3T Exploro Pro Force
Details
EXPLORO : the world’s only full-aero gravel bike!
The Exploro has changed gravel riding & racing forever, combining road speed and mountain toughness. Fast on any surface; paved, gravel and singletrack. Winner of Dirty Kanza, Jeroboam, RAT1000, etc.
Outside Magazine says: “Aero gravel might sound like a ridiculous niche—until you’re out there in the wind by yourself and still blasting along. The marketing slogan says it all: “Go slow faster.” The 3T Exploro goes fast faster, too, courtesy of all that aero tubing. Of course, not all riders have a need for 2.1-inch tires on their road bikes. But if you’re someone who likes to pedal on asphalt and dirt in equal parts, it would be hard to find a swifter ride.”
Exploro TEAM FORCE
650b wheels for tough rides, extra-light parts incl. carbon bars & cranks.
| Size | S | M | L | XL |
| Rider Height* (cm) | 157-170 | 168-180 | 178-191 | 188-201 |
| Rider Height* (inches) | 5’2”-5’7” | 5’6”-5’11” | 5’10”-6’3” | 6’2”-6’7” |
| Stack | 517 | 546 | 575 | 604 |
| Reach | 366 | 378 | 390 | 402 |
| Headtube angle | 69.5 | 71.1 | 72.5 | 72.5 |
| Fork axle-crown | 395 | 395 | 395 | 395 |
| Fork rake | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Front center | 591 | 598 | 606 | 627 |
| Rear center | 415 | 415 | 415 | 415 |
| BB drop | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 |
| Headtube length | 101 | 125 | 150 | 180 |
| Toptube length | 529 | 550 | 571 | 592 |
| Seattube length | 463 | 490 | 518 | 545 |
| Seattube angle | 72.5 | 72.5 | 72.5 | 72.5 |
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).
The Exploro is also a great road bike in its own right. When using it for fast paved (group) rides, any aero benefit is appreciated.
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).
The Exploro is designed to fit road, cross and even mountain bike tires following the GravelPlus standard. The road and cross tires are 700c, the mountain bike tires use the 650b size, ensuring that all of these have virtually the same overall wheel diameter and therefore the same predictable handling. For 700c, we recommend our 3T Discus wheels, for 650b our 3T DiscusPlus wheels.
The key to the Exploro’s speed is the aero downtube that is wide enough to catch the airflow coming off the big front tire (a skinny downtube wouldn’t even touch the airflow). But at 50mm wide, a full airfoil with a normal ratio would have to be 150-200mm deep, causing too much surface drag. So we square off the tail, keeping most of the aero performance with a 50x75mm cross section that is also close to perfect for strength and stiffness; our Sqaero shape. The wide downtube also effectively shields the water bottles.
We also use Sqaero on the headtube, seattube, seatstays and seatpost.
Specs
| Frame | Unidirectional pre-preg carbon, High-modulus/high-strength performance blend layup |
|---|---|
| Fork | 3T Fango TEAM |
| Headset | Sealed cartridge 1.125" - 1.5" |
| Rims/Wheels | 3T DiscusPlus C25 PRO, 650b, 24mm internal width, tubeless ready |
| Tires | Panaracer GravelKing SK 650b-48mm (27.5x1.90") |
| Crankset | Sram Force1, 44T (S: 170mm - M: 172,5mm - L: 175mm - XL: 175mm |
| Rear Derailleur | Sram Force1 Long Cage |
| Rear Cogs | Sram 11-speed PowerGlide™, 11-42T |
| Shifters | Sram Force1 Hydraulic DoubleTap |
| Handlebars | 3T Superghiaia TEAM Stealth Carbon (S: 40cm - M: 44cm - L: 44cm - XL: 44cm) |
| Stem | Apto TEAM Stealth (S: 90mm - M: 100mm - L: 110mm - XL: 110mm) |
| Brakes | Sram Force1 HRD Hydraulic Disc w/ Sram 160mm Centerlock rotor |
| Saddle | Selle San Marco Mantra Carbon-reinforced |
* Subject to change without notice.
Videos
BOTTOM BRACKET:
Gerard Vroomen talks about the bottom bracket standard on the 3T Exploro: BB386EVO.
Reviews