Seven stunning custom gravel, road and mountain bikes from ENVE Builder Round-Up

Nothing inspires bike lust quite like a custom bicycle. In the absence of NAHBS, ENVE’s third annual Builder Round-Up added an virtual element to keep us all supplied with a steady stream of drool-worthy creations.

Here’s seven of the most exciting builds from the Builder Round-Up, including two Canadian creations and five more from all corners of the United States.

Mariposa (Toronto, Ont.)

If Mariposa’s show bike has a certain classic look that could be because the Toronto brand has continued to be a family run business since it was founded way back in 1969. Decades later, Mariposa remains one of the few brands that still specializes in lugged and fillet brazed steel frames. The building techniques are the same but, with new materials, the bikes keep getting better. This Mariposa show bike is destined for lightweight, adventure bikepacking. Columbus tubing is comfortable for long rides while a Dynamo hub will keeps lights and devices running through multi-day trips. An ENVE Adventure Fork and AG25 wheel combo leaves room for fenders, with mounts to keep the look clean.

Naked Bicycles (Quadra Island, B.C.)

Naked Bicycle’s Sam Whittingham has been busy seeing how far he can push gravel bike design. The goal? For the bike and this build, the joy of riding. The ultra-long-reach and twin-arch top tube pay homage to the classic idea of the origian repack-era adventure bike, experimenting with how much fun you can have with a gravel bike on gravel, trails or … whatever, really. Dropper post, frame bags, and an ENVE Adventure Fork let you mix long days – or overnights – with whatever fun or trouble you want to get yourself into.

Weis (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Brooklyn’s Hammer Gravel SL mixes carbon fibre, aluminum and Weis’ trademark asymmetric design for one very distinctive looking gravel bike. There’s clearance for 700×45 or 650×2.1″ tires mixed in with custom CNC dropouts and through axles. That’s all hiding behind the draw-dropping green marble / purple glitter / raw carbon fibre paint scheme.

Pursuit Cycles (Bozeman, Mont.)

Not all custom bikes are the work of a lone creator. Pursuit Cycles is a team of engineers, frame builders, artists and craftsmen assembled by Carl Strong. The All Road shown here was designed and created in-house in Bozeman, Montana, matching classic lines to modern clearance (tires up to 700×40 or 650×50). The ‘Lava Lamp’ paint by Malyia Hawk is inspired by Slime Mold, and tailored to the customer’s personal style.

Retrotec (Napa, Cali.)

For this show bike, Curtis Inglis took the Retrotec Twin Funduro and twisted it for a new material. Switching to titanium adds flash to the fun bike, as do a rainbow array of parts. Retrotec says the mismatched parts are “thanks to the bike industriy’s lack of availability,” but that array of Paul Components, White Industries and SRAM AXS parts looks quite carefully curated. Whether accidental or tongue-in-cheek, it is a look that works. With smooth lines and clearance for 2.6″ tires, the Retrotec titanium twin top tube looks like a blast to ride.

English Cycles (Eugene, Ore.)

Eugene, Ore.’s English Cycles is know for super-clean road builds and this Builder Round-Up road bike is no different. It is simple at first glance, but there’s quite a bit going on the closer you look. Like that crazy cable routing up front. Clean, but aeuro tubing and a nice blue to sky-blue fade make for a custom build that is beautiful and bright without being overly flashy.

44 Bikes (Lyndeboro, New Hampshire)

44 Bikes goes in a completely opposite direction to most of the Round-Up builds. In place of wild colours, the N.H. brand opts for singlespeed and a simple matte black finish with silver and gold highlights. Simplicity extends to the design, with a rigid, singlespeed (with the option for gears) that is the prototype geo for 44 Bike’s first stock bike option.

All Images by ENVE