In terms of new gravel bikes, it seems the Philly Bike Expo was a good place to be. We’ve known about a new project from T-Lab Bikes out of Montreal for a while, but it was out at PBE that the X3-S finally saw the light of day.
![T-Lab X3-S suspension gravel bike Philly Bike Expo](https://bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/T-Lab-X3S-suspension-gravel-bike-titanium-Philly-Bike-Expo-Ron-Frazelle-7.jpg)
T-Lab bikes introduced their X3 flagship gravel bike back in 2018, and it’s still one of Gravel Cyclist’s favorites. However, T-Lab Co-Founder Rob Rossi states that since then, “our more adventurous clients have been asking for a suspension gravel bike. So our design team got to work.”
The result is the X3-S, where the ‘S’ stands for Suspension. Unlike some current suspension gravel bikes on the market though, this isn’t just the X3 with a suspension fork swapped in. The entire front end of the bike has been redesigned to offer the correct geometry and frame performance that goes along with having a suspension bike up front.
![T-Lab X3-S top tube](https://bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/T-lab-x3s-suspension-gravel-bike-titanium-rockshox-rudy.jpg)
Up front, you’ll find that the X3-S is built around a 40mm travel Rockshox Rudy Ultimate XPLR fork with a 45mm rake. In spite of the fact that RockShox offers both 30mm and 40mm travel versions of this fork, until now, we’ve mostly seen 30mm versions as original spec – that’s because a 30mm travel version will upset the geometry less on a frame that isn’t suspension corrected.
Here, the X3-S is suspension corrected, and intended for the longest travel Rudy at 40mm. Though T-Lab states that it can safely run forks from 30-60mm of travel.
![T-LAb X3-s head tube](https://bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/T-lab-x3s-suspension-gravel-bike-head-tube-.jpg)
Just as important is the stiffness of the front end. With a suspension fork at your disposal, you’re almost guaranteed to push things harder on rougher terrain. That means the X3-S would benefit from a stronger, stiffer front triangle, which T-Lab delivered. Since the suspension fork will make up for a bit less compliance out of the frame, the increased stiffness should keep things tracking in the right direction when things get rowdy.
The geometry of the X3-S is also tweaked for more aggressive riding with a longer reach than the X3 meant for shorter stems (60-80mm). You’ll also find a slacker 69º head tube angle, all to provide stability at high speeds on rough terrain, and making the front of the bike easier to load while cornering.
![T-Lab BB386 bottom bracket](https://bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/T-Lab-X3S-suspension-gravel-bike-titanium-Philly-Bike-Expo-Ron-Frazelle-1.jpg)
Like the X3, the X3-S is recommended to be built with a BB-386 bottom bracket shell. T-Lab says this allows for optimal lateral stiffness and their precise machining eliminates the possibility of any creaking. If you really have to have a threaded BB and are willing to sacrifice some stiffness (and some dollars), a threaded BSA bottom bracket is available as an option. Also like other T-Lab bikes, the X3-S will be available as a mostly stock build – or all the way to fully custom, including the geometry and the paint.
The X3-S is available as a 1x build only, and offers tire clearance up to 700c x 50mm which matches that of the Rudy suspension fork. Made in Montreal, Quebec, the first small batch of X3-S frames and complete builds will be available starting January 2023.
We will also have a detailed first look at this bike coming soon as we’re anxiously awaiting the arrival of a review model!