3T Ultra Apex Eagle Bike

The 3T Ultra Apex Eagle Bike is built on a premise that most gravel bikes don't follow: the tire dictates the frame, not the other way around. 3T's REALFAST aerodynamics program begins by measuring how tires actually fit on a rim at pressure — not what the label says, but the real Width As Measured (WAM) and Radius As Measured (RAM) — and then engineers the frame's tube shapes around those real dimensions to redirect the turbulent airflow coming off the front wheel. The result is a gravel bike with genuinely aero carbon tube shapes that still accommodates tires most aero gravel bikes would never clear.

The Ultra's aerodynamic case is built around a specific problem: a large gravel tire creates a wide, chaotic wake off the front wheel. There's no aerodynamic solution to the tire itself — the knobs are what they are. What 3T can control is what happens to that airflow after it passes the fork. The Ultra's downtube is 60mm wide, positioned close behind the front wheel and flaring to 75mm as it approaches the bottom bracket. This shape is designed to intercept the messy airflow off the tire, redirect it around the frame, and smooth the transition to the seat tube and rear triangle. The headtube uses an off-center aero profile to blend the fork crown into the downtube. None of this is visible from a catalog photo — it's the kind of aerodynamic detail that only makes sense once you understand what the problem was.

The frame is built from a unidirectional pre-preg carbon with a high-modulus/high-strength performance blend layup — 3T's approach to balancing stiffness at the bottom bracket and chainstays with the compliance needed in the seatstay and fork for mixed-surface riding. The fork is the 3T Fango RaceMax Integrale with a compact crown, which runs roughly 25mm shorter than a standard gravel fork — a design decision that tightens the steering geometry, reduces fork weight, and keeps the front end lower and more stable under hard cornering on loose surfaces. The chainstays use a double-drop profile that provides clearance for both wide tires and full-size cranks simultaneously without the chainstay width penalty that normally comes with maximalist tire clearance.

The drivetrain is SRAM Apex Eagle 1x12 — the entry point into SRAM's Eagle ecosystem, running a 40T chainring up front against an NX Eagle 11-50 cassette in the rear. That 11-50 range gives you a low gear suited to loaded climbs or loose steep terrain and a top gear fast enough for road crossings and tailwind sections, all without a front derailleur to adjust or misshift. SRAM Apex hydraulic disc brakes handle stopping with a 160mm rotor front and rear. Wheels are Fulcrum Rapid Red 900, a lightweight alloy wheelset from Fulcrum's performance gravel line, laced to a tubeless-ready rim. The build ships with Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M tires in 700x40 — a compound and tread pattern optimized for mixed hard-pack and light gravel. The handlebar is 3T's Superghiaia LTD, a flared drop bar designed specifically for gravel riding, matched with a 3T Apto Stealth stem. Saddle is the Fizik Terra Alpaca.

The Ultra's geometry balances a road-inspired riding position with the stability requirements of rough terrain. Reach and stack figures across six sizes (48–61cm) track closely to a road bike rather than a relaxed adventure bike — the idea being that you get to rough terrain quickly and comfortably, then the wide tires and frame compliance take over. The 27.2mm round seatpost, housed inside an aero seat tube, retains compatibility with dropper posts and suspension posts without requiring a proprietary interface. The bottom bracket is threaded, which in a bike category notorious for press-fit creak is a detail worth noting. At $4,099, the Ultra Apex Eagle delivers 3T's full REALFAST aerodynamic platform with a complete, race-ready build.