EXPLORO : the world’s first full-aero gravel bike Back to the Exploro start page
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.
Use up to 54mm tires for extreme gravel.
CONFIGURATIONS
Exploro TEAM Rival AXS 2x
Exploro TEAM Ekar 1x13 Desert Sage
Exploro TEAM FORCE/EAGLE eTAP Dark Blue
Exploro TEAM Frame
Exploro LTD Frame
EXPLORO REVIEWS
“A bike that literally can replace an entire stable gathering dust in a garage. A bike that exhibits the ride and reactive feel of a road frame to keep you competitive on the fastest group attack, yet can handle a black diamond extreme downhill at your local summer mountain.”
“It’s mad, but I like it! On the smoother sections the Exploro flies like the road bike on steroids it really is, and there’s a perverse pleasure in tackling rocky descents aboard a machine that feels so familiar to a roadie like me.”
Frameset of the Year “As an experiment, I did one of my standard tarmac rides on the Exploro as fast as I could and the speed was very similar to what I\'d expect on a standard road bike. And that\'s on a bike with 47mm tyres and disc brakes. I was stunned.”
“It’s without a doubt the most race-specific gravel bike available, and not only in terms of aerodynamics. More important than that, it’s lightweight, torsionally stiff, and has a performance geometry while still feeling well balanced at high speed.”
“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.” 6.7kg with 3T Torno crank & Bailout cassette.
“The 3T Exploro is the world’s first aero adventure bike. Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Why would aerodynamics be important on gravel rides?’ In head- or crosswinds, you may be slow relative to the ground but very fast relative to the air. That’s what determines the resistance you experience. When you’re dealing with crosswinds in the Kansas Flint Hills for 12 hours (if you’re really lucky), aerodynamics will be your best friend.”
“It was an exhilarating experience, and one that has redefined my expectations for a gravel bike. The comfort that the 2.1inch tyres offered was as extraordinary as the extra grip and sure-footedness, and I found myself looking for longer routes into areas that I would have abandoned out of fatigue on any other gravel or CX bike. Extremely versatile. Huge tyre choice.”
“The best part of this bike is how fun and fast it is in pretty much every condition… The Exploro holds its own on the road. Once in its element, it burst out from beneath me like a horse from an open barn, charging effortlessly down a chunky towpath at 28 mph. On another adventure, the Exploro efficiently negotiated a three-mile sand road that left my riding mates weaving, wallowing, and in some cases, walking.”
GRAVELPLUS: FIT ROAD, GRAVEL & MTB TIRES
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.
REALFAST
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).
SQAERO
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.
DESIGN IS IN THE DETAILS
CLEAN PERFORMANCE: Internal cables, hoses and seatpost clamp clean up the frame aerodynamically and visually. Dedicated FlipTop cable guides are future-proof with in mechanical & electronic versions for single & double chainrings.
HANG LOOSE HANGER: Mounting a rear wheel with disc brake can be a pain, we make it easy. Forget the derailleur, focus on the disc, put the wheel in, slide thru the axle and hang the derailleur back with the wheel already securely in place.
EXPLORO IN ACTION
3T EXPLORO IN ACTION: 3T launches EXPLORO, the world\'s first aero gravel frame.
XPDTN3 TAHOE RIM TRAIL: Around Lake Tahoe on mountain bike trails and paved roads. Bring a flash light!.
XPDTN3 MOROCCO: XPDTN3 explorers Loren Lorenzo, Paul Errington and Marc Gasch discover the south of Morocco in 3 days.
XPDTN3 TILTING AT WINDMILLS: Bardenas Reales, Spain, trip with the XPDTN3 Team and the new EXPLORO bike.
XPDTN3 CROATIA: Gravel and paved roads on the Dalmatian coast islands.
XPDTN3 ISRAEL: Riding through the deserts of Israel with their great rock formations and the occasional dromedary.
XPDTN3 WESTFJORDS ICELAND: Spectacular landscapes and epic riding conditions - once your bike arrives.
XPDTN3 UK: Testing the Exploro’s aerodynamics with Magnus Backstedt in stormy weather.
XPDTN3 TUSCANY: Even in the rain the scenery and routes, not to mention Volterra & Florence, are worth it.
XPDTN3 MONTANA FIRE TOWER: Tough ride from fire tower to fire tower through the dense woods of Montana.
XPDTN3 SICILY: Why does it always rain on our Italian trips? Regardless, the Etna volcano is always spectacular.
XPDTN3 REYKJAVIK: Visiting the people from Lauf and sampling the trails. Great to combine with Westfjords.
XPDTN3 BEARS EARS: Carry a mini-RAFT on your EXPLORO, then carry your EXPLORO aboard the RAFT.
XPDTN3 JAPAN: Gravel riding in Japan while sampling the Onsen baths. And cook noodles by the side of the road.
XPDTN3 COSTA DA MORTE, SPAIN: Riding in Spain with our friends from ROTOR along the beautiful coast.
XPDTN3 LA RIOJA: We may have picked it for the wine, but we’ll come back for the great gravel roads and trails.
EXPLORE THE EXPLORO
TOPTUBE MOUNTS: Gerard Vroomen explains the reason why the Exploro frame has two bolts on the toptube.
BETTER4BOTTLES: Gerard Vroomen explains the optimal bottle positions for 1 & 2 bottles on the 3T Exploro frame.
BOTTOM BRACKET: Gerard Vroomen talks about the bottom bracket standard on the 3T Exploro: BB386EVO.
WHEELS & TYRES: Gerard Vroomen explains the compatibility of the 3T Exploro frame with the different sizes of wheels and tyres.
FLIPTOP CAP: Gerard Vroomen explains the internal routing cable inlet with the FlipTop caps system on the Exploro frame.
HANG LOOSE HANGER: Gerard Vroomen explains the rear derailleur hanger of the Exploro frame: the Hang Loose Hanger.
HOW TO PACK A BIKE BAG: Kim Van Dijk shows us in real-time how to pack the 3T Exploro in the Scicon bike bag
SPECIFICATIONS
For frame specifications, component compatibility, clearances, etc, please check our EXPLORO FRAME SPECIFICATIONS. Geometry information is found below
| 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” |
| Max. BB to saddle rail (mm)** | 763 | 790 | 818 | 845 |
| Stack | 517 | 546 | 575 | 604 |
| Reach | 366 | 378 | 390 | 402 |
| Headtube angleHead angle | 69.5 | 71.1 | 72.5 | 72.5 |
| Fork axle-crownAxle-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 angleSeat angle | 72.5 | 72.5 | 72.5 | 72.5 |
* Rider heights are approximations. For more accuracy, compare stack/reach with your current bike or visit your 3T retailer.
** Note that most saddles add an additional 40mm from the rail to the top of the deck. shown here is the maximum height to the rail.
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