RING THE CHANGES
3T is mixing things up with the new aero-optimised Strada Team featuring 1x gearing.
Bike design legend Gerard Vroomen was part of the team behind some of the most radical road bikes to surface from techsavvy Canadian brand Cervélo. Since leaving Cervélo he founded Open, a small manufacturer of ultra-light mountain and gravel bike chassis, and has now become an integral part of legendary Italian component brand, 3T. In just a few short years, the company has launched the world’s first aero-optimised gravel bike in the Exploro, and is set to shake up the peloton with an aero road bike built around bigger volume tyres and a single chainring drivetrain with the amazing-looking 3T Strada Team.
During the time between the bike launching and waiting for a test model to arrive, Ireland’s Pro Continental team, Aqua Blue Sport, announced it would be riding the 1x-equipped and disc brake-only Strada for the new season. However you feel about 1x for the road, it’s destined for a trial by fire.
Lookylikey
Looking around the Strada frame, it’s easy to see plenty of Cervélo DNA alongside the radical thinking. There’s a lot of the Cervélo P Series TT bikes at the back end of the Strada. It hugs and shapes around the rear tyre creating a fairing from the wind, something which has been often imitated but rarely, if ever, bettered. The front end with its super-slender hourglass head-tube shaping and behind-thestem cable routing has an air of the Cervélo S5.
Initial reports on the Strada suggested it was a mash-up of genres. Yes, it’s an aero bike, but it’s disc brake-only and made to allow for bigger tyres – a sort of pseudo gravel all-road machine. After seeing and experiencing the bike in the flesh, we can tell you that’s not really the case.
The aerodynamics look as tight as any aero road bike, but not so much the big volume tyre clearance claims. We’re seeing bikes like BMC’s RoadMachine and Trek’s super-light Émonda Disc coming with 28mm tyres, so the fact they feature on the Strada isn’t that out of the ordinary.
Our Strada wears 3T Discus 60 wheels and 28mm Continental GP4000S II tyres, which measure 30.2mm on our rims, leaving just 3mm of clearance at the fork crown and 3.8mm at the fork legs. So, we reckon you shouldn’t look at the Strada as anything but a full-on aeroracing machine, but one that takes advantage of the comfort afforded by more air in its rubber. In fact, the aero package on the Strada was developed to encompass and shield the tyres so you could have comfort without sacrificing speed. The big difference is around the bottom bracket; by omitting the need for a front mech the shaping is cleaner and more symmetrical than a standard bike. This makes sense in aero terms as it’s a messy area to shape, having to contend with the frame, cranks, chainrings and chain, front derailleur, water bottles, plus the rider turning their legs. By removing a ring and mech, plus all the associated cabling and so on, you create a less obstructed path for the wind to pass. Design efforts can be concentrated on using the seat-tube to shield the rear wheel.
We reckon you shouldn’t look at the Strada as anything but a full-on aeroracing machine
Our XL test bike has a long 592mm top-tube, 202mm head-tube, the head angle is a steep 73.5 degrees, with the seat angle also on the sharp side at 72.5 degrees. All this means the 3T is a much lower-fronted bike compared to say the Cervélo S3 Disc, making for a more aggressive riding position.
Ontheroad
The most significant thing I noticed was just how smoothly it rides. My testing was made up of weeks in the UK dealing with typical winter weather and rutted back roads, followed by a month in Queensland, Australia, riding the smooth tarmac and sharp, stiff climbs around the Glass House Mountains.
At home, the Strada coped admirably with pitted surfaces and potholes. On better roads and in better conditions, it’s one of the best feeling aero bikes I’ve ridden. It flows over the road surface with inordinate ease. This is backed by a sensation of speed that comes from the silence of the smoothly-designed chassis. The only noise you hear is the helicopter-like whumpwhump emanating from the deep section 3T rims when sprinting up to speed.
On the flat the Strada holds its speed like few other bikes, plus it’s just so damn smooth and comfortable. The long, low-slung position encourages speed; I wanted to exploit the 3T’s immense acceleration whenever possible.
Shifting gears from the middle of the block and down the small jumps are just as we’d expect from any bike. On the hills, the gearing plays a more important role. When you’re moving out of the middle and up we’d expect a bit more unevenness, but on super-steep climbs, like Queensland’s infamous Razorback, hitting gradients in the high teens, I found myself quickly moving into the higher end of the block with little consideration for cadence.
On steadier, longer switchback climbs like the iconic Palmwoods (7.4km, 360m) it was easy to settle into a gear and spin, even though ideally I’d have preferred something lighter than the 37in gear. Stronger climbers than me wouldn’t have found it as much of a struggle.
On descents, the Strada’s smooth ride encourages high speeds, and confidence in the SRAM Force stoppers is well grounded with masses of modulation and feel. The 3T wheels are solid performers, though the front can be a little unsettled by crosswinds compared to ENVE and Zipp equivalents. You can also detect the slightest bit of flex at the front end when pushing hard into a corner, or sprinting out of the saddle. It’s not unnerving, but still noticeable.
Our only other concern was with the tyre clearances. As mentioned, the rear is a little more generous than the front but still close, so I did have reservations that riding on debris-strewn UK winter roads would mean grit, stones, and detritus would get trapped, scoring the frame, getting noisy or worse. We didn’t experience it during our hours of test riding, but it’s something to be aware of.
Theverdict
I’ve loved my time on the Strada. The sublime ride quality is its biggest asset, followed by its undoubted speed potential. The racy ride position blends comfort with a low, aggressive position better than almost every aero road bike I’ve tried.
My reservations on the gearing have been pretty much dismissed. I’d still prefer a lighter gear for steeper climbs, but you can get that through chainring or cassette choice. The idea that a wider spaced cassette might mean a choppy cadence and uneven riding never materialised. On the flat the spacing is tight enough for smooth pedalling and on steep climbs the bigger jumps don’t seem as much of an issue.
The downside is that the Strada isn’t cheap. At £3500 for the frameset, or an extra £3850 on top for this standard build, it’s a lot to pay. It’s not especially light; the Cervélo S5 can be had lighter for similar money, but can’t match the beautifully balanced ride of the Strada. Would I buy one? Possibly. Do I want to know where 3T, Gerard and the 1x road revolution are going? Definitely.