While the rest of the 3T gravel bike stable have dedicated gravel geometry and are more geared to specific applications, the Primo remains the true all-rounder. Based on a road geometry while allowing for excellent wheel and tyre versatility, you can ride your faster days with 700c then swap to 650b when adventure calls.
The Primo is your perfect all-round bike. The 3T PRIMO originally existed as 3T’s first foray into the frame market and was known as the Exploro. It was the world's first-ever all-roads aero frame built for speed and comfort on roads and trails beyond the reach of regular road bikes. Never have I witnessed so much excitement from those
withinthe industry when talking about a specific product than I have with the Exploro.
Since its inception, and after incredible reception, the Exploro platform has evolved from the all-round, hyper-versatile platform into more specific niches. Yet despite this, the PRIMO as it is now known, in its refined form, remains an incredibly relevant and versatile bike that can enhance and expand your riding with a single frameset.
The PRIMO has clearance for big tyres to conquer any surface coupled with aerodynamic shapes that work at real speeds, under real conditions on any type of surface. Designed to go anywhere - fast! The 3T PRIMO lead the charge when it came to innovative frame design. Built from the ground up to encompass all modern thinking around bike development, at the hands of Gerard Vroomen - a master of the art - the 3T PRIMO is so well considered that it will keep you in the hunt in a range of disciplines for plenty of time to come. Enjoy every minute, as you go fast everywhere!
The PRIMO is available as part of the core range and also as part of 3T’s WPNT program. WPNT (or We Paint) started with the iconic Primo WPNT lineup as pioneer of the hand-painted in-house paint program in Italy. The WPNT program ensures 3T can bring the best colours and the best designs to 3T bikes now, and moving forward into the future.
There are 2 base models equipped with aluminium wheels and either Shimano 1x12 GRX or SRAM’s APEX XPLR 1x12 mechanical groupsets, both are available in Anthracite. The WPNT complete bike features an upgraded APEX AXS XPLR wireless electronic groupset, with carbon wheels and a choice of hand painted finishes, executed in Italy. In addition, the PRIMO WPNT is also available as Frame Only.
All benefit from the core design principles and the fundamental technologies that are a hall mark of the Primo:
GravelPlus
The PRIMO is designed to fit road, cyclocross and gravel tyres following the GravelPlus standard. To make the fastest possible bike, you need to start with the tyres as this choice determines not only comfort & grip, but how you shape the frame to redirect the airflow.
To aerodynamically engineer the frame around the tyres, you need to know what their REAL measurements are. Not what’s on the label, but how they really fit. That’s REALFAST aerodynamics. But it’s not easy, as the tyre dimension depends on the rim you use, the pressure and of course how accurate the manufacturer’s claimed size is. 3T took hundreds of measurements to learn the real tyre widths (WAM) and rim radii (RAM) and use that to engineer the frame around accurate measurements. So while you can be fast on the road - when adventure calls, wide 650b wheels can be used to maximise the bike’s capabilities and comfort. The use of 650b wheels and wide tyres, ensures that all set ups have virtually the same overall wheel diameter and therefore the same predictable handling. More detail on WAM and RAM can be found here:
Real Tyre SizeSqaero
Square shapes are very efficient for high strength and stiffness. Airfoil shapes are effective in reducing wind resistance. Sqaero combines the best of both worlds with a truncated airfoil shape that tricks the airflow into behaving as if it is a full shape while staying close to square in its overall dimensions. You may have read this countless times on bike descriptions - and that’s because Sqaero was the first - pioneering and shaping the industry. The key to the Primo’s speed is the aero downtube that is wide enough to catch the airflow coming off the big front tyre (a skinny downtube wouldn’t even touch the airflow). But at 50mm wide, a full airfoil with a normal ratio would have to be 150-200mm deep, causing too much surface drag. So 3T square off the tail, keeping most of the aero performance with a 50x75mm cross section that is also close to perfect for strength and stiffness; the Sqaero shape. The wide downtube also effectively shields the water bottles. Sqaero is also used on the fork legs, headtube, seat-tube, seatstays and seatpost.
Realfast
Realfast aero design saves you energy. To make sure of that 3T wind tunnel test at a realistic 20mph not the usual 30mph. They even test frames covered in 3d-printed mud. The difference? Primo is faster when muddy & fitted with 40mm knobbly tyres, than an equivalent round-tubed, clean road bike with 28mm slicks.
Why is aerodynamics important for all-road rides? (tarmac, gravel, fire roads, single track).
You may go slow off-road, but on the connecting road sections you need road riding speed. If you’re slow because of gradients, aero doesn’t matter much. But if it's due to head- or crosswinds, you're slow relative to the ground but very fast relative to the air and that’s what determines the resistance you experience
- that’s exactly why you’re slow. 3T didn’t want the PRIMO to be fast in theory, but in the real world - hence the testing at slower speeds and with mud attached! In addition they optimised the frame for water bottles as it’s tough to do long, epic rides without them.
Performance Geometry
The Primo offers a responsive ride on gravel thanks to its super compact performance gravel geometry. It combines a fast road-inspired rider position with short 415mm chainstays and agile steering geometry for phenomenal acceleration & grip on loose surfaces as well as tarmac.
Hang Loose Hanger
The rear derailleur hanger detaches from frame when rear wheel is removed. This makes it much easier to fix a flat out on the trail since you don't have to tangle with the chain! The thru axle makes reattaching a snap.
Clean Performance
Internal cables, hoses and seatpost clamp clean up look and function. Fliptop cable guides protect the Primo’s hoses and cables from dirt and fit mechanical or electronic shifting with single or double chainrings.