OK, we couldn’t not lead with a photo of this new Pegoretti paint job on 3T’s new aero gravel Exploro frameset. We test rode the LTD version of the new bike when it was introduced back in June, and thought at the time that its super oversized frame tubes were really asking for a more striking paint scheme than its simple black and grey. In fact we preferred the white and red look of the more affordable layup bike. Well, 3T was having similar thoughts and has brought master bike painter Dario Pegoretti on board to produce one-of-a-kind designs for those with a willing wallet.
Now after that bike drew us in, 3T had a small component redesign that had us equally interested (maybe something to do with it costing less than 1/100 of that frame.) It’s easy to overlook those clever little tweaks that just make something work better. Such is the new Zero25 head design from 3T that makes their seatpost work with both a 0mm and 25mm offset without compromising design or functionality in either position. Take a closer look at how they do that below the crease…
The new Zero25 uses a reversible rail clamp that lets you position the head in either orientation to get the setback you need. Just line up the markings on the head hardware with the arrow printed on the non-driveside of the shaft of the seatpost to set it at either 0mm or 25mm of setback. The slowly tighten the conical hardware with the single bolt as you align your saddle position and you are good to go.
The way the hardware allows the top and bottom of the clamp to float as you tighten everything down, you also get the side benefit that the design works with most saddle rail profiles. It actually grasps and clamps the rails from the top outside and bottom inside edges making it compatible with round and oval rails of a wide range of sizes.
While initially developed to help 3T and their partner shops trim the number of products they have to stock, the design also benefits riders who may want to move their position around on the bike, or could even swap posts between bikes of different geometries. The new Zero25 is debuting at 3T’s mid-range Team edition with an alloy head bonded to a carbon shaft and at the entry-level Pro in all aluminum.
The carbon Team seatpost weighs 202g in its lightest size and comes with red decals for $130/120€. A Team Stealth version with black on carbon graphics will also be available for $145/130€. The alloy post sticks with one-piece forged 7075 and tips the scale just a bit heavier at 222g. Best of all it will retail for just $100/90€.
Both levels will come in 27.2mm and 31.6mm diameters, 350mm lengths only, and should be available now. On the future outlook side of things, one of 3T’s engineers let slip that a LTD version was already in the development pipeline, currently undergoing some testing and refinement. Using an all carbon shaft and head, the Zero25 LTD will share the same alloy clamp hardware and trim the weight down even farther.
Exploro Pegoretti Edition
Now coming back to the limited edition Exploro Pegoretti. 3T wanted their oversized aero 650b/700c gravel bike to stand out at the show, so they asked Dario Pegoretti to have at it. Both were so happy with how the project turned out that they agreed to do a very limited few more. And there is certainly some technical merit to the bike’s tech which we detailed when it was introduced, but was also enough that it won a top Eurobike award last week as well.
3T wouldn’t say how many total for sure, but they talked about somewhere between 5-10 framesets being the most they expected to make to keep it super exclusive, with each being completely different. If you did the math correctly following along, you might have come up with what price range we are talking about here. 10,000€ will get you a unique one-of-a-kind design, hand painted by the Italian bike artist on what is claimed to be the fastest bike with knobby tires out racking up the gravel miles. That is certainly a premium, but it is on top of the already pricey $4200/4300€ frameset price of this 950g LTD frame, Luteus II LTD fork, and Charlie Sqareo post.
Here’s to hoping that it has a strong clearcoat to fend off all those flying stones. Get in touch with 3T soon if interested. They are taking orders now for delivery later this fall.
