Every summer, ENVE Composites hosts a massive open house at their HQ in Ogden, Utah with an accompanying gravel ride. The 2023 ENVE Grodeo, which went down just one week ago, featured an impressive list of 24 frame builders from around the world. Spencer Harding was on the ground documenting all of the beautiful bicycles and riding festivities and, below, he presents Part One of his event recap with a stacked gallery of bikes, some snapshots from the builder ride, and Trackline time trail at the Grodeo. Let’s get to it!
With a massive roster of frame builders from solo makers, all the way up to full production houses like Moots, the ENVE Grodeo Builder Showcase was a doozy. Titanium had a huge showing this year, 3d printed or not. Speaking of 3d printing, I saw headtubes, lugs, pseudo pivot links, cranks, and just about everything being printed out of titanium this year. Seems like this technology is here to stay and become a mainstay for bespoke builders. Fear thee not steel fans, we have plenty of amazing steel bikes as well! Even some of those parts have been 3d-printed.
The event kicked off with a quick spin with the builders around Ogden from the ENVE HQ. True to form with the Grodeo route, we quickly jumped on some single track in the foothills behind Ogden to get dusted. We got a preview of the flowers that would be blooming along the route and even a little pump track action.
Once we got back to HQ it was open house time for everyone to pick up their Grodeo packets and check out the amazing bikes on display. For clarity, the quoted and italicized sections below were provided by the builder, any normal text will be my own commentary on the bikes in case a description wasn’t provided. I’ll shut up so you can immerse yourselves in all of the sweet bikes now!
Sanitas Node Gravel
“We brought out the all-new Sanitas Node Custom Gravel. This frame features full 3/2.5 Aerospace titanium construction from tubing that is all milled here in the United States. Braze-ons, headtube, dropouts, and bottom bracket shell are all milled in California. We 100% design and fabricate the frame in-house; the shop is located in Durango, Co. The frame features a 44mm straight tapered headtube for many fork options and integrated cable routing upon request. The top tube is thin-walled and features a slight curve to allow for more vibration absorption. Seatube is reamed for 31.6 allowing for rigid seatposts but also dropper posts. We use t47 standard bottom bracket shells with a thicker wall to help increase lateral stiffness at the crankset. The chain stays are fully annealed 7/8ths material for more vibration absorption and endless customization of tire clearance and crankset combinations. The seat stays are thick-walled 1/2” tubing featuring a wrap-around construction while also being a bit dropped to keep the rear triangle laterally stiff for hard climbs and sprints. This frame is what we see as the final culmination of our 30+ years of combined frame-building experience.”
“The finish applied to the frame features custom anodization done through Agave Finishworks also located in Durango. From afar the gold, blues, and purples are eye-catching, but up close it really comes to life with details of mountains, clouds, and cacti using the negative space. Just like the finish applied on the frame, we build each and every bicycle one by one to the customer’s exact specifications and desires. Being a small-builder allows us to provide a unique and highly customizable shopping experience. The groupset features a mix of Sram Red AXS, Force AXS, White Industries cranks, a Kogel Ceramic bottom bracket, and their oversized cage. All being framed in the pinnacle of carbon works provided by ENVE Composites. “
English Custom
“Built around ENVE’s IN-Route system, the frame matches the fork in having clearance for 35mm tires and including discreet fender mounts. The seat tube is offset on the T47 bottom bracket shell to keep the chain stays short whilst maintaining tire clearance. The headtube features a carbon-fiber insert, the top tube is custom taper ovalized, and the carefully engineered seat stays round out the whole package: a bike that is just what it needs to be, and no more.”
Viral Optimist
“The Optimist 160 is a brand new full suspension bike from Viral Bikes, a company dedicated to furthering gearbox and drivetrain technology. Featuring 3d printed 6/4 Titanium lugs, carbon tubes, an incredible flex pivot suspension layout, and the latest gearbox technology from Pinion, the Optimist 160 is an all-mountain/enduro machine. Front travel comes from a ZEB Flight Attendant featuring 170mm of travel paired with a progressive suspension layout and digitally connected to the Super Deluxe Flight Attendant rear, which allows the wheel to get a full and plush 160mm of travel.”
“The biggest news, aside from Viral being able to make such a wildly advanced technological marvel, is the launch with Pinion of the new Smart Shift electronic shifting Pinion gearbox. The Smart Shift is the latest in gearbox technology, combining all of the advantages of a center-mounted gearbox with the effortless shifting of an electronic trigger shifting mechanism. Shift under load, yup. Shift when standing still, yup. Shift as much as you want to get to the gear you want without having to travel through all of the other gears? Yup.”
Mosiac RT-1D ITR
“The legendary Mosaic RT-1d, re-imagined here along with Mosaic partner Above Category Cycling of Sausalito, CA, and Mosaic Sponsored rider Brennan Wertz. We’ve put together a one-of-a-kind RT-1 ITR for the ENVE Grodeo. A full display of Above Category’s ability to leave no detail to the imagination for an ultimate Mosaic drop bar bike. Race-ready road build spec, rider-specific geo and tube choice and an incredible knockout finish, and a special edition of a Flip Color shapeshifting look.”
“Utilizing ENVE’s Integrated Road Fork and a new chainstay design, the RT-1 ITR has the same intuitive steering response, plenty of get-up-and-go out of the corners, the encouragement to rip up your favorite climb, and will give you the confidence to run a larger road tire with room to spare. As usual, this is all delivered by a particular blend & rider-specific selection of double-butted titanium tubing that is infinitely customizable depending on your fit requirements, ride preferences, and build configuration”
Chumba Sendero
“Our ENVE show bike is the Sendero Steel down country 29er in a new 3-tone Cerakote paint layout with a paint-matched fork and stem. The colors are light green and slate blue with a gold color shift over both when the light hits just right. The graphics are metallic cobalt. The Sendero is suited to everything from trail riding on singletrack to earning the Triple Crown* Single speed course record. The goal of the Sendero is to be a fast, but very playful all-day bike. Last year we made a few updates: slacker geometry and tubing changes. It is designed for 130mm suspension to rigid mountain forks, single speed, 1x drivetrains, and now the new SRAM Transmission all via modular PMW sliding dropout inserts. The max tire is 29×2.6″ or 27.5×2.8″. All of our bikes can be uniquely built with a wide array of frame customizations, colorways, and complete or partial custom component configurations.”
*Total time of Tour Divide, CTR, and AZTR all in one year, thanks to Andrew Strempke for that feat in 2022!
Holland HC 50th Anniversary
“The Holland HC 50th Anniversary bike is a culmination of the unique history of Bill Holland’s frame-building journey. From the early days of steel, and titanium to Exogrid and now the carbon Holland HC, this bike represents all of the knowledge and understanding that 50 years of frame building garners.”
Rizzo Custom Road
“This bike has been in my build queue for more than a year and in my mind for two, the desire for a classic steel rim brake road bike with modern components, and a steel fork to accept high volume road tyres up to 33c to ride on the broken, bumpy and lonely roads of Sierra Este in Madrid. Why don’t just go with disc brakes then?? well….because for me the feeling of rim brake pads over ENVE ‘s SES is incomparable. And talking about exclusivity, this is a near-to-extinction species that you see less and less nowadays, so pretty exclusive.”
“There are no rim carbon forks with such a tyre clearance, so I went with a full custom fork made with MAX blades and my own design 3d stainless printed crown to host the direct mount pivots. The steerer tube is carbon so it saved a lot of weight and the fork only weights 550gr, the frame is less than 1.5kg and the outstanding choice of components make it quite light. The bike features arguably the last set of SES 3.4 rim brake rims, It took me a few months to find a set after ENVE guys told me “There are no more rims at the warehouse, and they will not be produced ever again…sorry”. Along all the ENVE cockpit the powerful Cane Creek EE direct mount brakes, a made-in-Madrid (just a few miles from my workshop) ROTOR Aldhu carbon crankset, and really nice titanium axles from METI make this a simple, elegant, and timeless bike. For more modern and innovative stuff….wait for my M.A.D.E show bike.”
Horse All Road
“This is the first Generation of Horse Titanium, made in-house, one at a time, at the Horse Cycles workshop. An “ALL ROAD TI” Geared toward speed while still providing allowances for 45mm x 700c tires. The bike maintains the classic lines, tube diameters, and Geometry of the steel frames produced for the past fifteen years while utilizing titanium alloys to increase positive ride characteristics. The titanium provides a lighter overall package making it a clear choice for climbers and longer endurance riders. The bike is painted with a multi-tone sunset horizon and reveals the brushed material on the lower end of the frame. A modern classic.”
Sage Storm King
“The Sage Titanium Storm King debuted at the ENVE GRODEO and Builder show back in 2019. In the years since that debut, the overall design of the bike has evolved to become lighter with a more efficient power transfer, and a higher performance rating when the trail gets rough. For the 2023 ENVE GRODEO and Builder Show, we continued the refinement of the design to include our all-new 3D printed titanium dropouts and chainstay yoke, updated geometry for shorter stems/ bigger tires, and the all-new ENVE internally routed gravel fork that makes this Storm King our first fully internally routed build. Of course, what show bike would be complete without a custom finish? So we went the extra mile with this special anodized finish that also includes a matching finish on the Cane Creek eeWings crankset. This unique build is now a standard offering (not including the finish) if that is what you desire. The perfect gravel race bike. Storm King.”
Bridge Surveyor
“The Surveyor is a modern classic, fully carbon fiber frame, and fork, all built by Bridge Bike Works in Toronto, Canada. The Soul of the Surveyor is a performance road bike, with clearance for 40-42mm tires to handle most gravel and off-road conditions. We are proud to introduce our patent pending integrally threaded carbon T47-86 bottom bracket, ensuring perfect alignment with a creak-free ride experience. Surveyor also utilizes the SRAM UDH for both ease of replacement and compatibility with the new T-Type Transmission system, featured on our build for the ENVE Grodeo. “
Salt Air Custom Gravel
Salt Air created a beautiful and understated custom gravel bike with a blue flake paint job. The ENVE cockpit keeps the brake lines clean and internal. Paired Sram AXS auxiliary buttons keep the shifting and brake levers clean and simple as well.
Pursuit
“This All Road is designed to be smooth and fast on all road surfaces, dirt, gravel, asphalt, or whatever you might encounter. It’s actually pulled from an image of rust. We separated the colors and this is the design”
Ritte Occulto
“Occulto means hidden or concealed. An obvious name given the hidden cabling – the bike is our take on what modern titanium road bikes can be. Blending classic metal bike lines with organic shaping and modern standards. The Occulto utilizes 3d printing to create a natural, hidden cabled front end with our tried and true road geometry. The re-introduction of an integrated seat mast hints back to some of Ritte’s earlier bikes and offers excellent comfort and low weight – the 3d printed topper allows customization of offsets and fit. Printed, fabricated, and assembled in the US from US-sourced materials.”
Fifty One Custom Gravel
“The bike we are displaying is an all-new model for us that will be seen at the show for the first time. It’s our 100% custom carbon frameset. Using the same tube-to-tube construction as our road offering, this allows us to fine-tune rider fit, biomechanics, and riding characteristics. Clearance is for 47mm. Threaded T47 BB. We have collaborated with Signature Cycles to produce this striking DNA paint scheme. Established in 1999, Signature Cycles are fit experts whose passion is to create dream bikes.”
If you made it through all of that bike amazingness it is time to wind down or turn up with a few moments from the Trackline time trial. To get everyone hyped for the following days Grodeo, Enve held a short track race on the neighboring trail system. The kiddos kept everyone cool after their heroic efforts on the trail. The vibes were good.
Got a favorite or favorites build or builds from this event? Drop them in the comments!