Home > Bike Types > Road Bike

EB17: 3T SuperGhiaia, SuperErgo & SuperLeggera reshape road bike cockpit

12 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

3T essentially built its company on road cockpits, and they continue to refine their product line-up to cater to the needs of the changing roadie. At the same times as pruning their overall bar offerings, 3T debuts three completely new ergonomic handlebar shapes that address how many of us actually ride these days, all with internal routing.

3T reshaped road bike cockpit drop handlebar family line-up SuperGhiaia flared-drop ergonomic carbon gravel bar chamfered top corner

Much like they did last year by trimming their seatpost offerings back to the single Zero25, 3T have simplified their road handlebar offerings to make it easier to pick what is right for your kind of riding. Three new families – SuperGhiaia, SuperErgo & SuperLeggera – join last year’s Aeronova to offer the perfect road perch for gravel, endurance, climbing & race road cycling, all now moving to a new standard of measuring bars center-to-center at the hoods where most time is spent. Plus they have a new Apto road stem to clamp any of them in place on your bike.

SuperGhiaia gravel bike handlebars

3T reshaped road bike cockpit drop handlebar family line-up SuperGhiaia flared-drop ergonomic carbon gravel bar size, width & shape variation

The new SuperGhiaia bars are the most dramatic of the new 3T offerings. Following the success of their Exploro aero gravel bike, 3T wanted to develop a bar that offered similar flexibility and still plenty of control for mixed surface riding. The result is an ergonomically flared road bar that keeps its shape straight through the hoods so that your brake levers remain in the correct straight position and riding on the tops is just like a standard bar.

But get into the drops and the SuperGhiaia’s flare offers a wide platform for solid control. The other unique thing about the SuperGhiaia is that the two sizes available – 40 & 44cm (c-c at the hoods) – have dramatically different shaping. 3T developed many different prototype flare & drop shapes and the conclusion from their pro & amateur testers was pretty universal…

3T reshaped road bike cockpit drop handlebar family line-up SuperGhiaia flared-drop ergonomic carbon gravel bar 44cm vs. 40cm shape

Narrow bar riders preferred parallel hand positions in the drops, and wide bar riders preferred the secure feel of continuing flare. The result is that even though both sizes share the same 77.5mm reach & 110mm drop, the 40cm bar ends up just 47.85cm wide at the drops, but the 44mm bar flares to a whopping 55.55cm wide at its ends (all measurements c-c.) It also incorporates the same chamfer corner tops that were developed for the new SuperErgo.

At first the new SuperGhiaia shape will only be available in a mid-level Team carbon version at 200g, with availability from November 2017. 3T wasn’t specific about timing, but alluded to the fact that both a more affordable Pro alloy version & a premium LTD offering are both in the works.

SuperErgo all-around, endurance comfort bars

3T reshaped road bike cockpit drop handlebar family line-up SuperErgo ergonomic carbon ergo comfort road bar chamfered top

3T’s Ergonova bar has been their biggest seller for more than a decade, so they were care not to make too many changes when it came time to develop it into the new SuperErgo. Essentially the diameters, curve & drop remain the same, but 3T designed new chamfered corners on the SuperErgo’s tops to make the bar more comfortable to hold, especially when pulling on the corner of the bars during steep climbing.

3T reshaped road bike cockpit drop handlebar family line-up SuperErgo ergonomic carbon ergo comfort road bar

The new ergo bar does get some minor hood & drop reshaping, although it is just to make the bars play nicely with the most modern shift/brake lever designs on the market. The SuperErgo is available this month in 260g $105/95€ alloy Pro bars, 200g $350/300€ carbon Team bars, and a 173g $425/375€ LTD version. Each spec level comes in 38, 40, 42 & 44cm widths (c-c, hood-to-hood.)

SuperLeggera light weight climbers’ bars

3T reshaped road bike cockpit drop handlebar family line-up SuperLeggera lightweight carbon road bar

The SuperLeggera keeps it simple. Constant taper top & a traditional round drop. The result – the lightest drop bar 3T makes – available now in Team & LTD carbon versions. The $350/300€ Team bars weigh just 186g, while the $425/375€ LTD bars cut back to just 166g, with 40, 42 &44cm widths on offer.

Aeronova aero road race bars

3T reshaped road bike cockpit drop handlebar family line-up Aeronova aero aerodynamic carbon race road bar

The popular Aeronova is the fourth bar option in the newly redefined drop bar line-up, but is completely unchanged from last year. The only change that 3T said to expect for the aerodynamically optimised road racing bar is a gradual move to the new graphics look of the three new bars introduced for 2018.

Apto alloy stem

3T Apto aluminum reversed face plate road bike stem rubber logo insertThe new Apto looks pretty much like a basic aluminum stem at first glance, but does tuck in a few nice features in its simple design. Reaching back to the design of 3T’s first stem, the Apto again gets a small rubber 3T logo for the faceplate. But behind that is a window offering an adjustable interface to cleanly fit an out-front style Barfly GPS mount.

3T Apto aluminum reversed face plate road bike stem

The Apto also features reward facing faceplate bolts, that 3T says allowed them to make the stem both more aerodynamic and lighter overall. While the reshaped bar line-up was much about reducing the number of different products, the Apto maintains a wide fitting range with lengths from 70-150mm, and +/- 6° & 17° models available. The $70/65€ Pro stem (142g in 100mm) and $110/100€ Team stem (129g with ti bolts) will be available from October 2017.

3TCycling.com

SaveSave

SaveSave

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

12 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
RED
RED
7 years ago

The best bar name ever was their Rotundo…

Robin
Robin
7 years ago

Is it certain the new SuperErgo is measured c-c on the tops (hood-hood)? I think the Ergonovas were measured c-c in the drops.

tommaso
tommaso
5 years ago
Reply to  Robin

i confirm the ergo nova was measured in the drops while the tops were 2 cm shorter that makes a different size! not sure about the new bars sizes;(

Tomi
Tomi
7 years ago

No more round bend? I love my 3t tornova.

-S
-S
7 years ago
Reply to  Tomi

Tornova is a great bar.

Neil
Neil
7 years ago

Reverse bolts more aero. People are so marketing gullible it hurts

blah blah blah
blah blah blah
7 years ago
Reply to  Neil

and lighter coz a bolt backwards is lighter, quantum entanglement will get you every time

no not me
no not me
7 years ago

While I am sure it/s .000001 more aero I think the reverse bolts are handle if you have a computer or cables and are adjusting the handlebars.

John
John
7 years ago

The shape of that narrower SuperGhiaia bar seems like it would be perfect for me (normal drops with wider ends). Are there pictures with any additional angles available? I’d like to be able to work out how Di2 hose routing might work with Shimano’s new Junction Control Bar Handlebar port.

typevertigo
typevertigo
7 years ago

Reverse bolts for a stem faceplate? Fashion over form IMHO.

They could have at least angled them a little away from parallel so that it’s easier to tighten them with a proper torque wrench. But no, “aero gains”

Greg
Greg
7 years ago
Reply to  typevertigo

reversed bolts, putting the threads in the face plate, keep the face plate from bending in and pinching carbon bars. it’s simply better in every way, except user friendliness unfortunately.

alvis
alvis
7 years ago

3T look like they’ve given up. Is any of this really better than what they had? Apart the novelty drops. The Arx is still one of the nicest stems in the market that Apto is fuggly, but aero wins!

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.