Airstreeem Race SL

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I thought the Q-rings might feel ‘choppy’ when pedaling, but they didn’t feel any different to normal chain rings while riding. After a couple of hard rides I did find my thighs hurting more than usual but whether this was the Q rings making me use different muscles, or the fact that I was riding faster and pushing harder, I couldn’t say for sure. So I think I’m now in the ‘yes, they work’ camp.

Seatpost, stem and handlebars are courtesy of 3T. I especially liked the Rotundo Ltd bars, wrapped with fi’zi:k tape they were pleasingly slim, just right for this testers dainty little hands!

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“Sitting on top is Airstreeem’s

own Air saddle, a carbon fibre

confection that had me

eyeing it nervously”

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At 169g they hardly trouble the scales and have a classic round profile. While I could get the bars to flex slightly, this didn’t affect handling and probably added to overall ride comfort, but if you are a big burly sprinter, maybe aluminium would be a better choice?

The Arx stem is another featherweight offering from 3T, an impressive 121 grams of forged aluminium offering stiffness and durability. 3T have paid particular attention to the clamps so that they do not overly stress carbon bars or forks.

The Doric Ltd seat post is a 163g, micro-adjustable, carbon fibre seat post. The twin clamps allow you to fine tune your saddle position, vital when you’re sitting an unforgiving carbon saddle.

Which, sitting on top the Doric Ltd, is Airstreeem’s own Air saddle, a carbon

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fibre confection that had me eyeing it nervously. On one hand I couldn’t help stroking it! It’s smooth glossy surface begs to be touched, but what kind of pummeling would it subject me to? Well, anything below 3 hours was fine. It would be well suited to short road races, but an all day sportive might call for a more forgiving perch.

The body of the Air does have a small amount of flex in it that gives some comfort, but I would suggest it is for seasoned riders only.

Another small point to be aware of is that the rails are of a rectangular cross section and won’t fit some seat posts

The Race SL uses 3T for handlebars, stems and seatpost

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that are designed around a traditional round section. The Air is the first item in

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