3T Cycling

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"3ttt" engraving on a seat post
Handlebar and stem from 3ttt on an Italian racing bike from the early 1990s

3T , originally 3ttt (“Tecnologia del Tubo Torino”) , is an Italian manufacturer of racing bike components such as handlebars and stems.

history

In 1961, after around 10 years, Mario Dedioniggi left the wheel (parts) manufacturer Ambrosio and founded ttt (later: 3ttt) in Turin . In the 1970s, the production of racing handlebars, which at that time usually consisted of steel , began from the material Al-7075 ( Ergal ), which until then was mainly used in the aerospace industry. The “Superleggero” (Italian: super light) model, which weighs only 240 g, set weight standards at that time. The company was also the market leader in Europe for ski slalom poles made of Al-7075.

In the 1980s the company was renamed 3T and the company headquarters were relocated to Mathi , 30 km outside of Turin. Mario Dedioniggi sold and left the company.

Francesco Moser used the newly developed Bullhorn handlebars on January 23, 1984 for his world hour record and for the first time drove more than 50 km in the given time. The handlebar was also named "51.151" after the distance covered.

The “Competizione” racing handlebar was the first with differently curved shapes - each named after a racing driver: Merckx , Saronni , Moser, Gimondi . Maurizio Fondriest won the world title with 3T products (1988).

Due to increasing popularity, 3T became the market leader for racing wheels at the end of the 1980s and exported around 80% of its production to other European countries, America and Japan.

In the 1990s 3T merged with the Gruppo company and moved to Caleppio di Settala , approx. 10 km east of Milan .

Nicolas Vouilloz won the junior world title in downhill MTB in 1994 in Vail (Colorado) , USA with a 3T handlebar that was developed in cooperation with Salsa Cycles . This was followed by the presentation of the “Forge Ahead” stem, which was the first forged stem for threadless Ahead systems and was designed by Ross Schafer from Salsa Cycles. It is the best-selling stem in the company's history. In 1997 and 1998 Erik Zabel won Milan – Sanremo with 3T components.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the development and manufacture of carbon products began. Furthermore, new components for track cycling and MTB were presented.

The most famous winners who used 3T parts include: Romāns Vainšteins (road world champion 2000), Erik Zabel (winner Milan – Sanremo 2000 and 2001), Mario Cipollini (road world champion 2002), Fabian Cancellara (winner Milan –Sanremo 2008, Olympic Champion Beijing 2008) and Carlos Sastre (winner Tour de France 2008).

As of July 2018, the brand consists of the two white letters "3T" in a red square. The former web address 3tcycling.com redirects to the current 3t.bike with the top-level domain "bike". Bikes ready to drive as well as parts such as handlebars, stems, seat posts and others are offered online here. Company offices are in Toronto (Ontario, Canada), Brembate (BG), Italy and Taichung (Taiwan).

Web links