Now in it's second year, Enve's Builder's Round-Up is a showcase of some of the world's most talented frame builder's most stunning work. But this year is a little different as the show has gone virtual.
More than twenty small, bespoke bike brands were invited to submit a custom road, gravel and mountain bikes into the show with the only prerequisite being each had to showcase Enve components - the design and final build was left totally to the imagination of each participant. What you'll see below is a real treat to the eyes and a little window into the world of the custom bike builder. It's kind of like a mini -NAHBS (North American Handbuilt Bike Show) itself one of the highlights of the bike show calendar.
Unfortunately, like most other public events both NAHBS and the Enve show have had to be postponed but as most of the entrants had already started building or had finished their builds Enve decided the show would go on just in a virtual sense. You can see each bike in all its glory on a VR tour of Enve's headquarters right now on its website.
Made from Enve tubing, the FiftyOne uses a proprietary rear-end for a classy look and silky ride coupled with a front-end that makes the bike handle like it’s on rails. One of the bikes that’s part of the Round-Up featuring the brand new Integrated Front-End that delivers a perfect fit and a cable-free contour.
Rob English of English Cycles delivers a fillet brazed frame complete with carbon insert in the headtube and the sleek Integrated Front-End. Like most of the English builds, it’s full of classic design elements, such as the custom-butted seat tube and cap.
Mosaic’s Aaron Barcheck’s long history working with titanium goes far back to his days with Dean Bicycles. His ability to tune the ride through tube selection is on display with the RT-1d, which is a true performance road bike that checks all the boxes. Aaron’s latest build features the Integrated Front-End with one-piece bar/stem.
The B-Road brings traditional steel frame styling and adds big clearance to allow up to a 50c tyre in order to make it Dirty Kanza or Almanzo race-worthy, two events where the B-Road has shined. Custom options abound on the B-Road, from geometry to frame bags.
Thomas Callahan of Horse Cycles rolls out a Stainless Steel All Road that once back from the Round-Up, is headed to Peru for a bike-packing trip. It features the new Adventure Fork, offering numerous accessory mounting options.
Since 1981 Moots has been creating some of the most enviable bikes on the market. The most recent update to the Routt 45 brings a longer front-centre with slacker head tube, but the biggest news is the increased tyre clearance- up to a 50c tyre can now be used. Adventure ready.
Prova has only been around for the past six years and they’re quickly making a name for themselves bringing new technology and manufacturing processes. The Mostro will clear up to a 55c tyre, while still keeping a road fit. It’s designed around long-distance, multi-day riding where the comfort of a road bar is a priority, without having to make sacrifices on tyre width.
Speedvagen’s most adept adventuring rig gets an Adventure Fork for greater mounting options and a paint job that is uniquely Speedvagen. Like most other Speedvagens, the GTFO has numerous other add-ons depending on what someone’s intent might be.
With clearance for a 45c tyre, the Páramo is built around the unknown elements found in the Colombian countryside. Most notable is the paint, which is done in-house and guarantees no two bikes ever being the same.
Brad Bingham’s personal purpose-built bike packing explorer. For Brad, it’s about all-day comfort with 27.5” Plus size tyres and drop bars. Ample mounts ensure there’s never a shortage of stowage possibilities.
The 150/148mm travel mullet bike comes from Erik Rolf of Alliance Bicycles. This particular build uses a 65.5-degree head angle, 77.5-degree seat tube, 430mm chainstays, with a 15mm bottom bracket drop. Erik believes titanium is the perfect material for his bikes because of the damping ability and impact resistance.
Built around bike packing, the frame offers ample versatility on bag design and models. Threaded bosses for endless combinations and long travel internal dropper compatibility. It also features clearance for up to 29x2.6" tyres and proprietary dropouts. This particular bike just finished a 3-day bike packing trip, just in time to get cleaned up for the show.
The Funduro is a 29er singlespeed designed to accommodate a 120mm fork or the Enve Mountain Fork. Completely versatile to deliver whatever riding experience one might want. In true Retrotec style, the twin top tubes feature the brand’s trademark arc.
One of the three bikes from Bozeman, Montana, the Sklar All Road is made to accommodate just about any type of multi-surface riding. Slightly more upright than a traditional road bike, it’s designed around all-day comfort while incorporating Sklar’s trademark top tube design.
Drawing a line between venture and adventure, The LeadOut All Road is designed for some off-road fun, but not full blown gravel exploration. Made entirely in-house, the moulded carbon frames can accommodate custom geometry.
Just a handful of miles from Calfee, Rock Lobster has an equally impressive history in the sport with their TIG and fillet brazed steel bikes. The Team TIG SL is a classic, timeless design.
At last year’s Builder Round-Up, Sage Titanium unveiled a prototype version of what would be the Storm King gravel bike. This time around, Sage’s David Rosen went with fatter tyres and a flat bar on the Powerline hardtail mountain bike.
Purpose-built for 80% gravel, 20% road for the off-road adventures. In the 45 years Holland has been building frames they’ve seen a lot of changes in the market, and the gravel bike has now become the most asked for model in their line. With internal routing for shifter, brake, and dropper post cables, the Holland Gravel is simply clean.
Mt. Ashland has some good skiing in the winter, but that doesn’t come close to what summer offers with the nearly endless miles of dirt roads on the mountain and the surrounding Siskiyou range. Those miles of gravel have shaped DeSalvo’s designs and inspiration around what makes a true gravel bike.
Not only does the “western camo” paint job perfectly fit the Round-Up theme, the All-Road is a proper road race bike just with a little extra tyre clearance for added versatility.
The carbon frame pioneers, Craig Calfee’s history and experience goes deeper than just about any modern builder. Although bamboo is an alternative material found in the Calfee line, carbon has been their go-to material for decades. The trademark lugs allow full customisation of the frame.
The E-Ronin is not only the first e-bike from Alchemy, it’s the first US-made, e-gravel bike. Just like any of the other bikes in Alchemy’s line, the E-Ronin is available in custom geometry and numerous colour options.
SaltAir Cycles has a loyal following in cyclocross, and are now gaining a new following in Utah and beyond with their traditional touch and a return to the local artisan experience. The All-Road blends a traditional steel design with the modern convenience of adequate enough tyre clearance for most any outing.
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James Bracey's career has seen him move from geography teacher, to MBR writer, to Cycling Weekly's senior tech writer and video presenter. He possesses an in-depth knowledge of bicycle mechanics, as well as bike fit and coaching qualifications. Bracey enjoys all manner of cycling, from road to gravel and mountain biking.
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