£10,500 Enve’s gravel bike aims to be rowdy & race friendly
Weight 8.87kg (56cm) Frame Carbon Fork Carbon Gears Shimano GRX Di2 RX815 (42t, 11-42t) Brakes Shimano GRX hydraulic, 160mm rotors Wheels Enve AG25 Carbon Finishing kit All Enve: 110mm carbon stem, 42cm Gravel carbon bar, G-Series carbon dropper post; Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite 40c tyres, Selle Italia SLR Boost x Enve saddle
WHAT ENVE HAS MADE HERE IS a machine that’s perfectly pitched between steep, sharp race-orientated bikes like BMC’s Kaius and more relaxed, rough-ready bikes like Nukeproof’s Digger. The £5,500 frameset bears more than a passing resemblance to the Enve Melee, though the MOG gets massive 50mm tyre clearances and storage via an opening underneath the down-tube bottle bosses. This ‘Cargo Bay’, as Enve calls it, has a 600ml capacity and comes with two rattle-suppressing neoprene cargo bags.
The fork is offered in three rake options across the six sizes for ‘optimal handling’ regardless of frame size. The head-tube angle is between 71° and 71.5° across the size range, with the seat-tube angle from 72.75° to 74.5°. All sizes use 420mm chainstays. Our 56cm test bike has a 73.5° seat angle and 397mm reach combined with a low, sporty 587mm stack height.
The frame has a claimed weight of just 950g for a 56cm – light for a gravel bike and only 90g heavier than the road-going Melee. The frame doesn’t skimp on fittings, either, with provision for mudguards, multiple bottles, a top-tube bento box-style bag plus mounts on the fork, too.
The bottom bracket is the T47 threaded standard and upfront the frame uses Enve’s IN-Route system for hiding all cables. The internal routing extends to routing for a dropper post, which is ENVE’s gravel-specific upside-down design with 40mm travel for when the going gets technical.
Premium parts
The cockpit boasts Enve’s G-Series bar with its 80mm reach, 120mm drop and a flare that takes it from 42cm at the hoods to 54cm at the drops, while the stem is its road aero unit. The MOG rolls on Enve Foundation AG25 gravel wheels with a gravel-specific 25mm internal rim and hookless tubeless profile. A G-Series dropper post (check out the review later in the issue) is topped with Selle Italia’s Boost saddle in special Enve trim.
Shimano’s 11-speed GRX Di2 drivetrain is impressively slick shifting, while the GRX brakes have superb dynamics thanks to their ergonomic lever shape. Yet it’s up on the hoods where the reworked shape makes even more sense, helping you feel you have as much control as you do in the drops. The 42-tooth chainring with a wide 11-42t cassette is
