3T X PRW Extrema
Last October, I was lucky enough to ride in the Jeroboam Gravel event, sponsored by the fine folks at 3T. They supplied me with the made-in-Italy 3T Extrema, and I immediately fell in love with the bike. So much so, I had to add one to my stable. To celebrate 25 years of PRW, 3T decided to make it special. Well, I wasn’t going to say no to that, so the design process started the next day on my flight home. I wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to go in, but I did know I wanted the design to reflect the history of both the shop and 3T. It also had to be white—I love white bikes and how timeless they are.
Like any design process, it’s never easy. You settle on one idea you love, and then another one pops into your head. I loved the pearl white that 3T offered on the Strada Italia, so that was an easy choice. For the logos, I had to use the old-school 3T logos—Tecno Tubo Torino. To me, this was perfect, representing the brand as I first knew it when they made handlebars and stems. It’s also a perfect nod to the heritage of road racing, which was a huge influence on me when I opened the shop more 25 years ago. For the logo colors, I went with gold, as it was subtle and looked incredibly classy. All the painting was done by the Italian painter Antonio Tabarin aka Tony Spray, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
As for the build spec on this 51 cm frame—being my more rowdy gravel bike, meant for tougher terrain—I went with my favorite gravel groupset: Campagnolo Ekar. It's reliable in the wild, and not having to deal with batteries made it the perfect choice for this build. The 1X 40-tooth paired with a 10-44 setup provides a full range for some of the steeper routes I ride in the mountains. For the cockpit, I went with a 120mm More stem paired with a 40cm Superghiaia bar. I absolutely love the drops on this bar for descending—super comfortable and shallow, giving you the utmost confidence when things get a bit rough.
For the wheels, it had to be Campagnolo, of course. The Levantes are a perfect fit for this build. Not too deep, fast, and with the hubs that Campagnolo is known for. I set them up tubeless with a good all-around 45mm Panaracer Gravel King tire. The tread pattern is fast on the road but still capable on the rough stuff. Not great in mud, but I try to avoid those rides anyway! Most of my rides involve a large portion of paved or broken pavement to access the really good routes in the mountains, so the 45 GKs are a good balance. I've ridden Conti RaceKings as well, but they feel a bit slow on the paved sections. I do feel the 45s are the smallest I would run on this bike—they offer a good balance in handling and feel. Anything smaller feels off on this particular setup. The Extrema is optimized for 50-57mm tires, as measured, so these are a bit undersized. But, as mentioned, for the faster road segments, they work perfectly.
Well, there you have it—that’s my bike. Pretty simple in the end, but I think 3T did a great job of taking my design and turning it into a beautiful bike. I've already had some amazing rides on it, and it’s everything I remembered from when I first rode this frame. It descends with confidence and gets you out of trouble if you don’t choose the best line. Plus, it’s 100% made in Italy, which means something to me and to 3T. Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics. Big thanks to Daniel and everyone at 3T for this project and Tony for the amazing paint!
