3T Extrema Italia gravel bike review
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Gravel cycling as a discipline is constantly evolving. Bikes are getting bigger and burlier, and are being built to deliver a comforting and capable ride that can handle any terrain at greater speeds. Many of these bikes are starting to resemble mountain bikes but with drop bars.
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The 3T Extrema Italia gravel bike is a case in point and the company believes this machine is its most capable gravel bike yet. We were sent a 3T Extrema Italia to put through its paces and test in several settings ranging from open gravel roads and Tarmac to technical singletrack and groomed flow trails.
Read on for our verdict and to learn where it's positioned among the best gravel bikes.
3T Extrema Italia gravel bike - Technical details
At first glance, it might bear a striking resemblance to the Racemax Italia but, apart from the proprietary carbon layup at the bottom bracket and head tube, everything here is new. According to 3T, the Extrema Italia was designed around accommodating 50-57mm tyres and 700c wheels and optimised upwards. The company believes designing a bike this way - rather than wheels and tyre choice being an afterthought - has made the Extrema Italia a more capable gravel machine.
High-speed stability is an area that 3T focussed on, outfitting the Extrema with 436mm chainstays that have resulted in a wheelbase of 1,036mm (medium). The other key geometry numbers such as the head angle come in at 70.5-degrees – this is quite steep when looking at the 69.4-degrees of the YT Szepter but on par with the Specialized Crux, while the Canyon Grail is a degree steeper at 71.5. The 368mm reach and 570mm stack figures represent the middle ground in the category and deliver better comfort and control. A 76mm BB drop rounds off the key metrics.
A big focus for the 3T team when designing the Extrema Italia was the notion of generous tyre clearance. While outfitting a bike in wider rubber might sound counter-intuitive, especially on a bike designed around aerodynamics, riders are going further off the beaten track and beefier tyres are becoming standard fare – even on racier gravel bikes. That’s not to say the 3T Extrema Italia isn't a racy machine but it has been designed to tackle the most extreme topography and bears the provisions as a result. Look closely, and you’ll notice enough clearance to accommodate 57mm or 2.0- to 2.2in tyres, supplying it with the same level of grip as a cross-country mountain bike.
3T also looked in depth at bikepacking and on-bike storage to ensure the bike is sorted for adventure riding or long days in the saddle. As a result, there are traditional mounting points for bottles inside the triangle, two mounting slots on the top tube and three bosses on each fork leg for small bike racks.
Other notable design elements include the lack of a proprietary seatpost and seatpost recess. Instead, 3T has opted for a round seat-tube shape for dropper-seatpost compatibility. Those with an eagle eye will also notice the Extrema has been designed solely for use with electronic or wireless groupsets. This might be seen as a negative point by mechanical purists - especially considering possible electronic and battery failure - but this has been executed to ensure the frame is as aero and functional as possible. It also utilises a UDH rear derailleur hanger making it compatible with SRAM’s direct-mount Eagle Transmission.
In terms of design options, the 3T Extrema Italia can be had in one of three colourways: Terra (red), Project X (raw carbon) and Mecurio (turquoise) pictured here. The red 3T graphics and wordmark logos complement the desaturated metallic turquoise quite superbly and the entire visual package is premium in look and feel.
The 3T Extrema Italia is available in four sizes only: 51, 54, 56 and 58cm.
3T Extrema Italia gravel bike - Components
The component list is impressive. The 3T Extrema Italia can be had in one of two SRAM mullet configurations: Rival GX Eagle AXS or Force D2 XX SL Eagle AXS. The bike pictured here is built around the former, so it gets a SRAM Rival GX Eagle AXS groupset finished off with a 40T chainring up front and a 10-52T cassette and GX Eagle Transmission at the rear (the bike ships with a Rival Wide AXS 40T crankset but a 3T Torno Wide crank will be shipped with no upcharge in summer 2024).
Rolling stock comes in the form of Zipp 303S wheels shod in Continental RaceKing 2.0 tyres. A RockShox Reverb AXS dropper post, San Marco Shortfit saddle and a 3T Aeroghiaia handlebar round off the touchpoints.
3T Extrema Italia gravel bike - Performance
When riding the bike for the first time, what stood out was its ability to suck up off-road imperfections – this despite not employing any form of suspension fork. Much of this comes down to the 2.0in wide tyres that act as a damper. Most current gravel bikes max out at 45C, so the extra girth and subsequent lower tyre pressures unlocked a new world of comfort, grip and speed. After removing the tubes and converting the setup to tubeless, I ran the Continental RaceKings at 23psi front/rear which might sound rather soft but this is my go-to pressure setup for cross-country mountain biking – I probably could have gone a little lower. Going wider and fitting 2.2in tyres would potentially unlock even greater capability and comfort.
The bike feels like a veritable bulldozer. It smooths out all gravel road imperfections, which increases speed and comfort on sections I often struggle to navigate on a traditional gravel bike. While it's not the lightest option, it's not a heffer either and once it gets up to speed it's rapid and manages to hold momentum with ease over rolling terrain. Climbs are easier than expected, too, and the 1,036mm wheelbase makes it pretty stable on steeper kickers and technical singletrack climbs – that and, of course, the well-balanced ratios provided by the 40T, 11-52T chainset.
It's naturally got a mountain bike-like feel to the way it rides; it's just a little more aggressive and not as upright. All this should provide the hardcore mountain biker with a stepping stone into gravel riding.
Most of my testing was done on traditional gravel and mountain bike trails. Like the YT Szepter, the 3T is well suited to singletrack but feels more confident thanks to the fatter tyres and wheelbase. The SRAM brakes were powerful and simple to modulate – a boon for inspiring confidence in hairy downhill situations. Shifting was solid, too, and the SRAM GX Eagle Transmission delivered crisp and deliberate shifts, albeit slightly delayed. The benefit of SRAM T-Type drivetrains is the ability to shift aggressively under load, especially on inclines where you often get caught out and need to scramble for an easier gear.
I often forgot I was on a gravel bike such were the technical features I found myself riding down with ease – but this is not the main USP of the bike. The 3T has been designed for going long and exploring terrain you wouldn't normally ride with a traditional gravel bike. And while I don't have the topography here in the Surrey Hills where I live to test its technical endurance capabilities, I feel the Extrema Italia will feel at home on the technical terrain and obstacles that comprise Andorra or the Western Cape region of South Africa.
Out on smoother surfaces and Tarmac, the 3T is no slouch. The aerodynamics dialled into the frame means it holds speed well. You'll be able to sit in on group rides and only need to put in an effort if there is an acceleration or a turn of speed up a climb – it's that capable. Of course, Tarmac is not its natural habitat and you'll soon find yourself turning left onto the dirt while everyone continues straight to the coffee stop.
3T Extrema Italia gravel bike - Verdict
The 3T Extrema Italia won’t appeal to all gravel riders. It’s on the burlier end of the gravel bike spectrum, almost teetering on the edge of mountain bike territory and will undoubtedly find favour with cross-country or marathon riders. The wider, chunkier tyres render the need for dedicated gravel suspension null and void, such is the ride quality.
At £7,612 /€8,299 /US$9,199, the Extrema Italia is a pricey bike for what it is. Looking at its rivals – well, there aren't any direct threats with the closest challenge coming from the Enve Mog and YT Szepter Core 4 gravel bike, the latter of which we tested last year. At £3,800, the Szepter is half the price of the 3T and can confidently handle harsh off-road riding, too. It also weighs just over 10kg and, despite getting a dropper post and a gravel suspension fork, it can only accommodate tyres of up to 45mm in width. While the Szepter is exceptional, it's not as aero or racy and will struggle to keep up with bulldozer-like 3T Extrema Italia when pure speed and corrugation-flattening trickery come into play.
The abundance of choice currently among the best gravel bikes does have some benefits as riders can pick and choose something that suits their riding conditions. While the 3T Extrema Italia might not be as fast or light as the racier options on the market, it is one of the most complete, comfortable and competent gravel bikes I've ever ridden. For those looking for the one-bike solution, it makes a convincing case – more so, if you enjoy long explorations through unchartered terrain, enjoy open gravel roads or even throw in the odd mountain bike trail with technical singletrack on your training rides. If that's you and you only require one bike, the 3T Extrema Italia is a worthy consideration