As a wheel manufacturer, Enve has already celebrated two Tour victories with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). At the 111th edition of the Tour de France, the US brand is also represented as a wheel supplier: The French team TotalEnergies is riding the Enve Melee.
The Stage victory for Anthony Turgis can be considered a great success for popularity, even if it remains the only one (so far). The gravel stage to and from Troyes in particular attracted a lot of attention and was probably the most fitting stage for the image of the US manufacturer. On the 16th stage, the Melee once again attracted attention after Thomas Gachignard put in a spirited solo ride and was only swallowed up by the peloton shortly before the finish.
The most important features of the Enve Melee
The bikes are striking despite the very sparse paintwork: each rider has a different colour on the down tube of the otherwise black frame, which is intended to reflect the colour gradient of the TotalEnergies logo. The large derailleur pulleys from sponsor Ceramicspeed, which are also anodised in different colours, also catch the eye.
The Melee sees itself as an all-rounder in many dimensions: Lightweight and with an aero feel, yet suitable for long distances and with plenty of tyre clearance. There are even threads for mudguards as standard on the fully competition-ready racer. The frameset can take up to 35 millimetres; Turgis rode with 30-millimetre Contis for his stage win, but these are easily 32 millimetres wide on the wide Enve rims.
We were not allowed to weigh the bikes at TotalEnergies. However, we know from a TOUR test that the frame weighs less than 1000 gramsIn the economical team livery, it should even be less than 900 grams. With the body, the professional bikes will probably weigh between 7.2 and 7.4 kilograms, which is quite light compared to the competition.
In the wind tunnel test, the bike performed better than many lightweight racers from other manufacturers, which have a similar weight, with 218 watts of required pedalling power for 45 km/h. With the SES AR cockpit, which alone costs more than 1000 euros, the bike should be a few watts faster than in our test of the standard bike with classically clamped handlebars. However, the bike does not come close to proven aero experts.
