3T Exploro RaceMax EKAR 1x13

Whether riding road or gravel, we love speed. So everything on the RaceMax frame is engineered for that. The end result is the first gravel bike that:
Looks like a road bike
Rides like a road bike
Rips through gravel
Best of all, the very same RaceMax frame can be built up with a focus on pure speed with 35-46mm WAM tires in 700c can also be turned into an unstoppable machine with very wide tires p to 61mm WAM. Handy for that epic ride or trip abroad. And with two wheelsets, you can switch between the two setups easily. That’s RaceMax.

To make the fastest possible gravel bike, you need to start with the tire. Tire choice determines comfort & grip. But it also determines how you can shape the frame to redirect the airflow.

To aerodynamically engineer the frame around the tires, you need to know what their REAL measurements are. Not what’s on the label, but how they really fit. That’s REALFAST aerodynamics. But it’s not easy, as the tire dimension depends on the rim you use, the pressure and of course how accurate the manufacturer’s claimed size is.

So we took hundreds of measurements to know the real tire widths (which we call WAM - Width As Measured and RAM - Radius As Measured) and use that to engineer the frame around.

The most important dimension is the WAM as that directly correlates to traction, puncture resistance, aerodynamics and rolling resistance. The WAM you need depends on three factors:
Terrain (traction, puncture resistance)
Rider skill (how much grip you need for control)
Rider speed (the slower you go, the more you bump/sink into the terrain)
The graph on the left indicates the WAM you need, and based on the rim width you use, you can find our favorite tires for each WAM here. Please note that running a front derailleur (especially an electronic version) will limit the tire width you can fit.