The Enve Melee is a light weight, all-round race bike with added practical features, offering both room for 35mm tyres as well as mudguard mounts.
The Melee is visually similar and was heavily informed by Enve’s first frameset, the Custom Road. However it is offered in stock sizes and made with using a modular monocoque construction method, compared to the Custom Road’s bespoke fit and tube-to-tube construction method.
Enve says this means the Melee could be racier, being lighter and slightly more aerodynamic than the Custom Road, courtesy of details like thinner tube junctions, at the expense of custom fit.
Despite coming in set sizes, Enve’s bike fit calculator offers plenty of functionality to help ensure the customer gets the best fit. The Melee is offered as a frameset module, which includes versions of Enve’s well-regarded AR bars, Aero stem and seatpost.
While it may be a little underwhelming visually, the Melee competes excellently with some of the best race bikes in the genre, offering well rounded performance on the road.
Its slick level of integration as well as its practical extra features help Enve’s first stock race bike stand out in a competitive category.
Enve Melee development
The bike industry has moved beyond the idea of merely optimising the frameset to be quick in the wind. There is the now common appreciation that it is the interaction between the bike as a complete collection of parts, as well as how the rider fits on top the ensemble, that ultimately determines aerodynamic performance.
As a result, most of the big brands now outfit their latest models with finishing components made in-house that are designed to work specifically with that frameset. Yet often there remains the sense that the frameset is the star of the show, and the auxiliary parts all hold minor roles.
In producing its Custom Road and latterly this Melee frameset years after establishing an extensive range of well-regarded components, Enve can uniquely claim to have done the opposite in this respect, which could be seen as to its advantage.
‘The outcome is a complete system that achieves holistic real-world performance,’ says Kevin Nelson, Enve’s chief engineer. ‘For those that didn’t have that components-first experience, such a product is far more difficult to achieve.’
The Custom Road is made in Enve’s Ogden, Utah facility, using an innovation fabrication technique to create custom framesets with the look and feel of modern modular monocoque despite using essentially a tube-to-tube construction process.
While it looks similar, the Melee is more conventional in its construction and is offered in stock sizes.
In theory, going stock allows more framesets to be produced more quickly, at more accessible prices (relatively speaking: the Melee module, comprising frameset, cockpit and seatpost retails for £5,500, but that saves around £2,000 over the Custom Road).
The design was initially developed, engineered, tested and refined at Enve’s HQ (a process plenty of brands using a vendor to produce don’t do), but unlike the Custom Road, to achieve the volume Enve wanted the Melee is produced by Enve’s manufacturing partner in the far east, the same one that makes its bars and forks.
Enve Melee frameset
The majority of Enve’s road-focused components aim to reduce drag via its ‘Real World Fast’ aero concept, which is said to govern development such that final products perform best in real-world conditions rather than the wind-tunnel.
The brand says it has taken the same approach in its framesets, so that means the Melee is said to be designed for riding speeds of 32-40kmh, which is pretty much the middle of the bell-curve for average speeds considering the bike’s racy remit.
Nelson says it saves 2 watts at 32kmh over Enve’s Custom Road by using thinner tube profiles, a change made possible by the Melee switching to a monocoque construction from the Custom Road’s tube-to-tube. More carbon layers are required to overwrap tube junctions in this construction method.
The Melee’s modular monocoque construction allows for a continuous layup of the carbon composite, therefore tube transitions can be less bulky.
The truncated aerofoil profiles used generously throughout the frame are indeed smoothly blended, and in general the bike is a modern all-round race bike through and through: a sloping top tube, dropped seatstays, slickly integrated internal hose routing and a narrow frontal profile.
However, while Enve says the Melee is made to handle best with tyres from 27mm to 32mm, sensibly the brand has built in clearance for up to 35mm tyres, as well as neatly hidden mudguard mounts too.
All electronic groupsets are compatible with the frame in either 1× or 2× guises.
While Enve offers no shortage of options for the Melee in some respects, in others the offering is limited. It will only be offered as a ‘frame kit’ rather than in any full build, and will only be offered one colour option: ‘Damascus Grey’, although the decal colour can be altered if the customer is in need of a little customisation.
Enve Melee build
The Melee is offered as a ‘chassis’, by which it means the frameset plus all the finishing components Enve’s fit calculator recommends sizes for: seatpost, stem and bars.
I think their integration with the Melee frame gives credence to Enve’s claim that working from the components in, rather than the frameset out, is a good way to go about producing a complete bike.
The stem-to-head tube transition is case in point, being reminiscent of a sleek one-piece cockpit but with all the adjustability of being comprised of separate parts.
Finishing kit
What’s more, those separate parts are already bona fide excellent finishing components in their own right, being Enve’s Aero stem (or the integrated version of) and its AR bars.
The Aero Integrated stem is available in 10mm increments from 80mm to 130mm, and Enve has even worked with K-Edge to offer a proprietary out-front bike computer mount for it.
A stem is a fairly low-key part of any bike build but can cause more than its fair share of frustration if badly executed. This is an area where Enve’s depth of experience in component design is evident.
Despite being somewhat non-standard in an attempt to make it more aerodynamic, the hidden faceplate bolts are easy to access and provided they are tightened in the prescribed order (the large upward facing bolt must be torqued correctly before the lower two are fastened), clamp the bars securely.
The SES AR bars are available with the Melee in sizes from 38cm to 46cm in 20mm steps and are another component that displays Enve’s finishing kit competency. The tops are narrowed and elongated, but that section is stepped down in profile so they can be taped to offer grip without becoming overly bulky.
I’d say they play a part in the Melee’s reasonable front end comfort by allowing a degree of vertical damping despite feeling torsionally stiff.
The tops transition sharply around to the hood clamping zone, creating a decent amount of space on which to rest palms when riding on the hoods, and the drops are gently flared offering the user the option adopt a narrower hoods riding position, to help create a more aerodynamic body position, without sacrificing the control width tends to bring in the drops.
The Melee’s carbon composite seatpost, though uniquely D-shaped in profile to suit the frame, is based on the brand’s standard seatpost, so in general is light and offers good levels of compliance.
The head uses Enve’s adjustable ‘Twin-Bolt’ rail fastening system which is intuitive to use and holds the saddle securely.
Wheels and tyres
Rounding out the build was Enve’s SES 4.5 wheelset, which was shod with the brand’s SES Road tubeless tyres in a 29mm size.
While they’ve since been updated, the original premise of Enve’s SES 4.5 wheels was introduced back in 2018. They were ahead of their time then and continue to compare favourably even now. They were among the first mainstream wheels to offer hookless rims and different rim profiles between front and back. Their wide 25mm internal dimension is only now becoming a more wide-spread feature in competitors too.
Likewise, the SES Road tubeless tyres were the first to purposefully attempt to manipulate the airflow of the wheel-tyre system via tread pattern.
While I’m no expert on the intricacies of how these components’ designs purport to work, in general they seem suit each other nicely. The tyre to rim transition is smooth, and the extra width of the rim offered decent casing support to the appropriately wide tyre, such that even at very low pressures there was little evidence of tyre squirm in hard cornering.
Despite the rims’ inflated dimensions, the wheels overall are comparatively light so they did feel lively considering their depth, and stable under cross winds too, which was presumably a consequence of the differential shapes (the front is shallower and wider, the rear deeper and narrower).
Enve Melee geometry and sizing
The trade-off of the Melee’s modular monocoque construction method versus the Custom Road’s tube-to-tube one is that the Melee’s frame dimensions have to be fixed in a set range of sizes (the Melee is stock versus the bespoke Custom Road), but I think the way in which Enve has catered for riders within limitations of stock sizing minimises any disadvantages.
First off, the frameset is available in seven sizes, whereas something like five sizes is more common from other brands.
While the geometry figures of each individual size are generally somewhat unremarkable, in that they are conventionally race-focused, how they differ across the sizes is unusually accommodating, and consequently ride feel for users of different sizes should be better replicated.
For example, Enve uses five different fork offsets in an attempt to keep the Melee’s handling consistent. Two fork offsets across a range is more typical, as it reduces the frameset’s production cost by streamlining the number of moulds required (an expensive investment) as well as the amount of stock.
‘We’ve made forks for custom builders since the beginning, so appreciate the value of offering options,’ says Nelson.
What’s more, thanks to the data bank of fits Enve has undertaken to produce Custom Road, it can offer a fit calculator to help Melee customers find the right size.
It is a far more in-depth system than the one-dimensional height-equals-size guidelines offered by most brands that ensures a far more compatible fit, for along with frame size, the calculator outputs recommended stem length, bar width and seatpost set back, as well as trail figures with different tyre sizes. The system is a cut above other stock offerings.
Riding the Enve Melee
More so than on other bikes, on the Melee I was struck by how every separate component combined to add to the overall ride experience, in the same way that individual instruments make up an orchestra. Pleasing on their own, but truly splendid together.
The bars and stem offered an ergonomic and modifiable front end from which to control the bike. The compliant seat post helped filter out the road vibrations being picked up by the patently stiff frameset.
The wide tyres felt supple and grippy, and were well supported by similarly wide rims, which were in turn deep enough to promote the aero qualities of the frame’s tube profiles.
The Melee offers fantastic all-round race performance. It accelerates efficiently, holds high speeds a touch more easily, climbs like a sprite and descends like a demon.
It has also proved itself capable in the less aggressive aspects of performance, making it a bike that should be easy to live with as well as fun to ride.
The bars and stem are easy to work on and adjust and the T47 bottom bracket promises the ease of threaded systems despite offering similar structural advantages to press fit.
I would have preferred to see a PF86 or similar standard used as, based on my understanding, they are mechanically superior to threaded bottom brackets, but T47 is gaining significant traction in frame designs these days. While the potential for disadvantage is present in a T47 system, they haven’t been in widespread use long enough yet for anything to occur so I’ll need to reserve judgement here.
The frameset seems impeccably well finished. The paint finish is neat and throughout my test period there was no hint of any of the creaking, ticking, slipping or squeaking that’s indicative of poor build quality.
I’ll admit that summation is superficial and the result of a relatively short-term experience, but there’s certainly cause for optimism concerning the calibre of the Melee as a product.
Enve Melee verdict
The Melee’s well-roundedness out on the road and in the workshop is all very well, but the bikes the Melee’s price and features pit it against perform in a similar manner. They look very similar as well, and are broadly the same price.
Enve could be accused of introducing a product that, while indeed very good, is a little vanilla. In several areas it doesn’t do a huge amount to differentiate itself from other designs, and the limited scope for visual customisation does the bike few favours either.
However, discerning between products at this level of the market invariably has to be a case of splitting hairs. It has been well documented that brands are nearing the apex of race bike frame design.
As such, designers have to let function govern form to a large extent, and given that all manufacturers have access to broadly the same technology and materials, a degree of homogeneity is inevitable.
Thankfully though the Melee has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that, for me, help set it apart. One is it’s 35mm tyre clearance, the other is its mudguard provisions.
Both features add an extra sprinkle of practicality to the bike’s already finessed performance, and ensure Enve’s first race bike can be considered among the very best in the market.
Enve Melee specs
| Price | £5,500 (frameset only) |
| Brand | Enve |
| Frame | Enve M.O.D. Carbon |
| Fork | Enve M.O.D. Carbon |
| Weight | 7.2kg (56cm) |
| Sizes available | 47, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60 |
| Headset | Enve Integrated IS52/IS53 Internal Drop-in |
| Levers | Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9270 |
| Brakes | Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9270 |
| Rear derailleur | Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9250 |
| Front derailleur | Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9250 |
| Crankset | Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9200, 52/36t |
| Bottom bracket | T47 Inboard |
| Cassette | Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9200, 11-30 |
| Chain | Shimano Dura Ace Di2 R9200 |
| Wheels | Enve SES 4.5 |
| Tyres | Enve SES Road |
| Bars | Enve AR |
| Stem | Enve Integrated Aero |
| Seatpost | Enve Melee |
| Saddle | Selle Italia SLR Boost |
My initial reaction was that frame look quite similar to my Defy (although the brake hoses are integrated here) but the stack and reach tell a slightly different story.