Gravel Grinder News: Enve Debuts New Gravel Handle Bar And Fork

Gravel Grinder News: Enve Debuts New Gravel Handle Bar And Fork- by Guitar Ted

Enve, the high end carbon wheel and components company based in Ogden, Utah, has just announced a couple of new components aimed at the gravel road/back road riding and racing rider. The new components are simply named; “Gravel Fork” and “Gravel Bar”. Let’s take a closer look here at what they have come up with.

Enve Gravel Bar: The new handle bar developed by Enve was born out of a comparison to many bars marketed as gravel bars and then mixed in with what Enve employees thought was missing in those bars. Here is what they have to say:

Similar to our gravel wheels -we saw a need in the off-pavement world for a bar

that didn’t exist. Taking all of the lessons we’ve learned through road cycling, mountain

biking, and our own gravel riding, we’ve formulated an entirely new bar shape and used our

experience in carbon tuning for the best possible ride quality. Equipped for compatibility

with modern brake and shifting components, our gravel bar pushes the leading edge of

gravel and bike capabilities.

The Gravel Bar has a 12° flare and a very wide top. Riders looking for a rangy bar to stretch out over on those long days in the saddle need look no further than the Gravel Bar for their handle bar choice. Obviously, the Gravel Bar is also a light weight choice which should appeal to those who race and/or are just looking for the lightest high performance bars they can get. Enve also tuned the carbon layup to render a smoother ride across the chunky gravel roads you might be riding. With pretty average reach and drop measurements, the Gravel Bar should be easy to fit to current gravel road bikes without upsetting riding position and handling. The bars are routed for electronic shifting and also feature a constantly varying radius drop with two “full hand” positions which should also help with comfort over the long haul. 

Enve Gravel Fork: To be technically correct, this is not Enve’s first gravel oriented fork. Some may remember the fork they produced with the built in fender. This fork is a total redesign, and is different in several key ways to that fork. Instead of the integrated fender, this fork features fender mounts. The fork has better tire clearances, (up to 50mm), and features a sleek looking flat mount for the brake caliper. Internal hose routing for the brake keeps the outside clean and less likely to pick up mud and mire.

In evaluating the needs of gravel riders, we found that the perfect fork

combination didn’t exist in our stable, or in our opinion, anywhere at all. Working with long-

standing builder relationships, we determined all of the technical features

needed for modern gravel riding, and applied them using our vast experience

in producing trusted bicycle forks. Blending all of these elements together,

we bring you the best features, ride quality, and trusted durability for the

toughest of gravel and cyclocross riding demands.

The specs on the gravel fork from Enve are as follows:

 

Fork Weight – 450g

Rake- 50mm

Axle to crown – 395mm

Max Tire clearance – 50mm

Steerer – 1.5” tapered

Rotor size – 140 or 160mm

Axle: ENVE 12mm thru

ENVE Part No. – 200-2006-004

MSRP – $550

Comments: The handle bar looks like a great option for anyone looking for a premium quality bar. Some may scoff at a carbon bar, but until you have tried one, you should hold off on your skepticism. There are definite and palpable benefits to how a carbon bar rides versus an aluminum one. Sure, the price is high, but something like this might save you a lot of hand issues in the future. The tops are wiiiidddde!! This spec sheet seems to make the Enve Gravel Bar out to be the widest available.

The fork is a welcome change from their earlier efforts, in my opinion. Hopefully they have tuned in a more compliant ride as well. The press release doesn’t specifically call that out though. It does mention “gravel comfort and performance” and they allude to having mixed in the best “ride quality” into this fork, which may mean it is better than their old fork, or not.  The trend for multiple mounting points is forsaken in this example. You will have to decide whether that is a positive or negative. Obviously Enve didn’t see that as something necessary in a high performance, lightweight fork. At 450 grams claimed, I cannot imagine mounting points would have worked without some significant weight gain here.

Finally, some news concerning Enve and RidingGravel.com. Their A 23 Gravel Wheels are coming to Riding Gravel for test and review, so stay tuned for that introduction coming soon.

Note: Riding Gravel used images and information provided by Enve in this post. We were not paid nor bribed for this post by Enve.