New Exploro RaceMax

[JMeinholdt]

Yes. 1.0 pitch.

[MattMay]

Thank you!

[Relientk1202]

Another question for everyone here... has anyone ridden both the Cannondale Topstone Carbon and the Xploro RaceMax? I currently have the Topstone Carbon and am thinking of making a change due to the soft bouncy ride when climbing particularly on the road. Also as this is weight weenies the Topstone Carbon is pretty heavy... 1930g for my small frame/fork.


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[uquality]

Another question for everyone here... has anyone ridden both the Cannondale Topstone Carbon and the Xploro RaceMax? I currently have the Topstone Carbon and am thinking of making a change due to the soft bouncy ride when climbing particularly on the road. Also as this is weight weenies the Topstone Carbon is pretty heavy... 1930g for my small frame/fork.


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Racemax is def lighter.
Don't have to redish your rear wheels.
The trail and BB drop for the Topstone makes it seems seem more like a CX bike than a gravel grinder. Twitchy and high.

[MattMay]

Got my new 3T seat post today, 95g. With the Ritchey clamp total weight came to 145g, with a Ti bolt replacement. Net savings of 112g. Seat post is both svelte amd prettier...gloss black, a nice break from my Exploro LTD matte. Installation was easy. So much easier to adjust the saddle with this setup.

[JMeinholdt]

I've got my racemax post on order! Looking forward to the install. The difflock post hits my Selle Italia saddle and I know this will resolve it.

[eajohnson]

For those with this bike, what are your plans for dealing with water ingress in the left leg of the fork? There doesn't seem to be a drain hole. One option is do nothing and turn the bike upside down after riding in the wet (I've confirmed the left fork leg is open to the steerer tube, if you blow into the steerer air comes out the brake line holes). Another option is to seal one or both of the brake line entrances aroudn the brake hose for example with silicone (and maybe put a release agent on the frame to ensure you're not gluing the brake hose and fork together in a non-reversible way). Doing this on both ends might create a bit of a maintenance issue making it difficult to replace the brake hose, so one end only such as only the top might be preferable. On my existing gravel bike any place moving/vibrating cables touch the frame, there is substantial wear so a 'do nothing' could result in widening of the brake hose entrace/exit holes (old bike is at 23000km now but wear was significant after as little as 15000km). The contant exposure to dirt and dust from gravel probably contributes to this, gravel kms are not the same as road kms in terms of bike wear and maintenance. I think inverting the bike after any ride in rain would be a good idea regardless of whether any gaskets are created around the brake hose.

[basurper]

Finally I pull the trigger for the Race grx 1x. Ordered from Netherland. Now waiting for the shipment.
Has anyone know the weight of the WTB wheelset?

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[gwerziou]

Here's a new article: https://cyclingtips.com/2021/03/3t-expl ... -downside/

[uquality]

Here's a new article: https://cyclingtips.com/2021/03/3t-expl ... -downside/

"angryasian" didn't get the tire size handling correct (see the comments on the article for clarification).

I agree with his points on the slack seat tube angle. I'd prefer something steeper but it's something I can live with.

And yeah, the top tube cable entry is polarizing, but for me being able to disassemble the bike for travel is more important.

[MattMay]

Here's a new article: https://cyclingtips.com/2021/03/3t-expl ... -downside/

Guess those weights aren’t too bad...but my Exploro LTD is 6.77kg including all mounts and pedals in road configuration, 7.08kg with gravel wheels/tires. With a hybrid Force AXS/Eagle AXS xx1 drivetrain no less. Couldn’t have done without the new seatpost from 3T tho.

[eajohnson]

maximum rubber with 2x setup?

Hey all,

I'm a dedicated 2x rider but would like to set up a second wheelset that is more geared to maximum rubber for days when my routes include single track and heavier unmaintained roads. The question is whether I should look at a 650b wheelset or a second 700c wheelset for this. I'm running a SRAM red axs FD so clearance is relatively restricted because of that. Have any of you tried a 650b wheel with 2x and had experience with how large a tire you can go with and still clear the front derailleur? Can you fit a 650x47 tire? I'm assuming if I go with a 700c setup for a second wheelset that I should be able to fit at least up to a 700x38 with some tread (vs 700x35 slick on my normal set) so to go with 650b I'd want something that puts substantially more rubber under me than a 700x38 setup.

Another factor might be the impact on geometry with a 'small enough to fit' 650b tire on the bike, since it might have a significantly smaller diameter than the 700c and therefore lower the bike by up to 1cm and also reduce the trail changing the handling. So there's also the question of 'how does it handle' in addition to 'did it fit'.

[zzmkdw]

I asked the same question to 3T customer service yesterday. I was told with Force 2x (the model i was considering) that 650x45 would be the max. Not enough reason for me to purchase a second set of wheels. He told me that most people that plan to run both 700 and 650b go 1X to maximize available tire clearance.

[eajohnson]

I asked the same question to 3T customer service yesterday. I was told with Force 2x (the model i was considering) that 650x45 would be the max. Not enough reason for me to purchase a second set of wheels. He told me that most people that plan to run both 700 and 650b go 1X to maximize available tire clearance.

Yeah, unfortunately 1x doesn't work for me. 650x45 would really be a subtantially smaller diameter (by my calculations roughly 1cm smaller radius) it might make the handling really twitchy with the reduced trail that the smaller radius would cause. Plus my ground to chainring/pedal clearance (which is already small on this bike due to the BB drop) would drop further by 1cm which given that the purpose is for when the terrain is more gnarly, would be cross purposes. I might be better maxing out my size in 700c for a second wheelset. Though, of course, that's all 'in theory' so still would like to hear from anyone who has actually tried 650 wheels on a 2x setup with the racemax.

[scuddyflypaper]

Bit of a hatchet job in the article ...
I've recently moved away from a trek emonda slr8 on 28mm slick rubber and I'm riding the 3T with 36mm Schwalbe G1 Allround on the road as well as off at the moment 45/40 3T wheels weighing best part of 1700g

Road speed is down maybe 2 or 3kph which on such lightly knobby tyres is pretty darn impressive. On gravel it definitely feels quick and I'm in the process of sourcing a 2nd pair of wheels for the road. Handling feels great and better than the emonda in most cases which had a short twitchy front end and an horrendous toe overlap on a 56 which otherwise somehow had me stretched out
Weight on road is something I want to work on and wheels number 1 thing to swap out. I've got 2 x AXS but if I can get it to just about sub 8kg that's a good result the emonda in Ultegra di2 guise was 7.2kg and 2018 version so not aero at all
Most of his criticisms of handling etc I think are majorly exaggerated or indeed incorrect in my experience

I don't see that most who buy this bike are wanting or needing to put massively fat tyres on it. Riding gnarlier terrain buy something more suitable. Riding true gravel and wanting to do it fast not mtb trails 40mm is fine

The one thing I do agree with is the cable routing which is all round a questionable decision.
It is aesthetically pig ugly no two ways about it!
If I could change this somehow by changing bar/stem I'd pay for that definitely. All that aero focus everywhere else and then exposed cables rearing up and out... very lame indeed
Most folks won't buy this bike with putting it in a flight box being front and foremost. Appreciate some do