RACEMAX ITALIA
The Racemax Italia is designed for the most demanding riders and racers to be the fastest on any combination of asphalt, gravel and dirt, featuring clean, internal cable routing.
CHOOSE YOUR BUILD
RACEMAX ITALIA
Full-aero gravel frameset with fully integrated cable routing for speed on-road and off.
RACEMAX ITALIA RIVAL XPLR 1X12 700c CARBON
For budget racers, the simplicty and reliability of 1x SRAM Rival XPLR electronic groupset and aero carbon wheels get you to the finish line first.
RACEMAX ITALIA RIVAL XPLR 2X12 700c CARBON
For budget racers, the super-reliable SRAM Rival electronic groupset and aero carbon wheels get you to the finish line first.
RACEMAX ITALIA FORCE D2 AXS 2X12 700c CARBON
Light and reliable, the new SRAM Force electronic groupset and aero carbon wheelset give you a blindingly fast dream ride regardless of whether or not you’re racing.
RACEMAX ITALIA FORCE D2 AXS 2X12 DISCUS 45/40
All the perfect parts in a single bike with light & reliable Force electronic groupset and 3T Discus 45/40 wheelset with 40mm!! wide aero carbon rims.
100% MADE IN ITALY PRODUCTION
Our dream to bring carbon production back to Italy has become a reality at our Italian Factory near Bergamo.
Using our proprietary filament winding and RTM (resin transfer molding) technology, we hand built the fastest gravel frame in the world right here with on our 3T designed machines. This allows us to customize your frame for 1x, 2x, mechanical or electronic shifting upon request.
3T MORE INTEGRALE TECHNOLOGY
Running cables internally can be nice and potentially reduce aero drag, but what is the point if you end up with a very wide and bulky headtube with oversized bearings to house the cables? Also, usually integrated systems make maintenance and rider position adjustments a nightmare.
Our MORE Integrale system uses the exact same headtube shape for internal and external cables and gives you all the benefits without the drawbacks:
- You can make small height adjustments to the MORE Integrale without disconnecting or resizing the brake hoses.
- You can swap MORE Integrale stem lengths without needing to disconnect and bleed the brake hoses.
- You have the freedom to choose any of our 3T INTEGRALE bars to best fit the ergonomics & functionality you desire.
- Should your adventure take you far from home, the MORE stem can be removed completely for travel without the need to disconnect the brake hoses.
- The MORE stem is compatible with 1X & 2X Sram and Shimano electronic groupsets or 1x mechanical groupsets
For more information see the MANUAL
IT ALL STARTS WITH THE TIRES
To make the fastest possible gravel bike, you need to start with the tires. Tire choice determines comfort & grip, but it also determines how you can shape the frame to redirect airflow.
To aerodynamically engineer the frame around the tires, you need to know what their REAL measurements are. Not what’s on the label, but how they really fit. That’s REALFAST aerodynamics. It’s not easy however, as the tire dimension depends on the rim you use, tire pressure, and of course how accurate the manufacturer’s claimed size is.
We took hundreds of measurements to know the real tire widths (which we call WAM - Width As Measured and RAM - Radius As Measured) and engineered the frame around that data.
Max clearance information can be found here.
SO WHAT TIRE DO YOU NEED?
The most important dimension is the WAM as that directly correlates to traction, puncture resistance, aerodynamics and rolling resistance. The WAM you need depends on three factors:
1. Terrain (traction, puncture resistance)
2. Rider skill (how much grip you need for control)
3. Rider speed (the slower you go, the more you bump/sink into the terrain)
The graph on the left indicates the WAM you need, and based on the rim width you use,you can find our favorite tires for each WAM here. Please note that running a front derailleur (especially an electronic version) will limit the tire width you can fit.
REALFAST AERODYNAMICS
Starting from our favorite tires, we then engineered a perfectly fitting rear wheel cutout (with mud clearance of course) and a closely trailing downtube to catch the airflow coming off the front tire. We added a super-narrow headtube (yet with a big steerer inside it), a multi-shape fork and aero details from seatstay to seatpost and from the shielded water bottle to the direct-attachment brake mounts.
Most importantly, we engineered this for realistic riding speeds, wind speeds, tire widths, bottle positions and even for mud. We don’t care if it is theoretically fast in the windtunnel with a fantasy spec. We care if it is fast the way you ride it in real world conditions.
design in details
PERFECT AERO CUTOUT
Close-fitting cutout to shield the rear wheel and achieve the most speed.
MIND THE GAP
No oversized gaps between front tire & downtube for better airflow transition and less turbulence.
HUGE CLEARANCE
The original Exploro set today’s standard for up to 54mm tire clearance. The RaceMax has up to 61mm with 650b"!
75MM DOWNTUBE BASE
Lower downtube aero profile is 75mm wide to fully shield water bottle.
50MM DOWNTUBE NECK
Upper downtube necks down to 50mm to pick up the airflow coming off the front tire.
SIZE-SPECIFIC DOWNTUBE
Reduced depth on smaller sizes to keep frame compliant and keep space for bottles.
NARROW HEADTUBE
Headtube is sizes like a road bike for a narrow 1 1/8”- 1 ¼”steerer for optimal aerodynamics.
BIG STEERER
Inside that narrow headtube is a big 1 1/2” steerer for best strength and stiffness.
MINMAX HEADSET
To fit this big steerer inside the narrow headtube, we use the custom MinMax headset.
MINIMALIST CROWN
Fork crown shapes haven’t changed much since brakes were attached there. Now that we have disc brakes, we don’t need that bulk of material and can reshape the crown for better strength, stiffness and weight. Plus better aerodynamics.
PURE-ROAD FORK LENGTH
With the shorter crown, we can make our forks 25mm (1 inch) shorter than other gravel bikes. Exactly the same as a road fork. This offers better stiffness, lower weight, an easier steering geometry and better aerodynamics.
DOUBLE-DROP CHAINSTAYS
Dropping the drive-side chainstay improves tire & crank clearance. Dropping the other side as well creates a much more efficient structure behind the BB for higher stiffness & strength as well as lower weight.
THREADED BB
Most of our complete bikes come with threaded BBs for the best alignment and to avoid any issues. Yet we avoid gluing threaded alloy rings into the carbon (added weight, complexity and debonding risk). Read more here.
DIRECT-MOUNT REAR BRAKE
Standard frames require an adaptor to use a 160mm brake rotor. We have integrated that into the frame, meaning you don’t need any extra pieces to attach the brake.
DIRECT-MOUNT FRONT BRAKE
Standard forks require a flip-flop adaptor to set the correct brake rotor size. Our direct-mount pre-sets the caliper for 160mm rotors without any extra pieces.
SELF-ALIGNING WEDGE CLAMP
Self-adjusting bolt angle for higher clamping forces with lower torque.
RITCHEY RAIL CLAMP
The new standard for gravel bikes, available for round and oval rails.
frame specifications
For frame specifications, component compatibility, clearances, etc, please check our Racemax Italia Frame specifications. Geometry information is found below
GEOMETRIES
| Size | 51 | 54 | 56 | 58 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rider Height (cm) | 157-171 | 168-180 | 176-186 | 183-195 |
| Rider Height* (inches) | 5'2"-5'7" | 5'6"-5'11" | 5'9"-6'1" | 6'0" 6'5" |
| Stack | 544 | 566 | 586 | 606 |
| Reach | 364 | 374 | 382 | 390 |
| "Road" Headtube | 147 | 161 | 180 | 201 |
| Headtube angle | 69.2 | 70.7 | 71.7 | 72.2 |
| Fork axle-crown | 375 | 375 | 375 | 375 |
| Front center | 612 | 607 | 612 | 622 |
| Rear center | 418 | 418 | 418 | 418 |
| BB drop | 77 | 77 | 75 | 73 |
| Wheelbase | 1018 | 1013 | 1019 | 1028 |
| Toptube lenght | 518 | 536 | 549 | 563 |
| Seattube lenght | 463 | 490 | 518 | 545 |
| Seattube 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.
** RaceMax FORK length is equal to a standard road bike, so this HEADTUBE length can be compared to road bikes. To compare to gravel bikes with standard gravel forks, deduct 25mm from these “road" headtube lengths for a proper comparison.
