Today we are back with part two of Spencer Harding‘s ENVE Grodeo and Builder Round-up coverage. If you missed the builds featured in yesterday’s post, we’d recommend going back and giving them a gander—3D-printed parts (most ti but some steel, too!) seems to be the unofficial theme for the year but there’s plenty to see across the creative spectrum! Today, we finish up with the remaining frame builders in the showcase—with a few more overseas features—then we head out on the weekend’s main event, a 92-mile gravel ride on some of the best dirt in the northern Wasatch Mountains. Let’s dive in!
Sycip Custom Travel Gravel
“This year I built a Travel Gravel bike. It’s a titanium gravel frame with Paragon Z couplers on top and down tube, designed to come apart so you can fit the complete bike into a non-oversized case for airline travel. It is built up with Sram AXS parts so no cables, and of course full ENVE parts as well. The hydraulic brake lines are internal with quick disconnect hoses so when the frame comes apart, you can also split the brake lines for ease of packing. The bike is made to fit up to a 50c tire and has extra water bottle mounts.”
Rock Lobster Tig SL ‘Cross
“In one form or another, the S.L. has been in my catalog for nearly 30 years. When I started making the S.C. in 1992, there were only a couple of other builders in the country making anything similar. What made the S.C. different back then was the availability of the frame and fork to accept 700×45 tires. Cyclocross bikes of the day coming from Europe could barely manage a 700×32 tire and most of these import frames were very flexy and hard to control at speed by anyone who was not a circus performer. What I did back in 1992 (and still do now) is build a frame that will take the larger tires and feels really stable when being ridden at speed, particularly in hard cornering. I wanted to make a bike that wasn’t scary but still fun to go fast on.”
Wish One SUB All-Road
“The SUB is a high-performance bike designed for racing, prioritizing responsivity and all-out speed. With geometry and handling characteristics optimized for 30 to 35mm tires, the SUB is a progressive race bike engineered to provide the performance that competitive riders demand. The SUB is your bike quiver killer, breaking the rules and the distinctions and limitations between disciplines. It performs on all fronts that count – efficient power transmission, weight, aerodynamics, and versatility. To achieve the versatility today’s racing requires, the SUB has clearance for up to 40mm tires. The SUB has been designed with our unique Carbon Link technology, meaning a continuous long fiber construction throughout, and made possible by Wish One’s in-house carbon manufacturing capability. The frame responds as a single unit with no weak points in terms of strength distribution and is a unique process in the industry. This Limited Edition of the SUB bike comes with a special paint job and is available in three different build options (transmission, wheels, and components.) It’s also available as a frame only or there are a la carte options. There are only 50 bikes available in this numbered and limited edition!”
Moots Vamoots CRD
“Pure pavement riding where the only varying surface is up, down, left, and right. Road riding is about speed, smoothness, and the feeling that you could ride all day. The new Moots Vamoots CRD captures what lies at the heart of a dedicated road bike.”
“The Vamoots CRD (complete road design) is the new pinnacle of the Vamoots road line. The CRD screams performance with our legendary double-butted RSL tube set for a light, crisp ride. Followed by our latest and most refined 3D printed dropouts, that save weight, add stiffness at the rear wheel, and perfect brake caliper alignment. Finished off with pencil-thin seat stays for the renowned Moots ride quality. By incorporating an all-new integrated cockpit with a T47 bottom bracket into the build we have been able to route all brake hose lines internally for our cleanest-looking road bike to date. Built to perform best with your favorite 28-30c road tire, can clear up to a 32mm.”
Scarab ‘Campesina’ Santa Rosa Disc Integrated
“Our ‘Campesina’ paint scheme is our homage to the people from the countryside and their homes. The roughness of the ever-changing Andes Mountains and tropical conditions shape Colombia and its people. By building some of the most charming houses in these often-remote places, Colombians have created their own way of living among the challenges of this landscape. This is evidence of Colombians’ passion for living among nature, and its ever-changing conditions, yet always in a beautiful manner.”
“Scarab’s new ‘Campesina’ paint theme is being displayed on our most recent addition to the product lineup – The Santa Rosa Disc Integrated. This new version of Scarab’s popular road model, the Santa Rosa, comes in a disc-specific platform with fully integrated cable routing for clean and clutter-free aesthetics on the bike’s front end. The Santa Rosa Disc Integrated comes equipped with ENVE’s integrated fork, allowing clearance up to 700c x 35mm tires. The tire clearance possibilities, paired with Scarab’s custom geometry program, allow us to fine-tune the riding characteristics of every bike with the singular focus of building the best frameset for our riders.”
Quirk Durmitor Road
“As Quirk Cycles‘ signature road bike, the Durmitor has continuously evolved, reinventing performance steel. Utilizing 3D-print technology, Quirk has developed unique stainless steel parts to overcome the traditional limits of the material. Alongside 3D dropouts and seat cluster, the development of a 3D-printed head tube allowed for a fully integrated seamless front end, with a custom printed top cap giving compatibility with the ENVE integrated system. The build has been executed in Columbus XCr stainless steel and to show off the beauty of the raw metal the frame is painted in translucent candy colours that shift in hue and intensity. Terrazzo islands scatter the rear end, drawing the eye along the unique lines of the frame. All in all, a seriously beautiful road machine!”
Bordure Panache Road
“This is the brand-new titanium platform made with a new 3D-printed head tube, seat junction, dropout, and crankset. This setup was made for introducing fully integrated cable routing, and combo bars and also for giving more modern metal bikes. Each bike will be made for each customer with custom geometry. Same for the Bordure 3D-printed crankset allowing for totally custom q-factor and length.”
Breadwinner A-Road
“For over a decade, Breadwinner Cycles has been custom designing bikes for riders who love to put miles in each and every day, rain or shine, pavement or dirt. With mainstream road bike offerings looking more identical by the year, we asked ourselves if all the aero, cable integration, drop-seat stays, and complicated micro-suspension actually make for a better riding experience. We set out to push our best-selling A-Road further along as the ultimate road platform for real-world, everyday ownership. Based on our made-in-house steel forks, this new custom-only version of the A-Road absolutely sings with 32-38mm road tires on carbon wheels like the ENVE SES 4.5. Whether your day-to-day riding takes you on perfect pavement, less-than-ideal chip seal, or primitive gravel, this A-Road brings its A-game.”
ENVE Custom Road
This was an ENVE employee, Joaquin’s, personal ENVE Custom Road. He asked their in-house painter to do a galaxy paint job that came out just amazing. His top cap is engraved with a quote from Alan Shepard “Let’s light this candle.” Alan uttered the quote before being launched as the first American to reach Space. This bike looks like an absolute rocket so I’d say the reference fits!
Grodeo Gravel Ride
After looking at all of these unbelievable builds it was time to finally actually ride some bikes. ENVE cooked up a hair-raising 92-mile ride with over 8,000′ of elevation gain, a healthy dose of singletrack, and some amazing scenery. Everyone lined up at the crack of dawn for an escort out of town and up the canyon to get away from the sprawl of Ogden. Once outside the city limits, the Grodeo cowboys were let loose. While not a race by any means there was some serious pace being kept at the front of the pack.
When everyone arrived in the alpine they were treated with the first aid station and endless wildflowers as far as the eye could see. Shortly after, some rocky and rutted double track slowed everyone down to a crawl so they could enjoy the views.
Riders finished their lap of Avon Mountain and returned to the first aid station for some hotdogs (half or whole) to keep the engine burning. They prepared for the final ascent over Ogden North Divide and a final singletrack descent back to town.
I only rode a few miles of the route but it was as beautiful as it was grueling. ENVE put together a really special event, again this year, with an amazing cast of builders at their showcase and a stunning Grodeo route. If you love beautiful handmade frames with some of the finest carbon components money can buy AND amazing gravel riding then you might wanna put the ENVE Grodeo on your calendar for 2024.
We’d like to thank ENVE and all the builders for pulling together such a fun weekend. What’s your favorite bike from this set?