3T SUPEREGO TEAM BAR, ARX II STEM, ZERO 25 POST
£290/£80/£135 › Comfort for your contact points
ALTHOUGH THE SUPERERGO TEAM BAR’S tops have been carried over from its predecessor, 3T’s popular Ergonova, the way they turn into the drops is all-new. Now they sweep forward a short way to form a flattened, ovalised corner that’s great to rest your hands and/or forearms on.
The carbon bar’s 119mm drops have a gradual curve that works well with different-sized hands and permits easy reach to most shifters and brake levers while keeping the corners out of the way of your wrists when you’re sprinting. Our 42cm bar weighs just 204g, including the internal cable guides. But there’s no getting around it, £290 is a lot to pay for a handlebar.
At £80, the Arx II Team Stealth stem is rather more affordable. It’s an allaluminium affair with a cut-out 3T logo in the four-bolt face plate. It comes in 6° or 17° options and various lengths from 70-150mm. A quartet of T25 Torx bolts clamp it to the bars but the pair of 4mm Allen key bolts that used to cinch it to the steerer tube have been replaced with a single M6 T30 Torx bolt. Our 100mm stem weighs a decent 128g and requires a 40mm stack of steerer tube for secure clamping.
The Zero25 carbon seatpost is another pricey affair and has something of a split personality. Run it with the seat clamp assembled one way and it provides no setback whatsoever; but there’s another way to assemble the seat clamp to get 25° setback – useful if your using the same bike for road and time trial riding and want to alter your position. The clamp accepts all types of saddle rail, from round metal to oval carbon, and although it’s 350mm long the post only weighs 213g. The Ergonova bar’s shape feels excellent, whether you’re on the hoods, drops or tops. It soaks up road buzz impressively, while remaining unwaveringly stiff during sprints and out of the saddle climbing. The stem feels rock solid too, allowing the bar to work effectively. With only a short length of seatpost exposed on our test bike, its ability to flex would be limited, but it’s able to provide a more comfortable ride than we expected, with noticeable impact absorption. It’s light and racy but comfortable enough to make multi-hour rides more enjoyable.