Be one of the first to try our new activity feed The Extrema Italia looks like the future of gravel bikes with its aero tubes and massive MTB tire clearances It’s 2016. Despite those “in the know” saying that gravel bikes are a ploy by the bicycle industry to sell you another kind of bike, you’re still interested in a drop bar bike that promises some on-road speed and a helping of off-tarmac exploration. And then you see the 3T Exploro a complete bike from the storied Italian brand perhaps better known for making bars and stems than bikes At the time, the Exploro was truly novel: aero tube shaping, quick handling geometry, but a frame designed to fit a 27.5 x 2.1” knobby MTB tire. It was weird, it was dismissed, but boy was it ahead of its time. The performance gravel bikes we see today can thank 3T for providing the vision for what a fast drop bar bike off-road looks like The 3T Extrema Italia seems to diverge from the now-established line of gravel bikes today in a way the Exploro did It follows the same mantra as before: aero-focused frame design Rather than gearing up for your average gravel race, however, 3T says the Extrema is built for riding that’s a bit more… extreme there isn’t much out there that truly compares to it “The 3T Extrema is meant to be the bike that can keep on rolling when everyone else needs to carry their bikes the company founder and person behind the ‘Vroomen engineering’ sticker found on the chain stays the 3T Extrema doesn’t look all that different from the 3T Exploro Ultra that was released in 2022 The overbuilt downtube flares out around the bottle cages in a similar way Even the fork crown is small enough to make you reconsider rolling through a drop you wouldn’t think twice about on a hardtail That’s not to say there aren’t concessions to aero efficiency The downtube is big to match airflow around the much bigger tires There’s a pretty hefty cutout along the seat tube to offer plenty of tire clearance And what tire clearance it has: the Extrema fits a claimed 29 x 2.2-inch tire Using a tire this wide on a drop bar bike isn’t new but doing so with a 700c wheel size rather than 650b presents a number of challenges Making a tire this tall and wide is relatively easy at the fork just by adding some width and a bit more axle-to-crown length But even 3T adds complexity by using an impressively thin fork crown Doing so brings the front wheel closer to the downtube in an effort to smooth airflow from the front wheel to the rest of the bike Making that clearance out back is a bit more impressive 3T dropped both chainstays dramatically and widened them about as much as they could go without messing with chainring clearance too much fitting a 44t one-by chainring or up to a 48/35t 2x chainring option Chainstay lengths have stretched to match; at 437 mm across all sizes 3T says the Extrema Italia is made for “tough races and fast adventures,” and you can see that in some places The fork features triple mounts for gear or bottles There’s some protection under the bottom bracket area for rocks and scrapes with mounts at the bottom bracket and top tube for bags but it does look a bit more rugged than 3T’s other gravel bikes 3T doesn’t list how much a 3T Extrema complete bike weighs My complete bike weighed in at 22 pounds (10 kg) with tubes in the tires and without accessories Go tubeless with 3 oz of sealant in each tire and the weight drops to 21.5 pounds (9.7 kg) a custom steel Scarab Paramo I have for review weighs in at 21 pounds (9.5 kg) though that’s without the big tires and tubes inside Most 3T bikes are manufactured in Asia using pre-made carbon sheets that are baked in a mold to make a frame. However, 3T bikes with the Made in Italy badge on the top tube are constructed differently than their other bikes much less most other carbon bikes on the market today which takes carbon down to a level of spinning literal carbon fibers around mandrels to form tube shapes Doing so offers far more control over how a bike rides and feels as well as a far higher-quality finish overall While this process isn’t common in the bicycle world and the filament winding system that 3T promises just that There are other advantages to this as well Vroomen added that the Italia bikes tend to be lighter and stiffer than the non-Italia models And for riders who ride only 1x or only electronic shifting the Italia bikes can be more easily customized to remove front derailleur rivets or anything a rider doesn’t want on their bike Years in the bike industry have taught me that while most bikes have decent build quality the carbon filament winding technique Time has used for their frames resulted in frames that were a step above Those bikes had build quality issues so infrequently that any issue was truly a shock the Italia-made bikes are cut from a similar cloth “We want to keep the rider in a good aerodynamic position first and foremost and then use the tires and steering geometry to work out things to accommodate the terrain,” says Vroomen Doing so requires some concerted decisions that stray away from most drop bar bikes that have this tire clearance or the distance between the center of the bottom bracket to the center of the front wheel axle A longer front-center can increase steering stability when descending by reducing the amount of rider weight that’s placed over the front wheel and the bike’s handling can feel ponderous and the bike can feel unstable on descents Accompanying those somewhat short front-center numbers is a long 437 mm chainstay length which helps to ensure rider weight is centered on the bike without sacrificing that quick handling that 3T wants to have That chainstay length is the same across all sizes These two measurements together result in a bike with steering geometry that is considerably quicker than most other bikes that fit tires this big 3T says that the Extrema’s steering geometry works for tires between 40 mm and 57 mm wide but is optimized for riding with a 50 mm to 57 mm wide tire The Extrema might still be a one-bike solution but only if you use wider than a 40 mm tire the Extrema Italia comes in just four sizes between 51 cm and 58 cm Trail figures vary across sizes; my 54 cm bike measured to a 59 mm offset Other sizes are closer to the high 50 mm to low 60 mm a quick figure for a bike with tires this big You look at the massive aero tube shapes that’ll get you some side eye on the next Party Pace ride and the finishing tape on the bars that borders on cringe and you think this bike takes itself too seriously But I’m going to just come out with it: this bike is far more fun to ride than I expected The riding position isn’t especially road bike-like It places the rider more upright than 3T’s other gravel bikes and far more upright than a road bike I felt just high enough up to feel like I could ride long distances in the drops without feeling like like a sailboat being blown back to shore Riding the Extrema in the drops is where the bike feels most stable and planted means the Extrema never really feels out of its depth tracking through dried river beds You get the sense that you can roll over just about any bit of terrain you’d otherwise needle through on a traditional gravel bike Did I notice the extra drag or slowness that comes with these 50 mm-wide tires and a more traditional gravel tire The Continental Race King 29 x 2.0” (~50 mm) doesn’t feel all that much slower than a narrower 45 or even 40 mm gravel tire the tires feel similarly quick to a traditional gravel tire When the gravel or dirt road gets sandy or chunky the wide tire isn’t necessarily faster but you don’t have to think as much as you corner or as you choose your line That’s where wide tires and can feel faster Where the mountain bike tires lose is on pavement or smooth dirt roads especially if you’re going above 20 miles an hour (32 kph) There’s simply too much drag at those higher speeds But if I was riding mostly on gravel and singletrack I didn’t feel like I was losing out on much with this tire and wheel combination The Extrema is at its best riding where you’d otherwise ride a cross-country hardtail mountain bike; think flowy twisting singletrack with minimal technical areas and fire roads It doesn’t miss a beat on gravel on dirt roads either trading some top-end speed for outstanding cornering grip and small-bump vibration damping Taking a poor line through a rock garden required a long search for my rattled-out fillings giving me plenty of time to wonder if my ride would be easier on a lightweight cross-country hardtail MTB I might be more comfortable riding with drop bars but at what point does the suspension on an XC bike outweigh the rider position the Extrema offers me as a wider tire is more sensitive to tire pressure changes Too low and it becomes bouncy and sluggish While these Continental Race King tires felt fast for their width and intended use case the entire experience made me wonder if I wouldn’t be better served by a bike with some sort of suspension which itself comes with some highs and lows The downtube is possibly the largest I’ve seen this side of an electric bike This would’ve been a prime location for some a downtube storage hatch Perhaps people might not use the space all that much but it would be a great way to show off that made-in-Italy carbon weave The bolt-on bag mounts on the top tube are farther back than they are on most bikes Previous 3T bikes used to do this because they routed their cables and hoses behind the stem but I would prefer to have them closer to the stem for greater knee clearance The SRAM AXS mullet drivetrain pulled off some of the best shifting I’ve experienced from any SRAM drivetrain with gearing that felt about perfect for the bike I didn’t find too much to complain about with the saddle either giving you plenty of room to put your hands when you’re cruising The hooked part of the drops flare out dramatically without skewing the brake levers outward It proved to be a comfortable spot for my hands while navigating techy singletrack descents The Zipp 303S wheels feel like an odd choice considering the tire’s width as the 23 mm internal rim width feels like we’re building a cross-country bike from 2009 But the tires–the Continental Race King 29 x 2.0-inch–are excellent Despite the additional weight over a traditional gravel tire the Race King tires feel plenty quick in most situations These tires enable so much of what makes the Extrema so good and swapping for something else will likely slow the bike down Folks will question the overall price point of the bike and 3T stem) are expensive any way you shake it But if you value the made-in-Italy story (and the supposed build quality that comes with it) The original 3T Exploro launched to minimal competition as it was a gravel bike with road geometry and aero tube shaping There aren’t many bikes that match with the same performance pretenses So what’s the competition? I’d point to the Rodeo Labs Traildonkey as a competitor doesn’t fit quite as big a 29/700c tire (29 x 2.1”/700c x 53 mm or 27.5 x 2.4”/650b x 60 mm) but it comes in at a lower price point and has a downtube storage hatch I’d also point to the Lauf Seigla gravel bike as a competitor The Seigla fits the same sized tires as the Extrema but does so with shorter chain stays and importantly the option of Lauf’s Grit leaf spring suspension fork but it comes in at a price point that vastly undercuts the Extrema The Time ADHX 45 gravel bike might be far more traditional with its standard geometry and 45 mm tire clearance But where it competes with the Extrema is frame construction as it features the same RTM carbon layup as the 3T made in Slovakia These frames have proved to have truly excellent build quality in my experience I feel a bit conflicted about the 3T Extrema Italia the Extrema feels like the future; how else are you finding something with this much tire clearance and has such a focus on speed as this does Dig in deeper and at times I wish 3T went even further with the concept More frame protection and a downtube storage hatch could make the Extrema even more… extreme The made-in-Italy component likely assures great build quality and it definitely assures better ride quality But how much does that ride quality matter if you’re riding with 50 mm tires ride quality isn’t a major concern when I can adjust my tire pressure and go which feels high for something you’d expect to get beat up from adventures The moments I most enjoyed the Extrema were when I didn’t think and I just rode the bike it’s a near-singular experience that feels closer to being the best of both a mountain bike and gravel bike than anything I’ve ridden It’s when I look at the rest of the package and wonder if I’m better off with something like a 3T Exploro Ultra What’s it like to be an American cyclist living in France Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowski’s view Class-leading descending characteristics; exciting handling; massive tyre clearance; round seatpost; future-proofing SRAM UDH dropout; very solid spec  Wireless or semi-wireless electronic groupsets only; you’re locked into running a 3T handlebar; a longer-travel dropper post would be nice  3T’s Extrema Italia is intended to take on the chunkiest gravel you can find There’s been no shortage of gravel bikes with mountain bike inspiration in recent years but the Extrema Italia balances off-road capability with aerodynamic optimisation – a monster aero gravel bike I’ve found the 3T Extrema Italia to be a seriously impressive performer It ploughs through terrain where you would typically proceed with caution on a more conventional gravel bike It should pave the way for how gravel-bike design will develop The Extrema Italia sticks to 3T’s distinguishing design language with the frameset full of purposeful aerodynamic details The ‘Italia’ in the bike’s name signifies it’s made at 3T’s HQ in Presezzo using its proprietary filament-winding process this process involves spinning a carbon-fibre yarn onto a core to create a carbon structure Unlike cutting sheets of carbon fibre to the desired shape filament winding enables 3T to angle the fibres exactly as desired All this results in a claimed 1,099g frame weight for a size 54cm 3T designs its bikes around a specific tyre-width range The brand is then able to aerodynamically optimise the frame around a certain tyre-width range – 50mm to 57mm on this bike The only other gravel bike that comes to mind with such a wide clearance is the Lauf Seigla 3T’s more race-oriented RaceMax Italia is designed for 35mm to 46mm WAM tyres 3T says the Extrema Italia delivers the same bottom-bracket and head-tube stiffness values as the RaceMax Italia but is more compliant thanks to an updated carbon layup and the thinner seat tube the down tube does a lot of the heavy lifting redirecting the airflow over the frame to shield the water bottles It has a ‘neck’ (between the bottle-cage bolts and the head-tube junction) that’s 60mm wide The down tube then widens to 75mm as it heads towards the BB386 EVO bottom-bracket junction The down tube is size-specific for each frame size and the gap between the down tube and front tyre is minimised for less turbulence The head tube also plays an important role in redistributing the wind sporting an elongated profile with an aggressive truncation at its rear 3T’s signature sculpted cut-out on the seat tube is claimed to shield the rear wheel for another aerodynamic advantage What 3T calls its ‘DoubleDrop chainstays’ are also striking with the purported benefits being a stiffer bottom bracket and lower weight I think the Extrema Italia has an arresting appearance and that elongated head tube looks particularly purposeful The Extrema Italia uses 3T’s Integrale system This sees the use of a separate handlebar and stem which allows for more adjustability than a one-piece cockpit While you’re locked into using the 3T More stem you’re free to pick from any of 3T’s three Integrale-compatible handlebars – the Aeroghiaia Integrale the Aeroflux Integrale and the Superego Integrale Kudos to 3T for sparing some thought for the real-world needs of a consumer. You don’t have to disconnect the hydraulic hoses to adjust the handlebar height You can swap the stem length by +/- 10mm without having to re-route everything or even fully remove the stem for travel However, you can only run a wireless or semi-wireless electronic groupset on the Extrema Italia because the bike doesn’t have routing for a mechanical gear cable. While there are plenty of electronic options from Shimano and SRAM, that means you can’t run a Campagnolo gravel bike groupset the plus side is it removes the unsightly cable guide that lived on the top face of the top tube of 3T bikes (and other Gerard Vroomen-fronted brands There was nothing more irritating than a gear cable being routed above the stem as the cable was susceptible to rub when you were giving it the beans out of the saddle The Extrema Italia includes mounts for a top tube bag or bento box and integrated mudguard mounts 3T states in its technical documentation that the legs are rated to carry a load of up to 3kg on either side The bike uses a 27.2mm round seatpost, bringing compatibility for either a rigid seatpost or a wireless dropper post While I prefer a round seatpost over a proprietary option I wish the rubber cover that protects the integrated seat clamp from corrosion was a more secure fit The Extrema Italia also specs an on-trend SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) dropout A final neat detail is you don’t need adaptors for the brake calipers because 3T has integrated their height into the chainstay and fork’s profiles. That means you have to run a 160mm disc-brake rotor at the front though – but few riders run 140mm rotors on a gravel bike these days 3T describes the geometry as offering “increased comfort relative to the RaceMax Italia” while still sitting within what the brand considers its “performance” gravel geometry especially compared to other gravel bikes with more of a leaning towards gnarlier terrain The 71.5-degree head tube angle, for example, is a degree steeper than the Lauf Seigla and less generous than the 69.5-degree figure of the BMC URS The 73.5-degree seat tube angle sits in the middle of the Seigla’s 72.5-degree figure and the 74.5 degrees of the URS The 437mm chainstays are also significantly longer than the 430 and 425mm measurements of the URS and Seigla but both the Extrema Italia and Seigla share identical 1,040mm wheelbases The Extrema Italia is also significantly shorter in reach at 376mm compared to the URS’ 420mm and the Seigla’s 394mm It’s also pretty upright with a 590mm stack – much more generous than the racy 564mm stack of the Seigla but the URS takes things further with its 610mm figure both BMC and Lauf have opted for shorter 80mm stems I’m 180cm / 5ft 11in tall and tested a size 56cm – the fit was spot-on for my measurements The Extrema Italia I tested is the mid-range offering setting you back a not inconsiderable £8,941 / $10,699 / €10,349 / AU$13,852 You get a mullet drivetrain, a sign of the bike’s chunky gravel intent. SRAM's Rival eTap AXS shifters, brakes and crankset are paired with a GX Eagle Transmission chain The bike was meant to come with the aerodynamically optimised 3T Torno Wide carbon crankset but production was delayed on these when the bike arrived for review Keeping things in the SRAM family are a set of Zipp 303S wheels, with a hookless rim profile that measures 23mm internally and 45mm deep. They’re wrapped in beefy 29x2in Continental RaceKing cross-country mountain bike tyres A RockShox Reverb AXS XPLR dropper post also signifies the bike’s off-road prowess Completing the build is a 3T Aeroghiaia Integrale carbon handlebar in a nominal 42cm width while the dramatically flared drops measure 48cm-wide I think 3T has specced it well and there are no obvious components in need of upgrading immediately which – although weighty – is respectable considering the MTB-oriented drivetrain and tyres you’ll pay £6,677 / $7,999 / €7,240 / AU$11,491 for the ‘entry’ model minus the wireless dropper post and 3T Torno crank The top-of-the-range model will set you back £9,605 / $11,599 / €10,414 / AU$15,950 It steps up to a SRAM Force / XX SL Eagle Transmission drivetrain with 3T Discus 45 / 40 wheels stem and headset) retails for £4,574 / $5,499 / €4,959 / AU$7,487.  I tested the Extrema Italia over three months across a wide range of terrain in the south-east and south-west of England With a few spec changes, the Extrema Italia was also my steed of choice for Badlands, a 790km ultra-endurance race in southern Spain with 16,500m of climbing Although it took a few rides to get used to the Extrema Italia I was hooked instantly by its impressive descending performance The Extrema Italia simply rips its way through terrain you’d typically exercise caution on with the vast majority of gravel bikes A lot of the magic comes from the wider Continental RaceKing tyres which instil an abundance of confidence and enable the bike to boisterously bulldoze its way through singletrack trails But the Extrema Italia’s techy-trail slaying ability is also a result of its forward-thinking geometry taller stack and shorter reach a fantastic foundation These lend the bike much-needed stability, introducing a sense of calm to the frameset’s inherent ferocity A swap to 50mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M tyres for Badlands unlocked even more performance These tyres felt faster-rolling and more supple but I also wouldn’t rush to upgrade the stock Continental tyres because they’re also excellent in anything short of mud I also appreciated the Extrema Italia’s quick handling especially on the numerous particularly in the ramblas (Spanish for dry riverbed) of the Tabernas desert The sand there was quite coarse and the descents steep but I was able to negotiate these with ease aboard the Extrema Italia I’d suggest one spec change to further liven up proceedings and that is a longer-travel 75mm dropper post than the 50mm variant specced While your results may differ depending on your fit and how much exposed seatpost you need a longer-travel post would enable you to slam more of the seatpost away I was sceptical the Extrema Italia would feel ponderous when climbing When you swing a leg over the Extrema Italia the frame at first feels slightly more rigid than you’d expect But I think that rigidity is what gives it grunt when ascending and while the Extrema Italia isn’t as sprightly as a race-oriented gravel race bike with say That striking and stout bottom-bracket junction also plays a role as does the relatively steep 73.5-degree seat tube angle putting you in an efficient pedalling position this was my first experience with SRAM Transmission and I came away seriously impressed The beefy GX Eagle Transmission rear derailleur mounts directly onto the dropout, saving the need for a derailleur hanger It’s designed to work with a wide-ranging 10-52t cassette that 52t particularly welcome for Badlands – you can never run too low a gear when riding a fully loaded bike It’s a complaint I’ve covered in some of my previous reviews but the only weak point is the SRAM Rival eTap AXS shifter ergonomics Their blocky design and the slight ridge at the base of the hood mean my hands find them uncomfortable with that ridge causing blisters on the edge of both my palms during Badlands other BikeRadar testers have sung the praises of their design and there's an element of personal preference here The Zipp 303S wheels are a strong spec choice too and undoubtedly contribute to the bike’s lively ride quality. Although they are on the rigid side of the gravel bike wheel compliance spectrum they’re quick accelerators and the wide hookless rim is on-trend I would recommend regular maintenance of the hub and freehub though – the bearings are not cheap to replace when they wear out Swapping the wheels out to a pair of DT Swiss GRC 1400s boosted the compliance and made the bike feel more lively on descents a result of the lighter weight and shallower 30mm rim depth Although it took me a few rides to get used to the 3T Aeroghiaia Integrale handlebar enabling you to curl your fingers round them with a sharper profile around the back of the hoods I found I had to learn to not wrap my hands completely around the tops and instead rest my palms on the flat top I loved the dramatically flared drops though and although they may look odd on first glance the position they put you in is one of confidence and control They may even be my favourite gravel-drop design to date is there's a minimal section of round bar before they transition to an aero profile My test bike didn’t come supplied with the integrated K-Edge mount I was only able to just fit a K-Edge mount on one side of the bar and then mount a Go Pro-style fitting light underneath it The ungenerous rounded section also means you’ll struggle to fit modular front bikepacking bags, such as the Tailfin Bar Bag system or the Miss Grape ILCOSO – you’ll need to resort to a strap-on bag While there are two other bars (the Aeroflux and Superego Integrale) in 3T’s range they too use a non-round profile on the tops Provided you can compromise on what equipment you want to install on the front end the plus points are it’s an ergonomic and clean-looking solution it’s difficult to judge the 3T Extrema Italia for value given it occupies a somewhat specific niche It’s certainly significantly more expensive than the Lauf Seigla which tops out at $6,290 for the top-of-the-range SRAM Red AXS XPLR build with e*thirteen Piedmont Race Carbon wheels But Lauf has a direct-to-consumer business model I don’t think the Extrema Italia’s unreasonably priced though given the quality spec and the fact that this bike is anything but mainstream The 3T Extrema Italia is a fantastic gravel bike that bridges the gap between gravel riding and light cross-country mountain biking Its descending performance is simply phenomenal but it’s not at the expense of how it climbs This is probably not the bike to opt for if the trails around you are tame or if your gravel rides are mainly road-based Think of it as a tool for unlocking further potential on the roughest tracks If your riding preferences align with the Extrema Italia’s aggressive agenda sits at the extreme end of the ever-growing 3T Exploro family (although 3T has moved away from using the Exploro moniker for its gravel bikes) That means massive 57mm tyre clearance on 700c wheels while still allowing the use of 2x groupsets and offering claimed aero benefits The Italia bit signifies that the bike is made in Italy which allows 3T to configure it for a wide range of groupsets That sets the 3T Extrema up for excursions into MTB terrain But we found the 10kg weight an effort to get back uphill after a descent and the bike ponderous on tarmac Related questions you can explore with Ask Cyclist, our AI search engine.If you would like to ask your own question you just need to Login, Register or subscribe I can remember having my mind blown when erstwhile colleague Peter Stuart (who now works for a small but competent cycling website as editor) interviewed a top aerodynamicist for Cyclist and returned to the office with news that a classic glass Coke bottle is more aerodynamic thrown bottom first than pointy end first ‘But how?!’ I raged as I smashed down my coffee cup and clawed at my eyes with spokes was a mixture of witchcraft and laminar airflow and it’s this principal (along with the huge tyres) that makes the 3T Extrema Italia what it is: a megabike The down tube is 60mm wide where it meets the head tube It can be, but there are certain parts of a bike that can’t be narrow, such as water bottles (unless you drink out of Frubes) and gravel tyres 3T’s logic is there’s no point in making a skinny-tubed frame in the presence of such wide components so instead it has made an as-wide-or-wider-tubed frame that pushes air out and around the elements behind it That 75mm lower section of the Extrema’s down tube pushes air out and around the water bottle; the upper 60mm section ‘picks up’ the air rushing off the front tyre by being slightly wider That’s the theory. The reality is there is no data to prove this – none that I have been able to ascertain at any rate – but 3T did claim its first foray into gravel, the Exploro saved seven watts at 32kmh and 24 watts at 48kmh over an equivalent round-tubed frame and the Extrema is based upon that blueprint That brings us on to where the Extrema sits in 3T’s lineup as the main reason the Extrema exists is tyre clearance.  the Ultra 51mm and the Extrema 700c x 57mm tyres especially considering the Extrema is 2x compatible (2x chainsets inhibit clearance as they are wider) and its chainstays are a pretty short 437mm (for context and usually stays get elongated to fit wider tyres) this is the widest-clearance 700c gravel bike I’ve yet seen.  The effect is a monster-truck roller with the sensations of a road bike. Compared to the Primo, which could be considered 3T’s raciest gravel bike, the Extrema’s geometry is more relaxed – longer wheelbase 14mm shorter reach at 374mm – but these aren’t slouchy numbers As discussed, the frameset is designed to be low drag, so it’s no surprise this off-the-peg build comes with Zipp’s ‘entry level’ (ie, they only cost £849) 45mm deep 303 S wheels and 3T’s thin deep Aeroghiaia bars and cable-hiding More Integrale stem (which rather usefully is hollow underneath meaning a stem can be swapped without cutting hoses and the Extrema’s front end can be easily disassembled for travel) Given the geometry, I found myself sitting fairly ‘deep’ in the bike as opposed to atop it, which is the feeling I get with some big-wheeled gravel bikes and this combined with the aero build made for a blisteringly fast bike on my local mountain bike trails The wide tyres offered superb grip and their own micro-suspension and the frame felt stiff and efficient thanks to those huge tubes The overall weight and handling when pushing hard over mountain bike terrain felt light and deft but for a bike that can cope with real mountain bike territory which is what makes the Extrema a harder sell (to me at least) bumpy incline and the feeling and effort is akin to climbing on a mountain bike Then take it to the road and suddenly the whole thing just feels overbuilt All three 3T Extrema Italia off-the-peg builds include a mullet drivetrain with a 10-52t cassette and the latest SRAM Eagle T-Type rear mech so there's plenty of scope to winch yourself up and over whatever gets in your way the 3T Extrema’s great strength is also its great weakness It serves its niche so well that it struggles elsewhere That niche is well into mountain bike country, and as such it’s really quite far away from where gravel bikes began – riding alongside a road bike on an unsealed surface you may need this niche itched in your life My gravel expectations and accessibilities are different – I need to ride a decent amount of tarmac to get there it’s not all that extreme unless I seek out those MTB trails And I don’t have the room or the wallet for my bikes to get so specific I was riding the Extrema with 50mm tyres – I could have gone to that huge 57mm promise but at no point did it feel like I’d benefit much from doing so And don’t get me started on the dropper post. I’m sorry, I just don’t get droppers on gravel bikes – not in the UK anyway – and even then the wireless RockShox Reverb was quickly rendered redundant as I opted to remove to battery so I could fit my seatpack which I deemed way more useful (a revised version with the battery in a different position is coming But for all this I can’t stress enough what an incredible bike the Extrema is both as a tool for a job and as a piece of engineering and design It’s not for me (not until I get a bigger shed and fatter wallet anyway) but it could be the very bike you’ve been craving It just depends where you live and what you want to ride You must be logged in to post a comment To manage an existing Cyclist magazine subscription, please visit Manage your account or visit our subscription FAQ page. To subscribe, or for other enquiries, please contact us Sign up to the Cyclist newsletter to receive curated emails direct to your inbox Sign up to our newsletter Log in to access Cyclist Rides using your email pertaining to your subscription Don't forget a subscription to Cyclist includes: Log in to post comments and use Ask Cyclist our AI platform that answers your questions based on our articles Register to comment on our latest articles Occasional emails from selected third-party sponsors and advertisers Please enter your username or email address to reset your password 3T’s Extrema Italia combines elements of gravel and mountain bike design – and is intended to take on the chunkiest gravel you can find with clearance for massive 57mm tyres.  The Italian brand says the Extrema Italia is built for “the toughest race courses and fast adventures”.  In keeping with the brand’s unique design language, the Extrema Italia’s frameset is aerodynamically optimised, while sporting mountain bike components including a SRAM Eagle Transmission drivetrain and a RockShox Reverb AXS XPLR dropper post.  It’s refreshingly different from most gravel bikes and we’re struggling to think of a mainstream option that packs in as much tyre clearance.  The ‘Italia’ in this bike’s name signifies it’s made in 3T’s HQ in Presezzo with the brand using 3T's proprietary filament-winding process.  this process involves spinning a carbon fibre yarn onto a core to create a carbon structure filament winding enables 3T to angle the fibres exactly as desired.  The brand is then able to aerodynamically optimise the frame around a certain tyre-width range the more race-oriented RaceMax Italia is designed for 35mm to 46mm WAM tyres.  3T says the Extrema Italia delivers the same bottom bracket and head tube stiffness values as the RaceMax Italia but is more compliant thanks to an updated carbon layup with the thinner seat tube.  The down tube does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of aerodynamics with a ‘neck’ (the section between the bottle cage bolts and the head tube junction) that’s 60mm wide The down tube then widens to 75mm as it heads towards the BB386 EVO bottom bracket junction.  The down tube redirects the airflow over the frame The down tube is also size-specific for each frame size and the gap between the down tube and front tyre is minimised for less turbulence.  there’s a sculpted cut-out on the seat tube to shield the rear wheel for an aerodynamic advantage.  with the brand saying this design creates a stiffer bottom bracket and decreases weight.  which allows for more adjustability than a one-piece cockpit.  3T has spared some thought for the real-world needs of the consumer though. You don’t have to disconnect the hydraulic hoses to adjust the handlebar height swap the stem length by +/- 10mm or even fully remove the stem for travel.  3T states in its technical documentation that the legs are rated to carry a load of up to 3kg on either side.  The bike uses a 27.2mm round seatpost, bringing compatibility for either a rigid seatpost or dropper post.  It also specs an on-trend SRAM UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) dropout.  A really neat detail is you don’t need adaptors for the brake calipers because 3T has integrated their height into the chainstay and fork’s profiles. That means you have to run a 160mm disc brake rotor at the front though.  We have the mid-range Extrema Italia build in for testing which will set you back a not inconsiderable £7,593 / $9,199 / €8,232 / AU$12,885.  SRAM Rival eTap AXS shifters, brakes and crankset are paired with GX Eagle Transmission components for the rest of the drivetrain.  Keeping things in the SRAM family are a set of Zipp 303S wheels, with a hookless rim profile that measures 23mm internally and 45mm deep They’re wrapped in beefy 29x2in Continental RaceKing tyres which measure 50.87mm on my digital calipers.  A RockShox Reverb AXS XPLR dropper post also signifies the bike’s off-road prowess.  Completing the build is a 3T Aeroghiaia Integrale carbon handlebar in a 42cm width while the dramatically flared drops measure 48cm.  with a sharper profile around the back of the hoods.  The bike was meant to come with the aerodynamically optimised 3T Torno carbon crank If you have bought an Extrema Italia that's meant to have a 3T Torno crank the brand says it will send one out once it's available.  which – although weighty – is realistic considering the MTB-oriented drivetrain and tyres.  The Extrema Italia range starts at £6,677 / $7,999 / €7,240 / AU$11,491 – it’s exactly the same build as shown here but you miss out on the wireless dropper post and 3T Torno crank.  It steps up to a SRAM Force / XX SL Eagle Transmission drivetrain with 3T Discus 45 / 40 wheels.  Metrics details and flood and sediment bypass tunnels (SBTs) The designs of these hydraulic structures and flood protection retaining structures in streams necessitate computing the locations and water depths of the wave extrema This study numerically and experimentally investigates the water surface profiles along the sidewalls and their angular locations in a narrow channel bend model of the Solis SBT in Switzerland The 0.2 m wide and 16.75 m long channel has a bend of 6.59 m radius and 46.5° angle of deviation The tested flow conditions produced Froude numbers ≈ 2 and aspect ratios ranging from 1.14 to 1.83 Two-phase flow simulations were performed in OpenFOAM using the RNG k–ε turbulence closure model and the volume-of-fluid method The simulated angular locations of the first wave extrema and the corresponding flow depths deviate marginally which signifies good predictions using the numerical model especially for the angular locations of the wave extrema are observed for the existing analytical and empirical approaches the presented numerical approach is a suitable tool in designing the height of the hydraulic structures with bends and conveying supercritical flows the model’s application shall be extended to the design of the height and location of retaining walls and levees in steep natural streams with bends which have a stronger effect on the flow characteristics than do the turbulence-driven secondary currents have witnessed deeper invert abrasions toward the inner wall than toward the outer wall in SBT bends and such effects have also continued in the downstream straight channels Such observations reflect the requirement of localized specific design criteria To understand the detailed flow characteristics and water surface undulation characteristics of supercritical bend channel flows an experimental investigation is being carried out by NTNU in co-operation with HydroCen the present study is limited to the investigation of water surface undulations occurring along a channel bend through experiments and developing and validating an open-source numerical model Their experiments were conducted for 0.25 to 0.5 m wide channels with rc ranging from 0.07 to 0.31 Numerical model studies suggest using 3D simulation for proper estimation of complex cross-wave characteristics and water surface undulations Experimental set-up: (a) schematic plan (b) photographic view of the running model and (d) use of an ultrasonic distance sensor (UDS) [u/s is upstream and d/s is downstream] The bend entrance refers to 0.8 m tape measurement on the outer wall and 10.8 m tape measurement on the inner wall The average temperature of the water was found to be 16.6 °C Cross-sectional mesh arrangements in the upstream part of the domain for: (a) Q45 and (b) Q70 [z = vertical distance from the bed and y = lateral position from the channel center] The free surface undulation data were extracted using ParaView and further analysis was performed using MATLAB Comparison among the numerical results obtained for different grid arrangements at Q = 0.07 m3/s: (a) normalized WSPs along the outer and inner walls and (b) normalized longitudinal velocity profiles at the channel center located on the bend entrance plane [Q70_8mm is also used as case name Q70; see Table 2 for the legend details] Comparison among the results obtained for different turbulence closure models at Q = 0.07 m3/s: (a) normalized WSPs along the outer and inner walls and (b) normalized longitudinal velocity profiles at the channel center located on the bend entrance plane [Q70_RNG is also used as case name Q70] Comparison among the WSPs obtained experimentally and empirically along the outer and inner walls for: (a) Q = 0.045 m3/s and (c) Q = 0.095 m3/s [θ0 = θM for the outer wall and θ0 = θm for the inner wall; water level measurement uncertainties are provided using the error bars] The maximum measurement uncertainty for the discharge is 0.42% which includes a measurement accuracy of ± 0.2% (received from the calibration data) and a measurement least count of 0.0001 m3/s which can be up to 0.22% [(0.0001 × 100%)/0.045] the 0.001 m measurement least count of the angular scale can result in a maximum uncertainty of 1.03% [(0.001 × 100%)/0.097 as the recorded minimum water depth is 0.097 m] in the water level measurements The major conclusions drawn from the study are as follows: Although the water surface upstream of the bend is fairly-horizontal across the channel it undulates in the bend due to cross-wave propagation the water surface rises along the outer wall and drops along the inner wall until reaching the respective wave crest and wave trough The undulation pattern reverses after crossing the first wave extrema locations and continues to alter at angular intervals ≈ θM or ≈ θm The simulated WSPs are consistent with the experimental data especially up to the angular location θ ≈ 1.75θ0 the simulated first wave extrema flow depths deviate marginally (within ± 2.1%) from the observed values Such deviations are also lower for the simulated angular locations of the first wave extrema within ± 3.3% for θM and within ± 6.3% for θm the simulated WSPs around the wave trough for the outer wall and around the wave crest for the inner wall are flatter than those observed experimentally the deviations are significant for the angular locations of the first wave extrema apparently due to the differences in the flow conditions The analytical θM and θm values are up to 50% lower than the experimental data while the empirical θM values are up to 40% lower although the analytical and empirical WSPs plotted against the nondimensional angular position θ/θ0 look comparable to the experimental and numerical results the WSPs would shift significantly if plotted against the absolute θ those values increase considerably with an increasing discharge the open-source CFD model computes the WSPs along the sidewalls and their angular locations with better precisions than do the existing analytical and empirical methods this model is useful in studying the effects of a bend and resulting cross-waves on the water surface undulations and in producing accurate parameters useful in designing sidewall heights for hydraulic structures conveying supercritical bend flows the turbulent flow characteristics and bulk sediment transport in the curved physical model of the Solis SBT are investigated using volumetric Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) and high-speed cameras the application of the presented open-source numerical model should be extended in the future to existing SBTs and other hydraulic structures conveying supercritical flows and to steep natural streams to further investigate the complex water surface undulations due to in-plan bends and to improve the existing analytical and empirical solutions (by producing additional data) which will facilitate better design of the height and angular location of retaining walls The experimental and numerical results obtained from the study can be acquired from the corresponding author upon genuine request First wave maxima flow depth on the outer wall (m) First wave minima flow depth on the inner wall (m) Dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (m2/s3) Specific dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy (/s) Angular location of the first wave maxima on the outer wall (degree) Angular location of the first wave minima on the inner wall (degree) Angular location of the first wave extrema (degree) Dey, S. 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Reynolds stress modeling of supercritical narrow channel flows using OpenFOAM: Secondary currents and turbulent flow characteristics. Phys. Fluids 34, 125116. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0124076 (2022) Kadia, S., Rüther, N. & Pummer, E. Reynolds stress modelling of supercritical flow in a narrow channel. In 9th International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures, Utah State University, USA 58 (2022). https://doi.org/10.26077/5e0b-783d Ippen, A. T. & Knapp, R. T. A study of high-velocity flow in curved channels of rectangular cross-section. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 17, 516–521. https://doi.org/10.1029/TR017I002P00516 (1936) Reinauer, R. & Hager, W. H. Supercritical bend flow. J Hydraul. Eng. 123, 208–218. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1997)123:3(208) (1997) Boes, R. M., Auel, C., Hagmann, M. & Albayrak, I. Sediment bypass tunnels to mitigate reservoir sedimentation and restore sediment continuity. In Reservoir Sedimentation—River Flow 2014 (eds. Schleiss, A. J. et al.) 221–228 (CRC Press, 2014). https://doi.org/10.1201/b17397 Abrasion and corrective measures of a sediment bypass system at Asahi Dam First International Workshop on Sediment Bypass Tunnels Müller-Hagmann, M. Hydroabrasion by high-speed sediment-laden flows in sediment bypass tunnels, PhD thesis, ETH Zürich (2018). https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000273498 Ippen, A. T. An analytical and experimental study of high velocity flow in curved sections of open channels, Doctoral Thesis. California Inst. Technol. https://doi.org/10.7907/162E-WA65 (1936) Knapp, R. T. High-velocity flow in open channels: A symposium: Design of channel curves for supercritical flow. Trans. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng. 116, 296–325. https://doi.org/10.1061/TACEAT.0006530 (1951) Amara, L., Berreksi, A. & Achour, B. Approximate analytical solution for supercritical flow in rectangular curved channels. Appl. Math. Model. 80, 191–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apm.2019.10.064 (2020) Beltrami, G. 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Fluids A: Fluid Dyn. 4, 1510. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.858424 (1992) von Kármán, T. Mechanische Ähnlichkeit und Turbulenz [Mechanical similarity and turbulence], Nachrichten von Der Gesellschaft Der Wissenschaften Zu Göttingen. Math.-Phys. Klasse 5, 58–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09427.x (1930) Zur turbulenten Strömung in Röhren und längs Platten [On turbulent flows in ducts and along plates] 18–29 (in German) (1932) Notes on Computational Fluid Dynamics: General Principles (CFD Direct Ltd Download references Ismail Albayrak (ETH Zürich) for providing the engineering drawings of the Solis sediment bypass tunnel Pär Nilsen and his support team from Vattenfall AB are acknowledged for the engineering and construction of the flume model James Yang (Vattenfall AB and KTH Royal Institute of Technology) Henrik Lycksam (Luleå University of Technology) for their valuable contributions to the project planning and execution Open access funding provided by Norwegian University of Science and Technology This research is funded by HydroCen (Project No Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Norwegian University of Science and Technology Division of Fluid and Experimental Mechanics The authors do not have any known competing financial and non-financial (or lack thereof) interests or personal relationships which could have influenced this study Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61297-8 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing: AI and Robotics newsletter — what matters in AI and robotics research Born and raised in South Africa he completed his BA honours at the University of Cape Town before embarking on a career in journalism As the former tech editor of Cyclingnews and Bike Perfect digital editor of Bicycling magazine and associate editor of TopCar he's travelled the world writing about bikes and anything with wheels for 19 years raced nearly every mountain bike stage race in South Africa and completed the Haute Route Alps He's also a national-level time triallist and eSports racer too – having captained South Africa at the 2022 2023 and 2024 UCI Cycling eSports World Championships Gravel cycling as a discipline is constantly evolving 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 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 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 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 The 3T Extrema Italia is available in four sizes only: 51 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 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 Szepter is half the price of the 3T and can confidently handle harsh off-road riding despite getting a dropper post and a gravel suspension fork it can only accommodate tyres of up to 45mm in width 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 Privacy policy and terms and conditions of use off-road.cc is dedicated to bringing you the best coverage of all off-road riding 24 de January de 2025 | News Jan 24, 2025 | News produced by IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) will be screened for the first time at the Proteja Talks event the production highlights the impacts of the Rio Negro drought and the smoke from wildfires on the lives of residents in Manaus and surrounding areas it was the most severe drought ever recorded for the river “This documentary reinforces the message of science and Indigenous peoples: we need intact forests to address climate change as well as Indigenous and traditional peoples’ territories are fundamental pillars for adapting to the new climate reality we face,” says André Guimarães the message is clear: we need to see nature as someone who also needs care,” comments Bibiana Garrido IPAM’s Communication Specialist and one of the directors of the documentary register for free to attend the Proteja Talks in person Featuring historical footage of the drought and smoke in key locations around the city Manaus Extrema presents testimonials from a diverse group of people reflecting the population affected by the impacts of climate change in the region is one of the interviewees featured in the documentary She describes how the Rio Negro drought caused significant losses to her fruit and vegetable business in Cacau Pirera president of the Association of Floating Structures of Tarumã-Açu estimated losses of up to R$10 million for floating structures during several months of drought a professor in the Medical School at UFAM (Federal University of Amazonas) discussing the connection between Amazonian communities Solutions to the situation are highlighted by the coordinators of the Manaus Indigenous Medicine Center as well as by researchers from INPA (National Institute for Amazonian Research) and IPAM This project is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Find out more at un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals The researcher was a pioneer in revitalizing Patxohã considered extinct in the 19th century and recovered by researchers and leaders since 1998 highlights the importance of environmental licensing and explains the opportunities for its improvement in the Legal Amazon Ecosystem services provided by areas of native vegetation are essential for agricultural productivity IPAM – Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia © ® Feito com amor pela Chama7 Made with love by Chama7 Become a member here We use cookies to improve your browsing experience Spending four days cycling through towering mountains on gravel trails and immersed in the wild nature of Sichuan reveals a side of China where modernity and tradition coexist This article was produced in association with 3T. the Chinese photographer Shengyu Li set up his photographic equipment to capture the sky above Mount Xiannairi in Sichuan province in the winter of 2024 To capture the luminous trails of the stars above his plans were undone by an unexpected turn of events the collapse of a serac – an enormous block of glacial ice often bigger than a house – triggered an avalanche which in turn triggered something unexpected Li’s camera picked up a series of sudden flashes of blue light The illuminations were seemingly generated by friction during the fragmentation of the ice This fascinating phenomenon not only demonstrated the power of nature but also drew the world’s attention to one of China’s wildest is a province with geographical and climatic characteristics that make it unique The eastern part is distinguished by a fertile alluvial plain where the humid subtropical climate creates ideal conditions for cultivating rice and spices – all products that define the province’s rich gastronomic identity is dominated by imposing mountain ranges and deep valleys marking the eastern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau sparsely-populated region is largely untouched a haven for nature lovers that attracts explorers and adventurers to its unspoiled landscapes these things also make it an ideal destination for anyone seeking a challenge and an adventure on two wheels as illustrated by the experience of Cynthia Carson an American ultra-endurance rider and passionate bikepacker “The mountains of Sichuan offered us spectacular views and a sense of peace The ease of finding incredible food and connecting with locals in rural areas made the journey truly special,” says Carson “I was reminded that every person has a deep bond with nature the natural environment enriches our lives in an irreplaceable way Carson found common ground with the people she met along the way “The inhabitants of the smaller towns were enthusiastic about sharing their time with us and the feeling was mutual,” she continues everyone working outdoors greeted us and smiled as we passed As soon as we moved away from the busy roads Carson rode a section of the Tianfu Greenway in the city of Chengdu a vast network of cycling and pedestrian routes that wind through parks “I had the opportunity to ride on a circuit closed to traffic It was fun to become part of the group and share laps even without speaking the same language or communicating at all The cycling culture in Chengdu surprised me with its vibrancy,” she says “There were people with €15,000 bikes next to those who simply used them for daily life The atmosphere was dynamic and truly inspiring.”  manager of the Reverb Hub store in Bergamo and he observed first-hand how cycling culture is evolving in Chengdu the region’s capital and one of China’s most populous cities “The city isn’t only a strategic point for exploring Sichuan but it has also proven to be an important centre for the rapid development of a cycling culture,” says Bassis “I had initially assumed there was only a market for products I realised that there’s a desire to develop a culture inspired by the west with an appetite for both performance cycling and social rides.”  Carson and Bassis encountered a rapidly evolving cycling culture fully embracing the gravel spirit – exploring and connecting with the environment around them these fascinating mountainous territories open up with very high altitudes,” explains Bassis “This is one of the region’s most alluring aspects: mountains that would be hardly accessible in Europe here connected by a well-developed road network we alternated between asphalt and dirt roads to find new gravel routes allowing us to ride up to an altitude of 4,800 metres on the second day The Qionglai Mountain range has peaks exceeding 6,000m including the majestic Mount Siguniang (6,250m) a place that offers a unique combination of wild landscapes and Tibetan culture and even riding the main road was an experience,” says Bassis inspired by the essence of gravel: exploring off the beaten path We decided to integrate the true bikepacking philosophy into our journey “One of the things that struck me the most was the feeling of being face-to-face with the mountain immersed in its extraordinary landscapes.”  Though he had never ridden a gravel bike before he proved to be a valuable travelling companion His role was crucial – not only as a bridge to the local culture but also because his perspective sparked interesting discussions about the world of gravel riding here connected by a well-developed road network” – Federico Bassis  “The riders who joined us told us that the area we were exploring is considered one of the most beautiful in all of China,” explains Carson “People from all over the country come here to admire Sichuan’s mountains Their stories made me appreciate the beauty of the place even more “The landscapes of Sichuan were breathtaking they surpassed anything I’d ever seen before One of the most memorable moments was reaching 4,500 metres on a paved road but getting to the small villages along the route was tough Carson and Bassis discovered how modern technology has greatly simplified daily life all they had to do was scan a QR code and transfer the amount directly to the seller’s account via an app that combines messaging and digital payments Even an elderly woman in a remote village was able to accept a quick This modernity coexists with the region’s rural pace of life “We travelled about a hundred kilometres a day without the rush of having to arrive at a specific time,” says Bassis but we were always open to surprises along the way spontaneous approach was one of the best parts of our trip “Some gravel detours led us all the way onto a glacier without knowing what we would find five minutes ahead without knowing the exact point where the road would end someone has already documented those places and that added a sense of adventure and authenticity.”  a traveller’s experience inevitably interleaves with the flavours of local cuisine often featuring tastes that are far from familiar makes generous use of chilli peppers and Sichuan pepper an ingredient that not only adds spiciness but also creates a distinctive numbing sensation on the palate Mapo Tofu is a perfect example: tofu cubes are cooked in a spicy sauce made with ground meat Another signature dish is Kung Pao Chicken “Local riders helped me discover delicious tofu-based options and I got to enjoy dishes served family-style But my favourite was Mapo Tofu – fantastic And I won’t forget the red chilli-flavoured ice cream the pair didn’t have a precise idea of what the weather would be like in late September They mapped out a loop route of more than 400 kilometres a city famous for its ancient irrigation system which dates back over 2,000 years and is still fully functional today “Dujiangyan welcomed us with a large red flag behind the statue in the centre of the square and that large flag covers the remaining rubble The areas we travelled through were full of lakes and a surprising variety of landscapes,” says Bassis we transitioned from one environment to another allowing us to savour every moment of the journey we stopped to help about 15 men struggling to repair a motorbike using basic tools – they’re probably still working on it we had immersed ourselves in their world.”  Sichuan offered not just a cycling adventure but a wealth of experiences: the value of slowness and the ability to overcome language barriers through simple gestures and glances “I gained a new perspective on the beauty of a slower pace of life,” says Carson “The inhabitants of those rural areas reminded me of the peace and serenity that nature offers Some asked about our bikes – one even tried Federico’s offering us water while we chatted with the help of his son and a translation app Another special moment was with a woman cleaning garlic and even though we couldn’t communicate with words we shared a unique moment thanks to a simple clove of garlic connecting with those who inhabit it: cycling makes travel a deeper and more human experience allowing us to savour every moment of the journey” – Federico Bassis  The 3T Exploro has been a game-changer in the gravel cycling world with an innovative design and versatile performance Designed to combine on-road speed with off-road reliability it has proven itself on even the most demanding routes particularly on technical mountain descents And wind tunnel tests have confirmed its aerodynamic effectiveness in difficult conditions redefining what’s possible for a gravel bike The Italian brand has expanded its range of exploration bikes introducing new models like the Racemax Italia designed to combine aerodynamics and versatility and optimised for tyres between 35 and 42mm It was used by Cynthia Carson and ride companion Sun on this trip with 40mm tyres designed with demanding adventures and extreme competition in mind Federico Bassis opted for a setup with 50mm tyres The success of 3T’s latest offerings has been helped by the brand’s decision to bring its carbon frame production back to Italy Using proprietary filament-winding technology and the RTM process (Resin Transfer Moulding) they can now handcraft high-quality gravel frames tailored for specific needs And the frames’ designs include internal cable routing improving aero efficiency while also providing that clean tidy aesthetic that we all appreciate these days the More Integrale system allows you to adjust the height of the head tube without having to mess with the brake lines offering riders flexible ergonomic set-ups to suit conditions which is compatible with both Sram and Shimano electronic groupsets (1X and 2X) or mechanical groupsets (1X) simplifies maintenance and transport thanks to the fact you can remove it without disconnecting the brakes “My 3T Racemax Italia handled the gravel descents well but some climbs were too challenging for my legs forcing me to push the bike in some sections made the adventure even more exciting,” says Cynthia Carson the 50mm tyres I’d mounted provided security the bike’s low weight and excellent stiffness were essential for covering ground quickly in search of more gravel routes,” adds Federico Bassis highlighting the bike’s perfect balance of adventurous spirit and performance Rouleur takes a look at the contenders to win the Maglia Rosa in Italy this month Alexander Vinokourov's team are making the impossible rather quite possible All the essential information about the first Grand Tour of the year While the former Olympic and World champion is relishing new ventures in retirement she is keen to ensure more support is in place for those.. From SD Worx-Protime's continued success to Canyon-SRAM's disappointment Rouleur takes a look at how each squad performed at the Spring Classics Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines Join today for exclusive content from independent journalists Questo sito è protetto da hCaptcha e applica le Norme sulla privacy e i Termini di servizio di hCaptcha Many gravel bikes aim for versatility and steer clear of extremes commuting and the occasional gravel day trip The gravel bike focuses on excelling in two specific niches it is a true gravel racer with an aero bar it transforms into an off-road specialist for rough terrain Read on to find out what’s really new about the € 8,299 Extrema and how it performs on rough terrain because the frame shape of the 3T Extrema is very similar to that of the 3T Ultra the polarising cable inlet on the top tube has disappeared The new Extrema has a fully integrated cable routing which gives it a contemporary look and aerodynamic profile The introduction of the new sporty 3T Aeroghiaia LTD aero handlebar clearly conveys the Extrema’s racing aspirations The look of the 3T Extrema features a frame that hugs the rear tire a slender rear triangle and an aerodynamically optimised The 27.2 mm diameter round seatpost mount of the 3T Extrema allows the use of dropper posts; some versions come fitted with a 50 mm travel RockShox Reverb dropper The 29 x 2.0″ Continental Race King tires typically seen on cross-country racing bikes provide commendable grip with acceptable rolling resistance Tuning-Tipp: lighter rear tire for better acceleration Seatpost Rock Shox Reverb AXS XPLR 50 mmBrakes SRAM Rival AXS 160/160 mmDrivetrain SRAM Rival eTap AXS 1x12Stem 3T More integrale 100 mmHandlebar 3T Aeroghiaia 420 mmWheelset Zipp 303 S 12 x 100/12 x 148 mmTires Continental Race King 700x50cCranks 3T Torno WIDE 172.5 mmCassette SRAM GX Eagle Transmission 10-52T the 3T Extrema maintains its momentum well once it gets up to speed It keeps a firm grip on the road and navigates a wide variety of terrain with confidence while its efficiency remains consistently impressive The rolling resistance of the wide Continental Race King tires is only noticeable on smooth asphalt But it is in more extreme conditions that the Extrema really comes into its own With exceptional cornering grip and minimal slippage on loose surfaces it’s clear that the Extrema thrives when ridden away from the confines of paved roads aggressive riding position matches the racing character of the Extrema It also harmonises perfectly with the slim 3T Aeroghiaia LTD aero bar which offers not only aero benefits but also top ergonomics the tires combine with the frame’s excellent compliance to absorb vibrations and minor impacts The 50 mm travel of the RockShox Reverb dropper post allows you to use your body’s own “suspension travel” to smooth out bumps The result is a consistently high level of confidence that encourages you to keep your finger off the brake lever Powerful SRAM Force eTap AXS brakes come with 160 mm discs front and rear an upgrade to 180 mm discs may be advisable The well-balanced handling of the 3T Extrema is anything but extreme Smooth straight-line stability provides additional safety and prevents the gravel bike from feeling nervous on rough descents the Extrema handles tight corners with precision and ease The wide gear range of the mullet drivetrain means you can tackle even the toughest climbs while the rear wheel’s exceptional grip allows you to get out of the saddle and pedal with confidence A bike designed exclusively for extreme athletes The 3T Extrema offers the perfect package for anyone who enjoys sporty gravel riding and prefers to avoid tarmac A great companion for fast gravel adventures of all kinds and for use in extreme long-distance races The Xtrema is a bike for all those who are looking for speed and off-road performance 3T have taken the idea of a fast off-road racing bike to the extreme The high quality equipment is well chosen and emphasises the more specific intended use The bike is also very compliant and handles corners skilfully it will be too sporty for most people’s daily commute to the office but the Extrema is just right for fast long gravel rides and battling for personal best times For more info visit 3t.bike Did you enjoy this article? If so, we would be stoked if you decide to support us with a monthly contribution. By becoming a supporter of GRAN FONDO, you will help secure a sustainable future for high-quality cycling journalism. Click here to learn more Words: Jan Richter Photos: Martin Staffa Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website Statistics cookies collect information anonymously This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website We use the providers & cookies in this category for targeting our readers (e.g These cookies are used by third-party vendors or publishers to display personalized ads and/or measure the success of ads They do this by tracking visitors across websites The colour certainly fits in nicely in a wintery woodland Make sure your emergency tubes are wide enough and with a long enough valve.. Capable over terrain that most other gravel bikes would struggle but with that specialisation comes some other drawbacks I get a bit misty-eyed about the 3T Exploro I remember when it came out; the buzz around it was wild ‘Gravel’ was in its infancy (no we haven’t the time) and I was razzing around the canal towpaths of Leeds on a cyclocross bike wondering why anyone in their right mind would make an aero gravel bike This was further compounded when a friend of mine actually bought one but fortunately for my beleaguered post-university bank balance we were different enough in height that I never rode it.  The Exploro hasn’t stagnated since its inception and now exists in three guises - the ‘Pro’ designed primarily around 650b wheel usage optimised for 700c wheels with narrower tyres Now it seems the Italian brand is creating two divergent streams of off-road evolution.  Earlier in the year the brand launched its Racemax Italia, a bike very much aimed at the gravel racing we see at the pointy end of events like Unbound a bike clearly heading in a different direction but the stated aim of this new lineage is to tackle far more challenging terrain Think of events like the Atlas Mountain race where half the field turns up on mountain bikes I’ve been using the Extrema Italia for a month or so of extremely filthy gravel riding particularly when the going gets really rough you start to wonder if you should just use an MTB… I honestly think this starts to look more like a rigid MTB than a road bike(Image credit: Will Jones) The deep tube shapes at the head tube and down tube show aero intentions(Image credit: Will Jones) Road wheels combined with mountain bike tyres is a fun combination(Image credit: Will Jones) The slow demise of 650b as a wheel size for gravel has been happening year after year with fewer bikes coming with 650b from the factory or even accepting them (officially at least) as an aftermarket option Tyre brands are also producing fewer 650b models mirroring the demise of 27.5 in the MTB world (the same diameter as 650b This is easily achieved at the front end by simply slapping a wider-set fork on but it’s more tricky at the rear as the widening of chainstays means they start to interfere with chainrings but it’s pretty miraculous that this is both 1x and 2x compatible Specced as my test bike was with a 10-52t Rival GX Eagle transmission with a 40t chainring from the factory I can’t see why you’d want to spec a 2x on this bike as much due to its intended use and where it excels as anything else though that has a very different use case in mind.  Given the bikepacking/ultra focus of the machine it’s no surprise to see the usual suspects in terms of mounting options Triple bosses on the forks for anything cages doubles on the seat tube and under the down tube and a triple set on the downtube for carrying larger bottles if necessary or mounting one bottle lower down Interestingly the two bosses on the top tube are set noticeably further back than I’ve seen on other bikes and my suspicion is so that it can be used with a side-loading bottle cage and accommodate a large water bottle without fouling on the stem I don’t run a bento box/snack pouch/top tube bag (choose your name as you wish) but as most of them are designed to effectively butt up against the stem you may find an unsightly gap on yours The incredible range of a 10-52 cassette means you can more or less pedal up anything(Image credit: Will Jones) I wouldn't ever want to mount anything here besides a chain catcher for particularly rough riding there is still plenty of room for mud to clear the fork crown(Image credit: Will Jones)I was initially sceptical about dropper posts (Image credit: Will Jones)The flare of the bars definitely comes in handy when descending but I keep thinking how amazing it would be with a flat bar(Image credit: Will Jones)Finally clearly very aero with extremely flat and wide tops but if you use an out-front computer mount you’re out of luck as the bolts are tucked around the back of the stem faceplate in a hinge design This meant I had to mount my computer on the bars One final bugbear I have is that the finishing tape for the bars has written upon it “The world is a book and those who don’t travel read only one page” but the fact that he is the patron saint of sore eyes (no really) is apt as reading this quote on a bicycle made me wince All build up the 3T will tip the scales a little over 10kg which is more than the all-steel Fairlight Secan I’m going to begin with a cautionary tale; you really must set this bike up tubeless Normally I’m quite happy to let people who love tubes continue to love tubes but the issue is that the combination of 29er MTB width tyres and deep section wheels means that inner tube valves just aren't long enough to reach (unless you use a valve extender or some such) It’s not a great slight on the performance at all and I was admittedly rather lazy and didn’t set get the tyre goo in due to time constraints but a puncture left me having to walk home because my spare tube wasn’t long enough in the valve to pop out the bottom and the nearest shop didn’t stock anything suitable either; MTB’s don’t run deep rims as a general rule and make sure your spare tube is appropriate Despite the extremely deep and flat bars there is still a small area besides the stem onto which you can clamp an out front computer mount Both might be tricky though.(Image credit: Will Jones)There's no cover for the seatpost wedge Given how mucky this bike is from one ride (Image credit: Will Jones)Compared to the width of a bottle you can see how wide the downtube is - clearly it's been designed with wider-tyre aerodynamics in mind.(Image credit: Will Jones)The riding position isn’t as road-like as my Secan; it’s more upright and is what 3T describes as its “3Touring” geometry For what this bike is built for it’s pretty much spot-on in my eyes you can feel like you’re at least not acting like a giant windbreak you’re not pitched so far over the front that you feel like you’re going to go over the bars if you make a mistake I did find myself curling up a little like a shrimp to get lower but that is partially down to the setup - I opted for my usual 90mm stem and the bike came with a decent set of spacers both of which could be modified to make the bike both longer and lower should that be desired.  I found myself in the drops more than normal as I think this is where it best emulates my road position This isn’t really a bike designed for the road though and this is evident when you do point the monstrous tyres towards the muck I didn’t have time to set them up tubeless or dial in the pressures at all everything made a little more sense off-road Especially if you dropped the saddle down a la Matej Mohorič at Milan San Remo and thanks to the gargantuan cassette no gradient proved too much; especially on muddy climbs the ability to stay in the saddle was invaluable In really slippery muddy gulleys the tyres do lose their bite I think if you were to start fitting really knobbly MTB tyres then you just need to admit that you want an MTB - the loss of speed on smoother surfaces is more annoying than going a little sideways every now and then Despite my best efforts the rear end stayed clog free(Image credit: Will Jones)Even when filthy the SRAM drivetrain was more or les flawless(Image credit: Will Jones)With stickier mud I can see there may be scope for clogging but then again you could run narrower tyres to make more room(Image credit: Will Jones)On trails that were very much mountain bike territory and while I think I’d like to adjust the hood position to bring the levers a little closer to the drops I reckon if you fitted a flat bar to this it would be an absolute hoot thanks to the brilliant inter-compatibility of SRAM’s groupsets The bars I am not overly convinced of though If you prefer to descend in the drops then I think you’ll be golden but as someone who stays on the hoods on anything technical I for once wished they were a little wider isn’t hugely ergonomic to use as a handhold on anything other than smooth surfaces It is certainly one of the more enjoyable gravel bikes that I’ve had the privilege of testing though I think this would be my choice (cost aside) if I were to pick one for a bikepacking or grand rough adventure with a bike that's as MTB-adjacent as this is that it begins to shine in territory that would be more enjoyable on a mountain bike My local Monday night gravel rides take in a great variety of surfaces and attract everything from cyclocross bikes to full-suspension mountain bikes keep up relatively easily with a hardtail on spicy descents It’s more efficient than an MTB on the road so why did I find myself wishing I was on an MTB I think it's because it allowed me to enjoy the rough stuff more Even with enough mud build-up to rival a wattle and daub house the sculpted rear section of the seatpost never got clogged This may be down to how runny our mud here is though - your mileage may vary The more specialist you go in a bike genre the smaller the use case is where it starts to make sense Because this bike genuinely encroaches into MTB territory it is competing with mountain bikes as well as gravel bikes If you insist on using a drop bar bike for really rough riding then it’s about as good as it’s going to get but if you look at the bikes that people are using for these extremely rough bikepacking/ultra events it’s almost exclusively hardtails I think the fact that it is so good off-road for a gravel bike is almost what holds it back I keep casting my mind back to the best gravel ride of my life one which I undertook on a Pinarello F road bike and thinking how much more fun I would have had on this… Maybe another time and fewer spacers I think it would feel a little more racy(Image credit: Will Jones)The tyres handles slippery mulch well and going more aggressive will slow you down on smoother sections so it's a worthy trade-off(Image credit: Will Jones)ValueI didn’t check the price of the Extrema Italia and for once I actually underestimated the price the additional details are numerous and well thought out All of this for £7,612/$9,199/€8,299.  Step out of the vacuum for a second and it starts to look less of a bargain and it’s slower on smooth surfaces than a less rugged gravel bike To buy this bike there has to be an amount of ‘I want it’ The 3T Extrema Italia is clearly designed first and foremost with off-road riding in mind It can hang in with the group just fine on the tarmac but it doesn’t necessarily feel at home there off-road it feels right at home and excels over more racy gravel bikes when things get lumpy Fast descents that would normally be hair-raising become genuinely enjoyable open ones become a chance to set speed records It's one step closer to reaching some sort of gravel/MTB unification - If they sold it with a flat bar option this conclusion might have more weight but it’s certainly another incremental change towards that end goal It is incredibly capable and can mix it with MTBs more often than you’d think but my main concern is that if you buy this you’re going to ride more and more gnarly terrain to justify its existence and very quickly you are going to wonder if you should have just bought a lightweight XC hardtail.  it’s a wonderful bike; it’s brilliant to ride and would happily stand up to the rigours of long-distance riding over very rough ground Combined with the geometry I found myself almost exclusively in the drops on smooth surfaces and in the hoods off road.(Image credit: Will Jones)Thanks to the stem design there are no stem faceplate bolts onto which you can bolt hardware(Image credit: Will Jones) Testing scorecard and notesAttributesNotesRatingDesign and aesthetics A great looking and well thought out machine9/10BuildThe groupset was impeccable The bars were my main cause of issue9/10PerformanceTruly an incredibly capable machine with some sacrifice of on-road handling for off-road ability9/10WeightAt 10kg it's heavier than some steel gravel bikes but there is more bike here8/10ValueIt's quite a specialist bit of kit for over £7k and other bikes will allow almost as wide tyres for less7/10Overall ratingRow 5 - Cell 1 84%Pricing and availabilityIf you want to get riding on one of these then you’ve got three tiers of frameset to work with (which include the stem and handlebar) starting at £4,593/$5,499/€4,999 moving through a ready-to-paint version of the top end frameset that’ll set you back £4,868/$5,799/€5,299 and finishing with painted versions of the top end ‘Project X’ frameset for £5,050/$6,099/€5,499 Complete bikes start with an SRAM Rival / GX Eagle drivetrain and Zipp 303 wheels but no dropper post for £6,697/$7,999/€7,299 Add a dropper post and the new 3T Torno Wide crank (as yet unreleased more on that in a second) and this goes up to £7,612/$9,199/€8,299 but the Torno Wide crank is as yet unavailable.  Anyone who purchases this or the higher-spec Project X complete bike will receive the Torno Wide crank as a free upgrade as and when it becomes available complete with the aforementioned Torno Wide crank dropper post and 3T’s own Discus 45/40 Superwide wheelset will cost you £9,625/$11,599/€10,499 He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines this new 3T Extrema is the most capable Exploro gravel bike that 3T has ever made It’s got huge 29er XC mountain bike tire clearance and wide tire aerodynamics for a faster It more bikepacking-ready mounts to carry more gear further And it’s even got a good old round 27.2mm seatpost for rider comfort personalization or gravel dropper posts I’ve only been riding it for a short period of time but I already think it’s my favorite 3T gravel bike since the Exploro’s debut Today 3T unveiled a new Extrema Italia Integrale adventure gravel bike that from the outside looks almost exactly like their next gen Exploro RaceMax and packs in a number of features of last year’s Ultra it looks like there’s not really much new almost everything about the new Extrema has been seen on a 3T gravel bike before But take a closer look (which I did in out launch story, here) and it’s clear this is the most refined and most technically advance 3T gravel bike yet It’s a bigger & gnarlier gravel bike built to go faster & further racing the toughest off-road adventure bikepacking races Sure, every 3T gravel bike since that first Exploro 7.5 years ago was off-road ready Even that first one was more capable than a 90s mountain bike with 27.5″ x 2.1″ tires Yet this one takes a bigger jump to full size 29er wheels and clearance for up to 2.25″ tires putting it more on par with a cross-country bike from say 2015 it seems to not lose the fast feeling you get with a proper gravel race bike And with a wide range mullet drivetrain with an Eagle 10-52T cassette paired to a 40T 1x chainring it has all the top & low-end gearing you could wish for I’ve really only been riding this one for a couple of weeks And not on the bike’s stock Continental Race King 700x50mm tires. But with room to spare, I popped in a set of supple new Maxxis Severe 29 x 2.25″ mud tires for extra grip and extra float the 49mm WAM of the stock Contis) and yet weigh just 90g more per tire more with a much more aggressive tread to dig into soft snow & muck I’m able to safely run CX-style pressures of around 22psi It really just goes to show how versatile this Extrema bike can be I’ll totally be happy with 45mm or 50mm gravel semi-slicks when hard & dry riding conditions return That’s what I love about gravel bikes The bar fit and lever position out of the box from 3T was less than perfect with the pointy aero back of the Aeroghiaia handle bar digging into my hand on the tops And the levers so poorly positioned and upturned (see above before the good snow came) that my long fingers couldn’t actually reach the brake levers from the drops with winter gloves on Cue panic while going downhill on snowy singletrack But this is actually where the 3T Extrema IS perfect But I could still adjust the separate bar angle to suit my personally ideal fit I moved the levers down to the proper position with plenty of adjustment range still possible within the internal cable routing I dread having the same issue on a 1-piece bar+stem combo cockpit which I’m strongly opposed to for gravel bikes So far there are a few nits to pick with the new 3T Extrema I was literally thrilled when I first saw 3T finally ditch their horrible cable routing port directly behind the stem It was a sore subject in my mind since Exploro day 1 I discussed with Gerard Vroomen a number of time over the years why he insisted on that routing (the big ugly cable bends do result in good mechanical shifting) but I never really agreed that it was the best solution I love to have a small toptube bag to carry snacks, spares, and maybe stash a mobile phone or camera. And that routing ALWAYS got in my way Electronic-only Italia models finally swayed Gerard to go full internal routing Which means you get undisturbed direct mount toptube bag routing on the new 3T Extrema But even then the 3T Extrema ends up with more than 2cm of wasted space between the front of the bag and back of the stem So close, but no cigar. Thankfully the strap-on Tailfin is super secure Maybe I’ll toss those bolts and save a few grams You might also notice that rubber-banded-on GPS mount That’s because the proprietary reverse faceplate bolts mean there are not direct out-front cycling computer mounts for this bike yet 3T says they are working on one (there’s a cutout in the faceplate to attach a future mount) but didn’t have a timeline to share with me yet The separate 3T More Integrale stem and Aeroghiaia bar do leave almost (but not quite) 1cm of round 31.8mm clamping area on either side of the stem But the first 2 stock Garmin & Wahoo mounts I tried didn’t fit But with knobby 29er by 2.25″ mountain bike tires and plenty of clearance for mud I’m giving the 3T Extrema cockpit a pass for now I feel like what makes this bike great is rider comfort and control And a lot of that comes down to being able to pick whatever tires suit the conditions I’ve generally been a fan of 40-45mm tires and limited knobs for gravel riding But after sustaining a wrist strain injury from what I can only suspect was riding gnarly terrain on a too-stiff gravel bike I welcome a bike that feels fast even with 2.25″ mountain bike tires The 27.5 x 2.1″ Peyotes on the Ultra felt slow But the 29 x 2.25″ Severes on the Extrema feel fast big lightweight 29er XC tires are pretty great So out of the box I did make a few changes to the 54cm mid-spec 3T Extrema Italia Integrale build with SRAM Rival+GX Eagle AXS groupset and Zipp 303s wheels And my complete ready to ride gravel adventure bike weighed in at 10.09kg / 22.2lb with pedals +340 g for my Crankbrothers Candy 3 pedals +14g for the Garmin mount with rubber o-rings +150g for Juice Lubes Tyre Juice tubeless sealant +50g for the two carbon bottle cages that were on the bike when it arrived Without any of that, my stock 54cm bike without pedals would weigh 9.8kg. That’s just about 1kg more than the 2x mechanical RaceMax I tested three years ago or the 1x AXS Ultra I tested last year (Both of which were within 40g of each other.) So far I’m happy to carry around that extra weight for the extra off-road and bikepacking capability We’ll see if I change my tune after riding this bike for half a year or so I’ve only really started to break this bike in over the past week or two And I plan to ride it through the winter and into the spring before I give the final verdict But so far, I’ve mixed in a good range of wet winter tarmac (thank you Ass Savers Win Wing!) and forest singletrack either covered with a deep layer of leaves or fresh fallen snow And it’s all been a blast… once I finally bedded the brand-new brakes in Tire clearance to fit anything you could imagine and gear ratios that actually work for average riders riding proper hills Clean cable routing and adaptable wireless AXS group anything cage mounts on the fork for riders looking for bigger adventures Let the unlimited gravel and assorted off-road adventures get extreme 3T.bike Cory Benson is the EU Tech Editor of Bikerumor.com Cory has been writing about mountain bikes gravel bikes & bikepacking for over 25 years even before the industry created some of these names Cory was a practicing Architect specializing in environmental sustainability has designed bike shops & bike components Cory travels extensively across Europe riding bikes meeting with key European product developers industry experts & tastemakers for an in-depth review of what’s new Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed All the Exploros are just re-spins of the initial and now ancient mold Progressive HTA / STA and long WB / FC didn’t exist – when the initial one was released woolly mammoths were still plodding around Siberia it is “relatively more progressive” compared to the other Exploro gravel bikes And many other gravel bikes are much more slack if you are looking for something more MTB-like it’s only “more progressive” vs and I haven’t had an issue with toe overlap while actually riding With EU43 winter boots there is some overlap It’ll be a while ’til I get out with regular summer shoes again I think 10.4kg it’s got 80mm of suspension and doesn’t need to be plugged in but this kind of feels like a poorly executed Lauf Seigla The tires encourage the rider to write checks the geo can’t cash with the shorter reach and steeper head angle I’m the bottom of the size range for the 58 and would need a 120 stem to match my typical gravel/cx stack and reach Obsolete geometry for the intended purpose The new Santa Cruz and Merida’s make more sense I don’t think this bike is aimed for true backpackers Looks like a great go-fast bike unloaded on rough tracks but I personally wouldn’t take a $8k bike on the Tour Divide or the Atlas Mtn Race I will upgrade immediately to the xx1 transmission and Force shift and break levers to save a few grams here Also switching cassette and later on to the Torno crank The weight is really an issue for me on this bike for this price At that weight might as well get a drop bar MTB and the geo makes no sense at all but don’t want to deal with solvents Simpyfast claims their Lube Cube is the easiest way Peak Performance expands on their MTB specific clothing with new pants Apparently that’s an option when you’re designing products for the GOAT We spotted Cofidis racing an all-new prototype wireless 13-speed Campagnolo Super Record 13 WRL SC road groupset Canyon Bicycles is now selling select models directly through Amazon.com Want wireless shifting but don’t want to have to buy a whole new drivetrain Be protected from the sun with the new UV Hooded Trail Shirt… OrNot The new Van Nicholas Astraeus is a beautiful titanium road bike that’s limited to just 50 frames 3T adds an all-new made-in-Italy carbon gravel bike to their long-running Exploro family with the adventure-ready Extrema Italia Beefed up for 29″ mountain bike tires to take on faster the Extrema boasts relatively more progressive geometry a fully-integrated (but adjustable) cockpit We already had a sneak peek at the new 3T Extrema back at Eurobike where we surmised that it may have simply been an updated version of the somewhat similar Ultra that debuted last year this new 29er Extrema Italia does not specifically replace the Ultra (which carries on with 650b wheels) The 3T Extrema Italia is a completely separate new model aimed more directly at racing long distances off-road The new Extrema uses similar wider tube shapes like refined on last year’s Ultra to minimize aero drag The upper downtube is now even bigger at 63mm wide where air transitions off the spinning front wheel and joins airflow over the fork crown And the lower portion of the downtube now tops out at 73mm wide to smooth airflow over water bottles the new Extrema gets the Integrale moniker meaning no more visible cables or brake hoses outside the frame All routed inside the carbon 3T Aeroghiaia handlebar and the hollow underside of the carbon 3T More Integrale stem a 3T gravel bike gets 3-bolt Anything cage mounts on its fork it really is a prerequisite for a gravel bike to be a proper bikepacking-ready adventure bike with the external cable loop gone from behind the stem the new 3T Extrema Italia Integrale also benefits from better location for direct mount toptube bags Combine that with a standard set of 2 cage bolts under the downtube and a 3-bolt set of adjustable position water bottle cage mounts on top of the downtube And this Extrema Italia has the most carrying capacity of any 3T gravel bike yet The round 27.2mm seatpost debuted on the Ultra is here on the Extrema too 3T makes the shift for more rider comfort and the ability to optionally run a wireless (or externally routed) dropper post or a suspension seatpost The changes are relatively small compared to the Ultra which is almost identical to the RaceMax except for an incrementally longer rear center and slightly shorter Reach But the new Extrema does trend a bit more towards stability over rough terrain and a slightly more comfortable upright position and not long by modern progressive trail standards My size 54 test bike does get a 1/2 a degree slacker head angle at 70.5° and Reach is 5-6mm shorter than the Ultra/RaceMax but means a noticeably higher BB on the bigger wheel & tire combo the new 3T Extrema does come in fewer sizes Just 4 stock sizes for the Extrema Italia (51-58cm) the new Extrema is an Italia-only gravel bike That means it is 3T’s top tier from a pricing And it is made entirely in 3T’s Bergamo As they really aerodynamically optimize each of their bikes for a certain range of tire sizes And 3T want to be sure you get the most out of their bikes If you just want to know what the difference bike-to-bike is 3T manufactures the new 3T Extrema Italia Integrale in Italy to be lightweight and stiff like the other Italia editions 3T engineered the new adventure gravel race bike to be just as stiff and responsive as the RaceMax from the headtube it gets more flex in the seatstays & seattube to boost rider comfort over rougher terrain 3T claims an unpainted 54cm Extrema Italia Integrale frame weighs 1100g without hardware Or just 110g more than a same size RaceMax Italia Integrale frame The new adventure-ready fork is also similarly lightweight at a claimed 420g That’s surprisingly only 35g heavier than the RaceMax Italia fork Even with anything cage mounts and the reinforcement to haul gear on both fork legs.  The new gravel bike does get an all-new 3T Fango Extrema Integrale full carbon fork with those extra mounts It also features a D-shaped upper section of the tapered steerer to route brake hoses internally through the special 3T MinMax Integrale tapered headset 3T has not yet started producing forks in-house as part of their Italia filament-wound RTM carbon program But the 3T development pipeline includes Italian forks The Extrema only works with electronic groupsets (wired or wireless apparently) and wireless dropper posts with a removable front derailleur hanger (or chain catcher) Out back it makes the jump to UDH for direct mount SRAM Transmission drivetrains But you could also build a frameset up with other drivetrains using the universal derailleur hanger The frame features the same BB386EVO PressFit bottom bracket standard 3T uses across the board with a thread-together bottom bracket for creak-free running The bike gets flat mount 160mm disc brakes and hidden mounts for full coverage fenders a bolt-on downtube protector that also covers a large open for easier cable routing around the BB Check out our first impression of the new bike, now live here we could share more images of the more complex semi-automated filament winding RTM tech that creates the frames Now buy carbon cranks, gravel race, e-gravel and this new adventure race bike all made by 3T in Bergamo The new 3T Extrema Italia is available as 3 different frameset or 3 different complete bike build options until it redirected a lot of porn searchers to Bikerumor last winter.) And 3T Extrema Italia Project X framesets get the lightest overall finish revealing the full filament wound carbon patterns for $6100 / 5500€ with low-key 3T logos & graphics Complete made-in-Italy bike builds start from $8000 / 7300€ Start with a SRAM Rival + GX Eagle AXS transmission It may be “entry-level” to the new 3T Extrema Italia complete but it’s a premium build that leaves little wanting the next up $9200 / 8300€ build keeps the exact same Rival+GX AXS & Zipp kit But it swaps in a 50mm short-travel RockShox Reverb AXS dropper and new made-in-Italy 3T Torno Wide carbon cranks the most premium complete build combines the beautifully raw Project X finish with an even more gravel-premium build and 3T’s extra-wide Discus 45|40 carbon wheels for a mind-melting $11,600 / 10,500€ price tag All of the new Extrema Italia gravel bikes are officially available starting today So it might take a little while to get yours the new made-in-Italy 3T Torno Wide carbon crankset is NOT yet available The new SRAM Transmissions require a wider 55mm chainline 3T are working on producing a new wider Torno while keeping Q-factor as low as possible 3T is shipping bikes (like our test bike) with a wide SRAM Rival crank now 3T will upgrade Tornos buyers for free in June 2024 once the new cranks are slated for available One key behind-the-scenes update making this Extrema & other Italia models available in a timely fashion is new Just-in-Time delivery Replacing conventional shop pre-season pre-orders key 3T dealer shops are now able to reserve the 5000 production slots for the Italia series bikes for the 2024 year ahead That way they still estimate how many premium 3T bikes they expect to sell in the next year color & build spec almost at the last minute That means that if your local shop reserved production slots they can likely get you the exact semi-customized bike & build you want in around 6 weeks instead of the much longer lead times a made-to-order carbon bike would usually entail Modern 3T re-founder & CEO Rene Wiertz describe this as a huge benefit of the flexibility of manufacturing the Italia models in-house with the filament wound RTM technique Another tidbit of 3T industry news is a reorganization of their management Italian investment firm UTurn bought into 3T on this idea of increasing nimble made-in-Italy manufacturing has sold his stake and stepped down as CEO of the company that he bought as a name only back in 2007 and turned into a component then gravel bike manufacturing powerhouse together with Gerard Vroomen and now 70 employees Taking over the 3T CEO management role is UTurn’s Luca Mongodi saying “3T is changing the game of the bike industry and we are happy to be able to accelerate this fundamental change with our investment in the in-house carbon factory and bike assembly and creating sustainable jobs in Italy“ Wiertz & Mongodi see this as a great opportunity for 3T to grow even bigger & better internationally 3T promised that “all” of their bike models will be available in Italia versions by the end of this year And 3T plans to “rapidly” expand Italian production capacity next year Expect to see even more Italian-made bikes As UTurn fuels 3T to grow its tech-focused approach to gravel 3T.bike Pretty sure the Zipp 303s spec’ed here is only 23mm internal width Seems like a bad choice for a bike built around ~2″ tires I have run a similar setup and the tires feel squirrelly even on 25mm internal Thats also when XC rims start to go wider (my scott scale 700 SL has internal width of 25mm and specced with 2.1” tyres) So i would expect gravel scene to follow suit shortly What spacing are these new frames? I ask because you mention a 55m chainline in relation to the Torno Wide cranks. However, SRAM specify a 52mm chainline for 142mm OLD frames (search for “chainline” in SRAM Transmission specifications) but aero for climbing gnarly singletrack and loaded with packed bags I guess they only have one frame design and they wanted a piece of the bikepack market You will likely have some serious toe overlap if you’re running big tires This bike looks way too stiff and compact for a weeks long ride on rough tracks and gravel but closer to what the typical 3T customer is looking for In the meantime those who do events like the Atlas Silk Road and Tour Divide routes will continue to use cross country hardtails What most people seem to miss about the 3T Exploro range is their versatility as N-1 quiver killers on road and off The Racemax and Ultra (the sweet spot in the range IMO) are the leading innovators in this space The Extrema attempts to take this further whilst succumbing to the misguided notion that 700c wheels with 29er mtb tyres are somehow faster than 650b wheels with the same width tyres yet forgetting that serious long distance bikepacking racers and travellers alike ride cross-country hardtails with full low mtb gearing If the Extrema came with 30t mtb chainring/cranks but then it would no longer be as good on road which is Gerard Vroomen’s underlying design principle Aprilia’s measured but inexorable rise to the front of the MotoGP pack in recent months with two victories in three races plus a Sprint race win has reaffirmed the Piaggio-owned brand’s sporting credentials at the highest level this was the extent of Aprilia’s race wins for the year -TS] It’s also served as a parting testimony to the late Roberto Colaninno Chairman/CEO of Piaggio who passed away on August 19 just days after his 80th birthday and a fortnight after Aleix Espargaró’s Silverstone race victory saw Aprilia turn the tables on its Ducati rivals For stock market wheeler-dealer Colaninno deserves credit for taking his eye off the balance sheet long enough to give Aprilia’s race team sufficient budget to elbow aside big spenders Ducati and KTM in a successful drive for MotoGP glory The Silverstone victory must have given him special satisfaction before passing on to meet his maker the Noale-based manufacturer’s sporting heritage had already been reinstated this year in its dealer showrooms Ever since its 2021 debut in the marketplace Aprilia’s RS660 parallel-Twin has been the standout seller in the ever more hotly contested 500-750cc middleweight sector fought over by more than a dozen different manufacturers from East and West the more than 20,000 such motorcycles which company owner Piaggio has so far found owners for in 72 countries around the world since deliveries began in January 2021 make this the current best-selling sportbike globally outselling anything else with up to twice the engine capacity from Austria The arrival of Aprilia’s middleweight twin saw the RS660 draw a new line in the sand for street-legal sportbikes Costing less than half the price of the same company’s RSV4 1100 in real world terms it’s proved much more accessible than the uber-Superbike it’s distantly derived from But it’s arguably also just as thrilling to ride even – or maybe especially – for more experienced riders and getting harder on the gas that much sooner is in so many ways much more of a buzz than simply opening the throttle wide open and holding on tight The Tuono 660 naked spinoff model that followed soon after turned out to be a close derivative of its sporting sister minus some bodywork and with a different riding position and the Tuareg 660 adventure tourer has since brought the same accessible performance allied to customer friendly electronics to the off-road sector But it’s notable that the RS660 has outsold the Tuono all around the world presumably partly because there’s very little price difference between the two but also more track-friendly version of the RS660 which revives the Extrema name first attached to a street-legal Aprilia back in 1992 when the hitherto off-road focused brand first delved into the performance streetbike sector with the 125 Extrema This Rotax-powered race replica of the RS125R on which Alessandro Gramigni had won the first of Aprilia’s 45 road racing World Championship titles that same year was a best-selling dreambike for Italian youth but its minuscule size inevitably restricted its global appeal There are no such issues with the RS660 Extrema which retains the same overall mechanical platform as the base model but comes with its bodywork decked out in a dedicated red-and-white color scheme as well as copious carbon fiber bodywork items like the front mudguard But it has quite a different aesthetic thanks to the street-legal stainless steel exhaust system with a carbon-wrap silencer it carries that’s been developed and made by SC Project which also supplies the exhausts for Aleix Espargaró’s MotoGP-winning Aprilia RS-GP this marks a big change from the ultra-compact standard RS660’s system in exiting conventionally on the right side of the bike as opposed to the stock bike’s exhaust being located under the engine Official peak power is supposedly unchanged but it’s reliably understood the Extrema is 2bhp more powerful than the stock RS660 and one of these was fitted to the bike Aprilia arranged for me to ride for a day at the 2.2-mile Cremona circuit in Italy’s wheat belt Doing so confirmed that this bike rewrites the script for sporting streetbikes even further in proving that the old cliché that less can indeed be more is still valid While the dynamic excellence of its engine performance and handling qualities are standout features another key element in the Extrema’s makeup is its ultra-rational riding position and overall architecture For this is a twin which thinks it’s a single centralized mass and short 53.9in (1370mm) wheelbase which translates into nimble handling and agile steering yet without sacrificing stability either on fast sweeping turns or under the excellent braking delivered by its Brembo brake package Yet you have no sense when sitting aboard its 32.3-inch seat that this version of the RS660 is overly cramped for a 5’10” rider or that you’re sitting perched atop it like on a more extreme 600 Four or 675 Triple Supersport contender which until now has represented the pointy end of the middleweight sportbike sector you feel that you’re sitting in the Aprilia rather than on it and moreover the voluptuously shaped upper triple-clamp carries the flat-set handlebars (complete with hefty balance weights to offset vibration) higher than the top of the fully-adjustable 41mm Kayaba fork legs thanks also to the way the seat narrows where it meets the fuel tank it’s not only easy even for shorter riders to put both feet flat on the ground you also don’t have any excessive body weight bearing down on your wrists or forearms The Aprilia twin has a balanced riding position that’s adequately spacious thanks to the quite low-set flip-up alloy footrests with a distinct ridge on the end so that your feet don’t slip off them Yet these aren’t so low that ground clearance becomes a problem even with the excellent grip from the relatively skinny 5.50-inch rear wheel and 180/55-17 Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II dual-compound tire mounted on it which contribute to the sense of agility endemic in the Extrema This is a cleverly concocted motorcycle that’ll make riders of a wide range of statures feel completely at home It’s also a versatile model which can be used to ride to a circuit for a weekend track day or for a Sunday morning blast along racer road The Extrema also excels by offering relative newbies or older returnees the chance to expand their horizons in riding terms on a bike that is far from intimidating Delivering a claimed 100 bhp at 10,500 rpm while weighing just 366 lbs dry (or 397 lbs fully loaded with 4 gallons of fuel) with peak torque of 49.42ft-lb on tap at 8,500 rpm the Aprilia RS660 Extrema sets a middleweight twin performance benchmark that no other manufacturer has yet surpassed Though its overall design is less extreme than the RSV4 it’s partly derived from the RS660 Extrema’s aesthetics share an undisputed family resemblance with Aprilia’s World champion Superbike – not surprising since both were the work of design teams headed by legendary progettista Miguel Galluzzi who attributes the overall credit for the RS660’s gorgeous looks to Aprilia’s Noale-based long-time senior designer Aprilia’s trademark triple LED headlights are sharply positioned and the daytime running lights wrapped around the two main headlights provide a distinctive facial signature to the bike Direction indicators are integrated into the DRL profiles though for someone of my height there was barely enough space for me to tuck behind the domed screen to gain protection from windblast down the Cremona track’s kilometer-long main straight But the trump card of this middleweight marvel is its glorious engine This 660 parallel-twin has an exhaust note that’s engaging from the very moment you fire it up sounding more like an offbeat version of an old-style Norton Commando than the ‘pretend’ 90° V-twin Ducati soundtrack you’d expect its 270° crank to deliver It pulls smoothly away from rest with hardly any use of the cable-operated slipper clutch’s light-action lever and starts to drive hard from just 2,500 rpm before really taking off when the ultra-clear seven-inch TFT dash readout hits 4,500 revs and that gorgeous motor really comes on strong with a totally linear pull to the five-figure limiter Already at 4,000 rpm there’s 80% of the peak torque already on offer This makes the Aprilia extremely forgiving and easy to ride hard on simply by surfing that super-flat torque curve and the quite significant power on tap for a 660 twin starts to build strongly from 7,000 revs upwards and it was noticeable in doing so that the vibration above six grand that I’d noticed riding the original RS660 streetbike three years ago was now absent – Aprilia engineers must have reweighted the balance shafts to achieve this You’ll hit the soft-action digital limiter at 11,500rpm so I shifted up at 10,800 revs when the shifter light on the dash started flashing Using the sweet-action two-way powershifter to hug that midrange torque curve in tighter sections of the Cremona track made the Extrema improbably easy This is a bike which will turn less experienced riders into pros because of its confidence inspiring ride qualities and the ultra-accessible nature of its engine performance And the more experienced will simply end up asking themselves if they really need twice as much horsepower from almost double the cubes to get real world satisfaction riding on public roads or race tracks alike which typically for Aprilia are ultra-accessible as well as very complete They’re also true rider aids which fulfill their purpose of helping you ride fast without imposing their electronic solutions on you The Challenge mode in the Track suite delivers a strong but by no means snatchy pickup from a closed throttle exiting a tighter turn and even in the customized Time Attack mode that Aprilia had concocted for the bike I was riding These sportier electronic programs compared to the Dynamic mode in the Road suite let you relish the crisp acceleration and satisfying midrange roll-on in third and fourth gears especially The Aprilia’s refined pickup and engine braking management allow you to get the best out of the engine in any context: it’s satisfyingly responsive when you want to ride harder Moving at 100mph sees the engine turning at just 7,500 rpm so just two-thirds of the way to that 11,500 rpm redline This is an absolutely superlative track day bike which on a twisty circuit will eat one-liter Superbikes for lunch in the hands of a moderately skilled rider – and deliver heaps of satisfaction maybe not for the guys on the Superbikes…. That was proved in my case by sharing the Cremona track with an Aprilia Tuono 1100 Factory riding school whose V4 motors almost doubled-up in capacity versus the Extrema let them steam past my ‘Aprilietta’ down that long main straight its lighter weight allowed me to close up and pass them in the tight technical twisty sections of the circuit heading back to the top of that straight I’d tuck in behind them to get as much of a tow as I could and I was pleasantly surprised just how much muscle the RS660 Extrema had in driving hard out of the slow second-gear turn entering it for a quoted 144mph that I couldn’t approach at Cremona where the Extrema wouldn’t pull a true top gear Made for a German autobahn or the Mugello pit straight At both ends of the straight the no-clutch powershifter that comes as standard on the Extrema was faultless with some degree of engine braking still left dialed into the slipper clutch settings that helped me max out stopping power without any instability or any trace of chatter from the rear Pirelli And in the tight second-gear turns that ended the lap at Cremona the Extrema felt light and easy to change direction on flicking from side to side as ample demonstration of the weight-saving diet Aprilia engineers had subjected it to I did initially feel the rear wheel lifting off the tarmac under hard braking for the second-gear left-hander at the end of the straight but that was soon fixed by ‘my’ Aprilia engineer taking one turn off the preload for the rear Öhlins shock thus extending its length and giving a touch more travel because it felt so ideally balanced and the steering geometry so well-chosen the Extrema’s ultra-forgiving handling was completely intuitive with excellent feedback from the front Pirelli thanks to the surprisingly compliant and responsive Kayaba fork that’s anodised to look like a far costlier Öhlins front end Yet it was just as effective in damping out the occasional bump or lump in the Cremona track surface while allowing you to maximize the lightweight bike’s appetite for turn speed Like most previous Aprilia designs the well-designed full-color TFT dash is very readable at a quick glance with the different pages of data easily available – though scrolling through them is best done at rest But the Home page has just enough data to avoid being overcrowded a quickly legible gear selected readout on the right the time and trip (of two) selected on the bottom right and the tacho sweeping across the top of the speedo then the engine temp and fuel level above that There are six warning lights across the bottom of the screen but a total of no less than 17 all told dotted around the dash outside the screen No risk of being under-informed riding this motorcycle Back in the mists of time I owned a Ducati 748SP a Supersport racer with lights which was the ultimate late-’90s track day tool This Yellow Peril had sufficient horsepower to thrill but not so much I’d be in constant risk in those pre-electronic days of unhooking the rear wheel if I got greedy about seeking an early drive out of a slowish turn You had to really work hard at exploiting its maximum performance revving it out in all the gears and doing your utmost to exploit its optimum turn speed – not the strongest point of an L-twin Ducati But this junior ducatina was quite enough motorcycle to thrill and the satisfaction you’d get from beating up more potent 996 Desmo V-twins of the Superbike persuasion on a tight infield section was immense – especially if you could tuck in their wake when they inevitably blasted past you in a straight line before getting your own back in the tight stuff – again So riding the Aprilia RS660 Extrema at Cremona was a total trip down memory lane for me – and anyone who buys one has a treat in store 2024 Aprilia RS 660 Extrema Specifications liquid-cooled with radiator and water-oil heat exchanger double overhead camshaft (DOHC) with silent chain drive on the right side 6 gears with Aprilia Quick Shift (AQS) up-and-down system Oil bath multi-disc with anti-hopping system APRC suite which includes ATC (traction control) Double beam aluminium frame with detachable rear seat Kayaba upside down fork ∅ 41 mm adjustable for rebound & compression damping and spring preload Aluminium swingarm with asymmetrical trusses Monoshock with adjustable rebound damping and spring preload Brembo Monoblock radial calipers with 4 ∅ 32mm opposing pistons 220mm diameter disc; Brembo caliper with two ∅ 34mm pistons Pump with integrated tank and metal braided hose In cast aluminium alloy Front: 3.50 x 17 in Tubeless Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa radials front: 120/70 ZR 17 rear: 180/55 ZR 17 (alternatively 180/60 ZR17) Become a Motorcycle.com insider. Get the latest motorcycle news first by subscribing to our newsletter here More by Alan Cathcart I just wish this machine was available 10 years ago at the peak of my track day exploits Aprilia is celebrating the success of the RS660 worldwide (and claiming it’s the best-selling sportbike in Europe) with this – the RS660 Extrema The name is modeled after that of the Aprilia 125 Extrema one of the highest-performing and fastest eighth-liter bikes ever The highlight feature of the Extrema is the SC Project exhaust system which now exits on the right side of the bike instead of underneath it on the standard RS660 A black aluminum anodized exhaust bracket replaces the stock passenger pegs Further weight reduction comes from the carbon fiber front fender and bellypan The single-seat tail fairing replaces the passenger seat (which probably doesn’t see much use anyway) Aprilia says the RS660 Extrema tips the scales at 366 lbs (166 kg) In addition to the standard electronics on the RS 660 (which include traction control and wheelie control – all adjustable) the RS660 Extrema also has software that allows you to set up the quickshifter in upside-down This means that the gearbox can be configured completely autonomously in street or race version – ideal for track days The new dedicated white and red livery is clearly sport-inspired and contributes to making it recognizable at a glance Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006 he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011 A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years Troy's interests have always been in technology racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level He's also won multiple club races throughout the country culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011 He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP More by Troy Siahaan Remove the passenger hangers/pegs and get a hanger for the pipe Aprilia has always had some good looking bikes All these great pics of the new models are awesome. Thanks motorcycle.com staff to enhance your user experience. By clicking anywhere on the page or scrolling down the content you can temporarily hide this banner you are giving your consent for us to set cookies Extrema Ratio has been cooking something big for all knife enthusiasts living in the United States: the new e-commerce platform www.extremaratiousa.com   structuring and giving further strength to an Italian brand that in the world of knives does not require particular presentations The company has invested in resources and skills with the aim of becoming even more competitive than it has been to date Among the most important objectives there was obviously also the US market. And finally, the new American subsidiary Extrema Ratio U.S.A. has recently become operative. Thanks to its own warehouse and the new online platform extremaratiousa.com customers in the United States can order and receive our Made in Italy products in the blink of an eye This new operational headquarters will take care of directly managing the relationship with American customers for B2C sales The new graphics offers www.extremaratiousa.com a clear and intuitive browsing experience Purchasing on www.extremaratiousa.com is possible only and exclusively with a physical delivery address within the territory of the United States of America (except for P.O GUNSweek.com is an online platform dedicated to information on the gun culture and history on shooting activities and the diffusion of technical knowledge in the gun world Knowledge to understand better and to a responsible approach to the gun world and its rules Copyright © 2016-2025 Digitoolmedia Srls VAT No. IT12346351005 but this latest model goes bikepacking with dedicated mounts and even bigger tire clearance without moving away from their aero origins They even started their own factory in Italy to build frames and their Torno cranksets Now comes their latest bike dubbed the 3T Extrema which doubles down on their distinctive design language but pushes into bikepacking Yes, you could strap a bunch of bikepacking bags to the likes of their Exploro Racemax and Exploro Ultra bikes But the Extrema fits a 29 x 2.2″ tire and has real cargo mounts with the intention of covering serious distances on terrain their other bikes simply couldn’t We’ve seen the basics of a bike like this before They even mentioned hike-a-bike in the press material one we’re curious to ride to see how well the concept works We have one we’ll be putting through its paces for a review; see the details 3T came on the scene as the pioneer of the aero gravel bike Several iterations of the Exploro later and we come to the Extrema which 3T says is their most capable bike yet And while the bike is their first with bikepacking concessions it still holds true to their theme of dual-duty on and off-road The Extrema really leans into off-road riding with tire clearance being the key difference 3T claims a maximum tire clearance of 57 mm WAM The difference here is that while the Exploro Racemax does it with a 650b wheel the Extrema fits a 29 x 2.2” tire with a similarly fast rider position The Extrema features three-pack mounts on each fork blade a concession to aero efficiency but a chance to carry more gear on the front of the bike Also new to 3T is the Sram Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) which allows for the use of the Sram Eagle Transmission rear derailleur rather than the somewhat cumbersome derailleur hanger system 3T has used in the past Extrema also receives the new 3T Integrale internal cable routing system which fits the brake hoses under the stem and down through the headset The stem features an internal clamping system with no external bolts to clamp on the steerer tube and tighten down the headset the Extrema doesn’t look all that different from the Exploro Racemax which doesn’t look all that different from the Exploro Ultra 3T has made a bit of a name for themselves for making bikes that lean into speed The bike’s aero detailing has only evolved over the years all with the pretense that the bike was fast enough on the road to join a road ride and keep up if you really wanted to Part of that comes down to longer chain stay lengths an absolute necessity to fit those big tires and a front derailleur (!!!) But rather than the short 419 mm chain stays of the Exploro Ultra the Extrema receives far longer 437 mm chain stays across all sizes The front-center length is longer across each of the four sizes as well, though this measurement is considerably shorter than other drop bar bikes with similar tire clearances, including the Lauf Seigla and Salsa Cutthroat Fit measurements are considerably more upright than previous 3T bikes (they call it their ‘3Touring’ geometry) though compared to the aforementioned Seigla and Salsa Cutthroat the 3T Extrema is a bit more aggressively positioned Really, the closest thing I can find to the geometry here is the Otso Waheela C though the Waheela C features a drop out flip chip to adjust chain stay lengths based on rider preference There aren’t many carbon frame bikes that offer this kind of geometry or tire clearance The 3T Extrema lineup is available in both as a frameset or a complete bike. All complete builds come with electronic shifting, with the mid-spec Extrema Italia receiving a Rockshox Reverb AXS dropper seat post. Complete bikes come with 50 mm wide Contintental Race King tires. 3T says the bike is available starting today both online and at select retailers we have one sitting in a box waiting to be built groove thrashers EXTREMA released the album “Tension At The Seams” setting a new standard of quality never before achieved by an Italian metal band both in terms of songwriting and arrangements The album represented a true turning point for the band’s future as it’s their pinnacle record for what would come in the following years from this visionary album they became one of the most sought-after bands across the country and went on performing hundreds of concerts along with sharing the stage with giants like Metallica Extrema is excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Tension At The Seams” with an exclusive boxset edition that will be available for purchase on Rockshots Records The 30th-anniversary edition is remastered from the original tapes and available in three formats: Vinyl Blue edition the boxset includes a rich and exclusive storybook with unpublished photos and notes from industry insiders close to the band at the time of the album’s release there is a never-before-published photo of the original lineup two big pins with the legendary band logo and album cover The boxset is a limited edition and available for pre-order at this link: ​http://bit.ly/ExtremaTensionBOXSET​ on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary Tsunami Edizioni will release the official biography “Un Fottuto Massacro Collettivo” (A Fucking Collective Massacre) written by Max Villa with contributions from Enrico Salvini (Extrema’s longtime manager) former members Those lucky enough to have known Extrema since the time of “Tension…” are well aware that the band has written many important chapters of Italian-made metal That’s why the iconic Tsunami Edizioni also wanted to be part of this celebration dedicating a book to EXTREMA that could closely recount the details – even the uncomfortable ones – of a story that deserved to be told The book will also be available during the band’s special 30th Anniversary concert on October 7th which will also see the return of guitarist Marco Cassone (Fuzz Fuzz Machine Cowboys From Hell) to complete the quintet’s lineup TENSION AT THE SEAMS 30th ANNIVERSARY SHOW will be held on Saturday at Slaughter Club in Paderno Dugnano (MI)/ It will be a special event where Extrema will treat the fans to a lethal set list featuring a large portion of tracks from their debut masterpiece some of which have been absent from their shows for over twenty years along with the most representative killer tracks of their incredible career EXTREMA | TENSION AT THE SEAMS 30th ANNIVERSARY SHOW ​​https://link.dice.fm/wa8427854dbf​ DEVOLVER Takes A New Look At Melodic Death Metal With Single “Jewels of the Maw” Enter The Dark World Of DEAD FIELDS of WOOLWICH With Their Video “I’ve Made It To Hell” Off Self-Titled Debut Album It costs us money to keep Metal-Rules.com up and running. If you appreciate us and our ongoing commitment to heavy metal, please consider helping with a donation to help pay for server, hosting and development bills.MH Themes The RS660 has been nothing but a roaring success for Aprilia in 2021/22 the company is celebrating by launching the 2023 2023 Aprilia RS660 Extrema it’s not like you’ve got electronic Ohlins suspension or carbon fiber wheels thrown in but you will get a new SC Project titanium race exhaust system that exits on the right side of the bike next to the swingarm doing away with the hidden muffler that sits under the suspension on the standard model There’s no passenger pegs and thus no passenger seat on the Extrema and there’s more weight saving going on in the carbon fender and belly pan with Aprilia claiming a curb weight of 366 lb The RS 660 already has multi-level traction control but the Extrema will get a quickshifter that allows the rider to change gear direction from one down five up road shift pattern to a one up/five down race pattern without having to mess with lever lengths and pivots which will be a handy feature for budding track riders Topping the list is the pretty tricolor paint job that looks a little like some of the bikes that were running in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup series this year MSRP and just when the 2023 Aprilia RS660 Extrema will hit dealer floors in America remains to be seen For more Aprilia news and reviews, click here Aprilia’s RS 660 platform has never been short on sporty equipment As a prime contender in the super twins category nimble handling with a class-leading 100-horsepower rating There may be little room to climb higher on the dyno charts but Aprilia is willing to go lower in other areas cutting the 2023 RS660 Extrema down to fighting weight Introduced at EICMA 2022, the new Extrema variant takes everything we love about Noale’s middleweight sport model and gives us less—weight that is. Aprilia’s carbon fiber diet starts with the SC-Project exhaust which comes standard on the trimmed-down trim The new system mounts the carbon-fiber end can alongside the swingarm thanks to a new black anodized aluminum bracket Aprilia designers complement that relocated silencer by reshaping the belly pan as well carbon fiber constructs that new unit and matches the Extrema’s carbon fiber front mudguard These measures amount to a 3 kg (6.6 pounds) weight saving with Aprilia reporting a 166 kg (366 pounds) dry weight compared to the base model RS’s 169 kg (372.6 pounds) Aprilia assumes you won’t be carrying any passengers the OEM still includes passenger pegs hung from the Extrema’s tail section Anyone looking for additional fat trimmings the specially-equipped RS also benefits from a new software patch that enables a GP shift pattern For those unfamiliar with the reverse-shift orientation riders stomp down on the shifter to ascend through the gears and pull up on the lever to downshift Extrema’s quickshifter will make those gear changes even easier To match the trim’s new raceway ambitions, Aprilia adorns the sportbike in graphics that fuse the checkered flag and the Italian flag. Unfortunately, the Noale firm hasn’t announced availability or pricing yet. The 2023 Aprilia RS 660 Extrema proves that sometimes less is more Let’s hope the brand keeps that in mind when it comes to the MSRP This Retro-Styled Electric Motorcycle Looks Like a Fun and Practical Daily Ride Suzuki Really Wants You To Test Ride the New DR-Z4S Aprilia Announces 2024 RS 660 Trofeo One-Make Racing Series Aprilia Shows Off Limited-Edition RS 660 In Red the new Extrema Ratio DMP has all the usual qualities the Italian brand is famous for with a blade that manages to satisfy very different requisites The Extrema ratio DMP is a multipurpose knife that manages to check all the right boxes in a field where trying to create something that does everything well is always difficult at best for the possibility of ending up with the “worst of both worlds” is real given that a knife has to satisfy many requirements most of which are in conflict with one another This is why since its inception as the second oldest tool in human history after the hammer specialized knives have existed to perform specific tasks one of the main characteristics of the knife is that the italian manufacturer takes a shot at a knife that can perform well in most fields Its length of 152 mm (5.98”) makes it long enough for a lot of hard work without adding too much encumbrance or weight the balance point of the knife is slightly forward so that the blade actually performs better as a chopper than it would appear at first glance At 283 g (9.98 oz) the Extrema Ratio DMP is no feather The blade has a narrow fuller to save just enough weight and the modified drop point tip is as good as a tool as it is as a weapon while its full length plain edge is still the best choice for a knife that has to perform well as a general purpose tool The scabbard and harness are kept to a minimum yet do an excellent job at encasing the blade in a solid polymer sheath with very secure retention which is also reversible for left handed users The harness is minimalist and designed to be compatible with PALS webbing or backpack straps adds to the versatility of the Extrema Ratio DMP Read more about the Extrema Ratio DMP... Aprilia is back again with their 660 cc lineup of motorcycles, including the RS 660 sportbike. Aprilia hasn’t highlighted any updates for the 2023 model year a new model package is available to replace last year’s limited edition model As with the other 660 bikes among Aprilia’s lineup the RS 660 utilizes a 659cc parallel-twin engine which makes 100 hp and just under 50 lb-ft of torque Weighing in at a meagre 403 lb curb weight we can see why this bike is considered such a track weapon The RS sits with a seat height of 32.3 inches making it an extremely approachable bike for a lot of riders Both the Kayaba front forks and the rear shock are rebound and preload adjustable which is sure to make personalizing the bike a dream The Italian-built motorcycle features a state-of-the-art APRC system which makes riding this little monster so much easier The APRC comes equipped with things like traction control and wheelie control The brand-new Extrema model is only available in a unique “checkered flag” livery It also comes with an Sc Project exhaust and some carbon goodies which Aprilia says has helped to drop the bike by over six pounds The standard model is offered in three colourways The 2023 Aprilia RS 660 starts at $11,499 USD/ $13,995 CAD so you can read up on the new 2023 Aprilia RS 660/Extrema in one place From Aprilia The RS 660 celebrated its first significant competitive milestone with a special edition featuring a Stars and Stripes livery single-seat tail fairing and reverse quick shift gears The result is a very special memento of all the victories in the 2021 Twins Cup the prestigious American championship for midweight twin-cylinder motorcycles and considered the leading motorbike series in the States the two journalists asked the same question: “When could I come back for another ride?“ Originally developed for use in racing then fine-tuned for the road the APRC system is an advanced electronic control solution It is a total package designed to ensure safety on roads and improved performance on the track The RS 660 boasts the latest APRC (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) package of electronic controls This advanced inertial six-axis navigation system uses internal gyroscopes and acceleration sensors to understand the engine’s status as it relates to the road in real time and provide instant adjustments to help improve performance and safety 2021 Aprilia RS 660 Review | Daily Rider by Revzilla Aprilia RS 660 Review: The Perfect Sportsbike For The Road We’ve joined selected affiliate programs which will allow us to place advertisements for select motorcycle and motorcycle-related product retailers on the site See our review policies for more information wBW provides subjective opinions and information on hard-to-find and unique motorcycling products Learn more about us Aprilia’s bestselling sportbike gets lighter Aprilia has brought just one new model, or variation of a model, to EICMA 2022.  But that one model is the bestselling sportbike for the Italian firm. The 2023 RS 660 Extrema version is based on the RS 660 platform but adds a number of carbon fiber components that bring the weight down to 366 pounds dry for an attractive power-to-weight ratio given the 100 hp produced by the 660′s parallel twin A street-legal SC-Project exhaust system also helps bring the weight down thanks to a silencer in carbon fiber The mounting bracket for the exhaust bracket also allows for the removal of the passenger pegs Both the front fender and bellypan are high-quality carbon fiber The RS 660′s electronic suite now includes a new quickshifter software that allows the rider to select GP-style upside-down shifting pattern quickly and easily Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen Cycle World may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site Copyright © 2025 Cycle World. An Octane Media, LLC Publication Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited Aprilia shows off a svelte 2023 RS 660 Extrema As part of this year’s EICMA Motorcycle Show, Aprilia showcased a lighter version of its popular RS 660 middleweight sportbike The RS 660 Extrema packs numerous elements which help it to shave weight giving it one of the most impressive power to weight ratios in the class There’s no information on pricing or if the bike will be available in the States but in the meantime it sure is fun to look at Editor’s note: we’ve reported on the performance of the RS 660 during the 2021 Aprilia RS 660 First Ride Review article and video We’ve found the 400-ish-pound base-model RS 660 to be above average on track and street rides so the 365-pound Extrema likely won’t disappoint in the slightest Elements of the Extrema that help it achieve such an impressive weight savings include carbon fiber parts throughout such as the new front mudguard and bellypan There’s also a street-legal exhaust system designed by SC-Project with a carbon silencer positioned so the passenger footpegs can easily be removed if desired The bike will come with software installed to make equipping a quickshifter a breeze The Extrema also features a single-seat tail fairing though the bike will still come with a two-up seat if riding with a passenger is required and green livery paying homage to its country of origin Motorcyclist may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site Copyright © 2025 Motorcyclist. An Octane Media, LLC Publication It is almost nine o'clock at night and fans are anxious in Mexico's Neza Arena an old and dingy building in one of the most crime-ridden suburbs of Mexico City they scream and whistle louder and louder to urge the fighters to begin the show including fights that spill out beyond the ring We already have too much violence in this country," said Crazy Boy head of a company that used to be called Total Ultra-Violent Disaster the old name a reference to Mexico's brutal drug violence The nine-year-old company has zeroed in on fans who want to see wrestling that is different - and bloodier - than Mexico's traditional deeply rooted version in which the fights are often more spectacle that real combat and they're always asking for something more," added Crazy Boy who declined to give his real name because he said keeping separate identities is key to preserving the sport's allure Crazy Boy's company was re-branded about a year ago in an effort to distance it from violent connotations and is now known as DTU Mexican Professional Fighting While extreme fights have become increasingly popular in the country DTU has a lower profile than the more famous professional "Lucha Libre" circuit and tends to book smaller venues When the time comes for the Extreme Star Fight They bash each other with chairs and long neon lights causing small explosions and scattering tiny pieces of glass everywhere even use plastic knives and forks to hurt their opponents blood begins to stain the faces of the combatants and the crowd goes wild The screaming and yelling goes on for some time as fans swear at the fighters who ignore them After 15 minutes of pitched battle in and out of the ring a pair of winners emerges as a referee raises their arms in victory But it only lasts a brief moment as new challenges and insults come at them almost immediately There's a heavy tension in the air for a few minutes as losers hurl insults at the winners But in the end everyone hugs and praises each other's physical skills a fraternal show of brotherhood marks the end of the night Many fans head for the exits while others seek out autographs and selfies with their favorite fighters the arena's cleaning staff begins to clear the trash and clean up the spilled blood that covers the ring proof that this indeed is extreme fighting Overall length: 230.0 mm / 9.06″Blade length: 119.0 mm / 4.68″Handle length: n.d.Weight: 123.0 g / 4.34 oz Blade material: Böhler N690Blade hardness: 58 HRCBlade grind: FlatBlade finish: Geotech Camo Sheath (holster): Kydex/NylonAdditional accessories: Waterproof case The stamped nylon sheath has been designed to be extremely flat and very narrow Knife design makes the sheath ambidextrous and allows to insert the knife with the edge on the left or the right The integral twin retention system is composed of four pressure elements that work one pair at a time according to the direction the knife is inserted while the textile nylon part has a button and a strap to secure the knife to the sheath The tip of the sheath has a hole to allow debris or liquids to be expelled simply by blowing into it ULTICLIP or malice clip making it extremely versatile while it is also possible to attach it to a M.O.L.L.E webbing just by weaving paracord through it The Extrema Ratio S-THIL Black Warfare ‘Special Edition’ is delivered in a weather dust and shock resistant Polypropylene IP67 certified waterproof case double grit sharpening plate (ceramic and synthetic diamond) and a metal plaque bearing the progressive number within the limited series Blade thickness: 5.0 mm / 0.2″Handle thickness: 5.0 mm / 0.2″ You can find more information on Extrema Ratio’s product page Since I’m quite tempted myself (it would look great besides some review items I noted that there are a few online shops that still carry it Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics More by Eric B Extrema ratio peaked with RAO and Fulcrum | Change my mind as Cliff Stamp ground one to suicidally thin and it still held up to reasonably hard use However that's the best thing I will sayabout their knives They live up to "sharpened folding prybar" in every sense The only thing you're going to hear if you use this thing in actual warfare is "MEDIC!! Ack...find my fingers...find my fingers...MEDIC!!!" this powerful survival knife has been developed from a previous model designed for military use We wanted to put the Extrema Ratio Selvans – which is available with or without a survival kit – to the test We mistreated the Selvans during a day of intensive testing on four classy knives But since we still had some time to dedicate to the Selvans we decided to take him around the woods to test it further we are opposed to tests in which knives are subjected to absurd strains that have no connection with real use Since none of us would use a hammer to paint a wall we'll never use a knife to cut a nail in two or for other experiments that are certainly curious but impractical All we can do is invite you to watch our video Deutschlandinfo@vsmedien.de International contact to all4shooters.com:info@all4shooters.com The international editorial team General Terms and Conditions Terms of Use Colophon Contacts Privacy Policy © 2022, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. From a press release issued By Aprilia: A SPECIAL VERSION OF THE BEST-SELLING SPORT BIKE IN EUROPE MAKES ITS DÉBUT AT EICMA 2022: IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY AN EXCLUSIVE EQUIPMENT PACKAGE AND BEARS A NAME SYNONYMOUS WITH SPORTINESS AND THE SOFTWARE FOR THE UPSIDE-DOWN GEARBOX MAKE RS 660 EXTREMA THE SPORTIEST AND LIGHTEST IN THE RANGE Credit for the great success achieved by the RS 660 sold in 72 countries and currently the best-selling sport bike in Europe goes to Aprilia’s fortunate 660 project which skillfully interprets sportiness in an innovative and modern way through a range of lightweight and high performance bikes as well as technical and electronic features usually reserved for models in higher categories to give expert riders a thrilling ride but at the same time accessible and fun even for everyday use by new riders the sportiest version of the current RS 660 model range The name is reminiscent of that of the Aprilia 125 Extrema one of the highest performances and fastest eighth-liter ever Thanks to its refined and new standard equipment RS 660 Extrema tips the scale with an amazing curb weight of 166 kg and sets a new bar in terms of weight to power ratio (which comes in at 100 HP is fundamental for fun on the road and effective riding on the track This milestone is achieved by the special standard equipment which includes a new and lighter street-legal exhaust system by SC Project with carbon silencer positioned on the right side (and no longer beneath the engine) It also comes with the black anodized aluminum silencer bracket which allows you to remove the passenger foot pegs Also contributing to the overall reduction in weight are the front mudguard and the new belly pan with a brand-new design The sporty nature of RS 660 Extrema is also emphasized by the single-seat tail fairing which replaces the passenger seat to enhance the sleek design of the rear area which maintains its two-up riding approval and wheelie control – all adjustable) RS 660 Extrema also has software that allows you to set up quick shift in upside-down configuration in street or race version – ideal for track days | © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) A press release is not an article written by Roadracingworld.com staffers When a post is labeled with the words “press release” it means that Roadracingworld.com is not responsible for its content and that Roadracingworld.com makes no guarantee that it is accurate Not all press releases are posted and Roadracingworld.com may reject press releases if the content is too heavy on commercial promotion with little or no news value or if the press release contains obvious errors If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys trigger buttons and links using the Enter key navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus) and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible we are continually improving our accessibility updating and improving its options and features and developing and adopting new technologies All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility USA’s Orbital Extrema aren’t ones to play by the rules and their sixteen-track debut album “Apsis” is a flawless example of how they are doing things differently The galactic instrumental technical death metal album boasts complex arrangements and melodic riffs that will send listeners into space “I think one of the most appropriate ways to enjoy ‘Apsis’ is while driving or during a workout in the gym Concept albums have always been very inspiring for us and ‘Apsis’ is thematically consistent with a story in mind despite there being no vocals/lyrics on the record We wanted to provide music that was thematically consistent with the instrumentation and song titles as well as order the songs in a way that not only ebbed and flowed appropriately but also made a cohesive story-telling experience through the variety of musical sections present in the album.” “Apsis” evolved into a full-length album following significant personal events for each band member and the unique creative environment fostered by the pandemic during the lockdown portions of 2020-2021 representing Orbital Extrema‘s commitment to crafting a captivating and intense instrumental tech death experience The name “Orbital Extrema” itself is a nod to celestial orbits and mathematical extrema reflecting the band’s deep-rooted fascination with science “Apsis” defies conventional instrumental metal norms by blending the intensity and technicality of technical death metal with the adventurous spirit of progressive metal The album delves into the wonders of space it is recommended for fans of Dark Matter Secret “Apsis” is out as of September 29, 2023, and can be heard in full on TheCirclePit YouTube Channel – youtu.be/brjmpsZluOs ​Orbitalextrema.bandcamp.com​ ​Spotify Video – Impending Armageddon – youtu.be/9vcS8WOE0hg Video – Galactic Magnetar – youtu.be/BFW_T42bquY Everfrost) Releases New Music Video “Read My Mind” MASSIVE SCAR ERA’s Groundbreaking “Between Waves” Pushes Music Boundaries the Italian leader in professional and tactical knives celebrates its first twenty-five years of innovation and excellence with a long list of great new products and exclusive events 2022 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the foundation of the Extrema Ratio company of Prato (Italy) established in 1997 by two partners who had both the vision and the necessary technical know-how to make it come true and rapidly grown into a global leader in professional cutlery and tactical knives Ever since their first Dobermann K1 and K1S knives were introduced at the 1998 edition of the EXA expo in Brescia (Italy) Extrema Ratio has established numerous fruitful collaborations with multiple top military units both in Italy and abroad with a masterly blend of tradition and innovation that allowed the Company to establish a vast and ever-expanding catalog of extremely successful products as well as a series of limited special editions that are enormously sought after by collectors worldwide while at the same time earning the trust of élite military customers all around the globe Extrema Ratio renews the brand image with a new logo: a more stylized dynamic and modern version of the historical factory logo projecting Extrema Ratio in a future that follows the steps of the company’s tradition of quality that made the brand so strong in the world as the years went by As a testament of Extrema Ratio’s dedication to design evolution the company celebrates its 25th anniversary by making its debut in the Metaverse EXTREMAVERSE is a new virtual space where anyone can live the meta-versic Extrema Ratio experience either with or without wearable VR devices A series of very rare collector’s grade NFTs (only 25 available) will also be launched to be announced on the official Company website to represent Extrema Ratio’s most iconic creations as part of the 25th anniversary initiatives numerous new products will be announced – including Limited Edition or Special Edition moddels Further information on those limited and special editions as well as on all other initiatives that have been planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Extrema Ratio will be published starting Noveber 17th, 2022, directly on the official company website: www.extremaratio.com VIDEO / XXV Anniversario Extrema Ratio teaser