Just In: 3T Strada - the future just arrived in the road.cc bike shed

TheLonelyOne wrote:

The reviews are in. https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/day-one-thought-not-good-idea-...

Die, 1x, die.

Quelle surprise.

fluffed wrote:

TTs are generally on newly gravel dressed roads? There's a few weeks a year where I can't avoid the things, and it gets stuck between my tyre & fork pretty often.  

No, TT's are not generally on newly gravel dressed roads, but I don't know too many people who stop riding their TT/Tri bikes during those few weeks either. Anyway, by the fact that you already encounter the problem on your current bike, what's the difference? The first scratch is the deepest, then we all just go on and enjoy the ride.

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

This bike is not the future but same old shit with disc brakes that make jack shit difference except in very extreme conditions perforamnce wise and won't make riding any safer.

It's been designed as a specific road race bike - not a touring bike, not an eco-friendly/practical "ability to recharge on the go". In terms of an out and out race bike, it's not bad at all. Bit more integration with the front cables/hoses and possibly some marketing that says look, you're expected to either do it yourself or have a mechanic to do it for you but customise the bike between each ride. Hilly road race? Fit the Bailout. Crit race? Fit the Overdrive.

It's not far off what even relatively amateur CX racers will do in terms of selecting tyres/wheels by course, changing their 1x chainring to suit power course vs super muddy course. Track riders do it too, you always see people gearing up/down in between sprint and endurance sessions.

David Arthur @davearthur wrote:

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

As for the 3T, it's ugly, it has LESS tyre clearance than frames from a few years ago used in the cobbled classics, it's overtly spendy, did I mention it's ugly.

The 'future' would have a replaceable/flexible LCD screen that you can affix to the stem/bars for data readout and an internal data sending transmitter (instead of that fugly stickyout thing) plus a micro battery for the electronic systems that recharges on the go using 'wobble' technology or even draws energy wirelessly from detachable solar panels.

Also maybe an internal hub gear system with 14/15 gears that are operated wirelessly as we have with derailleur systems already, you get a more reliable system, robustness AND much more aero.

So have a crash and broken derailleur is not an issue, wheel changes with a wireless internal hub would be the same as now.

The aero offsets any transmission losses which are minimal when compared to the robust and touring orientated Rohloff which could be made more effficient at the expense of outright longevity which even if reduced would still be greater than the life of a derailleur system.

Other positives from an internal gear system would be the ability to have more even and higher spoke tensions giving stiffer wheels and straight chain line ALL the time.

More 'future' would be the ability to vary the tyre pressures at any given point, massive advantage on cobbled rides which you're balancing the pressures to take into account super smooth roads with sections you want relatively low pressures or when the weather changes both in temperature and precipitation. 

You could even have an inetrnal ass-saver that can be deployed from the saddle and retracts when not needed.

This bike is not the future but same old shit with disc brakes that make jack shit difference except in very extreme conditions perforamnce wise and won't make riding any safer.

One last thought on future, gear shifting, gloves with the ability to shift gears by simply flicking the fingers/making a gesture like swiping a screen only without physical contact. 

 

Where are you based? Let's go for a ride. You can see the 3T up close

So will you admit you're wrong and I was right, Blythe pretty much explains the problem which I said ages ago and I didn't need to ride it to know it was going to be a load of poop

As they say, people tend to overestimate short-term innovations and underestimate long-term innovations. I know companies working on most if not all of what you mention, but virtually none of it will appear in bike shops in the next three years.

And if the author calls the 3T STRADA "the most exciting/radical/groundbreaking/divisive/controversial new bike launched this year", i don't necessarily agree but the fact is that most other bikes launched must have ranked even lower on your innovation wish list. "X% stiffer in the BB, Y% stiffer in the headtube, available in disc and rim brake versions and with a D-shaped seatpost", that seemed to be the press release for most bike launches this year.

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

As for the 3T, it's ugly, it has LESS tyre clearance than frames from a few years ago used in the cobbled classics, it's overtly spendy, did I mention it's ugly.

The 'future' would have a replaceable/flexible LCD screen that you can affix to the stem/bars for data readout and an internal data sending transmitter (instead of that fugly stickyout thing) plus a micro battery for the electronic systems that recharges on the go using 'wobble' technology or even draws energy wirelessly from detachable solar panels.

Also maybe an internal hub gear system with 14/15 gears that are operated wirelessly as we have with derailleur systems already, you get a more reliable system, robustness AND much more aero.

So have a crash and broken derailleur is not an issue, wheel changes with a wireless internal hub would be the same as now.

The aero offsets any transmission losses which are minimal when compared to the robust and touring orientated Rohloff which could be made more effficient at the expense of outright longevity which even if reduced would still be greater than the life of a derailleur system.

Other positives from an internal gear system would be the ability to have more even and higher spoke tensions giving stiffer wheels and straight chain line ALL the time.

More 'future' would be the ability to vary the tyre pressures at any given point, massive advantage on cobbled rides which you're balancing the pressures to take into account super smooth roads with sections you want relatively low pressures or when the weather changes both in temperature and precipitation. 

You could even have an inetrnal ass-saver that can be deployed from the saddle and retracts when not needed.

This bike is not the future but same old shit with disc brakes that make jack shit difference except in very extreme conditions perforamnce wise and won't make riding any safer.

One last thought on future, gear shifting, gloves with the ability to shift gears by simply flicking the fingers/making a gesture like swiping a screen only without physical contact. 

WashoutWheeler wrote:

I keep comming back to the same question, "who needs 1x more, us or the manufacturers and retail outfits?" 

Isn't the answer in the vast majority of purchases of any kind, including virtually any bike anybody buys unless their current one just got trashed or stolen, that people don't "need" anything?

Jumbotron wrote:

So 3T are willing to drop the x2 for a x1 and loose the undeniable benefits of closer gear ratios for a small aero gain, but they can't be arsed to hide the cables up at the pointy end? 

That was my first thought too - for that sort of price I'd expect a BMC style full integration of hoses and cables/wires with them routed down the bars and headtube. Disc hoses and Di2 don't require straight cable runs, you can bend them round all sorts of corners and they'll still be perfect.

1x makes a lot of sense for certain applications, notably crit racing. Many UK road race circuits could also comfortably be ridden on a 1x.

mingsta wrote:

... And the future is fugly. As for 1x it'd make sense on a daily commuter, where I'd never need anything taller than a 46x11 or summat. But on the Sunday best, not so much.

I hit 37mph within 2 minutes of leaving home just going to Tesco 1.7 miles away and spin out on my daily on its 48/12 top gear regularly and I don't even live in a particularly hilly area.

It's the (relatively) big gaps in a 1x that are not really ideal for efficient cycling, it's okay if you want to potter around/leisurely commute and you don't need much above a 24T sprocket but cassettes with a 30T or bigger with an 11 or even 12 first position and the gaps are noticeable when you're used to the closer ratios of modern multi-speed gearing. It can upset your rythm/cadence even for commuting.

the reason i still like a triple is you can run a 11-25/26 and still have a decently low enough gear to get you up an alpine ascent even when you're very much the wrong side of 40 and 100kg  but also have the big dog for when you want to hammer it. Having those much smaller gaps when transitioning gradients or if you're struggling and keeping your cadence is quite important I feel.

I used to have an old 6 speed hi-lo, there was a massive gap between the bottom three and the top three but at least the sprockets were relatively close (for the time) at each end, when using an 'alpine' set up 14/16/18/24/28/32 was actually extremely helpful/useful. Being able to fit your own sprockets onto a freewheek body to suit the terrain and your own personal requirements is something that is so much harder to do these days.

1x is not going to be much use in compeition road racing, as i said a month or two back on another thread, maybe in a flat stage or crit but for the sake of a few grams, running out of gears and/or having jumps that mean you lose rythm is simply not a good exchange IMHO.

fluffed wrote:

That front clearance when you hit a stretch of  newly 'dressed' road is going to ruin your day, and your frame.

Well, somehow we haven't seen thousands and thousands of TTers or triathletes with ruined frames even though the gap is the same.