I travel a lot between photography, cycling, surfing, and long days on the road so I try to keep things simple. This is what led me to the 3T Exploro. I was really keen for a bike that could do more and simplify my needs. When traveling I want to bring as little as possible but have the ability to do as much as possible. So I bring the essentials when it comes to biking, surfing, and cameras. I can confidently say this is the most fun bike I have had and it does exactly what I wanted.
I was stoked to partner with 3T on my dream bike build that I can ride almost everywhere. I come mostly from road riding background so I wanted a build that would feel just as good on gravel and single track as it would on the road. My pro mechanic friend Michael “Gav” Gavigan who has spent seasons wrenching on the world tour as well as for pro mountain bike teams built up this dream rig for me. The detail he put into the finishing is a testament to how professional he is.
For this build I used the Exploro LTD because I love the understated matte black. When I first held the frame I was thrilled at how light it is and the interesting lines and beefiness of the tubes.
The wheels I used are the 3T Discus 45 | 32 as I like that they have a wide internal width that fits a gravel tire really well. They are super stiff and I’ve been really happy with the hubs even over really rough descents.
For tires, I went with WTBs as they make the best offroad tires in the business. I have been running the WTB Nano 40’s tubeless and find they roll really well over any type of gravel and road. I’ve had them on some steep loose gravel descents also and have only felt confident in the handling. I also have a spare set of 3T Discus C35 wheels that I run the WTB Byway 34’s tubeless, which I love for road riding and some lighter mixed terrain with their mostly slick center and slight knobby side tread.
I completed this build with Shimano’s GRX Di2 2x groupset. I choose the 2x cranks living in Colorado and riding my Exploro on both gravel and some road, and liking to have some gears when descending.”
