The ENVE Builder Round-Up and GRODEO Ride

The day I was heading to ENVE started with a video call from our rep and good friend, Fred, wanting to show me what happened to our show bike in shipping. After attending so many bike shows, this didn't surprise me one bit. Murphy's law is always in full effect leading up to a bike show. The clip on fender of the ENVE MTN Boost fork had migrated down the fork legs and scuffed up the paint. At first glance, it was pretty bad, and I understood Fred's concern. Luckily the matte clear coat had visually amplified the "damage", and with a good cleaning the problem literally wiped away. Luckily that was it for Murphy's law.

Later that day as my flight was approaching Salt Lake City (luckily I had a window seat) I couldn't help but be in awe of the sheer size of the Great Salt Lake. Layers, colors, and the juxtaposition of the calm waters surrounded by the snow capped Wasatch wilderness was quite the way to start my stay in Utah. I had been to Salt Lake City once before for NAHBS back in 2017, but we drove, so I didn't have the same vantage point of the many varying terrains that existed in the area.

Once on the ground, I was picked up by Zach, who is part of ENVE's customer service team. He was accompanied by Elvis, a friendly Jack Russel terrier. Elvis was happy to make my lap home for the drive. The drive to ENVE HQ in Ogden was filled with more spectacular views as the sun was setting and causing the mountains to glow a furious pink.

We finally pulled into the parking lot of the ENVE World Headquarters and the building and surrounding scenery did not disappoint. Behind the massive concrete structure was the Wasatch Wilderness, the snow covered tips still glowing in the dying light. The most notable detail of the building was a gigantic ENVE logo embossed in the surface of the concrete wall. I had officially made it.

I work remotely these days, based out of Vancouver, Washington (not BC, and not DC), so I rarely get to see the bikes I help design in person. I knew the bike we created was something special and to finally see it in person brought on emotions I haven't felt in awhile. I was extremely proud that this was the bike representing Stinner and all of our hard work. The proportions, colors, build kit, everything was spot on.

We teamed up with our long time friend, Aaron Allen, who is a co-founder of Ambedo, cultivators of unique cycling experiences, to bring this particular Tunnel to life. He turned 50 this year, so he wanted to commission a bike to pay tribute to that milestone.

He wanted a gravel bike that could go beyond what "gravel" riding is considered these days. A Refugio was our original starting point but we both realized that to take it to the next level the Tunnel was the way to go. With the inspiration being a rowdy gravel bike I got to work on a frame design. One request Aaron had was to make sure he could run it with the rigid ENVE MTN Boost Fork as well as a Rock Shox SID 100mm travel suspension fork. I made sure his fit was dialed and that the bike would be a blast to ride with either fork. To keep things light and to make sure it was comfortable for all day adventures, we went with our standard Titanium tube-set. Aaron used our Tunnel configurator and landed on our QUAD paint scheme. He dialed in the finish and accent colors and chose to paint both forks to match. He nailed it. The final spec really took this build to 11— an XX SL SRAM Transmission grouppo, Full Enve cockpit, Rene Herse tires, Hope brakes, and a Reform heat moldable saddle. A fun highlight were the wheels— the bike wore the yet to be released ENVE M6 wheel-set. My internal scale was telling me that the bike was somewhere in the 21lb. range with the rigid fork. I think we nailed the idea of a rowdy gravel rig.

After finally seeing the bike in person I met up with our local SB ambassador, Brandon Baker, who came out to ride the ominous Grodeo route. One of the hardest things about moving away from Santa Barbara was the fact that I wouldn't be able to regularly see all the people that I had cultivated relationships with over the past 20 years. Brandon was certainly one of those people I missed the most. We found some late night food and caught up on everything that had happened in our lives since we last saw each other.

Friday was the day of the show and there was a lot going on. I learned about the upcoming mountain wheel line-up, took a tour of the ENVE factory, met so many talented builders for the first time, and just talked bikes. It was a great atmosphere and our bike was especially well received. A lot of people expressed how badly they wanted to ride our bike the next day as the Grodeo course was no joke. Mission accomplished, the rowdy gravel bike design was a hit.

After a long day of talking bikes, it was Brandon's turn to have a long day riding bikes, specifically, his Stinner Refugio. I personally was not quite ready to tackle the Grodeo route, but Brandon was more than up to the task. Rolling out of ENVE HQ at 7am, 300 or so riders embarked on what was to be a long and hot day. I volunteered at the last aid station for the majority of the day, making sure the shelled riders had what they needed to finish the final 20 miles of the route back to ENVE. With temperatures nearing 100° we were handing out ice bags as fast as we could. But despite the heat and the 70 miles already in their legs, all the riders were glad to be out there. Brandon rolled in with the lead group and a few of our other Stinner riders, CJ and Brendon, rolled in not long after. With 92 miles behind them, everyone was able to rest their wary legs and recount the details that make Grodeo one of the toughest gravel rides around.

Next year I plan to ride/suffer along with everyone so that I can experience Ogden Utah in a way that most others never will.

—Jeremy Platt, Sales Manager

Aid Station #4. My home during the Grodeo ride. 

Grodeo Builder Round-Up Part 1

Grodeo Builder Round-Up Part 2 

Thanks for reading!