Trail Riding With 3T’s Flat 740 Team Bar, 0-Offset DiffLock Team Stealth Post, and LTD Grips

Over the years, we have covered 3T’s road offerings pretty extensively, but have neglected their mountain offerings. With a Cannondale Scalpel secured as our test rig, it was time to get off-road with the brand.

Specs

First, let’s start off with the specs for each. The names are pretty self-explanatory, but there are some additional details you’ll want to know.

The Flat 740 Team flat bar is a full carbon bar that is 740mm wide and has a 9 degree back sweep. The clamp is 31.6mm, and it quickly thins out to one inch. 3T claims the bars weigh 182g, but our pair came in at 184 grams.

The 0-Offset DiffLock seat post is a full carbon post with an aluminum head. It features 3T’s Difflock head that uses two cylinders to find the right seat angle. More on that system a little later. It comes in 27.2 and 31.6 diameters and a 350 and 420mm lengths. The weight is advertised at 200 grams for a 31.6x280mm post, and ours weighed 187 grams.

Both the bar and seat post are available in the traditional black and red color way and the black on black stealth version.

Finally, the LTD Grips are 3T’s top end offering. They are standard 1″ grips that features a diamond texture grip and locks for the ends. There is no weight advertised on 3T’s site, but outs weighed in at 82 grams. Colors available are black with polished silver lockrings or white black lockrings.

Installation

As for installation, everything was pretty straight forward on the bars and grips. Just make sure to use a little carbon paste on the stem, as you would with any carbon bar. Coming from a road/cross background, I decided to cut the bars down after a few rides. I went for about 700mm, but you can go down to 680mm if that is your style. A shorter bar is more comfortable for me and works better with the tight and twisty wooded trails we have here in PA. Cutting them down was pretty straight forward. 3T includes marks on each side to guide you so you have an even cut on each side. I used a tube cutting guide and a carbon specific blade on a hack saw. I wrapped a little masking tape around the bar to help stop any fraying, and the cuts were smooth and accurate. Just take your time since once you cut them, you can’t go back.

The DiffLock seat post took a little more time to get just right. I thought I had it set where I wanted it before my first test ride, but when I got out on the trail, it was a little off. There are some things you need to know about the DiffLock design before you start adjusting it. As I mentioned before, there are two cylinders inside the head to adjust. The outer cylinder in red adjusts the angle at 9.5 degree increments. The inner black cylinder adjusts the saddle at 10 degree increments. If you more the outer cylinder clockwise one tooth, and the inner cylinder counter-clockwise one tooth you have essentially adjusted it the nose to be 0.5 degrees upward. It takes some time and patience, but once you have the saddle angle set, you’ll be happy with it. Once you are happy, place the saddle rails onto the inner cylinder, and add the side caps and bolts. Tighten it down to the correct torque specs, and you are all set. If you are running carbon rails, you’ll need to grab 3T’s oval side caps.

The Ride

It didn’t take long to notice the difference in the ride using the 3T parts over the stock Cannondale bits. Not that the C2 carbon seat post and C1 carbon bars are bad by an means, but they were a little hefty compared to the 3T bar and seat post. The stiffness of the bar shines when you are wrenching it through tight and rocky single track, but not overly jarring. When gliding over rocky sections, it lets the suspension absorb the bumps keeps you in complete control. The bar will work well for cross country riding and racing, but if you are looking to go downhill quick, you might want to look at something a little beefier.

As for the grips, they were a big improvement over the stock foam style lock on grips. Grip is increased, but the are a little more firm than the stock grips. If you are looking for a softer touch, you might want to consider the Team level grips. The dual density provides a little more cushion, but are only available in black and red. If you are into being all matchy-matchy, it might not work.

Once I had the seat post dialed in, it matched the feel of the bars. It was stiff, but not overly jarring. One area that it really shines is the adjustment. Chances are, you are probably going to get the angle set, and will not need to adjust it all that much. When it comes to moving it fore and aft, it is a matter of loosening the bolts that hold the side caps, and sliding the saddle to where you want it. This is a great feature, especially if you come down hard on your saddle at times (think cyclocross or hard tails). The DiffLock design virtually eliminates any chance of the saddle changing the angle due to the teeth on the cylinders and head.

Overall, the set up has worked very well. I’ve tapped a few trees with the bars at slower speeds, and the seat post took a good hit coming down off of a drop that I probably had no business riding off of. Everything is holding up well, though I have swapped the grips out to something a little thicker and cushier to pair better with my unpadded HandUp Gloves.

If you are looking to lighten your bike up a little, and add some stiff carbon bits to your trail rig, check out what 3T has to offer. They have bars in flat and riser configurations, and come in widths of 720 and 740mm. The seat posts are all 0 degree offsets, and come in the DiffLock head, or a traditional top down clamp.

Flat 740 Team carbon handle bars – $145.00

0-Offset Team Stealth carbon seat post – $160.00

LTD Grips – $25.00

http://www.3tcycling.com