3T bolsters its mountain bike range for 2015

3T bolsters its mountain bike range for 2015

New aero road bars too

James Huang/Future Publishing

Published: March 8, 2014 at 1:00 pm

3T is making a more concerted push into the mountain bike market for the coming season, with all-new handlebar and stem options and even a rigid carbon fibre fork. The company hasn't ignored the road market, however, and has two new aero drop bars too.

The common theme across 3T's new mountain bike handlebars is additional width – both their flat and riser models measure up to 740mm across. Riser bars also feature very short tapered sections with long sections of constant-diameter ends to provide extra room for mounting controls.

3T will have options in both carbon fibre and aluminium, with the lightest bars coming in well under 200g.

Accompanying the new bars is a new MTB-focused stem, built with forged aluminium construction, a two-bolt steerer clamp, and a wide four-bolt faceplate.

3T has revamped its mountain bike handlebar range with new bends and more generous widths: 3t has revamped its mountain bike handlebar range with new bends and more generous widths - James Huang/Future Publishing

3T's new range of mountain bike bars

3T will even offer a new carbon fibre rigid fork, which we suspect will mostly appeal to singlespeeders. Its asymmetric construction is designed to maintain stability under braking, while the thru-axle dropouts should further help tie things together. Post mounts are sized for 160mm dropouts and the carbon fibre steerers will come in 1 1/8 to 1 1/2in only.

Also coming from 3t are new rigid carbon fiber mountain bike forks built with thru-axle dropouts: - James Huang/Future Publishing

3T's carbon fibre rigid fork with asymmetric construction

Road riders will get two new aero drop bars for the coming season. The new Aeronova uses semi-anatomic drops with a short 104mm reach, shallow 127mm drop, and 6-degree outward flare. These are paired with forward-swept, aero-section tops that are designed to cut through the air.

3T's new aeronova drop bar features a similar bend as the standard ergonova but with forward-swept, aero-section tops and internal cable routing: - James Huang/Future Publishing

3T Aeronova bars

3T has shaped the tops to provide a surprisingly ergonomically friendly grip too, while internal cable routing will allow riders to run with partial tape jobs if desired.

Riders who prefer a more aggressive bend can instead go with the Aerotundo model, which uses the same aero-section tops but traditionally shaped lower sections with a deep 139mm drop and 113mm reach.

Riders preferring a deep drop and traditional bend but still seeking an aerodynamic edge can instead look to the new 3t aerotundo bar: - James Huang/Future Publishing

3T Aerotundo bars

Claimed weight for both the Aeronova and Aerotundo bars is 205g in top-end LTD trim.