Today, 17 years after opening its doors, Enve unveiled its first production road bike, the Melee.

Enve Composites has been through a lot during this time, including a name change, a near-bankruptcy rescue, and the construction of a custom manufacturing facility, but Enve has continued to refine its technology and expand its product line through the ups and downs.

Today, the company is on more stable ground, with the wheel business at its core, flanked by accessories that upgrade every part of the bike. It's a comfortable place to be, but there is always movement in the industry, and Enve clearly understands this, and Melee, built on last year's launch of Custom Road, is the latest in that arc.

In many ways, however, today's launch actually begins with the establishment of its own manufacturing facility. Design, engineering, manufacturing, and testing under one roof allows companies to pursue new ideas.

This flexibility allowed the brand to look to the future and release a custom road in 2021. The vision was to expand beyond the core business of wheel and component upgrades, and small-batch production had to be a priority. With all the tools in-house, it was possible to refine low-volume products without disruption. All custom loads are manufactured by hand under the guidance of each customer. Although the custom loads did not achieve the final production volume that Enve ultimately desired, it allowed the brand to refine the process needed for the next step. That next step was melee.

Melee will be designed, engineered, and tested at a factory in Ogden, Utah, and produced at a manufacturing facility in Asia. It can also apply what it has learned in a scalable manner. The result is a monocoque design with narrower tube widths and improved tube geometry for better aero performance, which Enve says actually makes the melee the faster of the two bikes.

Despite this, Embe says the custom road features remain in the melee, which he defines as a modern road race bike. Although it is not a gravel bike, it can accommodate tire clearances of up to 35 mm, with a sweet spot of 27-32 mm. If you are not convinced about the off-road performance of this bike, remember that Alexey Vermeulen won the BWR CA with this very bike at the end of April. In addition, Shimano mechanical, electronically wired, electronically wireless, and groupset compatibility covering 1x or 2x supports dual use. Also included is a threaded T47 bottom bracket for ease of maintenance.

Another aspect of modern bike performance is aerodynamics. Here again, Melee has the specs without over-specializing. While it is not a fully aerobic bike, aerodynamics are taken into consideration. Like many brands, Enve recognizes that an aero optimized all-around bike better covers everyday riding needs, which is why there are no visible cables on the front end of the bike.

Unlike the Custom Road, the Melee comes with separate bars and stem, and to make this possible, a new integrated Enve Road Stem debuts with the bike. Cables, wires, and brake hoses will be hidden from view and wind by passing through the handlebar, stem, and head tube; K-Edge will handle accessory installation with the new stem.

In another change from Custom Road, Melee will replace the integrated seat mast with a seat post. This change obviously allows for more fitting flexibility, but it also improves aero performance; Melee now features an aero-specific seatpost with a cum-tail design and twin-bolt saddle rail clamps. Of the three options available for this bike, two are zero setback and the third is -20mm setback. The saddle rails are available in 7x7, 7x9, and 7x10.

Melee will be sold off-the-shelf in seven sizes ranging from 47 cm to 60 cm, but customers will have the freedom to customize their new bikes.

Rather than purchasing Melee directly from Enve, the chassis will be provided to Enve Ride Centre dealers. This will include the frame, fork, headset, handlebars, stem, and seatpost, and these components will be available for customization at each stage.

First, the frames will be available in seven sizes: 47cm, 50cm, 52cm, 54cm, 56cm, 58cm, and 60cm; stems will range from 80mm to 130mm, all with -7° rise. Handlebars are available with Enve SES AR bars from 38mm to 46mm, and as already mentioned, three types of seatposts are available, all with seat rail clamps compatible with all available seat rail clamps and either a 0° or -20° setback. In total, there are 630 possible settings.

To best assist dealers and customers with this wide range of options, Enve has created the Best Fit Calculator. This tool helps the rider (or bike fitter) identify the exact combination of frame size, stem length, spacer stack, and seat post offset that meets their needs for required fit stack, fit reach, and saddle position. The final assembly selection is a conversation between the dealer and the customer; Melee customers can also design and order custom decals to add a personal touch to their rides.

Strictly speaking, this is not a custom bike. No custom geometry is available, and at launch, only one color option, which Enve calls Damascus, will be available. But for nearly everyone, there are enough options available to find the perfect fit. No one will have to replace parts right away, and your bike will be perfectly suited to your needs.

Enve Melee is now available in select sizes and markets worldwide. It includes frame, fork, headset, stem, handlebar, and seatpost.