Literally a decade after they created the aero gravel race bike with the original Exploro, 3T continues to evolve the most versatile gravel bike in their range with the new Ultra2 Italia. True to its x2 naming, this new bike is a 2nd evolution of the Ultra family with more comfort, refined geometry, expanded capabilities with bigger tire clearance, suspension fork options & more bikepacking-ready mounting options, plus tidy cable integration and a new glovebox inside. And of course, the Italia label means this bike frame is now 100% made in Italy.
But there’s something much deeper to that last point.
Thanks to a new Fusion Carbon manufacturing process at their HQ in Bergamo, the new Ultra2 Italia frame costs 1/3 less than 3T’s other Italia bikes. That’s a pretty big dal deal, significantly cutting the price premium of a European-made frame over one made in Asia.
3T Ultra2 Italia affordable adventure-ready gravel bike
The 3T Ultra2 Italia is designed for long-distance gravel rides and unlimited adventures. Ostensibly, that means this is 3T’s more comfortable bikepacking gravel bike. But it is still designed to be a light, aerodynamic & fast all-rounder… just equally capable to go further when you get the itch to explore. The original Ultra was probably my favorite 3T gravel bike at that point. And this one looks set to continue that trend.
Much like their flagship gravel race bike that got a RaceMax2 Italia update with a shift to made-in-Italy manufacturing, bigger tire clearance, fully internal routing & internal frame storage last year… now the more comfortable, long-distance Ultra gets a similar Italian-made x2 update. But this time, something is a lot different. While the RaceMax2 was 40% more expensive than its previous Asian-made iteration, the new Italian Ultra2 is just 25% more expensive than the original Ultra.
How did they make that happen?
3T’s made-in-Italy carbon
When 3T first set out to create made-in-Italy frames, they established a separate (but wholly-owned) engineering and manufacturing startup called Composite Jazz. That subsidiary is still officially who makes their carbon frames, in the upper floor of 3T’s HQ in Bergamo, Italy northeast from Milano.
We toured that factory in 2019, just as they were starting up frame manufacturing.
Jazz Carbon became the name given to the original 3T Italia bike building process, able to create complex carbon tube shapes with long dry fibers, assembled without resin (no pre-preg, pre-impregnated carbon) to produce carbon frames manufactured as one-piece with resin transfer molding RTM). Its bases were dry, continuous fibers, filament-wound over a series of complex shapes to create individual tubes. Those pre-shaped tubes, then needed to be laboriously overlapped by hand onto a series of mandrels to create the final dry fiber frame shape, before putting it into the mold to add resin & cure.
How does new Fusion Carbon manufacturing differ from Jazz Carbon?
Fusion Carbon is a reimagining of how to simplify and automate that process.
3T can now make those same complex individual tube shapes, automatically cut with straight ends by the winding machine. They then separately pre-mold all of the connecting joints like lugs – the dropouts, bottom bracket, seat cluster & headtube. Still all dry without added resin. 3T’s secret sauce seems to be some very light & flexible adhesive that holds the fibers together in place temporarily, yet does not limit adhesion of the final resin in the RTM process. But they keep exactly how they do that hush, hush.
The Fusion Carbon connecting lugs are all made now using a simplified layup of pre-woven raw, dry multi-axial fibers. This means that the head lug in the new made-in Italy Ultra2 uses just 6 pieces of this multi-layer material vs. the 70 individual pieces of pre-preg carbon used in the Asian-made original Ultra.
For now 3T is limited to the closest orientation combinations available for what they need from an engineering perspective (e.g. 0°, 45° & 90° fibers). So ultimately, they slightly overbuild the lugs based on what’s available, adding a bit of extra weight but also extra strength/stiffness where it isn’t specifically required. 3T’s next step then is their own in-house automated custom fiber alignment mats, a process already in development to further optimize these preformed dry Fusion Carbon lugs for the design forces of each particular frame.
While 3T don’t see Fusion Carbon able to create ultralight frames just yet, this next optimization will lower weight and dial in load performance characteristics even further – while keeping costs down.
Faster, more affordable made-in-Italy 3T Italia frames
The entire Jazz Carbon manufacturing process is quite hands-on and limits how many frames 3T can produce in a day. The much more automated, but still entirely in-house RTM process means they can produce 3-4x as many, using the exact same machinery and workers.
Even with the slight additional weight penalty they have now, it’s that increase in manufacturing efficiency that allows 3T to sell the Fusion Carbon Ultra2 Italia frameset for a whopping 33% lower price than the Jazz Carbon RaceMax2 Italia frameset.
In fact, the new made-in-Italy Ultra2 frameset is just 25% more expensive (~850€ more) than the original made-in-China Ultra, factoring its inclusion of 3T’s top-tier carbon integrated aero gravel handlebar & carbon stem, too.
That points towards 3T’s ultimate goal of further refining their Italian manufacturing to bring frame production back home to Europe. They can’t quite match the Asian manufacturing costs yet. But they are getting closer. (Not even mentioning the recent global shipping issues or massively rising fuel cost volatility). 3T talks about looking forward to a benchmark day when they can bring production of their original Exploro gravel bike – now called the Primo2 – back to Italy!
What’s new with the Ultra2, besides Fusion Carbon?
3T continues to push the more comfort, control & capability sides of the refined Ultra2 Italia.
It now has the same 57mm clearance of the Extrema. And it gets the same higher stack, shorter reach, and slackened stable handling 3Touring geometry that also debuted on that bike, too. But now the stack of the Ultra2 is another 10mm more upright than the Extrema to create an even more comfortable fit for ultra-distance riding, especially when loaded down with bags.
The fact that the new frame is suspension corrected for short travel gravel forks (43mm longer axle-to-crown measurement than the Extrema) really opens up the possibilities with this new bike, whether you want gravel suspension now or not.
Plus, the original Ultra already fit big tires, but only in 650b/27.5. Now stepping up to 700c/29″ tires with even bigger 57mm/2.25″ widths, the new Ultra2 Italia will be noticeably faster over rougher terrain. Add in more mounting options to the forks & rear rack, plus internal frame storage, make this bike more suited than ever for the bikepacking long-haul. The fact that there are no external cables to hang up on handlebar packs is just icing on the cake.
Ultra2 Italia – Tech details
- 1199g Fusion Carbon RTM frame, 100% made in Italy (unpainted, size M)
- 450g Fango Ultra2 full carbon tapered steerer fork, made in Taiwan
- fully integrated internal cable routing through the tapered 52/40 headset
- compatible with 1x & 2x, mechanical & electronic drivetrains (max 3 cables through the stem)
- Fango fork compatible with internal dynamo wiring
- geometry corrected for 40mm travel suspension fork
- UDH dropout & removable front derailleur mount
- FM160 flat mount disc brakes and 12mm thru-axles
- 27.2mm round seatpost with top-mounted wedge-type clamp
- wired or wireless dropper or suspension post ready
- BB386EVO press fit bottom bracket (includes thread-together Token BB)
- internal glovebox frame storage with secure Fidlock latch (when you follow the instructions)
- full suite of bikepacking-ready bottle & cargo cage mounts
- plus rear rack and full fender mounts
- max 700c x 57mm tire clearance (WAM at a 369.5mm RAM)
(minimum 47mm tire recommended) - max 700c x 50mm front tire with DT Swiss F132 One fork
- 4 sizes available (S-XL)
2026 3T Ultra2 Italia – Pricing, options & availability
The new 2026 3T Ultra2 Italia is available now in several customizable mechanical & electronic complete gravel bike builds, as well as a comprehensive frame kit. The frameset itself is available in four sizes (S-XL) and four paint colors: Avorio off-white, Glicine purple Bamboo green & this Lavico grey. A pre-primed ready-to-paint option may be offered in the future, but the raw carbon X.X.X finish is reserved for the Jazz Carbon frames.
Frame kits start at $4599 / 3999€ including the Ultra2 Italia frame, Fango Ultra2 carbon fork, headset, 3T More2 stem, 3T Superghiaia Integrale LTD bar with bar tape, 0 offset 3T carbon seatpost & a 3T carbon bottle cage (all € prices with IT 22% VAT). Opting for the 40mm travel DT Swiss F132 One suspension fork will add another $1100 / 1000€ to the frameset price.
Complete bike builds start at $5899 / 4999€ with mechanical Shimano GRX 1×12 & alloy wheels.
Go up to $6999 / 5899€ for either a SRAM Rival/GX AXS wireless mullet or GRX Di2, with the carbon Discus wheels a $1400 / 1100€ add-on option.
Since the bikes are made-to-order customizable, it’s about an 8-10 week lead time to get one.
First Impressions
The $9500 / 8000€ Ultra2 Italia GRX Di2 + DT F132 + Discus 45|40 bike that I’m riding is an undeniably cool adventure build.
This rig comes fitted with deep & 29mm wide internal 3T carbon wheels, massive Continental tires 50mm out back & 55mm up front, and that supple DT Swiss F132 One gravel fork. (I think the tires are supposed to be switched since there is more tire clearance in the rear than in the fork.)
Hop on it and you feel like you can ride anywhere, over any terrain. And I genuinely love how smooth the DT fork rides and how easily its unique lockout works.
How much does weight really matter?
But directly comparing the real weight of this exact build to any other gravel bike is a rabbit hole to fall down.
Anytime you put a suspension fork on a gravel bike I feel like things get murky. 3T explains that adding the fork adds 1kg to the total weight, and this size M setup tips the scale at a not-light 10.68kg with pedals (and GPS mount & bottle cage).
So the same build with a carbon fork will be 9.68kg. The original Ultra with 27.5 wheels was just 9.14kg, and the racier new RaceMax2 was just 9.11kg.
It feels easy for me to justify that extra 500g for added comfort, bigger tires, and an affordably made-in-Italy frame. On paper, the extra 1.5 kg though, feels like a bit much for just comfort and suspension. As much as I do love the DT fork, I guess I still find it hard to justify that weight when I’ve had lighter full-suspension XC bikes.
Real bike weight is a tricky one, and truly just a small part of how a bike rides. But it’s hard not to think about.
The Extrema Italia also tipped just over my mental 10kg gravel threshold with its dropper post after I put 29×2.25″ cross-country tires on it. But it never felt remotely heavy. I also tested the light Canyon Grail CFR with this DT fork, gaining a kilo to weigh 9.65kg. There I was thrilled to have the fork to soften blows to its otherwise overly stiff front end and cockpit, turning a race-stiff bike into a more useful all-rounder for me.
Riding the new Ultra
So far, on the first few rides on the new 3T Ultra2 Italia, I’m mostly psyched about it. I only have to strike that real weight from my memory, and just ride.
(Actually, I couldn’t do that. Call it a mental block. So, I swapped in some DT Swiss GRC 1400 wheels with new 45mm Panaracer GravelKing ZX tires and pulled off the DT fork bikepacking mounts that I wasn’t using, and the bike is down to 9.98kg… that’s enough to forget about weight and move on.)
For riding on mixed dirt and gravel surfaces, the new Ultra is as plush and comfortable as you could wish for. Beyond the fork, clearly, 3T have done well with comfort levels, without compromising a snappy ride. I’m a big fan of this bike’s choice of a simplified rear end and the simple comfort from a classic 27.2 post. The Ultra2‘s cable integration is clean, while retaining cockpit adjustability, and 3T finally nailed the correct toptube bag bolt placement.
As for versatility, I appreciate the rear rack mounts, although I’m unlikely to run a rack personally. But I would love to stick on a set of full coverage fenders for wet weather riding, and thankfully, the DT fork can mount its own fender, too. I’m a little surprised that there aren’t 3-pack anything cage mounts either above or below the downtube, but the rigid fork has you covered with those, as does the included add-on brackets on the DT suspension fork.
The only real downside I’ve come up with so far is that the front tire is too big for the fork (likely a build mix-up only on my test bike), and it created a little toe overlap with the 55mm Conti tire. No issues with either on the GravelKings.
Final thoughts
I get the sense that the Ultra2 Italia will prove to be a great bike over the long haul, both with a rigid carbon fork or with this DT suspension fork. You can certainly push it with big 55mm or 2.25″ tires with the rigid fork if you want. And so, it has the potential to take over from the Extrema Italia as my personal fav gravel all-rounder from 3T.
But it’s also plenty quick on the road for mixed-surface versatility, especially with the great DT fork lockout.
For now I’m just going to appreciate the extra cush paired with that DT fork. And I’ll smash some of my rougher local gravel roads that I normally tackle gingerly with a rigid for and mostly narrower tires.
