Designed to be the best gravel race machine and produced with the 3T proprietary filament winding and RTM technology, the 3T Racemax Italia frameset is fastest with 700c 35-46mm WAM tyres and combines the best possible handling and reactiveness in a gravel race bike. Built for gravel’s most demanding riders and racers.
Available in limited finishes to begin, you can choose between 3 different colours inspired by the Italian flag: Green, White, and Red. Additionally, the Project X, a new special edition, highlights the majesty of the filamount wound construction. For those looking for a fully customised finish, there is also an “RTP” (Ready To Paint) version that can be finished to your personal preferences - or left raw and stealthy as you prefer.
Like the RaceMax Integrale frame, the RaceMax Italia is built to deliver exceptional aerodynamics using a tyres-first approach. As with all bikes in the 3T stable, aerodynamics are the core consideration but unlike others, they are designed around you as a rider, for real world speeds and real world conditions. 3T go as far as to stick 3D-printed mud on their frames to test!
The key difference between the RaceMax and the RaceMax ITALIA - aside from the construction locale - is the technologies employed to craft the frames.
The RaceMax Integrale like the bulk of the rest of the market, is constructed using carbon sheets, pre-impregnated with resin and strategically laid up into a mold to deliver particular characteristics to the frame. In this case that pre-preg carbon is High Modulus and Uni-directional so deliver the best possible results. But the technology has limits and requires a lot of manual finishing, which is both labour intensive and opens the production process up to that human constant : error.
With a desire to build on their heritage and uplift their offering, 3T looked at novel ways to bring at least a proportion of their manufacturing back to Italy. After researching manufacturing options they came to rest on 2 key technologies. Filament Winding and Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM).
Filament Winding is a process to continuously wind carbon fibres into frame sections. Like wrapping string around a tube, but with precise control over tension, angle, and placement, it allows 3T to create structures where the fibres follow the exact paths needed to handle riding forces most efficiently. And, since nobody made a filament winding machine suitably practical for making bike frames, 3T designed and built their own. Its standout feature is that it can wind fibres at zero degrees, which traditionally is not possible (as the mandrel rotates, the fibre is by definition not exactly along its axis) but for optimal stiffness, there is a need for zero degree fibres. Only 3T do this.
In addition, the machines allow for different fibres to be woven into the finished tube. This lends an even greater amount of control over the specific characteristics of any given section of the frame, truly dialling in the resultant feel of the finished product while also factoring in customer drivetrain choice. Yep - Filament Winding allows 3T to customise your frame for 1x, 2x, mechanical or electronic shifting upon request. Very few manufacturers customise layup per individual.
One of the benefits of filament winding is that the process is effectively dry. The resin is added later and in a far more economical and precise fashion. Indeed, the FW process marries perfectly with Resin Transfer Molding (RTM)
Traditional pre-preg material has fibers pre-impregnated with resin in sheets. These are then cut in shapes and applied to a core. This leads to waste and limits the use of the material as it starts curing as soon as you take it out of the freezer. The bladder-assisted production process also creates a less-than-perfect surface, requiring lots of finishing.
RTM injects resin into the mold after the dry fibre frame is loaded. A vacuum is applied to remove all the air inside the mold, preventing voids and creates a super clean surface finish reducing labour and dramatically improving consistencey and overall product strength.
In addition, by separating the fibre and the resin, 3T are able to select each for specific applications, creating shorter curing cycles at lower temperatures.
The result is a production process that automates 90% of the total fibre weight application with 10% finished by hand. More than this though, it reduces both physical and energy wastage dramatically.
So, while the RaceMax and RaceMax Italia share the same geometry, angles, shapes and tyre clearance, the production techniques employed in the Italia's construction takes the perfomance to the next level, offering even greater responsiveness and rider confidence in a frame that will not only be lighter and tighter - but that will be more durable and impact resistant, critical given its remit.
Beyond it's construction, the RaceMax Italia is essentially designed to tackle everything that its stabelmate, the RaceMax Integrale is and as such I won't re-hash that write up.
However, there is a slight difference to the cockpit cable integration on the Italia variant that bears some page space. Rather than the APTO used on the RaceMax, the Italia employs the MORE Integrale system. The MORE Integrale uses the exact same headtube shape for internal and external cables for a svelte look and gives you all the benefits without the drawbacks. Aside from being able to spec your choice of any 3T Integrale bar and its width, as well as stem length at point of order, the system allows for small height adjustments (and change stem length as required in future) without disconnecting or resizing the brake hoses.
For those that seek adventure further afield, the MORE stem can be removed completely for travel without the need to disconnect the brake hoses and it is compatible with 1x & 2x Sram and Shimano electronic groupsets or 1x mechanical groupsets. All this and the MORE stem also comes supplied with a dedicated K-Edge GPS Mount too.
Suffice to say that the RaceMax Italia is the bike for you if you want road bike speed both on and off road, enhanced through proprietary manufacturing that delivers best in class reactiveness and handling and built using the company's latest refinements of their REALFAST aerodynamics: rear wheel cut out, narrow headtube, bottle shielding downtube and aero profile tubing all round!