Skip to main content

Filter By:

Categories

Brands

Gender

Price

Sale

Reviews

Model Year

  1. Home
  2. Bicycling Catalog

ENVE Catalog

ENVE Composites ENVE Factory Tour

ENVE Composites Factory Tour – Inside Look at Company & Carbon Fiber Manufacturing

posted by Tyler (Editor at BikeRumor) - May 17, 2012 - 10am EDT

ENVE Composites factory tour - entrance to offices

ENVE Composites is considered one of (if not the) premier carbon fiber tube and component manufacturers, and we were given a chance to peek behind the curtain at their operation. Well, most of it anyway. There are a few things we couldn’t photograph or mention, but for the most part they opened their doors wide and gave us surprising amount of access.

Based in Ogden, Utah, ENVE produces carbon fiber tubes and frame parts for a very high percentage of US custom frame builders. Brands like Crumpton, Parlee, Independent Fabrication, Calfee and many, many more rely on ENVE’s carbon expertise to make their bikes. And, of course, there’s the lustworthy matte black component line we’re all familiar with.

Follow us along through a shop tour and see how they do it…

THE COMPANY THEY KEEP

Jason Schiers is the founder. He started his entrepreneurial life with a surf wear company, followed by a number of other companies he built and sold. His last venture before ENVE was a machine shop in Las Vegas that made, among other things, some of the safety harnesses and contraptions used by Cirque du Soleil. He built a name for himself by turning around replacement parts overnight (apparently their acrobatics are quite hard on equipment). Eventually, he sold that company to an investment group and got into the bike industry. He learned about carbon fiber in the machining industry working on composite and laminate aerospace and NASCAR projects. Then, he was VP of Lew Wheels until MQC bought them and then Reynolds. He stayed on with them for about two years to develop a wheel line (he started their carbon clinchers). His entrepreneurial spirit led him to start Edge Composites with the idea of making structural carbon parts for cars, which quickly led back to bike parts. Brett and Taylor Satterthwaite (cousins) owned Dune’s Edge, a dune buggy company. They led Jason to a closet full of $5,000-and-up mountain bikes and said he should make parts for them. Edge Composites (now ENVE) was born. That was 2005, and the cousins invested the capital to get things rolling.

Sarah Lehman came aboard in 2010 to help the company grow to the next level.

“I came in because they had grown to a point where they needed someone day to day to run the business,” Lehman said. “I came in on a project basis to build the organization and structure but ended up loving the business. It has all the right components, good people, passion and the financial backing to see it through. My background is in Fortune 100 biotech and pharmaceutical companies (Amgen, ironically, among others), but I’m happier at a smaller company where my impact can be immediately felt and measured.”

Joe Stanish started as a pro downhill mountain biker and worked with Rob Roskopp at Santa Cruz helping them get the Tasman up and running and get their grassroots team going. Then he went to Rockshox working in product development and engineering first, then in manufacturing. He helped transition manufacturing first to Coorado Springs, then to Taiwan as they grew and were acquired by SRAM. He was then recruited as vp operations at Progressive Suspension and worked their for several years.

Now Stanish is VP of operations at ENVE. He’s responsible for taking their ideas and making it possible to manufacture their products in the US. Until he came along, they were running high scrap rates and had a huge backlog. Sarah had come in a year earlier and collected a ton of data on the process, but no one was doing anything with it. Having this available allowed him to quickly streamline the process and reduce errors.

Kevin Nelson is their lead engineer and has worked in the industry since 1997, starting at GT and Schwinn. Then he went to Specialized for a couple of years to work on road. He wanted to make things, though, and moved to Reynolds, where he met Jason and got his start working in carbon. When Reynolds’ California offices closed, he started doing project work for Jason, working mostly on components while Jason worked on rims.

ENVE Composites Introduction
ENVE (Formerly EDGE Composites) is a relatively new company with a strong composites background, specifically in the bicycle industry. Their engineers have worked for bike industry companies such as Schwinn/GT, Specialized, Felt, Reynolds and Easton. In fact, you're looking at over 30 years of carbon experience - and that's just on the engineering side. They're a bunch of composite tech heads and not afraid of introducing and investing in new design concepts, processes and technologies that enable them to offer the absolute best products on the market today (not to mention the things they're working on for tomorrow). Of major importance to them is that their wheels are proudly made in the Ogden, Utah. They're an American company committed to American design, engineering and manufacturing. You'll often find their president in the lay-up tent rather than tapping on a Blackberry - and that's the epitome of how they all work together to reach a common goal. There was a time that ENVE only developed products for other companies. In fact, they've been making all of the tubes and moulded parts for the nation's most fastidious frame builders - Parlee, Independent Fabrications, Calfee, Vanilla, Crumpton and Rugamer; custom artisans who refuse to adopt the big box mentality. That said, their demands are higher to the point of inspecting each and every tube used to build their designs. When you're committed to the perfect marriage of art and engineering, you don't settle for second best. One thing you won't find from ENVE is a bunch of marketing hyperbola. Sure, they have a great PR and marketing department, but they're 100% wholesome in their statements, and they don't launch anything new until they are just as satisfied that their products are the best they can possibly be. They are not driven by a model year calendar. There's no fluff. No flash. Just quality engineered components that are guaranteed to be the best you've ever ridden - a statement that they take incredibly seriously. You only have to look at who they partner with to develop their distribution to understand just how committed they are to checking every box that the entire team is worthy of representing. It's all about walking it - and they have put plenty of miles in; as have their athletes. They sponsor some incredible people, but you'd probably be even more surprised to find that we also take care of world class athletes that aren't allowed to run our decals because they're sponsored by competitors. That said, it's not just a compliment to the integrity of their products, it's a necessity in the minds of some of the worlds most demanding athletes. They can't tell you who they are... So they just leave that to you to go hunt them out. Suffice to say, they're everywhere...
ENVE Composites Rim Strip
$5.00
A non-tubeless protective strip to cover the spoke holes in your ENVE carbon clinchers. 
ENVE Composites Silca Valve Extenders
$15.00
SILCA valve stem extenders for tubular tires and tubes with removable valve core. ENVE recommends that the length of your tire/tube valve + the length of your extender exceeds the depth of the rim by at least 10mm. - The 34mm set is optimized for the SES 3.4 and SES 3.4 Disc - The 45mm set is optimized for the SES 4.5 and SES 5.6 Disc - The 75mm set is optimized for the SES 7.8 and SES 7.8 Disc
ENVE Composites Handlebar Tape
$40.00 - $50.00 $50.00 Up to 20% Off
Features and Benefits - 250cm in Length—accommodates bars up to 50cm - Grip compound maintains traction when wet - Durable stretch for installation - Vibration-damping backer strip - Hard-wearing construction - 3mm thick What It Is ENVE-designed bar tape that provides maximum ride feel without compromising comfort and ensures grip in wet conditions. 250cm in length, 3mm thick, and silicone-backed compound that provides the right amount of stretch for ease of installation and durability. Science & Insight For ENVE, handlebar tape is more than a fashion accessory; it is a key component that sets the tone for your ride. Bar tape that becomes slippery when wet and causes discomfort diminishes confidence and the ride experience. As such, ENVE Handlebar Tape is designed with a grip compound that ensures bare-handed traction despite wet conditions. To maximize ride feel without compromising comfort, ENVE Handlebar Tape is 3 millimeters thick with a vibration-damping silicone backer strip that ensures comfort for long miles over rough roads.
ENVE Composites Freehub Body
$75.00
- Freehub Body: Campagnolo N3W - Freehub Compatibility: ENVE - Speed: 13
ENVE Composites Carbon Road Stem
$265.00
The ENVE Road Stem is a staple component in our line and often under-appreciated for the benefits it provides out on the road. The stem plays a key role by connecting your bike to your handlebars and it must manage all the forces that you put into your bike. On the road, the 100% uni-directional carbon body provides a lightweight structure that is torsionally and laterally stiff to ensure that inputs into steering and accelerating are positive and confidence-inspiring. Over rough roads, the carbon fiber laminate helps absorb vibration and reduce hand and upper body fatigue. To further reduce weight, all stem hardware is constructed from lightweight titanium. The faceplate is cold-forged aluminum that allows for a highly reliable and strong grip on the handlebar for responsive steering input with zero slipping. - Material: Carbon Fiber - Faceplate Material: Aluminum - Hardware Material: Titanium - Stack Height: 41mm - Torque Spec, Face Plate: 5.5Nm - Torque Spec, Steer Tube: 5.5Nm - Weight: 90g (80mm), 107g (90mm), 115g (100mm), 121g (110mm), 126g (120mm), 136g (130mm), 145g (140mm)
ENVE Composites Road
$265.00
- 100% uni-directional carbon body provides a lightweight structure that is torsionally and laterally stiff - Over rough roads the carbon fiber laminate helps absorb vibration and reduce hand and upper body fatigue - Titanium hardware and lightweight aluminum faceplate - 107g
ENVE Composites Road Stem
$265.00
- 100% uni-directional carbon body provides a lightweight structure that is torsionally and laterally stiff - Over rough roads the carbon fiber laminate helps absorb vibration and reduce hand and upper body fatigue - Titanium hardware and lightweight aluminum faceplate - 107g
ENVE Composites Seatpost 400mm
$275.00
ENVE's proven twin-bolt seatpost design refined for the modern road bike with seatpost battery integration capabilities. - Material: Carbon Fiber - Hardware Material: Titanium - Saddle Angle Adjustment: 0 – 27 degrees - Saddle Rail Compatibility: 7x10mm Carbon Rails / 7mm Round Alloy Rails - Torque Spec, Saddle Rail Clamp Bolts: 5.5Nm - Torque Spec, Seatpost Collar: Determined by your Frame manufacturer/Seatpost Collar - Weight: 210g (25.4mm), 204g (27.2mm), 204g (30.9mm), 204g (31.6mm)
ENVE Composites Road Handlebar Compact Drop
$350.00
Full carbon fiber road handlebar with thoughtful ergonomics highlighted by a short reach shallow drop geometry and full Di2 compatibility. Who It's For Road riders with a preference for compact geometry, light weight, and refined electronic groupset integration. Why We Made It Because we understand that your ride experience can be established by the comfort and control achieved with a handlebar, we take handlebar design seriously. The ENVE Compact Road Handlebar is available in both a traditional and compact geometry and a variety of width options to meet the fitment needs of most cyclists. Ergonomics of the Road Bars are thoughtful and allow for a wide range of adjustability from tilt to brake/shift lever placement. To round off the finish, the ENVE Compact Road Handlebar can be routed externally for mechanical groupsets but is also drilled for internal electronic routing for modern electronic drivetrains including compatibility with Shimano RS-EW910 bar end plug junction box installations. The Compact Road Handlebar includes ENVE's Integrated Bar End Plugs.
ENVE Composites Road Fork Rim Brake
$450.00
ENVE's Road Fork is the fork by which all others are judged, built for road cyclists looking for the optimal balance of weight, strength, and stiffness. When everyone was turning away from the fork aftermarket, we focused our efforts on creating the best aftermarket fork we could. By following our mantra of functional simplicity, we developed a manufacturing process that allows the fibers in an ENVE fork to run continuously from the top of the steerer to the bottom of the drop-outs. The ENVE forks feature a hollow one-piece design free of bonding or drilling, and the brake bolt hole is molded into the crown, allowing for additional weight savings and strength. You can literally put an ENVE fork on a bike within minutes of it leaving the mold. While this manner of construction is novel, the real win is that the majority of artisan frame builders and customers choose ENVE as their fork of choice due to its confident on-road performance and handling characteristics.
Page 1 of 1