Bike and accessories brand 3T has unveiled a new Exploro RaceMax frame. The company’s gravel bike has taken a multi-surface approach and put speed at its heart.
A release from 3T explained…
Whether riding road or gravel, we love speed. So everything on the new RaceMax frame is engineered for that. The end result is the first gravel bike that:
Looks like a road bike
Rides like a road bike
Rips through gravel
Best of all, the very same RaceMax frame can be built up with a focus on pure speed (the ‘RACE’ set-up) or as an unstoppable machine with very wide tires (the ‘MAX’ set-up). And with two wheelsets, the rider can switch between RACE & MAX easily. That’s RaceMax.
All starts with the tyre
3T argues that to ‘make the fastest possible gravel bike, you need to start with the tyre.’ Tyre choice determines comfort & grip. But it also determines how to shape the frame to redirect the airflow.
‘To aerodynamically engineer the frame around the tyres, you need to know what their REAL measurements are. Not what’s on the label, but how they really fit. That’s REALFAST aerodynamics. But it’s not easy, as the tyre dimension depends on the rim you use, the pressure and of course how accurate the manufacturer’s claimed size is.’
3T added that it took hundreds of measurements to know the real tyre widths (which it calls WAM – Width As Measured) and tyre radii (RAM – Radius As Measured) and uses that to engineer the frame around.
Starting from its favourite tyres, 3T then engineered a perfectly fitting rear wheel cutout (with mud clearance of course) and a closely trailing downtube to catch the airflow coming off the front tyre. It added a super-narrow headtube (yet with a big steerer inside it), a multi-shape fork and aero details from seatstay to seatpost and from the shielded water bottle to the direct-attachment brake mounts.
The new bike was engineered for realistic riding speeds, wind speeds, tyre widths, bottle positions and even for mud.
‘Because we don’t care if it is theoretically fast in the windtunnel with a fantasy spec. We care if it is fast the way you ride it in real world conditions.’
3T notes that the RaceMax frameset is fastest with 35-42mm WAM tires. That’s when its top speed claims to rival the best road bikes out there. 3T calls this the RACE set-up.
Depending on where individuals ride and how fast they ride, an even bigger tyre may be required for traction and control. 3T claims that 90% of the aerodynamic advantage of the RaceMax frameset still works with tyres up to 61mm WAM (aka the MAX set-up).
3T’s release continues…
So maybe you’re an all-roader mixing road & gravel or a gravel racer getting the most out of their RACE set-up. Maybe you’re looking for an unstoppable MAX set-up. Either way, the RaceMax gets you there, and gets you there fast. Maybe you want it all, in which case a dual wheel set-up – one for fast rides and one with the biggest tires – is the right choice for you.
