ENVE Melee

[ducati2]

Nice to know you are healed up enough to ride that kind of drop again. A couple of local shops had these in stock. I thought the aesthetic was elegant and beautiful. Just like yours.

[Andy sti]

Has there been a seat post fix? I have 2 friends that got rid of theirs due to that and 1 also had some BB quality issues.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by Andy sti

Has there been a seat post fix? I have 2 friends that got rid of theirs due to that and 1 also had some BB quality issues.

T47 BB was just as expected - not sure what kind of issues to look for.. and I guess I'll see with the seatpost. It's a 5mm head bolt and seems like the same mechanism as any other internal wedge type holder.

[Clean39T]

Well.. first ride was a short one. Before I could even get out the door I found a crack in the seatpost head - I bought the setback one secondhand but fortunately have recourse on it.. and more fortunately, had the zero setback one to swap in. What can I say - the bike feels planted, efficient, and fast - soaks up everything and boogies quite well. Tomorrow AM should get a longer one in to really feel it out......

[p nut]

Clean39T - sorry to hear about the seatpost. What’s the weight come in at?

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by p nut

Clean39T - sorry to hear about the seatpost. What’s the weight come in at?

Haven’t weighed it yet - feels light - I’ll guess mid-7kg range..

[Tychom]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Here’s mine in 60cm - finally done!

The Melee certainly seems to be one of the nicer looking XL/XXL/60-61cm framesets out there.

I was looking at the latest Soloist and Defy and the front ends look distinctly over-sized and bulky in comparison to the Enve.

[Baron Blubba]

Tychum, have you seen the new Defy that was released a few days ago? Muuuuch nicer up front than the last version, and mire unified front to back as well. I think the Bikeradar reviewer rides a size XL if you want to see what one looks like.

[Tychom]

Yeah, Warren Rossiter is generally gonna be on a 60ish/XL frame when he reviews, always useful reviews for that alone to check out how those frames look. In the first look vid the host mentions though he's on a size large, so I might still be waiting on further photos of an XL.

I saw the new '24 release on the Escape Collective site the other day and do agree it looks much nicer overall compared to the previous model.

[HowardCosellsPR]

Is fair to compare the defy to the enve? Could one assume similar quality?

Cuz... the geometry and weight of the defy seem pretty darn ideal for my use case.

[Upcountry]

I'm really impressed by the new Defy. I'm in no way the target for that bike, but it looks like a bike that many people would be well served by! A bit of the "endurance" geometry that seems to be underserved, but with the looks and touches of a modern super bike. I don't think I'd compare it to the Melee though... Melee is certainly a bit more of a "race bike", but with some tire clearance and perhaps a bit more ride feel optimized than an all out aero race bike. Geometry is a bit different, but not drastic. You'd be hard pressed to get more bang for your buck than you will with any Giant bicycles, and their finish and QC is amongst the best.

[rnhood]

I've always liked the Defy and this new one looks like a pretty good bike. James Haunge provides a pretty thorough review and cites the good and bad...which leads me to say as always, ride one before buying. I think most dealers will allow a person to demo a bike for a long weekend.

The short of it: Giant’s fifth-generation premium carbon fiber endurance road bike, updated with a lighter chassis, additional tire clearance, and a more refined ride quality.
Good stuff: Impressively lightweight, composed ride quality, quick handling, some semblance of cockpit customization, looks brilliant.
Bad stuff: Composed-but-not-cushy ride quality, handling is arguably too quick, questionable wheelset spec, still a proprietary stem.


https://escapecollective.com/2024-gi...vanced-review/

[19wisconsin64]

I have a 58 cm Enve Melee that was ordered for me after a proper bike fitting from Signature Cycles in Greenwich, CT. They built it up with an electronic 12-speed Ultegra Shimano groupset and a Dura Ace wheelset. The bars, stem, and seatpost are all Enve. It was one of the earliest frames made and only came in the gray matte paint.

Overall, I've noticed the bike is great handling, is not sluggish at all, easy to climb with, and good with comfort. The Dura-Ace wheelset is fast, but only has a 21 mm internal rim width, and set up with 28 mm tires is good, but not as comfortable as I'd like for broken roads. I'm having a carbon wheelset built with Onyx hubs and 25 mm internal width wheels so ai can run 32 to 37 mm tires on a variety of road and light gravel rides.

The bike fit was key to the comfort, as was the addition of a 3-D printed saddle which is very comfortable and absorbs a lot of road vibration and bumps.

The only issue I had was a slight seatpost squeak, which was fixed by adding more carbon paste to the seapost.

Without a doubt I found this frame to be the best carbon frame road bicycle I've ever ridden. It's smooth and fast, and you can use it for a lot of things. The highest praise I can say is that it makes me want to ride it...even when I'm off the bike.

Reasons I bought- fast, comfortable ride, made in the USA (locally), purchased from a local vendor that supports the local cycling community, and it seemed fairly priced when compared to everything else (custom, high end other brands). It's super expensive, for sure, that is the only downside! With all of that being said, I've heard pretty much similar praises from Everybody who purchased a custom bicycle.

Good luck!

[Upcountry]

Originally Posted by 19wisconsin64

Reasons I bought- fast, comfortable ride, made in the USA (locally), purchased from a local vendor that supports the local cycling community, and it seemed fairly priced when compared to everything else (custom, high end other brands).

Good luck!

Insert *Cringe* emoji.....
"The frame of the Enve Melee is made in ENVE's TAIWAN factory, however the moulds for this new ENVE bike are built in the USA, ensuring a perfect finish. "

[Baron Blubba]

Originally Posted by Upcountry

Insert *Cringe* emoji.....
"The frame of the Enve Melee is made in ENVE's TAIWAN factory, however the moulds for this new ENVE bike are built in the USA, ensuring a perfect finish. "

Yeah, that's true. They are Taiwanese made, but I feel like Enve is a relatively small and USA based company. I'm not saying I'll never purchase a Big Bike Industry bike again, but the fact that these are still just regular guys making a living doing what they are passionate about was a significant contributing factor in my recent decision to update my stable with a MoG and Melee.

Their East Coast sales rep is a close friend and a wonderful guy -too nice and too honest to be a sales rep!- and he tells me they are definitely some of the nicer and more 'real' people he does business with.

***

In other news, I think that James Huang/Escape Collective Defy review is one of the most balanced and thoughtful bike reviews I've ever read, and probably the prime example of EC's 'we're independent and on no one's payroll' manifesto.