2024 ENVE Builder Mountain Bike Round-up

The 6th annual ENVE Builder Round-up is a fixture in the gravel community as it is paired with the ever-fashionable Grodeo , a 92-mile gravel epic, starting and finishing at the ENVE HQ in Ogden, Utah. This two-day community building party is synonymous with high-end, custom bikes, but there are some slacker head tubes and fatter tires in the mix, as the lines between gravel and XC bikes get blurrier each day.

At this iconic and predominantly gravel-focused showcase, a few notable builders presented their “ mountain bikes in gravel’s clothing. ” Although most of these are not the traditional mountain bikes we are used to seeing, the influence of these works of art is undeniable, and any of these would be a blast to pedal around a flowy trail system.

Chumba USA , Austin, TX - SLACKR

Chumba has been a long-time guest at the Grodeo, and this year, they brought the SLACKR, a new Ti hardtail designed around 150/140mm forks that is poised to tackle all-day trail riding and rowdier descents. The SLACKR will come in six sizes and fit up to a 36T chainring and 29x2.6" tires.

Fabricated in-house using 3/2.5 Titanium Aerospace grade domestic tubing, Chumba's own custom 3D Additive manufactured "Space Yoke," and Paragon Machine Works Sliding dropouts. The SLACKR is built to order and available with custom geometry to check off all the boxes. The showcased build kit featured ENVE M6 wheels, M7 carbon cockpit, Cane Creek's HELM MKii Air 150mm fork, and custom anodized Titanium eeWing cranks, in addition to SRAM's XX Transmission.

Stinner Frameworks , Santa Barbara, CA - Tunnel

The Tunnel is Stinner Frameworks' flagship mountain bike, named after one of the hardest and most well-known front country trails in Santa Barbara. Its progressive stock geometry is optimized for a 140mm travel fork and makes for an extremely capable trail bike.

This iteration of the Tunnel features Stinner’s standard Ti tubeset and in-house designed UDH dropouts. The geometry was slightly tweaked on this frame to optimize it for rowdy gravel and ATB adventures using the rigid ENVE MTN Boost fork, or it can transform into a super capable XC machine by swapping for a 100mm SID suspension fork. It features a unique QUAD paint scheme customized using Stinner's online configurator and upgraded with the 70/30 raw Ti panel. Keeping it lightweight, this Tunnel is equipped with a SRAM XX Transmission, ENVE M6 Carbon Bars and Alloy MTN Stem, and ENVE M6 wheelset clad in Rene Herse tires. Stopping power is provided by Hope brakes and finished with a Chris King headset and bottom bracket.

MOOTS , Steamboat Co - MXC

You could say it’s an XC or marathon bike, as the geometry numbers suggest. The MXC is Moots's newest offering for riders seeking a lightweight titanium hardtail for buffed trails, demanding climbs, and long days in the saddle. Downcountry heads need not apply. The 1x-specific frame has space for a burly 38T ring, clearance for fast and light 2.4” tires, and space for up to 3 water bottle mounts. With 444mm chainstays and a 69-degree headtube angle, the MXC is paired best with a 100mm travel fork and is clearly catering to riders looking for pure efficiency on climbs rather than confident handling on steep descents.

We all know that custom, handmade bikes can be relatively unattainable for the average rider. Still, there is no denying that we all enjoy drooling over these masterpieces when given the chance. Here at Bike Mag, we are excited to kick off a running series highlighting the artists and artwork of custom bikes in the coming weeks. After all, who doesn’t want more beautiful bikes to ogle at?