3T exploro or similar
Discussion
I have what you'd probably class as a typical stable of bikes. A carbon Scott road bike, a Boardman cross bike, a single speed and a Scott carbon MTB.
I'm giving some serious consideration to getting rid of the road, cross and single speed and replacing them with a do it all bike.
I don't race any longer, I don't even do club runs these days although I'd like to get back to the club runs as the kids get older.
I love the idea of the 3T exploro or the Cervelo Aspero. As fast as a normal road bike apparently but can double up as a gravel bike. Whilst I'm not that quick these days, I still love the sensation of being on a full on road bike. Would I find myself disappointed with one of these do it all bikes? Are they a jack of all trades, master of none, for want of a better phrase or would I be better just looking at out and out road bikes?
I'm giving some serious consideration to getting rid of the road, cross and single speed and replacing them with a do it all bike.
I don't race any longer, I don't even do club runs these days although I'd like to get back to the club runs as the kids get older.
I love the idea of the 3T exploro or the Cervelo Aspero. As fast as a normal road bike apparently but can double up as a gravel bike. Whilst I'm not that quick these days, I still love the sensation of being on a full on road bike. Would I find myself disappointed with one of these do it all bikes? Are they a jack of all trades, master of none, for want of a better phrase or would I be better just looking at out and out road bikes?
Edited by S100HP on Sunday 6th March 15:00
I have a carbon Specialized Diverge and an old Cube MTB. I bought the Diverge as I wanted more of an all-rounder; it's very similar in geometry and spec to the Aspero, which I also considered. In reality I wanted something comfortable for roads and the odd bridleway, and it does the job very well. I also wanted something more relaxed and comfortable than a full-on road bike. I wouldn't want to take it on more technical off-road tracks as it just wouldn't be that much fun. Ultimately I'd love to replace my old MTB with something much newer for those times I want to go properly off-road.
I have a 3T Exploro which I use almost exclusively as a road bike these days without much apparent compromise.
Currently it's running Fulcrum 4 wheels (700c) with 30mm GP5000s which will cope with fine gravel and gentle dry trails okay...ish with care. The 32mm Schwalbe G-One tyres it had previously were considerably better off road, but a fair bit slower on tarmac. The Exploro will take up to 42mm tyres on 700c wheels, so if more serious off road is really important you can probably find something more suitable than skinny road slicks..
In any case, the biggest issues you'll have off road will be getting used to drop bars, the road-oriented geometry and head-down riding position.
I did originally have an extra set of 650b wheels with chunky 50mm Schwalbe tyres, but never really ended up using them, mostly because I so rarely go off road on anything other than very light paths.
The Exploro is heavy compared to a dedicated road bike though. Mine comes in at ~9.5kg, but that doesn't seem so bad when compared to the classic, 80s Falcon road bike that I ride most of the time (14kg, set up as single-speed).
Main watch-out is sizing, which favours long body/arms and shorter legs. I'm 1.73m with longish legs and shorter body and the medium Exploro is perfect for my leg length but a bit of stretch up top with its 550mm top tube.
The other thing to consider is whether you want to go 1x or 2x. The Exploro will accommodate either, but most standard builds are 1x and this may not be your thing.
Personally, I have no problem with 1x, but as already mentioned I ride a single-speed (39x16) roadie most of the time so my judgement is questionable at best.
1x is a bit of a compromise though, and you'll probably end up having to choose between a big downhill gear or small uphill gear with some gaps that seem a bit odd at first. I run a 46t chainring and 11/36 cassette. This gives me easy enough gears to tackle most hills (certainly more than I had on my old roadbike running 52/39 with a 12/25 cassette), and a tall enough gear that I'm not spinning out too readily. That said, I don't race or ride with a particularly fast bunch these days.
In theory, 1x is less efficient than 2x at each end of the cassette due to sub-optimal chainline, but I can't say I've ever really noticed it. And in the middle 3 or 4 gears it really isn't any different from 2x, though you may not like the gapping.
Overall though, the Exploro is a great bike if your use is primarily road or very light gravel/off-road. Being slightly unusual, it gets a lot of attention (if that's your thing) and seems very well made.
k
Currently it's running Fulcrum 4 wheels (700c) with 30mm GP5000s which will cope with fine gravel and gentle dry trails okay...ish with care. The 32mm Schwalbe G-One tyres it had previously were considerably better off road, but a fair bit slower on tarmac. The Exploro will take up to 42mm tyres on 700c wheels, so if more serious off road is really important you can probably find something more suitable than skinny road slicks..
In any case, the biggest issues you'll have off road will be getting used to drop bars, the road-oriented geometry and head-down riding position.
I did originally have an extra set of 650b wheels with chunky 50mm Schwalbe tyres, but never really ended up using them, mostly because I so rarely go off road on anything other than very light paths.
The Exploro is heavy compared to a dedicated road bike though. Mine comes in at ~9.5kg, but that doesn't seem so bad when compared to the classic, 80s Falcon road bike that I ride most of the time (14kg, set up as single-speed).
Main watch-out is sizing, which favours long body/arms and shorter legs. I'm 1.73m with longish legs and shorter body and the medium Exploro is perfect for my leg length but a bit of stretch up top with its 550mm top tube.
The other thing to consider is whether you want to go 1x or 2x. The Exploro will accommodate either, but most standard builds are 1x and this may not be your thing.
Personally, I have no problem with 1x, but as already mentioned I ride a single-speed (39x16) roadie most of the time so my judgement is questionable at best.
1x is a bit of a compromise though, and you'll probably end up having to choose between a big downhill gear or small uphill gear with some gaps that seem a bit odd at first. I run a 46t chainring and 11/36 cassette. This gives me easy enough gears to tackle most hills (certainly more than I had on my old roadbike running 52/39 with a 12/25 cassette), and a tall enough gear that I'm not spinning out too readily. That said, I don't race or ride with a particularly fast bunch these days.
In theory, 1x is less efficient than 2x at each end of the cassette due to sub-optimal chainline, but I can't say I've ever really noticed it. And in the middle 3 or 4 gears it really isn't any different from 2x, though you may not like the gapping.
Overall though, the Exploro is a great bike if your use is primarily road or very light gravel/off-road. Being slightly unusual, it gets a lot of attention (if that's your thing) and seems very well made.
k
Edited by klootzak on Monday 7th March 00:10
JulianHJ said:
I have a carbon Specialized Diverge and an old Cube MTB. I bought the Diverge as I wanted more of an all-rounder; it's very similar in geometry and spec to the Aspero, which I also considered. In reality I wanted something comfortable for roads and the odd bridleway, and it does the job very well. I also wanted something more relaxed and comfortable than a full-on road bike. I wouldn't want to take it on more technical off-road tracks as it just wouldn't be that much fun. Ultimately I'd love to replace my old MTB with something much newer for those times I want to go properly off-road.
I have an Aspero and it really is pretty close to a do it all bike especially if you have a second set of aero road wheels! 
Well... in a similar vein, I've ditched my roadbike and settled on a gravel bike with 2 sets of wheels and still have my TT for 'races', being that the only timed things I really do are TT's and Tri (if I ever go back to tri post-covid). Very happy with that decision.
Will it work for you? It depends. I don't believe that the gravel on 28mm slicks is noticably slower than the roadbike, however I paid a lot of attention to gearing as I built from a frame. For sustained road use I wouldn't want 1x, or a subcompact crank (< 50/34) that many gravel bikes come with out of the box. I compensate for the 'large' crank with a 40-11 MTB cassette on the 'off road' wheels.
However, how it 'feels' is very different; it's a lot more 'lazy' for want of a better word. Compared to my old Cervelo S2, steering is much more locked in, and with bigger tyres it's smoother, and much less reactive to road surface. Doesn't feel as fast, nor like it accelerates as well if you jump on a sprint.. So if you love the racebike feel, then it's not going to satisfy. However, time on distance says I'm just as fast, if not faster over long rides.. probably because more comfort.
My change was accidental; I got a 'gravel' bike for touring with paniers, then found I was taking it out in preference to the roadbike, even for road rides. The roadbike was aweseome for 2-3hours going hard, but beyond that, it was beating me up and I was avoiding riding it. My gf on the other hand is comfortable for 5+hrs on her roadbike, so ymmv.
Also, not all gravel bikes are the same. Started with an ebay frame (kinesis crosslight), was quite quick. Got nicked, got a canondale topstone in a hurry, which is quite tall in the front. I was (relatively) slow on that. Finally got hold of a Mason Bokeh frame, which is a bit more 'performance' oriented, goes noticably quicker, likely due to less of my bulk standing up in the wind. Oh, and fwiw the final build is exactly 1.5kgs heavier than my roadbike was. Which isn't nothing, but given I've put on 10kgs in the last couple of years.. meh!
Will it work for you? It depends. I don't believe that the gravel on 28mm slicks is noticably slower than the roadbike, however I paid a lot of attention to gearing as I built from a frame. For sustained road use I wouldn't want 1x, or a subcompact crank (< 50/34) that many gravel bikes come with out of the box. I compensate for the 'large' crank with a 40-11 MTB cassette on the 'off road' wheels.
However, how it 'feels' is very different; it's a lot more 'lazy' for want of a better word. Compared to my old Cervelo S2, steering is much more locked in, and with bigger tyres it's smoother, and much less reactive to road surface. Doesn't feel as fast, nor like it accelerates as well if you jump on a sprint.. So if you love the racebike feel, then it's not going to satisfy. However, time on distance says I'm just as fast, if not faster over long rides.. probably because more comfort.
My change was accidental; I got a 'gravel' bike for touring with paniers, then found I was taking it out in preference to the roadbike, even for road rides. The roadbike was aweseome for 2-3hours going hard, but beyond that, it was beating me up and I was avoiding riding it. My gf on the other hand is comfortable for 5+hrs on her roadbike, so ymmv.
Also, not all gravel bikes are the same. Started with an ebay frame (kinesis crosslight), was quite quick. Got nicked, got a canondale topstone in a hurry, which is quite tall in the front. I was (relatively) slow on that. Finally got hold of a Mason Bokeh frame, which is a bit more 'performance' oriented, goes noticably quicker, likely due to less of my bulk standing up in the wind. Oh, and fwiw the final build is exactly 1.5kgs heavier than my roadbike was. Which isn't nothing, but given I've put on 10kgs in the last couple of years.. meh!
Edited by upsidedownmark on Monday 7th March 11:52
klootzak said:
I have a 3T Exploro which I use almost exclusively as a road bike these days without much apparent compromise.
Currently it's running Fulcrum 4 wheels (700c) with 30mm GP5000s which will cope with fine gravel and gentle dry trails okay...ish with care. The 32mm Schwalbe G-One tyres it had previously were considerably better off road, but a fair bit slower on tarmac. The Exploro will take up to 42mm tyres on 700c wheels, so if more serious off road is really important you can probably find something more suitable than skinny road slicks..
In any case, the biggest issues you'll have off road will be getting used to drop bars, the road-oriented geometry and head-down riding position.
I did originally have an extra set of 650b wheels with chunky 50mm Schwalbe tyres, but never really ended up using them, mostly because I so rarely go off road on anything other than very light paths.
The Exploro is heavy compared to a dedicated road bike though. Mine comes in at ~9.5kg, but that doesn't seem so bad when compared to the classic, 80s Falcon road bike that I ride most of the time (14kg, set up as single-speed).
Main watch-out is sizing, which favours long body/arms and shorter legs. I'm 1.73m with longish legs and shorter body and the medium Exploro is perfect for my leg length but a bit of stretch up top with its 550mm top tube.
The other thing to consider is whether you want to go 1x or 2x. The Exploro will accommodate either, but most standard builds are 1x and this may not be your thing.
Personally, I have no problem with 1x, but as already mentioned I ride a single-speed (39x16) roadie most of the time so my judgement is questionable at best.
1x is a bit of a compromise though, and you'll probably end up having to choose between a big downhill gear or small uphill gear with some gaps that seem a bit odd at first. I run a 46t chainring and 11/36 cassette. This gives me easy enough gears to tackle most hills (certainly more than I had on my old roadbike running 52/39 with a 12/25 cassette), and a tall enough gear that I'm not spinning out too readily. That said, I don't race or ride with a particularly fast bunch these days.
In theory, 1x is less efficient than 2x at each end of the cassette due to sub-optimal chainline, but I can't say I've ever really noticed it. And in the middle 3 or 4 gears it really isn't any different from 2x, though you may not like the gapping.
Overall though, the Exploro is a great bike if your use is primarily road or very light gravel/off-road. Being slightly unusual, it gets a lot of attention (if that's your thing) and seems very well made.
k
Any pictures? I really like the Exploro.Currently it's running Fulcrum 4 wheels (700c) with 30mm GP5000s which will cope with fine gravel and gentle dry trails okay...ish with care. The 32mm Schwalbe G-One tyres it had previously were considerably better off road, but a fair bit slower on tarmac. The Exploro will take up to 42mm tyres on 700c wheels, so if more serious off road is really important you can probably find something more suitable than skinny road slicks..
In any case, the biggest issues you'll have off road will be getting used to drop bars, the road-oriented geometry and head-down riding position.
I did originally have an extra set of 650b wheels with chunky 50mm Schwalbe tyres, but never really ended up using them, mostly because I so rarely go off road on anything other than very light paths.
The Exploro is heavy compared to a dedicated road bike though. Mine comes in at ~9.5kg, but that doesn't seem so bad when compared to the classic, 80s Falcon road bike that I ride most of the time (14kg, set up as single-speed).
Main watch-out is sizing, which favours long body/arms and shorter legs. I'm 1.73m with longish legs and shorter body and the medium Exploro is perfect for my leg length but a bit of stretch up top with its 550mm top tube.
The other thing to consider is whether you want to go 1x or 2x. The Exploro will accommodate either, but most standard builds are 1x and this may not be your thing.
Personally, I have no problem with 1x, but as already mentioned I ride a single-speed (39x16) roadie most of the time so my judgement is questionable at best.
1x is a bit of a compromise though, and you'll probably end up having to choose between a big downhill gear or small uphill gear with some gaps that seem a bit odd at first. I run a 46t chainring and 11/36 cassette. This gives me easy enough gears to tackle most hills (certainly more than I had on my old roadbike running 52/39 with a 12/25 cassette), and a tall enough gear that I'm not spinning out too readily. That said, I don't race or ride with a particularly fast bunch these days.
In theory, 1x is less efficient than 2x at each end of the cassette due to sub-optimal chainline, but I can't say I've ever really noticed it. And in the middle 3 or 4 gears it really isn't any different from 2x, though you may not like the gapping.
Overall though, the Exploro is a great bike if your use is primarily road or very light gravel/off-road. Being slightly unusual, it gets a lot of attention (if that's your thing) and seems very well made.
k
Edited by klootzak on Monday 7th March 00:10
If you are willing to accept the compromises then its great
I know a chap who did the same with a Titanium gravel bike and he loves it
The only downside is that the more road orientated gravel bikes get out their depth quickly on offroad, but are great on the finer stuff, but at the same time on harder faster road rides they get out their depth equally
Biggest downside in regards to 2x I found was mud- every year my mech dies because of it.
For me- I like having a few bikes, esp if I've got the time and money to maintain them, as it can be a pain having one off the road for a while waiting for parts - which is getting much more common
I know a chap who did the same with a Titanium gravel bike and he loves it
The only downside is that the more road orientated gravel bikes get out their depth quickly on offroad, but are great on the finer stuff, but at the same time on harder faster road rides they get out their depth equally
Biggest downside in regards to 2x I found was mud- every year my mech dies because of it.
For me- I like having a few bikes, esp if I've got the time and money to maintain them, as it can be a pain having one off the road for a while waiting for parts - which is getting much more common
I've been riding a 3T Exploro (albeit a chinese copy) for a few years now. I've run it with a 2x11 and now a 1x11, I've run it with 27.5x47 and I've run it with 700c from 28-40, I've taken it fully loaded bike packing and I've done some fast TT style efforts on it with clip ons.
I love it. It does everything I want from a road bike and it's incredibly versatile. With the correct wheel/tyre combination it totally transforms the look and feel of the bike and it really is a jack of all trades.
I love it. It does everything I want from a road bike and it's incredibly versatile. With the correct wheel/tyre combination it totally transforms the look and feel of the bike and it really is a jack of all trades.
Thanks for all the replies. I've been giving this more thought, especially after a decent week on the road bike, and realising just how much I enjoy road riding. I'm still very torn on what to do, I think whatever I get needs to be very road orientated still, with the ability to switch to gravel, but I wonder if I'm compromising for the sake of it, and in reality how often will I head off road....?
I saw the Wilier Rave earlier which looks like it'll do what I want....shame my budget doesn't match!
I saw the Wilier Rave earlier which looks like it'll do what I want....shame my budget doesn't match!
I hear ya. The reality is that I rarely take mine off road as I use it primarily for commuting. Knowing that I have the option gives me the opportunity to plan more epic trips though, and when it's dry I know that I can put some bigger tyres on for the commute and then try and get home by the most interesting route possible!
I've got a 140mm travel full suspension bike as well, so obviously that is used for normal offroad riding, but this seems to fill the gap for all other riding. I don't feel like I 'need' a hardtail as these cover all the bases.
You've hit the nail on the head though I think. You can have a lot of fun riding any bike, especially the one that you already own :-)
I've got a 140mm travel full suspension bike as well, so obviously that is used for normal offroad riding, but this seems to fill the gap for all other riding. I don't feel like I 'need' a hardtail as these cover all the bases.
You've hit the nail on the head though I think. You can have a lot of fun riding any bike, especially the one that you already own :-)
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