- I'm here with a 3T Strada team bike,
belonging to Adam Blythe of the Aqua Blue Sport Racing team.
Now, back in late 2017, Si Richardson
spoke to Gerard Vroomen who's the brains
behind the design of this bike.
But now it's being used in the Pro Peloton.
Let's take a look at it, and see what's fitted, and why.
(upbeat music)
Let's start at the saddle.
Well, Blythe has chosen a
Selle San Marco Regale Carbon FX model.
And that's got carbon rails and it's mounted
to 3T's own seat post, which is specific for this frame.
Interestingly though, Blythe,
he's gone for a wide version of this saddle.
Stem, well he's gone through a 3T ARX II Team stem
that is 150mm long, 15cm, and with a -17 degree angle.
That is to get into a very extreme position, as you can see.
The bars, they also come from 3T,
and they're 42cm wide, and look at this,
a traditional classic bend bar.
No (mumbles) bars here for Blythe.
And the brake levers, stroke gear levers,
they are from SRAM.
They're the Force Hydro model.
But there's actually only one gear lever.
Why is that?
There's no front derailleur, look.
We've only just got a rear derailleur on here,
and it's SRAM Force 1 unit.
Reason for that no front derailleur?
It's just a single chain ring.
So Blythe, he's not using this One-By system
how I thought possibly he would be.
He's got a 54 tooth chain ring at the front
mounted onto this Quarq Power Metre Crankset.
They measure in at a 170mm long,
and fitted there, too, are some
Speedplay Titanium Axle Pedals.
Brake callipers, well they're SRAM Force Hydraulic units,
mounted down there on the chainstay as well as the fork leg.
And they're stopping SRAM's 160mm rotors,
both front and rear.
Those rotors, they're fitted onto some
3T Discus T60 Team wheels,
in tubular variety importantly,
because last year, Aqua Blue actually started
on tubular sort of wheels.
Now the hubs, they've got some
ceramic speed bearings in there.
And the tyres, they're the Veloflex Vlaanderen model,
and they come in at 27.33mm on our callipers.
And finally, the cassette on these wheels
is a SRAM PG-1170, and the ratio is 11-32.
So even with that 54 ring,
that does still give you a fairly low gear
for any hills to be in came to.
And of course, those rims, they're 60mm deep,
both front and rear.
Bottle cages, well they are from Elite,
and they're Custom Race Plus model.
Paintwork on this bike is quite interesting
because at first glance, it doesn't look that spectacular,
if I'm perfectly honest.
However, up close, the gold detailing
actually has some glitter in it
which really does pop out when the sun hits it.
And then, on the top tube,
we've got a four leaf clover.
Luck of the Irish, for the Irish team.
So the race number holder, that's from BBB,
and the GPS mount on the handlebars, that's from K-Edge.
Now, check out the use of the cable tie.
It's not often we actually see them being used on bikes.
However, this one is actually to hold
the rear derailleur cable,
of course, there is not front derailleur,
and also the rear brake hose,
just close to the stem there,
to stop them basically catching the wind.
Now the upper headset bearing top cap cover,
that's not the standard model we see on this bike.
Because you can see, you can actually see
part of the bearing there.
So presumably, that's so Blythe can get into,
what I can only call an aggressive racing position.
Handlebar tape?
Naturally that's from 3T.
That's to match up with the handlebar stem,
as well as the frame and forks.
Measurement-wise, well from the tip of the saddle
to the centre of the bottom bracket, that's 76cm.
And the nose of the saddle to the centre
of the handlebars, 62.4cm.
And the weight comes in at 7.7kg.
And now, let's hear the free hub.
(tyre spinning)
There we are.
The 3T Strada of Adam Blythe.
Let me know what you think of it down there in the comments.
Be very keen to read them and find out your thoughts.
Also, remember to like and share this video
with your friends, too.
And for another great video,
this time on why pros choose stems as long as this,
or maybe not as long as this, click down here.