U.S. carbon part producer Enve has been very busy in the previous few years. Famend for its carbon wheels, forks and parts, the Utah-based firm entered the body manufacturing market in 2021 with its U.S.-made Customized Street bike. It has produced a brand new frameset yearly since, and the model now affords a full line-up of drop bar bikes starting from a big-tired gravel bike to racing bikes and the newly unveiled Fray all-road mannequin. With 4 bike fashions launched in simply as a few years, the corporate is evolving from aftermarket wheel and part specialists to a full-service bicycle model.
In skilled racing, too, Enve has been rising its presence. Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Workforce Emirates have been driving Enve’s SES line of wheels and aero cockpits –the latter particularly designed to satisfy the group’s calls for– to many race wins. Equally, Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador‘s challenge, Workforce Polti Kometa, additionally continues to utilize Enve wheels and parts. However when TotalEnergies misplaced Specialised as its gear sponsor on the finish of 2023, Enve stepped as much as fill the void and provide the required bikes – an enormous endeavor for a small model that made its first bike body solely 4 quick years in the past.
The WorldTour group makes use of the Enve Melee chassis, paired with the model’s ending equipment and its full assortment of U.S.-made SES wheels. Having ridden and reviewed each different inventory mannequin within the Enve line-up, we determined it was excessive time for certainly one of us right here at Biking Weekly to swing a leg over the Melee as effectively.
The Melee at first look
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
What’s attention-grabbing about Enve’s line-up of bikes is that every mannequin smudges the strains of its designated field. With its light-weight carbon monocoque body and glossy, aerodynamic profile, Enve describes the Melee as “a no-holds-barred fashionable race bike constructed particularly to satisfy the efficiency calls for of the self-discipline.” But professional gravel racer Alexey Vermeulen proved that the Melee can also be completely able to being raced on gravel when he received the 2023 Belgian Waffle Trip California aboard the Melee specced with 35mm tires that match with ease. What’s extra, the body sports activities built-in fender mounts.
Nonetheless, Enve says the Melee’s geometry and dealing with have been “optimized” for 27-32mm tires, and aerodynamics have been a big design consideration, evident within the Kamm-tailed tube shapes and the totally built-in entrance finish.
So, let’s have a better have a look at this not-so-purebred racer.
Take a look at bike Specs:
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
Bike Design
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
In contrast to the Customized Street bike, the Melee is available in seven inventory sizes and is produced ‘abroad’ as an alternative of at Enve’s Utah manufacturing facility. The Melee frameset is made utilizing numerous laminates constructed from unidirectional carbon fibers following ENVE’s personal Materials Optimised Design (M.O.D.) course of. On this course of, the supplies, fiber angles, and weights are chosen and/or manipulated to attain zone-specific efficiency and traits for every half.
“Carbon is the important thing ingredient, and we use the very best we will get our fingers on,” says Jake Pantone, Enve’s VP of Product and Model. “However in the end, the method it is subjected to makes it an Enve product.”
The form of the Melee was developed utilizing wind tunnel testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The latter is a technique that entails simulating airflow round a motorcycle and its rider, analyzing elements like drag and strain distribution. CFD helps optimize aerodynamic efficiency and informs such design parts because the Melee’s Kamm-tail-shaped tubing, seatpost, and totally built-in, cable-free entrance finish. Moreover, the tube shapes have been tuned to enhance Enve’s personal SES-line of wheels and cockpits to ship a full aerodynamic package deal. The claimed weight of the body is 850 grams for a painted 56cm body with out {hardware}.
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
The geometry is in line with its WorldTour race bike opponents, with maybe solely the slightest improve in stack top and a barely longer high tube than some.
On account of having produced carbon forks for bike builders for the previous 17 years, Enve understands how a lot a fork, and particularly the fork rake, can affect a motorcycle’s dealing with. Enve, due to this fact, affords 5 distinctive fork rakes throughout its seven inventory geometries, which is greater than most corporations. This additional effort was made to make sure that the Melee will ship the similar dealing with required of a race bike for even the shortest rider (aboard a 47cm body) and tallest rider (aboard a 60cm body).
Enve’s different inventory bike fashions:
The Fray: launched in April of this 12 months, the Fray is Enve’s imaginative and prescient of ‘the definitive all-road machine’ – designed for these “who got here from street racing and at the moment are on the lookout for broader two-wheeled aims however efficiency continues to be crucial.” The Fray goals to satisfy the calls for of the trendy street rider by pairing a street racing pedigree with all-road options like wider tyre clearance, in-frame storage and a match snug for all-day adventures within the saddle.
The MOG: Enve’s first official foray into the gravel bike market pairs light-weight carbon building, aerodynamic tube shapes and 700c-only wheels with beefy 50mm tyre clearance, a slacker geometry and fork mounts, making it each a gravel racer and bikepacking companion.
Enve additionally affords an in-depth on-line match calculator to assist Melee prospects discover the precise dimension. In addition to figuring out the proper body dimension, the calculator may even counsel stem size, bar width and seatpost setback. This data is important as a result of Enve sells its bikes as a “chassis” somewhat than a full construct.
The chassis consists of the Melee body, fork, headset and the rider’s alternative of Enve stem, handlebar and seatpost, and retails for $5,500 / £5,300. We have additionally seen just a few choose on-line retailers promoting the Melee as a frameset somewhat than a chassis, which means you get the body and fork and nothing else for $4,450.
These concerned about a completely constructed Melee can work straight with an Enve retailer to pick and assemble the specs. As of this spring, Enve now affords the Melee in three colorways: Damascus gray, Aegean blue and Enve black.
One ultimate design observe is that Enve opted for a threaded T47 backside bracket somewhat than a press-fit choice. The advantages listed below are that threaded designs are usually extra immune to creaking and require much less upkeep over time.T47 backside brackets even have a bigger diameter than conventional threaded backside brackets, permitting for compatibility with bigger spindle diameters for elevated stiffness and energy switch.
The Trip
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
For the aim of this assessment, I acquired a 50cm Melee chassis in the shiny Aegean blue colour specced with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset, a two-piece In-Route aero cockpit, and the all-rounder SES 3.4 wheels wrapped in 29mm Enve SES street tires. The bike got here with a 25mm offset seatpost, which I swapped out for a zero offset seatpost as an alternative. The bike weighed in at a aggressive 7.2kg.
I’ve heard folks name the bike’s aesthetics’ vanilla’. ‘All aero bikes look the identical,’ they’d declare, and the bike’s minimal branding and slate gray colour did not appear to assist. However on this new Aegean blue colorway, the Melee can not seem to cease turning heads. With absolutely the minimal of branding and paired with tan sidewalls, I believe it is an absolute stunner, and I endure from imposter syndrome when driving it. Whereas my background is in elite competitors, I have never raced a street race since 2018, so what the hell am I doing aboard a steed that completely screams “I am quick!”
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
However that is precisely the place the Melee differs from most different WorldTour bikes. Sure, the Melee is quick. Sure, the Melee can be raced. However the Melee is a lot greater than only a racing bike. This is maybe the one race bike dentists ought to personal. Please permit me to elaborate.
I’ve absolutely the privilege of getting to check a few of the most interesting bikes accessible, lots of which are designed for racing. These race bikes sometimes symbolize a model’s flagship product, highlighting its cutting-edge innovation, know-how and engineering prowess. Nonetheless, within the quest for pace, compromises need to be made, typically in the way in which of consolation and dealing with. Prime-end race bikes are made for the very best competitors and typically demand a sure degree of proficiency of the rider. Whereas they’re depraved enjoyable for succesful riders, they will really feel a tad restrictive for these missing sure dealing with expertise. This is the place the Melee distinguishes itself.
Tire clearance for 35mm on a race bike!
(Picture credit score: Anne-Marije Rook)
The Melee is among the many most accessible race bikes I’ve had the pleasure of driving. By that, I imply that it is simple to get together with. It affords a energetic but very secure journey. You may throw it laborious right into a nook, push it back and forth in a dash, and ship it screaming downhill and right into a crosswind with out ever fearing a lack of management. The wheels keep planted. The rubber by no means leaves the asphalt. Some bikes on the market are aware of the purpose of being overly delicate – you a lot as sneeze and you are swerving everywhere in the street. The Melee places you within the driver’s seat.
The flipside right here is that it is maybe not fairly as snappy as another bikes, however you aren’t getting any twitchy-ness both. The Melee may be very well-balanced, providing well-rounded efficiency all through the journey. The aerodynamic properties shine on the flats, the body’s gentle weight and stiffness show you how to climb with ease, and the regular dealing with allows you to bomb down descents. It is also surprisingly snug for a race bike, and the wider tires actually assist with that. I would fortunately spend all day within the saddle on the Melee, which isn’t one thing I would say about all race bikes.
And for somebody who lives and rides within the wet Pacific Northwest area of america, I’m thrilled by Enve’s resolution so as to add fender mounts to the body. To me, that underscores the bike’s capabilities past racing. Enve could have designed the Melee across the calls for of racing however it stored the fanatic rider in thoughts, wanting the bike ridden – quick, far and typically.
Worth & Verdict
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Aerodynamic and lightweight, geared up with mudguard mounts and vast tire clearance, the Melee is a race bike that blurs the strains in the very best of how. From Paris-Roubaix model cobbles to lengthy arduous days of the Tour de France, the Melee is a succesful companion for people who demand essentially the most of their gear. For fanatics, the bike’s well-roundedness and considerate design concerns provides consolation and conveniences uncommonly present in race bikes.
Because the Melee is a top-end bike, you do pay high greenback for the chassis. At $5,500 / £5,300, it is costly, however in step with top-end race bikes from opponents. Specialised’s S-Works Tarmac SL8 additionally retails for $5,500 however for that you just get the frameset and seatpost solely; Enve features a seatpost, stem and handlebar of your alternative. Plus, with some sensible decisions in your construct, you might even are available below the price of most totally construct top-end race bikes, which simply go over the $10K mark lately.
