ENVE Builder’s Roundup, Part III

By Padraig Last updated Jul 12, 2021 0

The more I dig through the photos from ENVE’s Builder’s Roundup, the more impressed I am with the state of contemporary frame building. When I think back on what the top builders were doing in the late 1990s and compare that to what we see here in this collection, I can tell you for certain that there is no better time in history to order a custom frame than today.

There’s never been more creative work done in steel. Yes, in the 1970s they had to work harder to make a great frame, and some builders succeeded, but the tubes, lugs and jigs weren’t as good. Similarly, titanium frames are better than they were in the 1980s and today there are more choices in tubing and fittings than there ever were before. Same goes for aluminum. And carbon fiber? Well the beams of custom and carbon fiber didn’t even cross until well after Don Walker founded the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, which is the spiritual forebear to this event.

This Naked reminds me of the mashup of Led Zeppelin and The Beatles in Whole Lotta Helter Skelter. We begin with a cruiser frame design, dial in modern geometry (that’s one slack head tube) and then take the advantage of that extra tubing and add in braze-ons like Keith Moon had drums (that might be a mixed metaphor), resulting in a bikepacking rig I expect would corner really well under full weight. And that custom frame bag? Genius.

Don’t forget the dropper post, but you might not notice it for all the cool work done on the frame itself, like the flattened top tube.

Here’s a great example of No. 22’s attention to detail. First, we have welding that someone could be forgiven for coming from Seven Cycles or possibly even Brad Bingham. Sheesh. Pastry chefs wish they were this good. Then there’s the fact that the brazeons for the fenders are positioned so close to the dropouts that you don’t end up with the cluttered look so many fendered bikes have.

There is literally no detail too small for No. 22 to jusitfy delivering their A-game. The welds on this chainstay bridge are as consistent as any others on the bike and the tiny piece of brass tubing that serves as a stand-off for the rear fender is attractive, but also functional in that it doesn’t cause the fender to be mounted out of round.

Pine showed this versatile gravel bike they call the Rosa. They are located down the road, so-to-speak, in Salt Lake City. The Rosa can handle multiple wheel sizes. And in an unusual move, Pine offers the Rosa in stock sizing, which means shorter lead times.

Integrating the disc brake mount into the droupout makes for a cleaner looking frame and a more dialed presentation in general.

Australian builder Prova showed off this remarkable titanium/carbon fiber road bike, called the Speciale. The top, head and down tubes, as well as the seat- and chainstays are made from titanium, while the seat tube is made from carbon fiber.

The svelte dropouts that Prova created avoid the bulky, overbuilt look common to many castings and should contribute to a more comfortable ride than those beefier versions.

The Satyr is a titanium gravel bike from Ritte, and sports geometry by Tom Kellogg. It is intended to be able to handle bikepacking excursions on logging roads.

Ritte has long worked with contract builders, which gives their bikes a quality of construction that’s difficult to find with some similarly sized brands.

The small-diameter seatstays will help the bike track better in rough turns and will offer the rider more comfort than some designs.

I’ve encountered custom frame builders from all over the world: Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and, of course, North America. Scarab is the first custom bike brand I’ve encountered from South America and this bike makes me wonder why I’ve never heard of them.

Of the many nice touches on this bike are the dropouts, which aren’t just another casting seen on dozens of other bikes.

Spooky was one of just two builders to display a bike made from aluminum. Their gravel bike can handle bikepacking duties as well.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen bare aluminum welds that show such precision.

Fitting a bag and bottle in around the battery could not have been easy. The carrying capacity on this bike is reasonably impressive.

The Hammer Gravel SL sports a BB yoke to increase tire clearance. The bike can handle up to 700Cx45mm or 650Bx2.1″.

I’m not convinced that this results in a better riding bike, but visually, the seatstay design is striking.

ENVE Builder’s Roundup, Part III

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