In a sneaky (and perhaps slightly snarky) email, 3T’s head honcho, Gerard Vroomen, announced the inevitable — the 3T Strada DUE with, you guessed it, a front derailleur. The 1x test with the Pro Continental Team Aqua Blue Sport has been largely successful, but the pro peloton certainly exposed the limitations of 1x drivetrain at that level of the sport.
When we first saw the Strada in June 2017, one of the biggest take-aways was that it was aero optimized for wider tires (28-30mm), as opposed to the standard 23-25mm tires used for most aerodynamic tests. Vroomen is no stranger to innovations and is well-known for his race-winning bike designs, so after launching the aero gravel 3T Exploro, the 3T Strada DUE is almost an expected move.
While Team Aqua Blue Sport has had some notable accomplishments and wins this year on the Strada 1x, the challenges of 1x are real (100% drivetrain swapping every night of a stage race, not having the right gear in the peloton, etc.). That’s not to say that 2x drivetrains are trouble-free either. But, at the professional level, it’s safe to say that the 1x experiment has proven challenging.
So, the 3T Strada DUE is happening and will make its race debut in the 2018 Tour of Austria. It will only be available in Team-level carbon at presumably the same price as the 1x version, $3800. Also, it will only be compatible with electronic groupsets, like SRAM Red eTap HRD, Shimano Di2 or Campagnolo EPS.
More Info: Visit 3T.bike
