Bike Review: Enigma Evoke with Campag Chorus EPS H11

End of ride photo, because if your ride is ending in daylight, you've finished to early.

I'm going to preface this with 2 major points.

1.   This is my bike.    

2.   All bike reviews are bullshit (this one included).   Buying or evaluating a bike by review is shit and you should only judge a bike in how it moves you.   

So my review is more tailored to me riding my bike.  If you're looking at this bike as a review to compare to a crit bike, TT bike, latest carbon creation or want to have a bike that looks good and matches whatever the pro's are riding this year/season/month/race/day.............then this review ain't for you.  There are plenty of other reviews out there for those who "want to look pro" and plenty of bike brands who'll take your credit card numbers.   If you want a long-lasting ultra-endurance style bike and want an honest review of what I've found out, read on.

Now I read DC Rainmaker's blog and this is where he normally declares;

 "the item tested is/was a media loaner unit, the review is not sponsored by the item manufacturer and will be returned after the review has been completed" 

If he likes that item, he'll buy his own retail version.  For me, I'm not associated with Enigma bikes; I have no commercial or professional ties; and writing this as my own opinion review.  My money purchased the bike and except for any warranty returns, I'm not intending to part with it.

For a bit of an overview of tarmac under tyres since mid-March this year, these are recent stats pulled for usage from my VeloViewer page:

Question one:   Why this bike?

To give an idea of why this bike, I would only buy a bike which I will want to ride and matches my ride style and buying ideas.

My ride style:

• I like riding long distances.   I want a bike that can do 100 to 140km in a post work evening ride, at least 200km for a Saturday ride, but most importantly has to be right for the more than 400km (250 mile) long rides.
• I can be riding at night, during the day and often both so some degree of flexibility on fittings.
• Fast - not in a fast top speed aerodynamically razor sharp knife kind of fast, but swift speed over long distances and times.  If it can hold over 25 to 30 kph without much effort for hours on end, then I'm interested.   
• Capable of riding in all weathers and temperatures.   Wind is more my enemy than any other condition.
• Non-stop or minimal stop riding - in a way I'm not a fan of prolonged stops at the cake shop or touring.  I'd like to do more adventure riding (an Apidura and a long distance kind of adventure riding rather than distances with comfort, frequent stops and "a bed") but if I'm going to tour, I have a Genesis with a Carradice I can use (or even stretch to a pannier rack) and the Orbit tandem is just perfect for touring-for-two.
• This bike doesn't need to cover my other riding styles - green lanes, BMX pump track, causal MTB, commutes etc.

My bike requirements:

Needs/wants

• A bike to replace my Concorde AluSL bike from 1999 - it's an ex-WCPP Team GB race bike with Ultegra groupset but now questionable road worthiness.  
• A frame to last a long time.  I want to buy once, use, keep using and invest in it.   I don't want repeated trade-ins, risk having a minor chip and be worried the whole frame is destroyed (like in a plastic bike).  I want a bike to last decades and still be a tight as the day it was made.  I want a comfortable ride; stable, responsive, predictable handling; reasonable lightweight and a good fit for my body.
• A groupset with electronic shifting and disc brakes (hydraulic if possible) to overcome shifting/braking problems when the fingers are cold or numb.
• A frame brand which has some long-term support rather than a new or bespoke brand which may fold or go bankrupt in the medium future.

Not essential/not required/wishing to avoid.

• Mudgaurd/rack mounts.
• "Touring" geometries.  
• Plastic bikes (aka carbon fibre)  
• Triples.
• Electric bikes of any kind.

From my mix of requirements/desires, this put me onto:

• Either a titanium frame or high-grade steel frame with a carbon fork.
• A choice of Shimano Dura Ace Di2 or Ultegra Di2 groupsets; or Campagnolo Super Record, Record or Chorus EPS groupsets and/or a groupset with hydraulic disc brakes.   Open to SRAM options.
• A degree of future-proofing - flat mount disc brakes and through axles.

With this information in mind, I headed out looking at all options, all possibilities and ideas.   As my intention is to have a bike to last a long time (10 years or way more) and I wanted to test out tech I'm not familiar with, I'd prefer a test ride on something - anything! - before I  buy it.   For me, this is/was going to be a big ticket purchase, so I don't want to make a mistake.  My build idea would be a titanium frame with either Ultegra or Chorus level components as I thought that was about where my budget would top out.   Plus I don't see myself as a Dura-Ace or Super Record rider as I don't think I can justify that level of race tech.

Specification to searching.

Out in the marketplace, there are a lot of inspiring bikes out there to have a look at with an infinite number of frame/component combinations.  In looking for the next bike, I had a list of titanium and higher end steel frame builders in mind - Mason, Kenesis, Jaegher, Genesis, Enigma, Lynksys, Moots, Mercian and Talbort all in the frame.  A number of these builders are small on the global bike manufacturing scale and mainly based around the South East UK.   I did have a road trip in mind........but time and availability got in the way!

A search of the internet looking for a more local test place, I found that Windmill Wheels had a 54cm Enigma Evoke for demo - perfect as this was on my consideration list and fairly local for me to get to.  And with a Campag groupset; even better as I wanted to try Campy after years of Shimano.  And that Campy was hydro-electric - BINGO!  So to test titanium as a bike material, hydro brakes and Campy EPS as a single package, it was a no brainer as it could test it all in that one bike trial.   If I found I didn't get on with any one component, I could at least say I've tried it, or approved/disapproved a point on my build list.   Windmill Wheels loaned me the bike on a very windy afternoon where the wind made testing hard and my tired legs from ~250 - 300km of weekday riding and training were giving the thighs a kick.

Tip:  Test ride in crappy weather when you have fatigued legs.  If a bike feels good when you are already ready to drop, it'll feel good when you feel fresh.   If you feel fresh and bike test, you have to have a long loan to see what it feels like when you're tired.

Bike Reviews and why all of them (including this one) are crap.

As note on bike reviews:  Over the years I've read a lot of bike reviews.  They've been in magazines, blogs, websites, event pamphlets and wherever a promoter can advertise.   I've seen brands push their latest $100,000 wonder bike; $1,000 super-sportive-but-sneak-through-on-bike-to-work bike; and $500 bikes for all.  Some are honest (mainly in the budget to middle market bikes say it as it is), but in the higher price band and premium bike market, most are the greatest load of clichéd crap someone can paid to type.  Cliche's to observe:

• It's the seasonal trend will be emphasised ("gravel adventure bike characteristics").
• The energy saving explained ("integrating the stem and bars increased stiffness by 20% while the aerodynamic advantage is 7 Watts better than the conventional stem bar combo")
• The reason why UCI Pro Continental Astana-Sega-Fredo-Alpicin-INEOS-Team-Dimension-Quick-Step-data team have insisted that all their riders use these bikes and a whole host of other lines of twat waffle about being the fastest rider in the 40 mile ride to the coffee shop. 

There are pretty much stamped templates for the "pro endurance bike" and the "sprinters aerobike."   After a while seeing yet another review by an overweight journalist reviewing yet another pro level premium bike and criticising this, that, or the other as a detractor for your $10,000 purchase, you realise that the professional UCI tour cyclist, semi-pro racer or even a Cat 1 rider on the cusp of a contract won't care about that niggle because it's their work tool, it makes them go extremely fast and the 1% advantages at the cost of a coffee cup holder makes an enormous gulf that separates them from the reviewer.   It can all make you can become a little jaded. 

NOTE:  I recently read a review critical that the aerobike was "a little difficult in cross winds when slowing at junctions."   The reality is that the bike was designed for World Tour sprinters where they would be protected through a peloton for an all-out 300m blast to the finish lines, picking up some bling, increasing their UCI ranking and kissing the girls on the podium.  I doubt they would be concerned with cross winds while slowing at road junctions......... 

These very high-end bikes are made for very high end riders so designed for high end performance at the cost of stopping for you stopping for your high end cake at the high end Velo-Cafe.   From the perspective of reviews, bike brands need gullible MAMILS with a large credit card limits to see and read these reviews and buy these bikes under the illusion that having that specific wonder bike will instantaneously transform them from middle aged and mediocre cyclist grasping at youth to an inform and highly trained Chris Froome with a minimal drag co-efficient whilst having an iPhone 17 XXXXL strapped to the handlebars. 

Question:  Why do bike producers need this?

Answer:  To ease the pain of the tech arms race going on in pro-cycling bike design, gain brand awareness and pull through sales of high, mid and lower range bikes to keep profitable.

They didn't design the bike for the >120kg rider in full replica pro-kit to do a post-work 30 mile ride.  They don't care that your Starbucks coffee mug doesn't fit in the bottle cage and blend into the CAD designed carbon fiber tubes which has had $500,000 in flow dynamic simulation on a high performance computing cluster and wind tunnel testing thrown into it before milling the mould.   What they have to do is move enough units to pay back the CAD designer, computing time and wind tunnel testing for the 40 or so real bikes that the World Tour team will use and justify the mould used to form the frame and win podium kisses.

So although I'm about to tell you the virtues of my bike choice, this is solely related to the context of my riding and styles, not what a pro may do with it or if it's been ridden to a major win; more "if you have a similar philosophy as me, this is what I think."

First impressions

So back to the initial test ride from Windmill Wheels.   I put down my Genesis, Andrew adjusted the Enigma for me to ride and I headed out onto the open roads.  Bloody hell!  Straight away the bike picked up speed and I was off.   I had the bike for around 40 minutes or so to get a feel in very strong winds and with tired legs, so here is what I thought.   To split the feels:

The Enigma Evoke titanium frame, carbon fork.

What I was expecting:  Something like a Victoria Secret model with nothing more than a bag of Skittles for an afternoon of fun (and don't declare any of it publicly in case it's a tabloid honeytrap).

What I got:  Eva Green in an Aston Martin DBS, an overnight bag and a whisper of "lets go to a hotel room in Venice, we'll use the autobans and scenic Alpine passes to get there."

The Evoke is light, agile and sure footed.   How many cliche words in an opening sentence of a bike review?   In the cross winds it was stable and when wind whipped between hedgerow gates with sudden gusts, the whole bike responded to my inputs without that fear of flying out of control across the road.   The round tubes respond to the cross winds like round tubes do with predictability - a more aerobike would have been more of a struggle in the cross winds but faster in a straight-line.  I had heard about titaniums ability to dampen road vibration as titanium is somewhere between steel and aluminium alloys in terms of Young's modulus so dampening should be between the two - and this became apparent pretty quickly.   It's difficult to pinpoint what makes a ride smooth (tyre wall structure, tyre pressure, rim flex, frame flex.......) because some many different influences will combine but this ride straight away felt smooth on country lanes.   For comparisons, I ride Reynolds 753 steel frame (over 30 year old little Blue Coventry Custom race bike) and Reynolds 520 steel (2012 Genesis Day 01 Alfine).  753 feels very smooth at rebounding to road imperfections with the build I have and the Enigma has somewhere around that feel - certainly smoother than the uncompromising and harsher ride of the 6005 ally of the Concorde and smoother than the heavy 520 tubing of the Genesis with it's utilitarian build.  For the ride length, I could have easily kept going as resistance in the winds was far easier and fatigue (physically pushing the bike forwards and mentally keeping control) was far lower.

The ride feel of the geometry gave a lot of handling confidence - far more than I expected.   This frame is billed as an "endurance" geometry, something which I had been skeptical of but have come to love.  Being a 54cm frame with the taller headtube contrasts with my other bikes.  To compare where I'm coming from:

1. The Concorde at 55cm and its race geometry; aggressive as it was designed for racing at semi-pro and pro level.  It suffers now from front wheel wobble (headset or fork rake/stem length?) but has always felt nice and lively, quick to respond and turn in; but harsh as it was designed in a time period of hard riding, fast, max 160km to 200km pro stage races.  A carbon seat post dampens the road vibration, however when I used to use a alloy post the rear triangle was uncompromisingly harsh.   It's been good enough for EL and LEL and held its own doing in a 4hr 30min London 100 sporitive against a lot of plastic bikes.   A race orientated speedster.  The Harley Quinn of the bunch.
2. Blue Steel, a custom build 54cm race bike; extremely aggressive -  very low front end, long stem, small frame (54cm I think), straight steel fork, small rake, smooth ride but if you relax for the briefest moment, it'll put you in a hedgerow.  The Concorde is aggressive, this bike takes it to a much more aggressive place.  It's a bike that'll bring a massive smile to your face but you really have to work at it to tame it.   It is possible to ride it for 200km, but it's not for that.  Target 130km at speed and it'll go, you'll smile, you'll feel hunched up and burning thighs by the end of it, but my God you will have had fun.   Take it out on a damp road and prey for grip and fear sliding off on a corner.
3. Finally there's the Genesis, 56cm and cyclocross geometry; stable, long and stretched out, heavy but fairly responsive, good for all weather long steady efforts but don't ask it to accelerate or sprint.  It will refuse.  400km flat audax in the rain?  No problem.

As a diagram, it would look like this on my 1 - 10 scale:

A discussion on "Fast Endurance"

A marketing buzz phrase I have always been extremely sceptical of is "Fast Endurance" because it's always been too wishy-washy.  I've never been sure on who the "Fast Endurance" market is.   Are they:

• Sportive riders who can't handle an aggressive race bike?  
• Audax riders who don't want to go to an audax/touring bike with longer rear stays and mudguard eyelets because they want to go faster and don't want to be type-cast as an Audaxer with a beard and Carradice?  
• A style label for the MAMIL who wants to justify their bike choice, finds a true race bike too uncomfortable, can't afford a Pinarello F10, wants a bike to brag about at the coffee and cake stop 40 miles in but still claim to be "Endurance" on a Monday morning back in the office because their bike has it written into the spec?
• TransContinetal style riders who want to cover vast distances with minimal support but need the comfort that a true race bike can't offer?

Because of this, I have had a strong aversion to the "Fast Endurance" bike tag because I wasn't sure if the Fast Endurance cyclist was me (I'm still not sure what kind of rider I am) or just a cycling marketing strapline trying to get me to buy into an image.  I like race bikes.  I like going fast.  I like lively handling.  I like tight, short frames, to really get to play with.  I like stripped down bikes where excessive material is dropped because; who needs that?  I like lower tyre clearances, fast rolling tyres and gears that want to spin at higher speeds.  I do like some more relaxed frames and rides but these are for "those" rides where time is irrelevant, a low double or even a triple can be used and mudgaurds stops your partner getting road crap thrown in their face.   So I should go for a race bike, right?

Now I think the "Fast Endurance" label is going to get a lot of abuse

• Crit 4 Fred's will call it "a failed race bike"and you should only buy a plastic bike with Dura Ace.
• Cyclist Magazine will feature the "Top 10 Fast Endurance bikes" to feed a buyers market which a marketing guru will have described as "an under penetrated market and needing of expansion in the higher disposable income demographic"
• The big bike brands will bring out tweaked versions of their road/gravel/sportive/towpath/hybrid frame with a "Fast Endurance" decal on the top tube and charge 20% more
• eBay will have more Chinese knock-off mimics using it in tags to sell more crap.

Understandably with a sceptical and open mind I wanted to evaluate the Evoke for myself.

Ride characteristics of the Enigma and the "Fast Endurance" Evoke

Ride wise I'd place it between the Blue Steel and the Concorde in smoothness of road vibration, but close to the Concorde in handling.  It is not as aggressive and doesn't have the instantaneous acceleration of that very stiff aluminium frame but the turn in and ability to hold a corner line is nearly as tight.  In a fast flowing sportive I imagine it would be fighting the plastic bikes in the faster packs but losing out a bit on the front of the pace line or accelerating out of small climbs and corners; but it would struggle on the fast criterium circuits pretty quickly and not have the jump for a sprint.  Luckily, that's not what I want it for (although it may do an odd sportive).  It accelerates far better and far more stable than the cyclocross/endurance frame of the Genesis and more predictable to drive more confidence due to the mix of headtube and tighter total wheelbase length.  The "Fast Endurance" geometry does have a lot going for it overall and even taking into account the non-essential (almost aesthetic elements) such as rear stay clearance for limiting tyre sizes, the whole package holds a balance between the race bike and the sportive/endurance bikes.  Dare I say "I found my niche in Fast Endurance bikes"??

For the tech bits; Grade 9 3AL 2.5V double-butted titanium tubing, 44mm headtube, Chris King headset, 12mm thru-axle rear dropout, flat mount brake mounting, 31.6mm seatpost, C-Six RD-DSC Tapered bolt-thru disc fork.   Smashing.

The Campagnolo Record EPS H11 Groupset and finishing kit

There's a lot of groupset bullshit out there!  So, avoiding some of the hype, the simple "facts" I've concluded from the first 4,500km.

Stopping – The H11 spec comes with 160mm front, 140mm rear rotors.  In short, hydro brakes kick the ass out of even the best cable disc brakes.   I ride TRP Spyres (160mm/140mm rotors) pulled by Ultegra levers on the Genesis which I'm comparing to these Campag Record hydraulics.   If I was going to hurtle down a hill on both, with the hydraulic brakes I'd have far more control and confidence in braking later and having greater fine control in modulation.   The cable Spyres even when set up perfectly don't have the same degree of "I have this!" running through the fingertips.  On the test ride I got a taste, but the more real-life impact was coming through Grantham late at night on my first proper ride.   When you've been riding for around 13 hours and you're dropping down through suburbs and want to control your speed on unfamiliar roads with potential traffic, the mental burden of "will the brakes do what I want them to do if a car pulls out" adds up.   With the hydraulics, that burden is a hell of a lot less.   On long rides, that mental load adds up!  On Everst'ing I had fun running fast into the corners with confidence on the brakes to the point where on the familiar hairpin, I was seeing how late I could feather the speed.  In TransWales, the brakes were essential in the blizzard on the top of the mountain pass.  If the mental anguish of "will the brakes work" can be reduced, it's worth it.

Going - I'm going full out and stating that the Record EPS groupset is better than the Ultegra Di2 groupset.   Near enough apples for apples for me to compare, but I don't have and I haven't tried Dura Ace v's Super Record.   For me; the ergonomics are better; the app link is as standard in the EPS where Di2 needs a D-Fly widget; the Campag thumb shifter is easier to use than the Shimano double paddle; and they just feel and look so much better...........   For this style of bike and what I want, Campag hasn't disappointed in the slightest.   It's taking a little getting used to in terms of controls and muscle memory of which switch does what on each bike, but it's going to be easy to reprogram the shifters.

The gearing - it is very smooth, as I'd expect.  Ratio wise, the top end is more than enough (53x12 at top) for the flat and dropping down valleys.  The bottom end (39x29) overall is pretty good - but not quite low enough for the really steeps where fatigued.   I could have done with lower on Everesting Challenge and on an attempt of the 400km route "up North" I want to do it was good, but not low enough.   In theory, my bottom gear is shorter than my previous rides, but this bike is lighter........ do I need to go as low?  I can't wait to point it up something.   On the flat runs out East, I was sitting most of the time in the middle of the cassette in the big ring, however should I want to go very long, then I'll shift the entire range down as leg strength at 9, 90 and 900km are very different prospects.

Wheels - Now on the test ride, the wheels I admit didn't get the most attention.  They're Miche SWC RC's and I've grown to really love them.  Groupsets and frames were far more of interest in thinking that get this right, I can always tweak wheels.   In reality, they're luxury.   They handle well with cross-winds, spin up quick and feel light.   Heavy rims (like the DT Swiss DB rims I use on the Genesis) feel heavy on acceleration.   These feel good, stable, predictable and strong.   They even have that carbon hum at high speeds.  They can be run tubeless but for now I'm sticking the current tyres.   I've ridden Vittoria Corsa tyres before although I admit my tyres of choice are Continentals and I have used Schwarbles and other brands on other bikes.  The Corsa's are brilliant and inspire confidence and grip well.  The down side is that in the 3,000km I've done, 4 puncture already.  My go to tyre is usually Conti GP GT's for endurance but I think these are a different beast and shouldn't be compared to the GT's but the GP4000 ranges.  Better then Conti's?   Start your arguments......

In terms of the rest of the spec, through axles front and bike are the new tech along with flat mount brakes.  In a way, these are so unremarkable, that's the way they should be.  The feature, they are the future, but won't make or break a ride.

Ownership.

Getting the bike suddenly made me a 15,513.6% better person, I now only drink expensive cocktails from titanium cocktail glasses and my phone book is now filled with Instagram influencers and models.   My bike is now held up as the benchmark of BikePorn and has a billion likes on Pintrest.  Buying the bike has increased my happiness by 29,845% and I've been invited to resolve all Brexit talks and remove Donald Trump.   My sense of ego is now measured in astronomical units. /s

Running costs so far have been fairly low - cleaning products and a few tubes - and although I'd like to TransContinental it, I'd see few modifications.  My only gripe so far has been the tyres – Vittoria Corsa tyres are excellent for speed but puncture prone!   The cost of purchase was supposed to be considerably higher but with being ex-demo it came into game.   I wouldn't have been able to own this bike had it either be full price or this years version so I'm extremely happy to have it.  The insurance on it is high but I know this is a once-in-20yrs style purchase and the experiences I've had and people I've ridden with can't be measured in GBP.  Interestingly, Enigma offer a refurb service for their frames – they'll respray the frame in the future should you wish to have it updated.   Maybe in 20 yrs time and a lot of experiences/character?  Or would that be like glossing over years of adventures and marks of exploration?   Being titanium, at least it won't corrode in the same way as steels!

Summary.

My legs lacked a good bike to ride fast and at distance.   The Enigma takes on that role and fully thrives at it.   My opinion had always been that the bike should complement the riders ability and with recent rides, performances and feel, I think the Enigma does work well with me as a rider where my squidgy organic bits works perfectly with the titanium and composite mix of the bike.   Without doubt, a Dura Ace equipped Pinarello F12 or Colnago C64 would always be far more capable bike than my aging legs would be able to justify.  In ownership, those "in the know" really admire it (and as a slight ego-rub, riding one evening and catching another rider, they spotted my downtube and shouted "an Engima?!?  NICE!" That is pretty cool).   Since owning and riding this bike, it has swayed a number of my friends to either buy or look at buying a Ti-bride.  But for me; the bike isn't for rank, status or appearance; my most loved experiences on the Enigma are the bits where I've pushed my body to the break point and the Enigma has taken me there.

On my first long distance ride to the coast, I had 400km of good, fast paced cruising; in Everst'ing the Enigma excelled and enabled me to 8848 on a significant road to me; for TransWales the conditions had a good bash at breaking me but we excelled; I couldn't have had a better preforming set up for a 600km ride I did recently; and on my nemesis Peaks 400km ride I did breaking, not the bike; in cycling from my home down to London through the night via Bletchley Park (the Enigma code breakers) becoming "the red light in the dark" cruising through towns, villages and lanes to arrive in the capital city and slink off to the suburbs for sleep the qualities of the bike came into their own and it was a hell of a charmed ride down.  The Enigma gives the confidence, comfort and performance to do all of that without worrying about reliability, brake fade, cable snaps or uncomfortable surfaces.

These rides have ended with silent Eversting victories in laybys at 4am; riding up the Mall, under Admiralty Arch, across Tower Bridge at dawn; crossing Cardiff barrage at mid-night with Bank Holiday revellers drinking the night away; and triumphant returns home in the middle of the night.   Now these have been goose bump inducing kind of experience. 

Those looking to buy an Enigma Evoke.

Now I'm going to say that this whole review is bullshit.   Not that I've lied or mislead, or misrepresented the bike, more that as I typed at the start "all bike reviews are bullshit."   There is a cyclist in my office who jokes that he should go and buy an Evoke too after what I've purchased and after what I have done with this bike.  It would be wasted in the same way I saw a >120kg rider with a beer barrel of a gut on an aero Cervelo, slammed stem, power meters and a phablet on the handlebars and full Dimension Data replica kit while commuting home this month.  He'd be better off buying a 105 equipped Trek of some kind and riding because any bigger investment would just be vanity.  The Evoke is a fantastic bike FOR ME.   I've reviewed the bike as a luxury, high end bike for my cycling style, future aspirations and long-term enjoyment rather than thinking of "what would sell this bike?"   Like the "5% more aerodynamic" reviews, owning this bike will not make you a better rider – your legs and lungs, road sense, ability to ride and suffer in all weathers and what you can teach others does that.   

If you're think of buying this bike because you can use it to become a social media influencer, get a billion endorsement with endless over-edited-and-filtered Instgram photos of you and your bike with another coffee shop..........meah, I'm not going to stop you giving a good British brand your money.   If you're idly thinking "could I do London to Paris.......and back again.......but kinda non-stop and only sleep on the ferry.......?" and have the route already half sketched out in Strava "just in case you get the opportunity"....... then hell yeah check out this bike.  

If you are in the market for a titanium bike for fast endurance style riding, then put the Evoke on your "to look at" list - somewhere near the top.   These have been my opinions so far.   See if you can get a test ride and see what you think.

(But you won't get a demo on mine.   It's my second wife, and I don't share.)