option, the impressive aerodynamics of the 3T Exploro Racemax come into play, which offers a full-fledged aero wheel with this setup.
In order to offer the best aerodynamics, the development process started with the tires. Because in order to aerodynamically design the frame around the tires, you have to know the actual dimensions of the tires. However, this is not so easy to generalize as tire dimensions depend on the rim used, the pressure and of course the accuracy of the size specified by the manufacturer. For this purpose, a number of measurements were carried out to determine the actual tire widths (referred to as WAM) and tire radii (RAM) and to use these to construct the frame as aerodynamically as possible.
Based on the most popular gravel tires, the appropriate rear end was then designed with additional clearance for mud and a tightly trailing down tube was developed to absorb the airflow from the front tire. A super narrow head tube with a large steerer tube complements the fork, which has valuable aero details. The same applies to seatstays or seat posts. However, it was particularly important to the developers that the 3T Exploro Racemax can still shine with the best aerodynamics under real conditions, for example when it is dirty.
The RaceMax frameset is fastest with 35-42mm WAM tires. Here its aerodynamics can compete with the best road bikes. 90% of the aerodynamic advantage of the RaceMax frameset still works with tires up to 61mm WAM. So you can be really fast with the 3T Exploro Racemax even with off-road tires. No matter which setup you choose, the Racemax brings together aerodynamics and gravel feeling.
The bike is available both as a Race with narrow street tires and as a Max Edition with non-slip off-road tires and starts at 4.199 euros.