iamuwere wrote:
Gravel races can be blisteringly fast in spite of conditions. This not a thing for leasurely bike path rides
Correct, but it is also great for the leisurely rides too. With big tires and low pressure, this bike is SO smooth over chattery asphalt.
At the 200 mile Dirty Kanza race, Mat Stephens averaged over 19mph, and that is based on elapsed time, so it includes his pit stops. At Gravel Worlds a few weeks ago the leaders averaged over 20mph based on elapsed time.
So gravel racers are typically riding over 20mph for a LONG time. Most gravel roads have 2-4 relatively smooth lines to ride on, with the rest of the road having chunkier gravel. Smooth is fast, chunky is slow. If you are riding in a cross wind, drafting is not effective. On a paved road, you would echelon out in a cross wind to get maximum draft. On gravel, if you echelon out you'll be riding in the chunky gravel, which is slow. So while riding single file in a cross wind, you want your bike to be as aero as possible. (and i don't understand why you wouldn't want it as aero as possible everywhere else)
There's a reason why the fastest gravel racers also use aero bars. Mat won DK with aero bars. Colin won GW with aero bars. Actually, i think the top 7 at GW all had aero bars (front door brag, i was 7th). A lot of these races get thinned out quickly and you spend a lot of time in a very small group or by yourself, chasing or being chased. Aero matters.
The 3T Exploro is a very fast bike, even on the road. With Panaracer Gravel King SK (knobby) tires in any width (32, 35, 38, or 40) my 3T seems about equal to my Tarmac with 700x25 training tires (bontrager AW3s, gatorskins, specialized turbos, etc). I can't tell you for sure if it is the frame aerodynamics or just that the tires aren't as slow as they look, but I have no problem crushing dreams on every group ride whether I'm on my 3T or my road Specialized :)