We’re probably the most disorganized people we know. Many times we get to events and we are still figuring out what’s the name of what we’re riding. Then we start and we realize we miss half of the stuff we need when we’re already 10km in.
But.
Sometimes we try to do things properly. Many times events are chances to experiment and many of us are a bit nerdy about setup and equipment when it comes to long distance races. We don’t show it that much, but we’re the ones who love to spend hours in the garage trying to figure out how’s best to set up your handlebar or any other thing on a bike.
This time we took Unbound as a chance to work on that even more and we went like: let’s try to put together the best bike we can imagine. We started calling a few friends around Italy to check what chances we had. Never could we imagine receiving an answer as Enrique’s one. Enrique is the engineer behind 3T and he just said “come here. We’ll build a new bike together”. We didn’t wait a second and drove straight to Presezzo, where they produce their Made in Italy frames. Here the magic happened.
Enrique showed the whole process and a new technique they’re testing to put the carbon fibers together. We did a couple of tries together (well, we didn’t do much to be honest) and the result is a frame that weighs less than 1kg. Besides being beautiful, how cool is it?
We went to Tony and we just asked to put the least paint possible on the frame for once. Nothing difficult, no impossible designs this time.
Finally we built the bike and we tried to make it the best we could. Ekar groupset of course, the lightest you can find around for a gravel bike, and 3T Torno crankset. Bottom bracket from Ceramic Speed. Add our favorite wheelset – Fulcrum Rapid Red Carbon, Pirelli Cinturato M 700×40 tyres, Fizik Vento Argo 00 saddle and 3T Aeroghiaia handlebar.
The result? 7.71kg with a 10-44 cassette, which is gonna be replaced with a 9-36 for a final weight of 7.64 kg. Not bad, right?
So, are we ready for Unbound? Who knows. The bike is there for sure. Give us a couple of days and we’ll share the setup and everything else too. For now we are super happy because Unbound gave us a chance to study and improve. Let’s see what Kansas will throw at us once we get there!
Technical features:
- 3T Racemax Custom Made in Italy
- Campagnolo Ekar 38 / 9-36
- Fulcrum Rapid Red Carbon
- Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M 700x40C
- Milkit valves and sealant
- Fizik Vento Argo 00
- Fizik Terra Bondcush 3mm Tacky
- Elite Prizm Carbon bottle cages
Total weight: 7.64 kg
