Enve Fray 2024 evaluation: Still quick, however additional versatile

I’ve been overlaying Enve merchandise nearly so long as I’ve been on this enterprise. The model has all the time been a beacon of premium carbon engineering however Enve has additionally all the time been an aftermarket components provider. At one time there wasn’t a greater carbon fork in the marketplace and hand-built carbon wheels from Utah are a mainstay within the {custom} bike constructing scene. Then in 2022, Enve modified the sport a bit. 

Following on the heels of the Enve Custom Road bike, the Enve Melee hit the market as a really American tackle a highway race bike. The Melee is distinct from European race bikes with a barely taller headtube, extra flex, and room for tyres as much as 35mm and fenders. Not solely did it set up Enve as a model price contemplating for the greatest highway bikes patrons information nevertheless it began Enve down a brand new path. 

Since the Melee hit the market, Enve has slowly been increasing its vary. The subsequent follow-up was the Enve MOG which affords an equally distinctive take because the Melee however as a substitute of highway, the main target is gravel racing. Today, Enve is increasing the model’s vary once more by providing one thing that does not fairly match the established classes. 

The Enve Fray is a brand new tackle the bike you journey every single day. It’s not fairly a race bike nevertheless it’s actually not an endurance bike. It’s quick and responsive nevertheless it’s optimised round a setup that higher matches how most individuals really construct a motorbike. 

If you need a quick bike however a Euro racer is not fairly your jam, hold studying to see if the Americans have a imaginative and prescient that aligns with yours.

Design and aesthetics 

So if the Fray defies categorization and is not a race bike, a gravel bike, or an endurance bike, what’s it? The quick reply is that it is a Melee with a 2cm taller headtube and room for a 40mm tyre. There can also be a protracted reply although. 

The longer reply is that it’s kind of extra sophisticated. Some may name it an endurance bike however that assumes that it is designed for one thing drastically totally different than the Melee. Instead, it is price contemplating what the overwhelming majority of individuals do with a race bike and particularly an costly one. 

With a retail worth of $5500 for the core components of what a Melee is, there are usually not that many individuals who really race it. This yr you may see the body within the professional peloton however for nearly everybody else, it is a quick and enjoyable bike to have adventures on. Those who really race usually tend to be on one thing like a Cannondale CAAD13 which prices much less, is responsive, and when you crash it, the body may not crack and if it does it is lots inexpensive to repair. 

Instead, most individuals journey a Melee for enjoyment. Something I wrote about as I mentioned Shimano Dura-Ace was how wonderful it’s to have entry to the identical factor the most effective athletes on this planet journey even when you solely take it to the hills on the weekend. With that in thoughts although, most individuals aren’t keen to compromise consolation an excessive amount of. Your common race bike has a stack of spacers and as of late you’ll see greater tyres too. 

Enve constructed a motorbike for precisely that use and the result’s that the Enve Fray closely overlaps with the Melee and it’s solely within the optimisation the place the 2 differ. 

The Melee can match as much as a 35mm tyre nevertheless it’s really designed for a 28mm. The Fray can as a substitute take as much as a 40mm nevertheless it’s designed with a 35mm in thoughts. Enough to tackle most “mild gravel” in addition to no matter horrible pavement, or chipseal, your winding nation roads really use. 

The Fray additionally has a taller headtube. A taller headtube and no spacers is usually one of many greatest benefits to going for a {custom} bike. The Fray makes that attainable with a manufacturing bike. If you run a bunch of spacers, now you can run a couple of fewer and you will have the identical match. 

Then from there, Enve expanded on the main points that matter to non-racers. Like the MOG there’s in-frame storage. It’s received the identical patented and over-engineered anti-rattle system because the MOG and you continue to get the 2 neoprene luggage that hold issues organised and rattle-free contained in the body. There’s additionally braze-on mounts for a bento field on the highest tube plus a 3rd bottle on the downtube. 

Pulling from the racier facet of the equation, the Fray is aero-optimised in the identical approach that the Melee is. Although aerodynamics take a median 3.3 watt hit, that principally comes from the taller headtube. Like different Enve frames, routing is all by way of the bars into the headtube and there is not any uncovered cables. 

The body weight is fairly near the Melee too. The Fray hits the scales at 900 grams for an unpainted 56 and it is probably a lot of that comes from the taller headtube as effectively. The Melee in the identical dimension is just 50 grams lighter. 

The construct

Enve has been including color choices to all of the bikes since they launched however for the primary time, the Fray is definitely launching with selections. As earlier than, you may’t buy a constructed bike from Enve. Instead you may work with an Enve retail associate who will supply a chassis in your alternative of Salt, Ash, or Venom. Better often known as off-white, not fairly black, or sparkly color shifting green-esque. 

With that alternative made, you may then decide the chassis in sizes 47-60 with 4 fork rakes to match the body dimension. Bottom bracket is a T47 commonplace and, as launched with the Melee, there’s a match calculator device to assist ease dimension alternative. The full chassis will even embrace body, fork, headset, handlebar, stem, and the identical D-shaped aero seatpost because the Melee. The worth additionally matches different Enve bikes at £5500 / €5799 / $5500 for the whole chassis. 

Largely which means the actual construct I frolicked with is not that vital. Although some retailers will provide full builds, I might name the Enve gross sales mannequin semi-custom and you’re all the time capable of get the precise sizes you want. To make that even simpler, there are extra obtainable Enve equipment at present than in years previous. The Fray can embrace a two piece bar and stem with both a constructive or adverse rise and a G-series, SES AR, SES Aero Road, or Compact Road handlebar. There can also be the selection of a one-piece SES AR bar and stem system and all of the choices work with a Ok-Edge outfront mount. There are seatpost choices in 3 lengths and nil or 20mm offset. When it involves the drivetrain, “the Fray is designed to be used with ROAD cranksets designed with a 43.5 and bigger chainline” however you may select 1x as much as 55-tooth or 2x as small as SRAM 46/33. Shimano GRX 48/31 just isn’t appropriate neither is SRAM T-Type however the hanger is a SRAM UDH answer.

For the sake of understanding my expertise, I used to be on a motorbike with Shimano Dura-Ace. The gearing was 11-34 with a 50/34 crank and I had Enve SES 3.4 wheels fitted with the model new Enve 35mm tyres. The handlebar on my take a look at bike was the one-piece AR bar wrapped with Enve bar tape and the saddle underneath me was the ENVE x Selle Italia SLR Boost Superflow. Rounding out the construct was the Enve C.I.M bottle cage that’s designed for gravel but in addition the one one I’ve discovered that stays silent with Bivo bottles. I introduced my very own Garmin Rally CX200 pedals and put a Garmin 1040 Solar on the superb Ok-Edge outfront mount. 

Performance

As I received on the Fray, the very first thing I began doing was making an attempt to classify the bike. What is the Fray and who’s it for? Initially I used to be underneath the impression that it was an endurance bike and I spent a complete journey attempting to resolve if efficiency endurance was a class anybody was searching for. Given the premium worth of the Fray that did not appear to suit. 

The drawback I used to be having is that the Fray is not for me. When I get a brand new bike I reduce the steerer tube so far as I can and put the stem on with none spacers. Most weeks I do no less than one 6-7 hour journey and greater than half the time it is on a race bike with 28mm tyres. I additionally carry the whole lot in my jersey pockets and do not use luggage on my bikes. I acknowledge that is increasingly uncommon at present nevertheless it works for me and it means the Fray makes little sense. 

What’s extra typical in 2024 is the way in which a very good good friend units up his Enve Melee. Often we’re driving collectively and whereas mine has a slammed stem with 28s, his has 35mm of spacers and he is working 32mm tyres. It’s good that the Melee works simply as effectively with my setup as his but when he have been to purchase a motorbike at present I might completely advocate he take a look at the Fray. The journey feels nearly precisely the identical however he would have a smaller spacer stack and geometry optimised for the tyres he is already working. 

With that in thoughts, I discover it related to ask what you surrender by selecting the Fray as a substitute of the Melee? That’s what I actually targeted on throughout per week of driving within the coastal hills of central California. What I discovered is, little or no. 

I did have a little bit of bother getting comfy in my most popular efficiency place. The taller headtube means a shorter attain and I wish to be stretched out with my fingers on the tops of the controls. Adding 2cm felt too tall and a bit cramped initially however, even for me, that is a place I take advantage of sparingly. Generally, it is for flat and straight TT-type driving the place I appear to excel as of late. 

When the highway turned up, that feeling disappeared. Holding the controls behind the tops and climbing on luxurious gravel with occasional spikes as much as 17% gradients, the Fray felt just like the Melee. It had all of the flex and playful snap I admire in that bike and as we transitioned to damaged pavement and equally steep descents it once more felt just like the Melee. 

Later within the day, I discovered myself in a second group that shaped as we fell off the entrance wheels on yet one more huge climb. We’d already burned loads of matches so we chatted and coated miles with out an excessive amount of urgency. The Fray felt very best and once I responded to a pleasant assault on the following hill – simply to be clear by responded I imply I triumphed thanks very a lot – the Fray was simply as very best. 

The Fray is not an endurance bike and it is not a gravel bike. The Fray is a highway race bike that is constructed to higher match how fashionable highway cyclists really use their bikes. It’s quick and playful, like all Enve bikes, nevertheless it’s additionally slightly taller and comfy working greater tyres to transition on and off paved roads.  

Value

Enve advertising calls the Fray gross sales mannequin a chassis however that is solely half the story. Yes, it contains the bars, stem, and seatpost however that is principally an acknowledgement that it is mindless to promote fashionable bikes as a frameset alone. The days of shopping for a body then including a fork, and touchpoints are shortly eroding. Most manufacturers with extremely built-in designs embrace the same mannequin. Technically you may nonetheless use bars and stems from different manufacturers however I doubt many individuals will try this. The solely actual distinction is that Enve would not set full bike construct worth factors.

With that in thoughts, it is smart to go searching at different frameset worth factors and that places Enve completely according to the competitors. Specialized S-Works, Cannondale Hi-Mod, Look, and Cervélo frames all price about the identical with solely minor variations relying on the inclusion of the bars and stem or not. There are outliers just like the Colnago C-Series or the Cannondale Lab71 however, usually talking, it is a premium bike and it is priced as such. 

It is sweet although that you do not have to cope with predetermined builds and company buy agreements. When I reviewed the Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod I discovered it irritating that there wasn’t an influence meter included and getting sure colors was depending on selecting a particular spec. Enve avoids all that by promoting a body and letting you construct it up and that is all the time my desire. 

The greater query in regards to the Fray particularly may be if you’re getting higher worth due to a better vary of makes use of. You’ll should resolve if that is true however I do not assume so. Yes you may put a 35mm on the Fray and take it off-road however you are able to do that on a Melee additionally. The Fray is not about including capabilities in comparison with the Melee, it is about offering selections to match how individuals are really utilizing bikes. 

Verdict

During my time exploring the capabilities of the Enve Fray, the model took a night to present a press briefing overlaying the main points of the brand new bike. During that presentation, Jake Pantone, VP of Product and Brand, talked about utilizing his Melee for the legendary Enve lunch rides (whole smashfests) and grabbing the Fray for the weekend journey. I do not assume that makes a lot sense for most individuals although. 

What makes the Melee distinctive amongst race bikes is that it is slightly taller with room for greater tyres, fender mounts, and with a bit extra flex than is regular. The Melee is already an American tackle a race bike that is excellent for going quick in the future and driving from dawn to sundown the following. The Cannondale SuperSix Evo can also be a bit like that. If you personal, or may personal, both of these bikes and you’re comfy slamming the stems and working 28mm tyres, then the Fray is not for you. The Fray is for anybody that wishes a motorbike like that however as a substitute desires to run greater tyres, use a couple of spacers, and perhaps add some storage to the body. Admittedly that’s lots of people. 

The Fray is smart both as an solely bike or inside a secure of various bikes for various driving experiences. I additionally personal a Look 795 Blade RS and that bike constantly surprises me with how a lot stiffer, decrease, and longer it’s than the Melee. The Look is a a lot more durable bike to spend all day on. The entrance finish is so low that sitting up is a laughable idea and it could make an ideal companion to the Enve Fray. If you do not work for Enve, seize a extra conventional European race bike for brief and quick rides, an Enve Fray for quick long-distance driving, and a gravel race bike just like the Enve MOG or Time ADHX 45 for off-road adventures.