I was told I have to introduce us.....Enigma Bicycle Works [Archive]

sales guy

03-25-2017, 07:37 PM

So I've been on here off and on for years and never 'pushed' the companies I worked for cause it's not cool to do. I have helped out with different things like posting prototype Thomson stuff or helping with Lezyne pump problems. Well, I went and did it. I bought an ad square up top. So Keith says I have to do an introduction now.

Enigma Bicycle Works is a manufacturer of steel, stainless steel and titanium frames. We are based about 50 miles southeast of London in East Sussex. It's an 11 year old company who got started kind of oddly.

The founder, Jim Walker owned iRide, a distributor in the UK. He decided to sell it to a couple of employees and retire. Well, retirement lasted for a couple months. He wasn't done yet. He spoke with Mark Reilly, a custom frame builder who owned Omega in the UK. Jim and Mark formed Enigma in 2006.

They went on to build a stellar reputation for steel and titanium in Europe. There are numerous reviews out there from Pedal, Road Cycling UK, Cycling Weekly, Bicycling Australia, Road and many many more. Our Enigma Elite HSS was just reviewed and featured on the cover of the May 2017, 'Euro Edition' of Road Bike Action Magazine- on newsstands now!

As things picked up, they wanted to showcase the people who are really keeping cycling and handmade bikes alive. So they produced the book, '73 Degrees' It highlights builders like Richard Sachs, Pegoretti, Seven, IF, Crisp, Baum and more. With wonderful photos and great text from the builders, it allows fans of handmade bikes and of these builders to get inside the builders thoughts and processes. While it's a single volume right now, I am hoping to convince Enigma HQ into a second and third volume- one of only carbon builders and one of just US builders.

In 2013 they expanded to Australia and in 2016 to North America. Which is where I come in. After working for some incredible companies in the past, I got burned one to many times- many of you know by who! And I had been speaking for about 3 years to Jim because I loved the bikes and how clean they are. Having wanted one myself for years. And the timing finally became right for both of us.

Interbike marked our first showing of Enigma in North America. We had a tremendous response from everyone including people like Pez Cycling News, BikeHugger, Road Bike Action, Gravel Cyclist, CX Magazine, Handbuilt Bicycle Guide and more. Which led us to NAHBS Salt Lake City. We brought out 9 bikes- one in the Reynolds booth, one in the FSA booth, a frame in an Anvil FrameWorks jig and 7 in our booth. One of which took home The Presidents Choice Award- the Enigma Exemplar. The bike at the show is my personal bike.

We did come close on a couple other awards and I know what dinged us so it's off to the workshop for NAHBS Hartford 2018. Looking forward to bringing home some more awards.

We make about 700 frames a year. We do all of our finish work in-house. Whether it's a polished or brushed titanium frame or a Gulf Racing inspired paint scheme, it's done in our East Sussex facility. Joe Walker, the founders son is our lead welder and does most of the titanium frames. We even have a frame building course for those who want to try their hand with a torch.

I'm happy to answer questions about Enigma and what we do differently. I'm not really here to push frames or anything. So you won't be seeing that. I've just been say "us" for awhile and people have asked who "us" was. So I figured it was time and a good way to support the site.

Tickdoc

03-25-2017, 07:50 PM

Not cool to do? On a cycling forum? Yeah, it's cool, but I would put it in the builders spotlight. Really nice looking bikes, and I love the use of campy :-)

sales guy

03-25-2017, 07:54 PM

Not cool to do? On a cycling forum? Yeah, it's cool, but I would put it in the builders spotlight. Really nice looking bikes, and I love the use of campy :-)

The mods and rules say not to be posting stuff about your brand unless you have bought ad space. And i get that. I am fine with that rule.

dustyrider

03-25-2017, 08:06 PM

And once you have ad space you have to post about your brand. So...let's see those bikes! How did that fendered bike come out in the end?

Thanks for supporting the forum.

ntb1001

03-25-2017, 08:31 PM

would love to see more..

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

makoti

03-25-2017, 09:11 PM

Thanks for supporting the forum, and that Campy crank is very sweet.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 07:56 AM

Thanks for supporting the forum, and that Campy crank is very sweet.

It's actually the crankset, front and rear derailleurs, shifter/brake levers and even the headset spacers got a blue clearcoat. Add into it the enve rims. Lots of time masking off components.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 08:01 AM

And once you have ad space you have to post about your brand. So...let's see those bikes! How did that fendered bike come out in the end?

Thanks for supporting the forum.

I will post more. Have to change them to fit. The fender bike was awesome. It made it to the final four round for commuter. I was super proud of that. I really wanted a bike I personally would buy or ride and it was excellent. Shin-Ichi from Cherubim was next to us at the show and walked over to it and said it was beautiful. I was like ?!?!?!? Really? So that was a massive thank you.

We made to the final four on best finish as well with the American Jack paint scheme. It has real 24kt gold leaf on it. The paint job took almost 3 months given all the masking and the gold leaf application

sokyroadie

03-26-2017, 08:06 AM

Several frames say "designed and finished in the UK" where are they actually welded?
Nice bikes I tried to buy one a couple of years ago. but no shipping to the US then.

Jeff

sales guy

03-26-2017, 10:25 AM

Several frames say "designed and finished in the UK" where are they actually welded?
Nice bikes I tried to buy one a couple of years ago. but no shipping to the US then.

Jeff

We make most of our frames in the UK. We do offer some Asian made frames tho. Main reason, we don't have enough welders. We are training some but that takes time to get people up to speed.

So something like the Etape frame. That is made in Asia. But if you want something other than a stock size, it would be made in the UK. We've also had people specify they would like a UK made frame which we can absolutely do for people. Even in stock sizes. But it takes longer is all.

So anything custom geometry is UK made. Anything that is part of the Signature Collection is UK made. Everything get finished in the UK.
Braze ons, rack and fender mounts. Water bottle mounts. Cable guides/stops and adjuster barrel mounts. All of those things are done in the UK on even the Asian made frames. So there is a ton of time put on the Asian made frames in the UK.

A couple years ago we moved into a bigger facility to make space for more people including welders. It's just a slow process to train people up is the problem. We are working towards 100% made in the UK. We are actually making two new models that will be made in the UK and dropping a couple of Asian made frames. Those will be announced in April. So we're getting closer.

As for shipping to the States, obviously that's fixed now. That was one of the hurdles as to why we didn't do something before last year. I was all set, but things were not squared away with the insurance and everything in England. There was also another issue which has since moved on. So everything fell into place last year.

John H.

03-26-2017, 10:33 AM

Are you the guy on the left or the guy on the right?

8aaron8

03-26-2017, 10:37 AM

The paint looks excellent on all of these. I really love the blue campy equipped bike, did that take the campy award?

ultraman6970

03-26-2017, 11:26 AM

I like those colors.... blue candy over silver??? Awesome!

sales guy

03-26-2017, 11:27 AM

Are you the guy on the left or the guy on the right?

I am on the right. The left guy is Richard. He is the sales manager and flew in from the UK.

NO, we were not angry in the picture. What happened was the lights were kicking off at different times. And the photographer was talking to us. We didn't know he was taking the pictures cause he was telling us about the lights. In the end, it looked like we were pissed and all but we weren't. We were actually joking around right before it and we were just waiting for the whole 'Smile now" command.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 11:31 AM

The paint looks excellent on all of these. I really love the blue campy equipped bike, did that take the campy award?

LOL!!! Oddly, no. We didn't take the Campy Award. And the whole reason....it had Enve Wheels on it. We were old you can enter it without Campy wheels. So I did. But in the end, that is the reason we didn't win. I was told by someone who will remain nameless that the only reason we didn't win was the wheels. Other than that, they wanted to give us top prize. We did take the Campy Build Award at the BeSpoke Bristol show last year for that bike.

Oh well. We are working on something special for next year and it will have Campy Wheels for sure!!

We actually missed out on another award. All cause of the tires we had on the bike. They were too narrow. That was crazy.

All of these were pained in-house by our guys. They do an incredible job with finishes.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 11:36 AM

I like those colors.... blue candy over silver??? Awesome!

It is a special blue we mixed up in-house. It has a special silver base coat that is metallic. If you get up close to it it actually has some purplish color to both the base and top coat. It's a really nice color and stands out for sure. Especially when you put it over the Campy components.

AngryScientist

03-26-2017, 11:36 AM

or a Gulf Racing inspired paint scheme,.

Welcome sales guy - and thanks for stepping up and buying an ad here, we do appreciate it.

as to the above, its a tough call, but the blue/orange gulf scheme may very well be my very favorite color combo for bicycles. may we see, if you have pictures, Enigma's take on that??

What's your first name also, if we may ask - or is SG an easier handle?

-Nick

dbnm

03-26-2017, 11:37 AM

I saw these bikes at NAHBS and they are beautiful.

Welcome to the forum!

sales guy

03-26-2017, 11:40 AM

Welcome sales guy - and thanks for stepping up and buying an ad here, we do appreciate it.

as to the above, its a tough call, but the blue/orange gulf scheme may very well be my very favorite color combo for bicycles. may we see, if you have pictures, Enigma's take on that??

What's your first name also, if we may ask - or is SG an easier handle?

-Nick

Nick,

I was happy to donate to the site. I had before but not to the ad space level.

I will post some of the Gulf Racing colorway in a bit. It's really nice and drew lots of attention at Interbike and NAHBS. Which led to it being put in the RBA Euro Edition this month.

First name, Michael. Either one is fine. The whole Sales Guy thing came from Facebook. I didn't want to have an account for that and have all my personal info on there but needed an account for work and just came up with the Sales Guy tag for the heck of it. Either name is fine.

ultraman6970

03-26-2017, 11:45 AM

Beautiful colors man... congrats to the graphic designer and the painter, dude really knows what he is doing. I dont paint too often so it will take like 500 years for me to get his skills.

It is a special blue we mixed up in-house. It has a special silver base coat that is metallic. If you get up close to it it actually has some purplish color to both the base and top coat. It's a really nice color and stands out for sure. Especially when you put it over the Campy components.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 11:50 AM

Beautiful colors man... congrats to the graphic designer and the painter, dude really knows what he is doing. I dont paint too often so it will take like 500 years for me to get his skills.

Thanks. All the props go to Greg and Dave at Enigma HQ. And the amazing thing is they are self taught! Including doing the gold leaf on the one frame. They do an amazing job. Everything we do is paint, no decals. SO tons of time in masking and prepping the frames. In the end it's so worth it though.

Bradford

03-26-2017, 12:21 PM

Welcome new sponsor. It is always nice to see a valued contributor become a sponsor. :banana:

Now someone step up and buy some bikes from Enigma and post the pictures for us!

sales guy

03-26-2017, 12:59 PM

I have had a couple PM's and I figured instead of answering them individually, I'd do it in a post.

-All of our steel and stainless steel frames are made in the UK.
-Most of our titanium and ALL of our custom geometry titanium frames are made in the UK.
-If you would like a UK made ti frame, and it is something that is normally made in Asia, we can absolutely do that and have many times.
-All of the frames are finished in the UK, be it paint or titanium finishes.
-All of the add ons like braze-ons and water bottle mounts are done in the UK.
-All of the frames when they come into the US, they go thru a QC here making sure of the correct geometry, any add ons and finish.
-They all get faced and chased to make sure there are no issues during the build. Seat tubes get honed, all screws get either grease or ti prep for installation so nothing happens.
-All steel frames get sprayed and treated with Frame Saver before they leave.
-All of them get packed incredibly well to make sure there are no issues during shipping. I attached a picture of how they ship.
-If it's a complete bike, we go thru everything build wise and everything gets treated accordingly.

So these aren't just coming over to the US and getting shipped out. Everything is treated very carefully, just as if it were my own frame. We do our customs thru BikeCad and everything gets signed off before production begins. For frame finishes, we do mock-ups of them for final approval before those get put in. So everything is just like a custom you'd buy from someone here in the states.

shovelhd

03-26-2017, 01:02 PM

Those are some great looking bikes. Love your business model.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 01:34 PM

@AngryScientist

Here are a bunch of pictures of the Elite HSS with the Gulf Racing paint scheme. This is the bike that was featured and reviewed in the Road Bike Action 'Euro Edition', May 2017. I'll post the review in a bit.

Let me know what you think.

Matthew

03-26-2017, 01:50 PM

Bikes are beautiful!! Just read the review on this bike this morning. RBA had lots of good things to say about it. Absolutely love the paint! Good luck to you, looks like you are doing things right!!

gasman

03-26-2017, 02:11 PM

sales guy

03-26-2017, 02:33 PM

Bikes are beautiful!! Just read the review on this bike this morning. RBA had lots of good things to say about it. Absolutely love the paint! Good luck to you, looks like you are doing things right!!

Thanks. The bikes are super nice. And the review was really positive. Originally, I thought we were going to have a half page mention like some of the other bikes. I had no idea we'd be on the cover and three pages inside!!! I hadn't seen anything till Zap stopped by the booth at NAHBS and gave me a copy. We have other bikes in the works for Bicycling, PEZ and a couple others.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 02:39 PM

Welcome and thanks for supporting the forum in a significant way 👍

Love the bikes, the color schemes and builds. Gulf livery colors always have a soft spot in my heart:hello:

Sigh-yet another builder I'd love to have a bike from. Well done.

Like I said, I had donated before but not in the ad space way. And I didn't want to say anything until I had. So I kept saying 'us' all the time.

The bikes for the show turned out really nice. Only 2 of them were built for the show specifically. All the others were at Interbike in one way or another. The Gulf Racing one was at Interbike with a Dura Ace 9000 kit and different wheels(Reynolds RZR) and cockpit(carbon vs alloy). But it's the same frameset, that's why RBA wanted it, the color scheme. I switched up the kit to make it affordable.

tiretrax

03-26-2017, 03:08 PM

macaroon

03-26-2017, 03:29 PM

sales guy

03-26-2017, 03:46 PM

Congratulations on a great showing at NAHBS. I've been an admirer of Engima for many years and have wanted to get one shipped here when I was looking for a bike. I'm glad to find out it's now possible, but the stable is full and till is empty (with two in college for the next four years). Hopefully, I'll be ready to get a full custom job soon. Love the interpretation of the Gulf livery, too.

Thanks. NAHBS was crazy huge. Was hoping we'd win something but of course it's never a lock. Really surprised we took home the Presidents Choice Award. And really surprised how close we came on some other bikes. Always next year. But for a first time being there, Wow!

I get you about kids in school. I have one getting ready for college and still have two little ones I have to pay for their schooling. So I know what you're going thru.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 04:14 PM

They're pretty popular in the UK. They're probably not bad VFM compared to the competition, I like the simple no-nonsense approach. Guess that helps keep the costs down. Certainly not what you'd call "artisan" anyhow!

What new models are coming out in April?

Well, we are not like what Peacock Groove did to the Prince bike that's for sure. But things like the American Jack frame and the Exemplar could be considered artisan.

Yeah, we have a great following in the UK and Europe in general. While we don't have a ton of bikes in the states, everyone loves them and the feedback has been wonderful.

With regards to the new models, we have a few coming out. We have a new Excel Disc, the Echelon, Escape and a couple others. The Echelon is totally new and made in the UK. It will sit below the Excel. The Excel Disc is a reworking of the original Excel Disc- new dropouts and more. The Escape is a reworking of the Ecroix- new dropouts and more. We are also working on some new finishes for paint and titanium. We showed some of the new titanium finishes at NAHBS- new ti anodizing colors and new patterns/designs for ti anodized frames.

macaroon

03-26-2017, 04:32 PM

Well, we are not like what Peacock Groove did to the Prince bike that's for sure. But things like the American Jack frame and the Exemplar could be considered artisan.

Yeah, we have a great following in the UK and Europe in general. While we don't have a ton of bikes in the states, everyone loves them and the feedback has been wonderful.

With regards to the new models, we have a few coming out. We have a new Excel Disc, the Echelon, Escape and a couple others. The Echelon is totally new and made in the UK. It will sit below the Excel. The Excel Disc is a reworking of the original Excel Disc- new dropouts and more. The Escape is a reworking of the Ecroix- new dropouts and more. We are also working on some new finishes for paint and titanium. We showed some of the new titanium finishes at NAHBS- new ti anodizing colors and new patterns/designs for ti anodized frames.

I look forward to seeing those, and hoping there'll be some last season Ecroix frames at a good sale price ;-)

Also, something that I think needs correcting on the geometry tables. BB height should be changed to BB drop IMO.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 04:48 PM

I look forward to seeing those, and hoping there'll be some last season Ecroix frames at a good sale price ;-)

Also, something that I think needs correcting on the geometry tables. BB height should be changed to BB drop IMO.

For the first part, I know we don't have many left. None of the Ecroix Steel built up. But you could always email us and ask. We had hoped to have the Echelon to show at NAHBS but we weren't able too. But we did have the Excel Disc there with the new ti anodizing.

For the BB Height/Drop, yeah, i mentioned it. As well as a couple other little tweaks. But overall the website is fine. Very informative and answers most of the questions people have.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 07:25 PM

Here are some more pictures.

This is our Enigma Elite HSS frameset we made for NAHBS. This we joking called our 'American Jack' bike. One of our painters, Dave came up with the idea. He had the idea of an Evel Knievel inspired paint scheme. It is all done with paint, no decals. There is almost 3 months of work in this paint job. And it uses REAL 24t Gold Leaf. It was entered into the Best Finish category and made the final four there.

It was built up, painted specifically to show off what we can do. We'd never done something like this before, the paint or the gold leaf. And Dave is actually self-taught. So it's some pretty impressive work. The cost for this was about $3000 wholesale!!, just for the paint job! Crazy expensive. But we wanted to see if we could do it. This frameset is heading back to the UK for display.

Cicli

03-26-2017, 07:31 PM

^^^^^^stunning^^^^^^^. :banana:

donevwil

03-26-2017, 07:45 PM

^^^^^^stunning^^^^^^^. :banana:

Well said and I agree.

Aside from a well done Landshark I don't typically appreciate over-the-top paint schemes, but I absolutely love this. I've got the Enigma website open in another window ready for perusal.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 07:54 PM

Well said and I agree.

Aside from a well done Landshark I don't typically appreciate over-the-top paint schemes, but I absolutely love this. I've got the Enigma website open in another window ready for perusal.

Thanks to you and Cicli for the compliments. Dave really out did himself with this. It was all him and his idea and design. He was told to go for it and he absolutely did.

Hilltopperny

03-26-2017, 08:19 PM

charliedid

03-26-2017, 09:02 PM

I would feel and look like a complete jackass riding that thing but boy do I want it.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 09:09 PM

Great stuff! I think I came across enigma while searching around the web sometime last year. Awesome work and glad to see they are now available in the states. Those are all some primo looking machines:hello:

Thanks. I did all the builds i'm showing, but the guys in the UK deserve all the props for the fab and finishes.

sales guy

03-26-2017, 09:10 PM

I would feel and look like a complete jackass riding that thing but boy do I want it.

LOL!!!! Funny but you aren't the only one who said that. That was a super common response at NAHBS. But it was really just to show off what they could do more than anything.

charliedid

03-26-2017, 09:13 PM

LOL!!!! Funny but you aren't the only one who said that. That was a super common response at NAHBS. But it was really just to show off what they could do more than anything.

That's what makes it such a great show bike. Love it

sales guy

03-26-2017, 09:24 PM

Oh I gotcha. And it was a show bike for sure. Oddly, this was tame compared to some of the bikes at NAHBS. I mean, I felt underdressed compared to things from Shamrock and Peacock Groove.

sonicCows

03-26-2017, 11:21 PM

It definitely has the feel of a Colnago type of paint scheme. Love seeing these. Oversized steel is beautiful

weisan

03-27-2017, 12:05 AM

Sales pal, can you change your title to sumthin' like:

"Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to U..."E N I G M A...Bicycle Works!"

sales guy

03-27-2017, 06:45 AM

Sales pal, can you change your title to sumthin' like:

"Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to U..."E N I G M A...Bicycle Works!"

But if I change it to that, it won't be original and all since you did it already! lol

sales guy

03-27-2017, 07:15 AM

Another one of our NAHBS bikes- the Enigma Ecroix ST gravel bike

This is a Columbus Spirit front end and Life stays frame made in the UK. It uses Paragon disc dropouts. It is available with thru-axles on front and rear. But since this would be used for demos and different wheels in it all the time, I opted or standard axles.

It has rear rack and fender mounts and front fender option. Two water bottle mounts, front derailleur braze-on mount and something I do cause I think it's cleaner, I put a cable guide under the bottom bracket for the brake housing. I think it looks cleaner, avoids paint wear and just a thoughtful touch.

This bike originally had a Shimano Ultegra Hydro kit on it. I switched it out when SRAM said they wanted a bike in our booth. I was like, Sure thing! So they sent over a SRAM Rival 1x kit. I was really surprised. It shifted incredibly well and the brakes, WOW! Super surprised by those! I was never a fan of Avid disc brakes, at least not their hydros. These are really really good. Not hard to bleed. Great feel. And the new Centerline Rotors, dead straight! Which was always an issue.

I added the K-Edge CX Chain Guide. It doesn't need it but I like the extra security. A funny thing happened when I sent a picture to K-Edge of this bike. One of the guys showed up first thing Friday at NAHBS and said, Can I borrow an allen key. I was like yeah. They installed a super cool Union Jack lasered Garmin mount to the bike!!! So it's not in the pictures as these were before the show.

The prototype Thomson Gravel bar is on this as well as the White Industries headset. Topped it off with a Thomson X2 Stem, Masterpiece Post, WTB Volt Saddle and really nice WTB Exposure Tires-700 x 34c. The wheels are Reynolds ATR Carbons.

The paint scheme is our Union Jack design. It is all paint, NO decals! When this frame was being made for Interbike, Jim the founder was worried that Americans would be upset by the Union Jack on the bike. I was like, umm...hell no! We buy more Mini's, Aston Martins, Jaguars, Range Rovers and the like than anyone else! We're fine. Oddly enough, the only people who were offended(2 people), were two Australian guys! And they wanted an Aussie flag up front. So people from other countries said they wanted their own flag on it. We decided we are going to figure out the masking and offer other country flags soon.

This paint job is how the American Jack frame initially started. They wanted to do a UK meets USA theme and Dave came up with the American Jack based on that idea. He then flipped it to the Evel Knievel idea and made it his own.

sales guy

03-27-2017, 10:35 AM

this just came over for a US customer

https://www.facebook.com/enigmabikes/videos/1359683304055113/

The finishes these guys do are so incredibly nice. They're clean and simple with just enough pop to them.

djdj

03-27-2017, 10:47 AM

I'm not really here to push frames or anything. So you won't be seeing that.

Well, that's a relief.

sales guy

03-27-2017, 11:02 AM

Well, that's a relief.

I am posting things cause others asked me too. I will not be answering posts with things like 'buy our stuff'. Keith asked me to introduce ourselves and others wanted to see pictures.

cinco

03-27-2017, 11:31 AM

Been looking at your website for several years now. Always impressed. Have you sold may bikes to customers in the Americas?

Welcome.

Andy in Houston

tiretrax

03-27-2017, 12:12 PM

I am posting things cause others asked me too. I will not be answering posts with things like 'buy our stuff'. Keith asked me to introduce ourselves and others wanted to see pictures.

That's clear, and the paint jobs are wonderful. I'm glad you posted so many pictures and took the time to explain the work that went into them. Having the Ecroix available in different flags is a great idea. In addition to OZ and Kiwi versions, I bet a Scottish version would be warmly received and sell well north of Hadrian's Wall.

ceolwulf

03-27-2017, 12:27 PM

sales guy

03-27-2017, 04:16 PM

Been looking at your website for several years now. Always impressed. Have you sold may bikes to customers in the Americas?

Welcome.

Andy in Houston

Thanks Andy. Until last September, there were only 2 Enigmas in North America. One was built as payment to a photographer who did work for someone(not us). The other was bought buy a doctor who was in Britain on holiday.

After Interbike till now, we are at 25 in customer hands in America. None in Canada or Mexico yet. I have 7 customs on order right now and 3 more I am finalizing for people. Just finishing up things like paint design. Just had one delivered on Friday for someone in NY. It's a cute little 50cm womens frame. It's so small I have to cut the box down a ton for it to not float around in it. Did the final QC today, took a bunch of pictures and it's heading out in the morning.

So people are definitely noticing Enigma more. We've opened up a couple dealers which is nice.

sales guy

03-27-2017, 04:20 PM

That's clear, and the paint jobs are wonderful. I'm glad you posted so many pictures and took the time to explain the work that went into them. Having the Ecroix available in different flags is a great idea. In addition to OZ and Kiwi versions, I bet a Scottish version would be warmly received and sell well north of Hadrian's Wall.

Thanks and I'm happy to post about them. Let me know if there are any questions.

We are finalizing the flags given it's all paint we have to work out the masking details. But the flag design is available on any frame, not just the Ecroix. The one I posted, it was supposed to be raced in Cross Vegas last year. And the rider hurt himself and couldn't race. But the idea was to have a British themed bike for the race and pictures. But we've done the Union Jack on many frames. It's very popular on the Ecroix and Elite.

sales guy

03-27-2017, 04:21 PM

Glad you did because I really enjoy seeing these. Fantastic work.

Thanks. Like I've said, the guys do an amazing job.

jghall

03-27-2017, 04:28 PM

sales guy

03-27-2017, 05:18 PM

Cannot speak much to the Enigma line, other than I've only seen positive comments by those that own, and/or have ridden them. Can see why.

I have had personal dealings with Michael and would do so again without hesitation. Top-notch service and good dude to-boot.

Always been a sucker for the Gulf colors. That one is the bomb.

Thanks a ton sir. Appreciate it. Hopefully the Gothic arrived safely? These are the reason I needed more space in my office. I have more coming in all time and didn't have room.

Yeah, I dig the Gulf colors too. We are getting some socks made in that color scheme. They'll look super nice when finished.

dave thompson

03-27-2017, 06:40 PM

No Enigma in Mexico? I might have to change that.

sales guy

03-27-2017, 06:58 PM

No Enigma in Mexico? I might have to change that.

Nothing yet. We could certainly make up something special for you.

Joachim

03-27-2017, 09:49 PM

I've been eyeing that Extensor Xcr but it's not clear which paint design is included in the price :).

sales guy

03-28-2017, 04:54 AM

I've been eyeing that Extensor Xcr but it's not clear which paint design is included in the price :).

The Elementary Design is the stock design. It is part paint, part natural brushed stainless steel. The logos you would be seeing are the brushed stainless showing thru. We had a yellow one at NAHBS. I have pictures of it. I'll post them today after I size them down to fit.

A quick note, we can polish the stainless finish that would show thru the paint(logos) and the stays that would be bare. But, a brushed finish is easier to care for. If you scratch the brushed stainless, you can use a green Scotch Brite pad and little buff it out. A scratch on polish is much tougher. It's the same with a titanium finish thats brushed vs polished.

The Extensor is a Signature Collection frame. It is made in the U.K. Right now Columbus is out of tubing till May 20th. So there is a slight delay in getting one done. Typically a U.K. Made frame is done and delivered in 90 days. But due to the tubing delay it's a bit longer. This is the reason the Extensor frame for Matt Phillips at Bicycling Magazine is delayed a bit.

If you check out Bicycling Magazine on Facebook, Matt Phillips did a Facebook live feed from NAHBS in the Reynolds booth. They were talking about the Reynolds RZR wheels but the bike the RZR's were on was the yellow Extensor I am posting pictures of.

sales guy

03-28-2017, 07:45 AM

This is the Enigma Extensor XCr frame. It was at NAHBS but not in our booth.

Reynolds wanted to have one of our bikes for their booth. Deal was, if we put their wheels on it, they would post it in their booth. I said sure and asked what everyone else was doing. They said every bike in the booth so far was titanium. So I was like, well we are doing stainless then. The original idea was to have it painted in the Reynolds BLUE color. But Columbus is out of tubing till May 20th. So that idea was scraped. This frame/bike was a demo we had in Britain. It's actually heading back there because it is sold now.

The bike was spotless. No scratches or dents or anything. It was really nice to show off as there was not a bunch of stainless frames there. Maybe a handful. It would have been nice to have in the booth to talk about, but oh well. Always Interbike!

It is a stock geometry frame. It is Made in the UK. It is a spin of the Elementary Design scheme. We painted more of the stays though. The logos and chainstay are brushed stainless steel. The color is between a fluro yellow and regular yellow. A full fluro color fades quicker so this gives it a better base that won't. It has a nice deep clearcoat over everything.

The build, minus the wheels is what came over from Britain. It is our stem and seatpost- yes, painted to match. And that can be done on any post or stem for an up-charge. It is a full Campagnolo Chorus 11 kit with an Edco MonoBlock cassette cause the wheels they sent, Reynolds RZRs were Shimano bodied. The skewers are the ones from Reynolds. Tires, Veloflex tubulars(my personal ones).
And yes, it is a stainless steel cage to keep with the 'stainless' theme.

The standard Elementary Design finishes the stays closer to the BB and the Seat Cluster area and leaves more exposed stainless steel. We can do whatever paint wise. But like I mentioned above, it's better to do a brushed finish VS the polished finish. Easier to care for. But we can absolutely do either.

misterha

03-28-2017, 07:52 AM

Thanks for sharing these awesome bikes! Quick question not sure if this was asked yet. How come you guys run a 31.6 seatpost vs 27.2 thanks!

sales guy

03-28-2017, 09:51 AM

Thanks for sharing these awesome bikes! Quick question not sure if this was asked yet. How come you guys run a 31.6 seatpost vs 27.2 thanks!

It hasn't been asked yet. There are a few reasons. One, durability of the frame. Stiffer frame for more power transfer. And it is a bit more comfortable. 31.6 posts can be thinner and flex a bit more than a 27.2mm post. But be just as durable or more durable than a 27.2mm post.

ColonelJLloyd

03-28-2017, 10:03 AM

And it is a bit more comfortable. 31.6 posts can be thinner and flex a bit more than a 27.2mm post.

That is the opposite marketing that the rest of the industry uses. That said, one is only a shim away from using a 27.2mm seat post if they don't subscribe to the Enigma rationale.

sales guy

03-28-2017, 10:28 AM

That is the opposite marketing that the rest of the industry uses. That said, one is only a shim away from using a 27.2mm seat post if they don't subscribe to the Enigma rationale.

Yep, it is. I know it sounds off. And yes, you can easily put a shim in.

misterha

03-28-2017, 10:50 AM

It hasn't been asked yet. There are a few reasons. One, durability of the frame. Stiffer frame for more power transfer. And it is a bit more comfortable. 31.6 posts can be thinner and flex a bit more than a 27.2mm post. But be just as durable.

very interesting and good to know!

sales guy

03-28-2017, 11:09 AM

very interesting and good to know!

I know it sounds backwards to everything everyone else is saying marketing wise. But here's the issues:

With a 27.2mm post, for a larger compact frame, there is too much flex. Too much post sticking out and it has more leverage on it. It can lead to bent seatposts. With a 31.6mm post, you don't have as much flex, less chance of a bent post. There is just enough flex to take off some of the harshness that roads give you.

I have found this issue out personally on my mountain bikes. I have bent many 27.2mm posts on it. Never bent a 31.6mm post though. I am 6'3 and 240 pounds. So for someone like me, a 31.6mm post makes tons of sense. For smaller/lighter riders, yes, a 27.2mm post makes more sense.

But you also have to factor other things into the seattube diameter. Many times, companies make the seattubes larger to keep stiffness in the frame. But then it becomes too harsh and people don't like them. Specialized is a perfect example of why they use Zerts in the post. To add comfort. They are still using a 27.2mm post tho. So by their own and pretty much everyone elses marketing, a 27.2mm post automatically gives you a more comfortable ride. Then why add Zerts? Its cause they are making the frame stiffer for power transfer. Which kills all the comfort.

I know it sounds backwards.

ntb1001

03-28-2017, 11:40 AM

Ive been checking out the website. It is very informative..really like it.

I'm very drawn to this bike..the Elite HSS. I love the orange.

Do you guys ship to Canada as well?

sales guy

03-28-2017, 12:03 PM

Ive been checking out the website. It is very informative..really like it.

I'm very drawn to this bike..the Elite HSS. I love the orange.

Do you guys ship to Canada as well?

The website is pretty detailed. It's like 90% there. There are a few questions we get but most of the questions can be answered off the website.

That paint scheme is the 'Elite Design' It is the stock colorway for the Elite HSS frameset. It is a slight twist on the Elementary Design. You can do any main color and any contrasting color for the logos which is the smaller sections like on the fork and stays. You can also add stripes- like at the end of the main color and on the fork. And you can obviously get the seatpost and stem to match. All of those would be an up-charge.

As for shipping to Canada, yep, we can. I have not yet, but I can make it happen.

The Elite HSS, we had one of those at NAHBS as just a frame. It was in the Anvil FrameWorks booth in one of the jigs. It was black main color with the fluro orange for the secondary color. The fluro is really nice. AND, it matches the fluro orange bar tape from Fizik perfectly!

ntb1001

03-28-2017, 12:06 PM

i really like it with the painted stem and white accents.

I just have to figure out what customs would do with the charges

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

sales guy

03-28-2017, 12:10 PM

Here is the review from Road Bike Action Magazine, May 2017- 'Euro Issue'

sales guy

03-29-2017, 06:54 AM

i really like it with the painted stem and white accents.

I just have to figure out what customs would do with the charges

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

Gotcha. I could always do it up as a 'warranty replacement'. Most customs people don't charge if it's listed that way. The US doesn't. They also don't if it's 'not for retail sale'. For the frames/bikes that came over for NAHBS, I had to fill out a form stating so. And they weren't. They are heading back to Britain. But the form allowed me to bring them in without being charged duties and taxes.

I'll look into it for you.

sales guy

03-29-2017, 07:05 AM

@ntb1001

I just checked Canadian import taxes. For a frame and fork it is 5% on value. But there may/might be a customs handling fee which is up to the customs agent. Supposedly if it goes thru the Post, they don't charge a handling fee. As long as the frame is small enough and can fit into a small enough box, it could go thru Post. I'd need to know the size frame and your post code so I can figure out shipping charges.

Let me know if you want me to figure things out.

ntb1001

03-29-2017, 07:55 AM

ntb1001

03-29-2017, 07:59 AM

sales guy....PM incoming

sales guy

03-29-2017, 10:21 AM

wow...talk about customer service!!!

I ride a 54-55 or size med.

5% isn't bad...but I also probably have to add HST(13%) when it arrives, so brings everything to at least 18% extra for me.

Thanks for checking for me!!

No worries. Happy to help. I answer questions all day long.

Check the website for frame geometries.

For the costs, I answered that in the PM you sent. Let me know if you have any other questions. PM or here is fine.

sales guy

03-29-2017, 04:34 PM

Another one of our NAHBS builds. This is the Enigma Esprit. It is a UK made frame and has traditional horizontal top tube geometry. Personally, I love the geometry. I am a bigger fan of a horizontal top tube or only slightly sloping. So it was really nice to have this to show off.

It is a 3/2.5 titanium frame. It uses a traditional external cup headset- 1 1/8" size. I put one of the White Industries headsets on it. It looks really nice on it. While the frame uses ti anodizing for the finish, it's really tough to match that given the differences in materials. So I just went with black. It has our C-Six full carbon fork on it. A really nice fork. This is a Signature Collection frame so it's made to order. We have a stock geometry on the site but this is usually custom.

I used Thomson components for the cockpit. The prototype alloy road bar with an X2 stem. Looks really nice on here. For the post, it's the prototype Masterpiece Carbon. Again, looks really nice on here. I would normally use a carbon bar to match but I wanted to show off the alloy bar they sent me.

It's a full Shimano Dura Ace 9100 kit. Personally, I like the looks of it but I hate the new front derailleur. The shifting, it's really nice and clean. Brakes, strong and solid feeling.

The wheels, they are Hunt Wheels out of the UK. It's a carbon rim with Pillar Spoke and Hunt hubs. I love these things. Even to the point I am going to start distributing them in the States. The hubs, they are sooooo smooth. They spin forever. Very impressed with them.

The ti anodizing was something Britain came up with. It was some different they wanted to try. It's a gold ano on the frame. We even did the seat collar in a gold ano since this frame has a titanium seat collar on it.

I finished it off with a very light WTB saddle, Fizik soft touch bar tape, Continental GP4000 tires and yep, a King Ti cage.

Very happy with the look of it. I'd personally love to get one in my size.

sales guy

04-01-2017, 11:17 AM

This is another one of our NAHBS bikes. Enigma Etape sport touring/commuter bike.

This is the one I had issues with deciding on the bar tape and saddle. In the end, I did go with Brooks leather bar tape and a Selle Anatomica saddle, both in black. While at the show tho I did see the Rivet brand of saddles and their bar tape. Which by the way, had I done it again, I would've used their saddle and bar tape. I think it looked a bit nicer.

This is a 3/2.5 titanium frame with Paragon disc brake dropouts. It's a standard 1 1/8" integrated headtube. It has an Enigma headset on it but for the show it had the White Industries headset in Purple! These pictures were taken before the headset came in and before I switched the bar tape and saddle.

I wanted a commuter/sport touring bike I would personally ride or buy and this is what I came up with. I wanted to draw on the ti anodized logos so I went with gold, blue and purple accents. Gold White Industries hubs, blue skewers, blue and purple spoke nipples. It accented the logos well.

I custom built the wheels with WTB Frequency CX rims, WTB Thickslick tires, DT Swiss competition spokes. I did the two spokes surrounding the valve in silver, the rest in black. The two silver spokes used blue nipples and the rest in purple.

The fenders were made by Woodys Fenders in Oregon. Pricey but super worth it cause I love the look and the colors of them. So incredibly well made. I will absolutely buy from him again. Already thinking of a set for next years build!

This bike made it to the Final Four for Best Commuter bike at NAHBS. After speaking to a couple people, they said they kept being/feeling surprised by what they would see. Logos first, then oh, the hubs, the oh, the skewers, oh the nipples, the headset. So I must've done something right since it made the final four.

The rest of the build kit is a Shimano Ultegra 11 speed Hydro kit. It has the IceTech center lock rotors. I love these. Stiff, straight and they stop so well. The Ultegra kit is just so good it's hard not to like them.

I am working on a bike for next years NAHBS. I wanted Woody to make a wooden rack for the rear but we didn't have time. So hopefully that will put us over the top next year.

Cicli

04-01-2017, 11:23 AM

The finish on those is stunning. :banana:

nmrt

04-01-2017, 11:34 AM

Deleted because I found answer to the question I was asking.

sales guy

04-01-2017, 11:41 AM

Deleted because I found answer to the question I was asking.

Ok.

sales guy

04-03-2017, 08:24 PM

Another of our NAHBS builds. This is my personal Enigma Ego 650b mountain bike.

Last year I wanted to get a custom mountain frame made for me. SO we worked on it for a month and planned on having it done for Interbike. I had the frame done but I couldn't get the parts I wanted all set for the show, so it sat on a frame display at the show.

I wanted to pull out the white and red graphics with red and white parts. The fork was supposed to be custom painted in red and white on a Sid, but Rock Shox didn't come thru so eventually I used a Pike for the NAHBS build.

I didn't want to push the price too much so I used a Shimano XT kit. But the wheels from Reynolds came with red decals so it looked awesome with them on there. But I did pull out a Thomson titanium bar to match the frame finish.

WTB hooked me up with new tires, saddle and grips. Thomson with the bar, stealth dropper post, seat collar, dress up kit for the X4 stem and the ti bar. White Industries, their new headset. Everything on this I picked cause I know how good it is. How durable it is. And yeah, cause it looks good.

The finish is a brushed titanium with a tough grey in the Elementary Design. The logos, that is the brushed titanium showing thru the paint. No decals, so the white and red is paint as well.

The welds are super clean and show well on the brushed finish. I was really happy I got it built up even if the fork isn't right. I will probably switch a couple things around but not much.