American carbon fibre expert Enve Composites is a brand with a history of collaboration. Years ago, they made a name for themselves at a time when fork manufacturers were exiting the market. They built a better fork and they made it available not only direct to consumers but also to small builders. Having that product available allowed those small manufacturers to focus their skills in the areas they were experts in and let another expert handle the carbon fibre. Over the years, Enve has continued to expand the components they offer outside of wheels and they have continued to support small builders.
Since 2019, one of the ways that Enve Composites has given back to the community is through a builders round up and open house. It's an opportunity to see the creative uses small brands have come up with for products you can find in our lists of best gravel handlebars, best bottle cages, and best road seatposts. It’s also an opportunity for Enve to show off its manufacturing prowess and it doesn’t hurt that the Grodeo gravel event and a party are mixed in to the occasion too. If you’ve ever wondered about the small companies that make limited numbers of bikes, keep reading. You might even find something you decide to make your own.
Chumba USA
- Location: Austin, Texas
- Material: Steel
- Model: Yaupon
- chumbausa.com
- Description: The Yaupon takes drop bar capabilities to an entirely new level. With a 120mm suspension fork, M630 wheels, and the Alloy MTN Stem, the Yaupon pairs mountain bike performance to a gravel frame.
Moots
- Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- Material: Titanium
- Model: Vamoots RCS
- moots.com
- Description: Moots hand delivered their modern road bike, which is designed around 32mm tires and tons of versatility for road and light gravel riding. Moots paired the Steamboat Springs-made titanium frame with the new SES 4.5 wheels.
Retrotec
- Location: Napa, California
- Material: Steel
- Model: Road
- ingliscycles.com
- Description: The mind of Curtis Inglis is an intriguing place, and the Retrotec Road is the perfect example of that. With the trademark curves and a premium build kit, it blends the vintage look with modern performance.
Festka
- Location: Prague, Czech Republic
- Material: Carbon Fiber
- Model: ONE
- festka.com
- Description: Festka always brings a showstopper to the Builder Round-Up and this year is no different. The ONE showcases its composite expertise and exquisite paint capabilities. A notable feature is the ENVE Integrated Front-End that features the two-piece AR Stem and AR Bar, in addition to the new SES 6.7 wheels.
Speedvagen
- Location: Portland, Oregon
- Material: Steel
- Model: Custom
- speedvagen.com
Description: It’s always a party for Speedvagen, and in the case of their Custom bike, it’s a pool party. Featuring a one-piece bar and stem, this singlespeed build is designed for the bar ride or any singletrack. The G23 wheels are paired with Rene Herse rubber.
Breadwinner
- Location: Portland, Oregon
- Material: Steel
- Model: G-Road
- breadwinnercycles.com
- Description: One of the clear crowd favorites during the Builder Round-Up, Breadwinner’s G-Road was the perfect example of how custom can deliver an aesthetic that other bikes can’t come close to. The steel fork features internal routing for the dynamo hub that powers the headlight.
DeSalvo
- Location: Ashland, Oregon
- Material: Titanium
- Model: Titanium Gravel
- desalvocycles.com
- Description: Mike DeSalvo has been building metal bikes in Ashland for going on 25 years. His eye for the detail sets this Titanium Gravel apart thanks to the perfect welds and features that make an all-day adventure possible. The build is finished off with G23 wheels, an AR Bar, and Sweet Wing titanium cranks.
Weis
- Location: New York City, New York
- Material: Titanium
- Model: Hammer Gravel Ti
- weismfg.com
- Description: The first thing that might catch your eye is the asymmetric seatstays, but that’s just the starting point on the Hammer Gravel Ti. A titanium integrated seatmast is stunning, as is the unique head tube design. Overall, one of the most amazing bikes from any of the Builder Round-Up shows.
Mosaic
- Location: Boulder, Colorado
- Material: Titanium
- Model: GT-1 X
- mosaiccycles.com
- Description: Mosaic does gravel different than most, and the GT-1 X showcases that. The Boulder, Colorado crew didn’t shy away from making it a monster gravel bike. Featuring the 700c AG25 wheels, Mosaic paired them with a 2.2 treaded mountain bike tire, and opted for a flat bar for full effect.
Saltair Cycles
- Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Material: KVA Stainless Steel
- Model: Stainless SSCX
- saltaircycles.com
- Description: A throwback to a lost era in frame design. The stainless-steel single speed cylocross frame features bottom bracket and seat tube lugs, in addition to beautifully-detailed dropouts. AG25 wheels are paired with IRC Boken rubber.
No. 22
- Location: Johnstown, New York
- Material: Titanium
- Model: Drifter
- 22bicycles.com
- Description: There’s so much going on with this Drifter that makes it a bike we would love to throw a leg over. Building on the existing design, this show model receives an ENVE Integrated Front-End with AR Stem and AR Bar that routes the hydraulic brake hoses out of sight.
Horse
- Location: Bovina, New York
- Material: Steel
- Model: Gravel Monster
- horsebrand.co
- Description: Horse has been making gravel bikes as long as anyone and over the course of the years they’ve seen the trend going toward the need for more capable bikes that can handle a big tire and have the strength for mountain bike-type riding. The Gravel Monster is their answer. The show bike was set up in a 650b wheel configuration, rolling the G27 with Rene Herse tires.
Alliance
- Location: Hailey, Idaho
- Material: Titanium
- Model: Allroad
- alliancebicycles.com
- Description: At last year’s Builder Round-Up, Alliance brought their full suspension mountain bike, while this time around they went with the Allroad dropbar bike to fit in with the GRODEO theme. The Hailey, Idaho-based builder pulls out all the stops with the titanium stem in custom lengths.
Isen Workshop
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Material: Titanium
- Model: Concept R3 Int. Road/Race
- isenworkshop.com
- Description: The Isen’s confetti finish had no equal at the Builder Round-Up. Going with a straight titanium frame rather than the blending of carbon and titanium found on the R3, this build’s details include ENVE’s one-piece bar/stem that is an option as part of their Integrated Front-End design.
Pursuit
- Location: Bozeman, Montana
- Material: Carbon Fibre
- Model: All Road
- pursuitcycles.com
- Description: Carl Strong from Pursuit Cycles says there’s no reason not to make the paint loud, and in the case of this particular All Road, it’s not only bright, it’s going to be fast. The next stop after the Builder Round-Up for this Bozeman-made carbon frame is Tejay Van Garderen’s garage. The top-5 Tour de France rider was kind enough to allow his new bike to make a stop at ENVE first. The build kit included an SES 4.5 wheelset and AR Bar.
Sycip
- Location: Santa Rosa, California
- Material: Titanium
- Model: All Road Cruiser
- sycip.com
- Description: Sycip just hit 30 years of frame building and the Santa Rosa-based builder is still dazzling in what is delivered to the Builder Round-Up. This year’s build had retro styling with a unique seat stay design, and a paint job that was a throwback to the builder’s early years. ENVE’s SES 3.4 featured on the build with Panaracer Gravelking SS tires.
Bridge
- Location: Toronto, Ontario
- Material: Carbon Fibre
- Model: Surveyor
- bridgebikeworks.com
- Description: The newest brand to be a part of the Builder Round-Up, Bridge is just entering the market with their handmade Surveyor that’s designed around performance-road with the versatility required of any modern road bike. The integration and clean lines made it a popular bike at the show.
FiftyOne
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
- Material: Carbon Fibre
- Model: Road Disc
- fiftyonebikes.com
- Description: Taking the graphic cues from the Jaguar XJR9 Castrol racecar, the FiftyOne Road Disc brings the performance the Dublin-based builders are known for and blends it with a motor sports heritage. The build kit includes ENVE’s one-piece bar / stem that’s an option for the Integrated Front-End, and the finishing touch is a set of SES 6.7 wheels.
Scarab
- Location: Medellin, Colombia
- Material: Steel
- Model: Paramo Ultra
- scarabcycles.com
- Description: The main river in Colombia is the Magdalena, which inspired the paint on Scarab’s Paramo Ultra gravel bike. Complete with the villages, tributaries, and landscapes in the Colombian Andes, the detail was nothing short of stunning. The complete build included AG25 wheels G Series Handlebars.
Enve
- Location: Ogden, Utah
- Material: Carbon Fibre
- Model: Custom Road
- enve.com
- Description: Made under the same roof as where the Builder Round-Up was being held, the Custom Road is ENVE’s definition of the modern road bike. The carbon bike features aero frame profiling and integration using their one-piece bar / stem. A Campy group along with the new SES 4.5 completed the build.
