Why the carbon wheel maker goes through a lot of metal
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ENVE hand builds 130,000 rims a year, the company says, with most of those built into full wheelsets (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
ENVE enjoys showing off its wares on the machines of other high-end crafters(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
Doesn't look like a rim yet...(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
Computers cut the fabric into specific strips and shapes, which are laid into rim moulds (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
From rolls to hoops. ENVE doesn't make the carbon fiber fabric, but it creates everything else(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
ENVE is guarded about certain processes, like the particulars of the rim construction(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
Why so much metal at a carbon facility? ENVE also makes its own tooling and moulding (from metal) (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
And yes, the men and women at ENVE do ride, thank you very much (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
Aerodynamicist Simon Smart has long played a role in the design of ENVE wheels(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
Lehman talking to the crowd at the grand opening (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
Quality ventilation is key to sound product and a healthy working in environment when dealing with carbon sanding and painting (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
ENVE has 34 different quality control checks (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
Putting the finishing touches on a mountain bike stem(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
In addition to rims, ENVE's mountain bike stems are produced in Utah. Road stems, forks, seatposts and handlebars are manufactured in Asia(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
ENVE CEO Sarah Lehman opening the new facility in 2016(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
Part showroom, part factory — wheels usually look better in context on a bike(Image credit: Ian Matteson)
The new 73,000-square-foot home of ENVE, in Ogden, Utah (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
All-road riding? ENVE has a wheel or two for that (Image credit: Ian Matteson)
For a manufacturer of high-end carbon wheels and parts, ENVE certainly goes through a lot of metal. The reason is that the Utah company makes not only its own carbon product, but the tools that shape those products.
In order to prototype and refine the shape of the product, ENVE has to prototype and refine the shape of the moulds, too.
BikeRadar recently visited ENVE's new Utah facility for a tour. Although the company has always called Ogden, Utah, home, ENVE moved into a new 73,000-square-foot facility last October, not long after being acquired by Amer Sports, which also owns Mavic.
ENVE now cranks out more than 130,000 rims a year, and besides products like handlebars, stems, seatposts and hubs, ENVE has also made things like, say, stair handrails for its factory out of carbon. Because why not?
Sales, design, engineering, manufacturing and warehousing are all done under one roof — a rare thing in the bike business these days.
Click through the gallery above for a detailed look inside ENVE.
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